防扒手，你得懂點“詭騙術”

My mother has eyes in the back of her head. She also taught me from an early age to be suspicious of strange men， especially when they give you presents. Which makes it all the more1） surprising that a “nice man” bearing flowers managed to swipe2） 20 euros from her purse， while she was holding it in her hands and looking straight at it.

“He said he was collecting for a church charity so I pulled out a euro，” she explains. “He said ‘no， no， that’s too much’ and offered to look in my purse to find a smaller coin. He must have slid out the 20 euro note at the same time. I didn’t even notice until an hour later. I felt so stupid.”

But she needn’t feel bad. According to neuroscientists our brains come pretty much hard-wired to be tricked， thanks to the vagaries3） of our attention and perception systems. In fact， the key requirement for a successful pickpocket isn’t having nifty4） fingers， it’s having a working knowledge5） of the loopholes in our brains. Some are so good at it that researchers are working with them to get an insight into the way our minds work.

The most important of these loopholes is the fact that our brains are not set up to multi-task. Most of the time that is a good thing—it allows us to filter out all but the most important features of the world around us. But neuroscientist Susana Martinez-Conde， the author of the book Sleights of Mind， says that a good trickster can use it against you. She should know： As a researcher at the Laboratory of Visual Neuroscience in Arizona， she has studied how Las Vegas stage pickpocket Apollo Robbins performs his tricks.

“When Apollo gets someone on stage，” she says， “he is making them look at things， he is talking to them， he is touching their body， he is coming very close to them and producing an emotional response as he is entering their personal space … It’s complete attentional overload.”

So while sleight of hand6） helps， it’s as much about capturing all of somebody’s attention with other movements. Street pickpockets also use this effect to their advantage by manufacturing a situation that can’t help but overload your attention system. A classic trick is the “stall7），” used by pickpocketing gangs all over the world. First， a “blocker，” walks in front of the victim （or “mark”） and suddenly stops so that the mark bumps into them. Another gang member will be close behind and will bump into both of them and then start a staged argument with the blocker. Amid the confusion one or both of them steal what they can and pass it to a third member of the gang， who quickly makes off with the loot8）.

“People think it’s about distracting someone by making them look away but it’s actually about directing the mind towards something，” says James Brown， a stage pickpocket and hypnotist9） based in the UK. “If I wanted you to stop looking at something on the table it’s much easier for me to give you a good reason to look at something else. If I give you two or three things to focus on and the one I want you to avoid isn’t one of them， then that’s even better because now you have the illusion of choice.”

Other tactics are more psychological. Pickpockets tend to hang out near “beware of pickpockets” signs， because the first thing people do when they read it is check they still have their valuables， helpfully giving away where they are. And in my mother’s case， the thief’s best trick was not coming across like a pickpocket. “He was a very nice guy and very personable. Not someone that would cause you to suspect，” she says.

Brown thinks confidence plays a major role too. “The biggest ploys used by theatrical pickpockets and the kind of street pickpockets that will actually engage with you is simply an incredibly alluring display of confidence，” he says.

In theory， he adds， the power of suggestion alone is enough to persuade the most streetwise10） person to hand over their valuables. In 2009 a Russian bank employee gave over $80，000 of cash to a woman who apparently hypnotised her. “If you’ve got a bit of rapport11） with somebody and they trust you， it’s easy，” says Brown.

Smart Moves

On the stage， specific movements can also trick us. When Apollo Robbins started working with Martinez-Conde he told her that he had a hunch that certain ways he moved his hands seemed to affect how well he could direct a person’s attention.

If Robbins moved his hand through the air in a straight line between two points， he said， it was less effective at holding people’s attention on the end point than moving his hand in an arc motion. An arc motion would make people’s gaze stick to the curving hand and stay there， while a straight line would make their eyes flick back to the beginning and jump between the two.

Sure enough， eye tracking experiments showed that his hunch was right. But why？ Martinez-Conde says that it is all down to the way different movements engage the visual system. Following an arc uses an eye movement called “smooth pursuit，” where the eye continuously follows an object. A straight line makes the eye move in a “saccade12），” a fast movement where the eye moves from point A to point B in a fraction of a second.

