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Southern California thief????

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Southern California thief????
Psycho Pixie

Psycho Pixie

Vacations are a grand thing
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Location
9 minutes from DLR!!!!
I have noticed something in the past year or so. Many southern California traders have put posts up indicating a loss or theft of a higher end pin. Usually this occurs at a PTN, or a privately run pin meetup. however a few times i have seen posts about a theft at the park.

If you know for certain a pin (high end or not) was stolen from you. please post here with the info listed below.

I need:

  • the pin number
  • the approx date, or exact date if possible.
  • the location and/or occasion that this occurred at.
  • was a police report filed?
  • any other details you can recall or feel are relevant.

We obviously have a thief in out midst. They need to be discovered and shunned. Perhaps if we all put details together, we can figure out who it is!

List of victims and basic info:
  1. psycho pixie: #94476 vanished at DLR PTN May 2013. I stepped away from the table....
  2. Tinkerbell1956: Tangled PoDM flynn, max, punzel in frame. WDW circus event sept 2012. no police report, told CM.
  3. Riftrafts friend: #86310 ((jumbo)) Oct 2011 DLR PTN no police report.

I do not want accusations put here publicly. If you have a suspicion, with good reason or proof, please PM me the info. I am going to keep track of all concerns. Do not tell me you think it is a specific person, just because you have a personal grudge. this is NOT a witch hunt!

If your pin was a fairly high $ value, you should also put in an official police report!!!!

if you are from WDW and had something stolen, you are welcome to add it here... Maybe the thief took a vacation to WDW or something too!

Suggestion box:

  • use plunger style locker backs on your trade book.
  • Remove the cor-plas from your book pages.
  • allow only one set of hands on your book at a time.
  • allow only one book to be viewed at a time.
  • put all your pins in books. NO LOOSE PINS.
  • share your table with someone you know and trust.
  • ​Keep an eye on eachothers books.

 
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I think this is a great idea! Just a thought.... if I were going to be trading... other than online... I would use locking pin backs. I've ordered some for my future trip to the parks! Just my .02 worth.
 
I have not had any taken.. guess my pins are not high end. But I have read here a few times about pins being taken. It most often seems to b kids or younger adults that have no scruples. I think it would b good to find out if its one person or many. Also we should always keep a good eye on our stuff. If you do have to leave ur book or table. Please have a trusted friend watch your stuff. I have been a pin sitter for a few potty brakes while at the parks. Good luck every one and keep your pins safe.
 
yes! While I really like the ease of moving my pins around on the corugated plastic sheets in the pin book... it is incredibly easy for someone to swipe one when your not looking.

Theres a seller on eBay, who sells the little plunger style pin backs in bags. We are not permitted to list links or sellers for ebay... but the ID has the word "patriot" in it. :) 50 backs for around $20.00

I am seriously considering switching my pin book to all locking backs and no corplas anymore. At least until we flush this person out.
 
It is getting bad with people stealing things...someone's phone was taken the other night...all traders need to watch your own pins but also help other traders in watching there pins too....it sucks to find out a pin is missing, lets help each other..
 
What would be very interesting is if all these pins and phones was one single person! anyway eventually thieves get caught, and with the help of this page it may help narrow it down, say if a pin was stolen like at Marrissas house, eventually a thief will be caught! this is a great idea Physco!
 
Well it hasn't happened to me, but my friend lost a pin a while ago...


  • Pin 86310: DLR - Haunted Mansion Holiday - Jumbo
  • uuuuuuh I think October PTN 2011? 12?
  • PTN at paradise pier
  • was a police report filed? Nope.
  • any other details you can recall or feel are relevant.
 
Jrdnsmom said:
What would be very interesting is if all these pins and phones was one single person! anyway eventually thieves get caught, and with the help of this page it may help narrow it down, say if a pin was stolen like at Marrissas house, eventually a thief will be caught! this is a great idea Physco!
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, the phone may or may not be a pin person. if it was at the park, anyone could take the opportunity to grab a smart phone trhey see laying around.

I have a theory that there really is only 1 person stealing pins from people at DLR and so cal events. No clue who, but one person sneeking a pin here and there every few months would make sense.... Thats part of why i posted this. I would like to put together a picture of the activity.

RiftRaftStreetRat said:
Well it hasn't happened to me, but my friend lost a pin a while ago...


  • Pin 86310: DLR - Haunted Mansion Holiday - Jumbo
  • uuuuuuh I think October PTN 2011? 12?
  • PTN at paradise pier
  • was a police report filed? Nope.
  • any other details you can recall or feel are relevant.
Click to expand...

if its ok i will add them to the list in the OP
 
Psycho Pixie said:
until we flush this person out
Click to expand...

Person... singular? Try persons. Plural. :lol:

This probably happens more often than we realize and I find it hard to believe it's just one person. (And no, I don't think it's a ring of thieves!!) Temptation is a dangerous impulse and when some people think they can get away with it, they'll act on it, no matter how sweet and innocent they look. Heck, I see little kids pull pins out of books all the time and how many times does this go unnoticed? It gets dropped on the floor and someone else finds it, does that mean it's stolen?

