“Magician” thief tricks shopkeeper out of $100

<p>In a scene that wouldn’t seem out of place in a heist movie, a thief with “magician-like” skills has managed to trick a shopkeeper from Wollongong out of $100, with a clever (and very sneaky) slight of hand that has social media users stunned.</p> <p>The CCTV footage, which you can see below, was shared by the shop’s owner George Akary, and at first glance it looks as though a relatively normal exchange.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fgeorge.akary.5%2Fvideos%2F10156059328005168%2F&amp;show_text=0&amp;width=560" width="560" height="458" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p> <p>But as is often the case with these kind of scams, the devil is in the detail.</p> <p>“What do you see happening here?” Akary writes onhis Facebook page.</p> <p>“How many notes went missing?”</p> <p>According to Akary, the man paid using a $100 note. The cashier handing him a $50 note and coins as change, and that’s when he commenced his sleight of hand.</p> <p>The man hands her coins to distract her, pocketing the cash before claiming he’s been denied $50. The confusion continues as the man retains more notes, but at this point it seems as though the cashier has become wise to the game.</p> <p>Akary told the <a href="http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Illawarra Mercury</strong></em></span></a> the cashier initially hadn’t realised how much he’d taken.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fphoto.php%3Ffbid%3D10156062729600168%26set%3Da.10150197343075168.308770.522740167%26type%3D3&amp;width=500" width="500" height="426" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true"></iframe></p> <p>“She thought she’d only let go $2.70,” Mr Akary said.</p> <p>“I’ve got the rule that if anyone’s got an issue, that they can come back and speak to the manager, but he just managed to confuse her.</p> <p>“She was really shook up. She just didn’t know what to do or how to react.</p> <p>“He’s like a magician because, even watching [the video footage], it confused me.”</p> <p>The matter has been reported to local police.</p> <p><em>Hero image: George Akary / Facebook</em></p>

Retirement Income