“When we make a saccade our visual system is blind during the flight of the saccade， so you can see at the beginning and you can see at the end but while the eye is moving you cannot see，” she says. During smooth pursuit， however， there is no blind period， the eyes follow the moving object continuously from start to finish.

One explanation for why this makes us more likely to follow the hand， is that with a straight line， the eyes snap back to the beginning of the movement to try and fill in what the brain didn’t see during the movement. Whatever the explanation， it can be a very useful tool for a pickpocket. “Depending on what the pickpocket is interested in he may engage one or another type of motion， with or without engaging the person’s attention，” she says.

Dirty Tricks

Of course， if you want to play with someone’s powers of perception， a good time to try would be late at night when after a few drinks everything is already a little fuzzy. Brown says he spent a particularly fascinating night observing pickpockets outside nightclubs in London’s Trafalgar Square13）.

“They employ some clever tactics. A classic is that a girl comes up to you outside of a club and starts talking to you and as she’s doing it she starts rocking very gently. And the person thinks they are rocking so they compensate and start rocking and fall over. And she’s very kind and she helps you up and maybe her friend helps， too. You stumble off and the next morning you realise your watch has gone and your wallet is gone； everything’s gone.”

Having said all that， Brown is keen to point out that most thefts are opportunistic. “Having spent some time with the Romanian pickpocket gangs in London Bridge， it was fascinating to see how the level of skill is far less than you think. There’s a danger that these people are portrayed as being so skilled that it becomes almost endearing and elegant. Most of these people aren’t that at all. They are mostly opportunistically thieves.”

But， he warns， they are opportunistic enough to keep up with new technology. In the not too distant future， hacking contactless debit cards could prove just as fruitful for thieves as hacking our minds.

“Rather than take your wallet and get ￡50～60 and run the risk of being caught， why not walk through a busy place and just tap everybody’s pocket？ If you took ￡19.99 off everybody， which is the limit of the contactless cards， that would be a very lucrative14） day right there. It’s all a little bit frightening.”

Still， knowing about all these tricks can make you a little less likely to have your valuables pilfered15）. At the very least， Brown says， it’s an idea not to zone out16） too much in public. “A street thief will avoid like the plague people who are demonstrating a very open awareness of their environment. The man on the tube who is looking around， being very aware， they won’t go anywhere near.” And as my mother would no doubt remind you， it’s also an idea to keep away from strangers with flowers.

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街頭扒手讓人煩不勝煩，卻也是防不勝防。如今，小偷小摸靠的不僅僅是利落的手法，竊賊們還利用人們思維的漏洞，讓你在不知不覺中被騙。俗話說，知己知彼，百戰不殆。面對大家共同的敵人——小偷，如果你也能了解一些他們常用的計策，或許能讓自己避免上當，至少成為不易下手的對象，讓竊賊對你避而遠之。如果人人都能如此，“天下無賊”還會遠嗎？

我的媽媽是一個眼觀六路的人。從我小時候起，她就教育我不要輕易相信陌生人，尤其是當他們送你禮物的時候。這就使下面發生的這件事越發顯得奇怪了：一個手持鮮花的“好人”竟成功地從她拿在手里的錢包中偷走了20歐元，而她的眼睛一直沒離開過錢包。

“他說他正在為一個教堂慈善活動募捐善款，于是我就掏出了一歐元，”媽媽解釋道，“他說‘不，不，這太多了’，然后提出要看看我的錢包，好找一枚小面額的硬幣。他肯定是在那個時候把那20歐元紙幣順走的。一個小時以后我才發現，我覺得自己太蠢了。”

但是她無需感到沮喪。神經學家們認為，我們的大腦天生就非常容易受騙，因為我們的注意力和感知系統變化無常。事實上，要成為一名成功的扒手，關鍵條件不在于手法利落，而在于對大腦的漏洞有足夠的認知。有些扒手在這方面非常擅長，連研究人員都在與其合作，從而洞悉思維的運作方式。

