Ambush pickpocket attempt on Winston! Was it a setup?

[E_Irizarry]

@Winston,

I knew you never had street cred (i.e. street smarts in this context). Maybe you should have put away your "dark is bad, light is good" and start judging everybody for the content of their character.

White-washing can do a number to street smarts and innate judgement: money and intellectualism don't always keep the flies away from the rotting carcasses.

This is why, as a man, you ALWAYS LEAD, even if you don't know the area well. Men lead always!!!!

No. You are wrong and not taking some things into account.

1. I do have street smarts. I'm one. of the few foreigners here who have never lost any valuables. Rock recently had his Amazon Kindle stolen, and Sean (air kind) had his Android smart phone pickpocketed out of his pocket by kids. The only thing I've had stolen before is a little 4GB memory stick.

2. Usually white guys here are the target for scams. I've lived here for years and rarely experienced any scams, only some overcharging and overpricing. Filipinos don't target Asians as much as they do Whites. So I rarely get scammed in comparison with other foreigners.

The light skin thing is based on my experience. It is true that all beggars here are dark skinned. That's a consistent pattern that everyone here can see and will concur with. It's a definite pattern. Even Rock acknowledged it when I brought it up. Come here and you will see for yourself.

3. I've sidestepped many scams before. Just because a few fall through the cracks doesn't mean I'm not street smart. It just means that no one is perfect and nothing is 100 percent. What about all the other scammers I wisely avoided and repelled? Why don't you take those into account?

You judge too much based on one incident. Besides, this was unprecedented. I've never had a girl set me up before. So this was a new one. It's not comparable with the Russian scams. She seemed totally normal too.

4. There's nothing wrong with letting a girl lead. I'm ok with that and nothing usually goes wrong when I let them do that. My mistake was allowing her to lead me away from the crowds and walking on a highway rather than getting into a jeep. Had she taken the lead in more crowded areas, it would have been ok.

However, this was not a totally bad mistake because in the past, I've taken MANY GIRLS in AC away from the crowds to quieter areas and nothing bad had ever happened. So how was I supposed to know it would this time?

Perhaps the real mistake here was not demanding that we ride in a jeepney instead of walking. Also, when we walked to the coffee shop, nothing happened. Why didn't the setup happen during our first walk? Was she trying to connect with me first so that I'd be more helpful when she got robbed?

Remember, hindsight is 20/20. I've met hundreds of girls in AC before and this has never happened. So I was going by my past experience, which makes sense. It's impossible to foresee every little thing that goes wrong in advance. No one can do that. But I do get scammed and robbed FAR LESS than other foreigners here. In fact, Rock is a highly experienced traveler yet he got his Amazon Kindle device snatched.

No one is perfect. But I wasn't that reckless.

Hope you can listen to reason.

I dont' agree with points 1 - 3, but 4 I semi-agree with you in that if you had not let her lead you away from the crowd, then you would have been straighter than straight.

[davewe]

Well I've also never had anything pickpocketed either. My Pacsafe wallet is attached to a steel chain and everything valuable is in my front pocket. I'm streetwise in that sense.

In all fairness to Winston, sometimes he does listen to advice.

(6/12):
I have a question and concern.

Suppose you are in a crowded place in a foreign country where lots of people are near you in public, such as a subway or elevator. At that point, it becomes easy for pickpocketers to snatch your wallet or cell phone out of your front pocket, if they are skilled enough and get close enough to you, or if you are distracted by all the pushing and shoving.

I'd hate to have something expensive like a smart phone in my front pocket that can be snatched during the pushing and shoving on a subway or elevator. I'm sure pickpocketers lurk in those areas to find distracted vulnerable targets.

How do you guard against that?

When I travel, I use a Pacsafe travel wallet. It has a chain but not too intrusive. It's a nice tri fold wallet for a decent price. I dont use it at home but I probably should.

[Jester]

Well I've also never had anything pickpocketed either. My Pacsafe wallet is attached to a steel chain and everything valuable is in my front pocket. I'm streetwise in that sense.

In all fairness to Winston, sometimes he does listen to advice.

(6/12):
I have a question and concern.

Suppose you are in a crowded place in a foreign country where lots of people are near you in public, such as a subway or elevator. At that point, it becomes easy for pickpocketers to snatch your wallet or cell phone out of your front pocket, if they are skilled enough and get close enough to you, or if you are distracted by all the pushing and shoving.

