Armed robberies have gotten so common aboard buses in Mexico City that commuters have come up with a clever if disheartening solution: Many are buying fake cellphones, to hand over to thieves instead of their real smartphones
Costing 300 to 500 pesos apiece — the equivalent of $15 to $25 — the"dummies" are sophisticated fakes: They have a startup screen and bodies that are dead ringers for the originals, and inside there is a piece of metal to give the phone the heft of the real article.
"You're all screwed now! Don't move or you're dead! Cellphones and wallets!" barks a thief in one recent video. Time and again, those who resist or refuse are hit in the head with a pistol, or simply shot and left to bleed on the floor of the bus. There were an average of 70 reported violent muggings every day in Mexico City in the first four months of 2019. About two-thirds were committed against pedestrians, with the rest split almost evenly between bus passengers and assaults on motorists stopped at lights or caught in traffic jams. Between 2017 and 2018, such assaults rose by about 22 percent.
Axel, who asked his full name not be used for fear police would accuse him of selling fake merchandise, said all of his customers know they are buying fakes. Gloria, who works at her own stall at another market across the street in a converted art-deco movie house, said the dummy trade started about 14 years ago, but for different reasons: Phone shops would buy dummies for their exhibition cases to protect against another type of crime, the so-called"sledgehammer crews" who can clear out a jewelry or electronics store in seconds by breaking windows.
"In most cases, people want to avoid getting their cellphone stolen, but also their data," says Gloria, who also asked her last name not be used.
México Últimas Noticias, México Titulares
Similar News:También puedes leer noticias similares a ésta que hemos recopilado de otras fuentes de noticias.
Mexicans buy fake cellphones to hand over in muggingsMEXICO CITY (AP) — Armed robberies have gotten so common aboard buses in Mexico City that commuters have come up with a clever if disheartening solution: Many are buying fake cellphones, to hand...
Leer más »
New Mexico city of Deming declares emergency over migrant releasesThe small city of Deming, New Mexico has become the latest U.S. border community...
Leer más »
Photos: Extreme air pollution in Mexico CityMexico is a city of more than 21 million people, and it has been plagued by air pollution for decades
Leer más »
Smog chokes Mexico City as fires fan pollutionMexico City has suffered through a week of some of its worst smog in recent years.
Leer más »
Smog-ridden Mexico City suspends school classes due to pollutionMexico's government ordered schools in and around Mexico City to be closed ...
Leer más »
F-16 that crashed into building was armed with live ammo: OfficialLATEST: The F-16 fighter jet that crashed into a warehouse in Southern California was armed with live ammunition as part of its NORAD alert mission, defense official says.
Leer más »
Ex-Oregon football star stops armed student at Oregon schoolPORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A former college football standout at the University of Oregon was credited Friday with tackling an armed student at a Portland, Oregon, high school before anyone was injured.
Leer más »
Oregon school coach, former football star Keanon Lowe tackles armed student, witnesses sayA high school coach and former college football star is being hailed for helping to avert a potential tragedy by tackling a student wielding a shotgun at a high school in Portland, Oregon.
Leer más »
Former University of Oregon football star tackles armed student at Portland high school'When confronted with the test the universe presented me with, I didn’t see any other choice but to act,' tweeted Keanan Lowe, a school security guard who also coaches football and track.
Leer más »