這些漏洞中最重要的一個就是我們的大腦生來就無法兼顧多重任務。多數情況下，這不無裨益——它可以讓我們對周遭的世界進行過濾，僅留下最重要的部分。但是，著有《大腦詭計》一書的神經學家蘇珊娜·馬丁內斯-康德認為，一個高超的騙子會利用這一點來對付你。她當然知道：身為亞利桑那州視覺神經科學實驗室的研究者，她研究過拉斯維加斯偷竊表演者阿波羅·羅賓斯所表演的伎倆。

“阿波羅請觀眾上臺后，”她說，“他會讓他們看著某些東西，跟他們講話，觸碰他們的身體，靠他們非常近，進入他們的私人空間以激起他們情緒上的反應……觀眾的注意力完全不堪重負。”

因此，雖然手法敏捷是好事，但用其他動作來吸引某人的全部注意力也同樣重要。街頭的扒手也會設計某種場景，使你的注意力系統不得不超負荷運轉，從而利用這種效應為自己創造有利條件。一個典型的伎倆是“同伙作案”，世界各地的扒竊團伙皆用此術。首先，一名“阻擋者”走在受騙者（或者叫“目標”）的前面，然后突然停住，這樣目標就撞在他身上。另一名同伙緊跟在目標后面，逐與兩人撞在一起，隨即與“阻擋者”開始一場蓄意安排的爭吵。混亂之中，這對同伙中的一位或兩位會竊取能竊得之物并將其轉交給第三個同伙，這位同伙會帶著到手的物品迅速逃離現場。

“人們以為這是通過讓人轉移目光來分散其注意力，但實際上這是引導大腦去關注某事，”英國偷竊表演者兼催眠師詹姆斯·布朗說道，“如果我不想讓你再看桌子上的某樣東西，更容易的做法是找一個恰當的理由讓你看其他東西。如果我讓你關注兩三樣東西，而我想讓你忽視的東西并不在其中，那就更好了，因為現在你有種錯覺，以為自己可以選擇。”

其他的騙術更是利用了人們的心理。扒手們喜歡在寫有“小心扒手”的標語附近出沒，因為人們看到標語后做的第一件事就是檢查自己的貴重物品還在不在，這就暴露了貴重物品的位置，給扒手幫了忙。在我媽媽被竊的事例中，那個竊賊最高明的騙術就是讓人感覺他不像扒手。“他是個很和善的小伙子，風度翩翩，不是那種令人起疑心的人。”媽媽說。

布朗認為自信也起到了重要的作用。“偷竊表演者和那種會真正跟你接觸的街頭扒手用到的最重要的計策，就是顯示出一種極具誘惑性的自信。”他說道。

他又補充說，從理論上講，單是暗示的力量就足以使最精明的人交出貴重物品。2009年，俄羅斯的一位銀行職員就將八萬美元現金交給了一個顯然讓她著了迷的女人。“如果你和某人建立了某種融洽的關系，并且取得了他們的信任，那就很容易得手了。”布朗說。

巧妙的動作

在舞臺上，特定的動作也能讓我們受騙。在阿波羅·羅賓斯剛開始和馬丁內斯-康德合作時，他跟她說自己有一種直覺，那就是他雙手移動的特定方式似乎會影響他引導某人注意力的效果。

羅賓斯說，如果他的手在空中的兩點之間直線移動，那么將人們的注意力保持在結束點的效果就不如讓手弧線移動的效果好。弧線移動會使人們目光緊跟劃弧線的手并將注意力保持在那里，而直線移動會讓他們的目光閃回起點，并在兩點之間來回跳躍。

果然，眼球追蹤實驗表明他的直覺是正確的。但是為什么會這樣？馬丁內斯-康德說這是因為不同的動作會引起視覺系統的不同反應。眼球追蹤弧線移動時運用的是一種叫做“平滑追蹤”的眼球動作，此時眼球持續追蹤一個物體。直線移動讓眼球處于“掃視”狀態，此時眼球在瞬間于A點和B點之間快速移動。