I'd hate to have something expensive like a smart phone in my front pocket that can be snatched during the pushing and shoving on a subway or elevator. I'm sure pickpocketers lurk in those areas to find distracted vulnerable targets.

How do you guard against that?

When I travel, I use a Pacsafe travel wallet. It has a chain but not too intrusive. It's a nice tri fold wallet for a decent price. I dont use it at home but I probably should.

Great info, thanks!

[celery2010]

DO NOT EVER MEET THIS GIRL AGAIN.

That would be sheer stupidity.

1. Biggest sign is that she asked you for money. Why would any good person ask you for money that has nothing to do with you? Only bar girls do that.

If you travel with even your best friend from childhood or even your gf, if their phone goes missing, will they ask you for $400? NO WAY. Again only a bar girl would do that. This is a girl you barely know and they ask you for money that a good friend would not ask for?

2. If you see kids approaching you, you can do one of two things. Number one is to run, and i mean sprint. They can't catch you. Number two is to start swinging your arms with a heavy piece of something in your hand, like a brick. They won't come near you.

3. I always wear a money belt, neck belt, leg belt in 3rd world countries, especially in high risk areas like AC or Ermita.

4. Another sign is that she didn't want her photo taken.

5. If you were with her, you can ask questions about korean dishes. If she hesitates, you'll know she's lying.

6. Try to find a new place for bar girls, other than AC. You can find girls anywhere in the PI. You are more likely to get a real and sweet girl like you are looking for in someplace other than AC. Plus, bargirls also exist elsewhere.

[All_That_Is_Man]

Allow me to quote Magneto from X2: X-Men United:

"[Mr. Wu], never trust a beautiful woman. Especially one who's interested in you."

Look in the mirror, Winnie, and ask yourself if a woman could ever be genuinely interested in you; or does she have scamming in mind?

[CerealKiller]

Allow me to quote Magneto from X2: X-Men United:

"[Mr. Wu], never trust a beautiful woman. Especially one who's interested in you."

Look in the mirror, Winnie, and ask yourself if a woman could ever be genuinely interested in you; or does she have scamming in mind?

Methinks the truth might hurt too much for that one...

[Winston]

Air king,
I think you misunderstood something. When I said "kids" I didn't mean big teenage boys. I meant beggar kids that were 10 or 11 and half my size. There was one boy and two girls.

Anyway, I remember what happened now. The boy first appeared from behind a vehicle. I ignored him then he followed me. When I turned to deal with him, two beggar girls came from the front and grabbed my right arm. Then the girl who set me up took my left hand and began pulling on it, as if she were trying to help free me from the beggar girls to my right. This was ingenuous, because while it looked like she was helping me by trying to pull me away from them, she was actually incapacitating my left hand, which if were free, could have been used to push away the beggar girls to my right. Instead, both my hands were incapacitated by the tug of war. So I began trying to push the beggar girls onto oncoming traffic, since they deserved it after all. In retrospect, I should have just stomped on their feet if not kick them.

While I was trying to pull my right arm free, the beggar boy behind me began reaching for my back pockets, which contained nothing but paper receipts and tissues. I was lucky he didn't get into my front pocket or else he might have taken my smart phone. In retrospect I should have back kicked him. But you don't usually think of hitting kids, which is why they are deadly pickpocketers I guess, due to their low height which allows them to move quicker and more subtlely, and also because adults do not think of hitting them like they would with an adult attacker.

It seems to have been an elaborate set up. They must have calculated that if the two girls incapacitated my right arm, then the girl that set me up pulled on my left arm, then I could be pickpocketed while both my arms were locked. The girl with me that I liked, pulled on my left arm as if she were trying to free me when in fact she was incapacitating my left hand. If she really wanted to help, she should have pushed those beggar girls away rather than pulling on my left hand. That makes more sense when you think about it, but of course at the time there was no time to think. So I never suspected her.

Anyway I was lucky they didn't go for my front pocket, and that they let go. What was stupid was that right after the kids let go, a motorcycle robber came and snatched the girl's purse. To set up two incidents in a row was a stupid move and a give away because it looked too contrived, like a setup. That's why I felt suspicious of her, as if she set me up. But even if she was innocent, I would not have reimbursed her because I was angry that she made us walk on that street and put us in danger instead of the other side like I wanted. So rather than give her the sympathy she expected, I pointed the blame and fault at her.

