Traditional thieves have a higher risk of arrest these days so some have become discreet in their larceny.
Two pharmacy employees were recently held-up while opening a drug store in Quezon City. The holdupper tied them up and locked them in a room before taking away an undetermined amount of cash.
Police reacted fast, tracking down the suspect, who happened to be the store's new security guard. When police raided the suspect's home, they recovered the stolen bag of coins from the pharmacy, Dobol B TV reported.
In England, alert staff of a mobile phone store recently foiled a thief, based on a viral video showing the incident. A male customer asked to see two phone models displayed inside a glass counter and, when the gadgets were handed to him, he rushed to the door.
However, feeling suspicious of the customer, two store clerks had already automatically locked the door so the thief could not get out. Realizing he was caught, the thief returned the phones to the clerks who then let him out before reporting to the police.
Store owner Afzal Adam's electronic lock helped prevent the theft of £1,600 worth of gadgets and other stores who saw the video have also installed similar security system in their stores.
In Rome, Italy, three men in centurion and gladiator costumes had been offering themselves to be photographed by tourists outside the ancient Roman ampitheater, the Colosseum, for souvenir. After the shoot, they charged foreigners hundreds of euros.
Tourists who reportedly balked at the high charges or refused to pay were threatened with harm or robbed of their money. Tourists have complained to police of being robbed of 500 euros and one victim who had no cash was forced to withdraw 250 euros from an ATM, CBS News reported.
Rome police have identified the three suspected extortionists and placed them under house arrest pending prosecution, according to CBS News.
Meanwhile, a fraudster had a clandestine modus to avoid the police radar. Norma, not her real name, offers her services online and meets customers at a parking lot in Batangas City, GMA Regional TV Balitang Southern Tagalog reported.
Norma recently met one customer inside her parked car. When she started putting the braces on the undercover cop's teeth, the latter declared she was under arrest for practicing dentistry without a license.
It was the end of the fake dentist's drive-thru clinic and cheap teeth braces as she faces charges of violating the Philippine Dental Act of 2007 which imposes a fine of P200,000 to P500,000 or two to five years imprisonment, or both for violators.