“在進行掃視時，我們的視覺系統在掃視過程中處于看不見的狀態，因此，你在起點和終點都看得到東西，但在眼睛移動過程中，你什么也看不見。”她說。然而，“平滑追蹤”是沒有盲點的，眼球會自始至終持續追蹤那個移動的物體。

為什么這樣會使我們更容易追蹤手的移動？一種解釋是在直線移動中，眼球會迅速跳回動作的起點，以努力補充大腦在動作過程中漏掉的內容。無論是什么樣的解釋，這對扒手來說都是非常有用的工具。“根據自己目標的不同，扒手可以做出這樣或那樣的動作，吸引對方的注意力，或不引起對方注意。”她說。

卑鄙的伎倆

當然，如果你想玩弄一下別人的感知力，深夜是很好的時機。其時，對方幾杯酒下肚，一切已變得有些模糊。布朗說他曾在一個晚上觀察過倫敦特拉法爾加廣場上夜總會外面的扒手，感覺非常有趣。

“他們會用一些聰明的策略。一個典型的手段是，酒吧外一個女孩兒向你款款走來，開始和你攀談，邊談邊開始輕輕搖晃身體。你以為自己在搖晃，為了穩住自己，你開始搖晃身體，結果跌倒在地。她非常好心地扶你起來，或許她的朋友也來幫忙。你跌跌撞撞地離開，第二天早上才意識到手表不見了，錢包也沒了，所有的東西都不翼而飛。”

雖然說了這么多，但布朗想要指出的是，多數竊賊都是機會主義者。“我曾在倫敦橋觀察過羅馬尼亞扒手一段時間。有趣的是，我發現他們的技能水平遠沒有人們想象中那么高。把這些人描述得技藝高超，以致讓人覺得近乎可愛和優雅，這挺危險的。這些扒手多數根本不是那樣，他們多是投機的竊賊。”

但布朗警告說，扒手們投機到了緊跟新科技的程度。在不算太遠的將來，竊賊盜用非接觸式借記卡就會和入侵操控我們的思維一樣成效卓著。

“與其偷走錢包，拿走五六十英鎊，還要冒著被抓的風險，為什么不走進熙攘的地方去拍拍每個人的口袋？如果你從每個人身上拿走19.99英鎊——這是非接觸式借記卡的付款上限——那一天下來在這一個地方就能掙到不少錢。聽起來都讓人有點害怕。”

盡管如此，了解所有這些伎倆，你的貴重物品被偷的幾率就能降低一點。布朗說，至少在公共場合不要太心不在焉——這算是個策略。“街頭的竊賊會像躲瘟疫一樣躲開那些對周遭環境表現出明顯警惕的人。那些在地鐵里四處張望、非常警覺的人，扒手是不會靠近的。”此外，我媽媽無疑也會提醒你，另外一個策略是與拿著花的陌生人保持距離。

1.all the more：更加，越發，格外 2.swipe [swa?p] vt.〈俚〉扒竊

3.vagaries [?ve?ɡ?r?z] n. [復]變幻莫測；反復無常

4.nifty [?n?fti] adj. 利落的，靈巧的

5.working knowledge：足以應付工作的知識，工作中夠用的知識

6.sleight of hand：（偷東西或變戲法時使用的）敏捷而熟練的手法

7.stall [st??l] n. 扒手的同伙

8.loot [lu?t] n. 贓物

9.hypnotist [?h?pn?t?st] n. 施行催眠術的人，催眠術士

10.streetwise [?stri?t?wa?z] adj. 有在城市環境中巧妙生活（或生存）能力的；熟悉都市生活方式和世態的

11.rapport [r??p??（r）] n. 聯系，融洽關系

12.saccade [s??kɑ?d] n. （閱讀等時目光的）飛快跳躍，掃視

13.Trafalgar Square：特拉法爾加廣場，英國倫敦的著名廣場，坐落在倫敦市中心，是19世紀初為紀念著名的特拉法爾加海戰而修建的。

14.lucrative [?lu?kr?t?v] adj. 生利的，賺錢的

15.pilfer [?p?lf?（r）] vt. 偷竊，尤指小偷小摸

16.zone out：（使）變得渾然無覺，（使）變得頭昏腦漲