So I guess their whole elaborate attempt was botched. I hope that discourages them from trying this setup again.

Can they do anything with my credit card receipts by the way? They only show the last few digits of your credit card number right?

[Winston]

Allow me to quote Magneto from X2: X-Men United:

"[Mr. Wu], never trust a beautiful woman. Especially one who's interested in you."

Look in the mirror, Winnie, and ask yourself if a woman could ever be genuinely interested in you; or does she have scamming in mind?

Methinks the truth might hurt too much for that one...

Uh yeah. Dianne and several other beautiful girls have been genuinely interested in me. Ask Rock. He will tell you that Dianne is beautiful and authentic and genuinely interested in me. Ladislav and Steve Neese will vouch for that too. So you just shot yourself in the foot with that. One of my American exes was also hot and really attracted to me too.

You forget that women are not as hung on looks as men are. To them, a man's status, income and personality matter just as much.

Yes Davewe, I do follow good advice when it makes sense. Your PacSafe wallet idea was a good idea, so I got one and use it for my wallet. Btw, here in SM Dept Store in Angeles, they sell PacSafe products, so you can come here and get a PacSafe wallet too. They also have PacSafe bags and backpacks too.

To all:

Don't generalize AC based on one girl. I've known LOTS of girls here who treated me good, gave me great sex, and never scammed me, and were mostly honest and kind to me. So please resist fixating on the negative examples and assuming that the bad apples reflect all the apples here.

[Falcon]

Here are some photos of her from her two Facebook profiles linked above. As you can see, she looks totally cute, not like someone who would lead you into an ambush at all. She's probably not the mastermind behind it, just a participant.

No, just look at those evil eyes. That girl has very strange eyes, like those of drug addicts.

I was in Guatemala recently. Most of Guatemala feels nowhere as unsafe and shady as what you had just described, except for some of the gang-controlled slums in Guatemala City. I haven't run into any places in Mexico or China like that either.


Here's an interesting documentary about Angeles City by some Italian filmmakers.

Winston, you go to the Philippines again and head straight to the asshole of the whole country, AC. Of course you are going to meet the worst element of their society at that location.

If I had the opportunity to go to the Philippines, I'd be checking out interesting historical sites, ethnic groups, and the like. I can last in AC for several days at most. Places like that just aren't my cup of tea. There still are many great people in Angeles City of course, but you can meet many other great people elsewhere too, in better environments.

[targetguy]

pic kpocketing is common there and mostly done with little or no witnesses. My advice try not to be swayed to places with few witnesses and have tear gas. Also it is usually done in teams one to act friendly then the next one or two arrive and go for the wallet. this is exactly what happened to me when asking where the nearest money changer was. pi is deffinately not like the usa when it comes to pickpockets.

[Falcon]

PINOY THUG LIFE! Hahahaha.

[Winston]

Hey guess what? That set up girl added me to her Facebook and I accepted. Then we chatted. Here is the chat transcript:

hi

why did you add me?
did you get a new phone? haha

u know remember me?

I went to jumong restaurant. they never heard of you.
yes of course.

haha yup

don't you feel guilty for what you did?

gulity for what ?

did any other guys fall for that trap too? you should just get a job so you don't have to do that kind of thing.
I was very angry at you. I couldn't have lost my passport. I would have been in trouble.

what u mean ?

I mean the set up. you know.

what ?

you have bad friends. who put you up to it?

i dont know what u talking duh

yes you do.

im a victim not you

no filipina would walk on a road like that at 1am. they would take the jeepney. filipinas don't like to walk at night on a highway.
also, if a filipina lost a purse, she would not ask for money as reimbursement.
all my friends I told about you said that you set me up.
I'm not going with you on a street again late at night.
you're not a victim. it was a set up. I was. but your plot failed.
I'm not stupid you know. I know what happened. those pickpocket kids and the motorcycle were all a setup. I don't like it.
you need to find a job and make some good friends who don't ask you to do this kind of thing. don't you feel guilty when you set up people like that?

Chat Conversation End

She didn't answer after that. I wonder why she didn't try to defend herself. What do you think? Any chance she could be innocent? lol

[eurobrat]

....

[C.J.]

I will admit, I got scammed for $3,000 on much less of a reason. But Winston, haven't you had enough sex for multiple generations of your people?

You need to stop tripping over yourself man.