I think the best way to thwart thieves is to protect your pins, always keep one eye on your books, and don't assume everyone is as honest as you are. If you had a pin stolen, consider that pin gone for good because the thief has already sold it, traded it away, or found a permanent home for it in their collection.

Karma's a *****. They'll get what's coming to them.
 
I remember reading that someone's entire case of pins was stolen at a WDW event. Now that I have several binders of traders, I'm wondering how I'll balance letting other traders browse through them vs. keeping adequate control of them to prevent theft ...hell, I'm wondering if it would be too paranoid to invest in a few bicycle cable locks!
 
Filing a Police report can actually be of more service than you may think. This person is clearly a thief and it is very rare that people only steal one type of thing. If/WHEN this person is caught if there is an entry in the database of certain things missing the police will actually contact you and ask you to identify an item so you can get it back!!

I had an incident like this years ago when my car was broken into.....um opened for lack of locking the door actually. I thought oh well it was not that much was stolen, a backpack with some books, some CD's a hoodie and maybe a few other odds and ends. I wasn't going to file an insurance claim because my deductible was more than the cost of the contents but I really wanted documentation that the area I had parked my car in had a lot of break ins so I went down to the local Sherriff's office and filed a report.

Well the dummy that took my stuff was pulled over for drunk driving and had a bunch of random crap in their car (MONTHS later) the most strange to them anyway was a few textbooks for a physics class, along with a slim jim which is used to break into cars. They impounded the car and did a full contents check against the stolen property database and called me to identify the stuff.

I got some of my stuff back and they had probable cause to search the dudes house, which apparently had TONS of other peoples stolen stuff because the dude ended up getting several YEARS in prison!

No matter how small if you take the time to make a report it can not only help you it may also help others that this douchebag has ripped off. I also agree that if you are going to be away from your pins for even a short period of time you should find a way to have them locked in your bag. I remember a member being ripped off at her own house by one of the people they invited into their own home!! Maybe those of you that have similar stories should discuss who they saw that day, it may help you narrow down the possible suspects. Oooh how about a video monitor to catch the thief in action?

So sorry for your losses :(

 
I am devolping a case that can be secured to the very end of the average pin book where the zipper pouch is. The case will be a locked case and lighted so PDMs can be seen. It can be removed from the pin book or opened only by the owner. It will hold twelve two inch pins off there cards or ten two inch pins left on their cards. People will have to remove PDMs off their cards as they would take up too much room if you wanted to put a lot of them in the same case. I will have the final concept built and ready by the Monsters U DSF release so people can take a look. I will also be bringing several with me to the Villain Event in September at WDW after I make tweeks and changes to ensure it is the best product available.

As far as the "suspect"...there was a guy at DSF a few weeks back that removed a couple of pins from my book as I was talking with someone else. I kept glancing over casually at my book as he was doing this. He set them on the side of my book on the table where we were all looking at pin books. When someone else came up to talk to him I stopped my conversation, grabed my pins and put them back in my book. When I was ready to leave I asked him if there was anything he was interested in, he said no. So I picked up my book and walked away. I don't know his name but I would recognize him if I saw again. Next time I see him I will set him up and see if he takes the bait. If he's a theif he'll bite. I have seen him a various pin events including most DSF releases. I just avoid him now. But maybe I will go out of my way next time to find him. :)
 
I know of one who I don't trust to even talk to my book.... He was caught more than once and he now has lots if high end pins.... He knows I know because I told him to his face what he dose and that I will be keeping a close eye on him any time I see him.
 
I think this thread is a great idea!!! I had some pins (and my Mom's disability check) stolen a while back, and it's an AWFUL feeling!!!! I just finished putting locking backs on all the decent pins in my trader book, then put a little ziploc of mickey head backs in the zipper pouch, to switch them out if someone wants to trade. It was definitely worth the investment! Good luck to you all, keep those pins safe :D
 
Ozzie1988 said:
I know of one who I don't trust to even talk to my book.... He was caught more than once and he now has lots if high end pins.... He knows I know because I told him to his face what he dose and that I will be keeping a close eye on him any time I see him.
Click to expand...

We think we know who you're referring to and have heard a lot of incidents concerning such person.

Good Tip: ALWAYS keep an eye on your pins and don't let anyone take out a pin unless they asked your permission to take a closer look. We practice turns when it comes to pin trading, unless we know and trust the person.

The way we do it is: keep our book zipped up, one of us carrying. We both look at your book and if we see something we like, we let you see our book. That way the owner of the book has all his attention to us looking at his book/pins and we have all the attention looking at our pins/book. If they ask if they could see the book, we have the added bonus of being two, so one of us could keep an eye on our pins while the other continues looking....you can never be too safe!

We had a whole book stolen from our home not too long ago after we left it on the hood of the car (inside the driveway) to go grab something really quick. A passerby just happened to see it and went inside and took it. It sucks having your stuff stolen. We sincerely hope you find your pin and other So Cal members don't get their pins stolen.
 
Oh I know someone lost her le 150 tiana and Charlotte at a ptn/event...i just can't remember who. I only remember because I traded them mine so they wouldn't be sad anymore.
 
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