Hypnotist thief

A man in Italy is allegedly hypnotizing store and bank clerks to give him all of their money.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7309947.stm

I’m a trained hypnotist myself, so my first reaction was skepticism. You can’t hypnotize someone that quickly and reliably. But then I put on my criminal mastermind hat and tried to figure out how this crime could be committed as described.

The trick is to hypnotize the targets well ahead of the actual day of the robbery, perhaps several times, and weed out the people who don’t instantly return to the so-called trance state upon suggestion. Then on robbing day, a simple suggestion at the store or bank can produce the instant results you need. The subjects have been pre-trained.

The hard part of this scheme is finding a way to get the right people to agree to hypnosis ahead of time. I imagine he advertised in a local publication, offering to help people quit smoking or lose weight. When people called for an appointment he would ask what sounded like standard questions, including age and occupation. If someone had the right sort of job, he set up an appointment and started the process. On any given day, he could hypnotize several new clients while testing for the most susceptible subjects who also handle money.

The next part would be a bit tricky. You can’t get a hypnotized person to do something that would violate his basic sense of right and wrong, or to put himself in danger. The brain has some sort of safety mechanism to prevent that.

In the surveillance video on the web, the hypnotist is seen taking the money from the register himself while the clerk seemed to be watching. This might be part of his workaround. The clerk wasn’t committing the crime so much as observing it. And perhaps the hypnotist said he was borrowing the money, or the manager had asked him to bring it to him in the parking lot, or some other story that obscured the ethical boundaries.

It could work. He’d need to be an excellent hypnotist, but that isn’t so rare.

Comments

[Andrew Keir]

put the hypnotist idea together with the idea that we don't actually decide things, we just rationalise our actions, and it all makes sense.

This is really getting scary.

[Boldlulkils]

After this seminar you will feel a new opening in your life & in your heart! You will vibrate and feel energized and ready to love yourself and others more. Clear the confusion about what to eat or not to eat to feel Super- Healthy, Are carbohydrate fattening? How much protein do we need? Is it possible to survive on a vegetarian diet? We will talk about these and much, much more...


. Los Angeles, May 4th, To get a FREE ticket RSVP NOW!

. Seattle, May 31st, To get a FREE ticket RSVP NOW!

. Portland, June 1st, To get a FREE ticket RSVP NOW!

http://www.takeyourrisk.com/page/page/5414502.htm

We can be rich, successful, have a loving family... but if we don't have a good health we have nothing. Free yourself from the diet slavery & unnecessary drugs, break free and achieve maximum health, boundless energy and live your life in the realm of pure potentiality.

You are in this world for a reason, you have a specific purpose in this precious life don't let it slip away and hide behind an overweight body and unhealthy habits, let free the champion within and change your life now.

After this seminar you will feel a new opening in your life & in your heart! You will vibrate and feel energized and ready to love yourself and others more. Clear the confusion about what to eat or not to eat to feel Super- Healthy, Are carbohydrate fattening? How much protein do we need? Is it possible to survive on a vegetarian diet? We will talk about these and much, much more...

[bonkers]

Hypnotising theft is commonplace in Southeast Asia, especially in the Malay archipelago. it is called 'pukau'. The thief breaks into a house and somehow hypnotises the occupants who will be stupefied or fall asleep. Some pukau artists blow smoke into the house to aid his work. While they remain in trance, the thief helps himself to whatever he can find in the house. It is also common for the thief to leave a nasty souvenir after the break in, in the form of fresh turd (produced by the pukau artist after eating food from the house he had broken into) usually left in cooking utensils such as pots and woks! Apparently, this is part of the 'recipe' for a successful pukau. To counter pukau, house owners keep a type of fish called 'puyu', said to be effective in rendering pukau ineffective.

[Jay]

Or the cashier could have been part of the robbery and when they asked "Why didn't you stop him?!" you just say "He hypnotized me!"

BOOM instant money AND a spot on the news.

[Greg P]

I once saw a hypnosis example where the person was convinced the hypontist was invisible. The hypnotist then handed him odd props like a chainsaw and someone else started asking about them as if it was a crime scene or soemthing. It was funny stuff at the time.

I wonder if something similar was at work here. Not being able to see the robber wouldn't realy violate any sense of morals.

[frx]

These things do happen.

There are very few well-documented cases, like the one of the Iranian Yazdandjou Azad (aka Jahan Sina), arrested in Italy in 2002 for thefts done in 1998-1999
The excuse was was asking bank cashiers to change a large note with smaller notes that had an "I" in their number (allegedly, to keep them as souvenirs)
Caught because of fingerprints and surveillance cameras

Also targeted smaller victims: he went to a flower seller with a 100 Euro notes and bought flowers for 10 Euros, asking for change in specific cuts.

(there was another case of man jailed for similar cases, iirc he was in Lithuania)

A second-hand experience: I know a girl (cashier at an hotel) who suddenly "woke up" and found herself having spread a lot of bank notes on the desk in front of two guys.
Realizing what was going on, she took the money back and they ran.

Other unsuccessfull attempts like this convince me it's not a case of victims convincing themselves of being hypnotzed after having been plain dumb.

[Lustig]

I'm may be ignorant, but I dont see how this method could work. May be the guy is using some kind of injection or gas.

[Hypnosis Mp3s]

Well, it looks like a good idea, but I really think those sorts of skills could be used to better society. Surely if he can make people forget, there's more interesting work around!

[GLK]

When (typically overworked & underpaid) clerks and tellers get robbed they cannot help but feel a certain responsibilty for the loss. And, certain employers will make them feel worse, even fire them sometimes. The brilliance of this heist lies in the fact that the "hypnotist" simply provides the clerks and tellers a great excuse for why they handed over the booty. An excuse that, in effect, washes away the responsibility and guilt. Thus the robber is actually providing relief for his victims who take it, willingly, to the hilt. Its a win-win except for the actual owner(s) of the money who aren't on the scene anyway.

[John S.]

Hypnotism is bullshit. They say there are those who "cant' be hypnotized". That's right, they're called NORMAL PEOPLE. Anyone who "can" be hypnotized is just stupid, or going along with the gag.

[RK]

Do I smell a consultant here ?? Give me all your money....I will count it for you. :-)

[Nomi]

Wow, I'm so slow. Even though the whole thing sounded dubious to me, I don't know if I ever would have thought that the clerks could have been in on it.

[Karl]

Wow, you were literally the first person I thought of when I saw this video, and I was expecting you to debunk it IMMEDIATELY ... shows what I know.

Anyway, good to hear your take on it.

[Ferran]

Let me tell you 2 things about your idea:
1. It will never work
2. It's already being done

You think I contradict myself? You should see me in the morning trying to choose what pants to wear.

huh!

[venkyx]

the video doesnt show anything to suggest the store clerk was hypnotized before the cash gets stolen. as humans we all can make mistakes, get distracted, err... its an easy way out (face saving too) to blame it on being hypnotized, then you get sympathy as well as a victim, rather than being treated as a moron who lost the money/valuables. at least a trained hypnotist shouldn't be propagating such myths about hypnosis.

[Travis]

they did that in an episode of MacGuyver, the villian (a hot chick) took Jack Dalton and Peter Thorton and hypnotized them over the period of a week. then, set the "activation word" so they when they hear it, they will preform a predetermined action. but instead of "you hear this, you shoot him" it was "you hear this, you shoot this item", the item being a medal on the speaker. it all worked out fine too...if not for that meddeling MacGuyver.

[Sam]

Maybe the two were colluding? It would be a good way to steal from your bussiness.

[Sondra]

instant induction hypnosis

It's real!

[Tormod]

Whoever says that you cannot be hypnotized against your will presupposes that the subject has identified the situation and context for the maxim to apply.

Seriously, you should watch Derren Brown. The trick about merely asking an individual for his valuables is generally referred to as "russian scam".
There are many factors influencing. You set a state of confusion and you probe the trance for suggestibility before giving the commands.

This hypnotist only needed to find someone already in a trance from doing a repetitive job. Probably from watching how mechanically and detached she performs her serves a few customers is probably all it took.

If it was a hoax, I doubt that they'd arrange for a female accomplice to distract the next people in line. If it was a staged fake video, it would be much easier to just have the hypnotist and cashier in it.

[Ajay Pal Singh Atwal]

Can you teach me hypnosis :-D

[Old Jacques]

"You can’t get a hypnotized person to do something that would violate his basic sense of right and wrong"

You need to consider that in Italy, the land of (centuries' old) various and sundry Mafia and the (much more recent) "Clean Hands" judge scandals (which is more symptomatic than curative, to be honest), and in the meanwhile soccer refs' (national pasttime in Italy) and TV Showgirls (they slept with people to be able to dance half-naked, sometimes less, on TV - but where are their morals?) scandals as well, that the "basic sense" is much different than in other places, such as California, and often an employee considers him(her)self taken advantage of by any big supermarket (or banking, or insurance, etc...) chain which employs him(her), just because as a corporation the company earns more than the single individual worker.

[Aidan]

Scott,

Your theory on how the hypnotism could have been carried out precisely accords with a scheme detailed in the comic caper novel "The Hot Rock" by Donald E. Westlake. This was made into a movie which starred Robert Redford as Westlake's brilliant but star-crossed criminal mastermind John Dortmunder. In the book, the hypnosis takes place on an elevator some days before the robbery is to occur. The post-hypnotic trigger is the nonsensical phrase "Afghanistan banana stand". In Westgate's treatment, no morality or ethics come into play; they're completely bypassed or suspended by the hypnosis. He made this premise very believable (and funny!).

[Aidan]

Scott,

Your theory on how the hypnotism could have been carried out precisely accords with a scheme detailed in the comic caper novel "The Hot Rock" by Donald E. Westlake. This was made into a movie which starred Robert Redford as Westlake's brilliant but star-crossed criminal mastermind John Dortmunder. In the book, the hypnosis takes place on an elevator some days before the robbery is to occur. The post-hypnotic trigger is the nonsensical phrase "Afghanistan banana stand". In Westgate's treatment, no morality or ethics come into play; they're completely bypassed or suspended by the hypnosis. He made this premise very believable (and funny!).

[Miao]

Chris said, "Scott, you need to teach us some quick hypnosis techniques. I could really use them to convince my boss I deserve a raise!"

I could really use them to convince my professors that I deserve As for my papers.

[Chris]

I think your criminal mastermind hat is broken. That plan would get you caught pretty damn quick. So all of the victims have had recent appointments with the same weight loss hypnotist huh? Even the dumbest cop could figure that out in two seconds.