Benidorm to stamp out street con
BENIDORM – WE have all seen it on TV. A box or table hastily assembled in the street. Three cups and a ball under one of them; but which one? Care to wager on it? It seems like gambling but in reality is a “short-con”. A quick fraud perpetrated on an unsuspecting person who thinks they are simply trying their luck.
We know it as ‘thumbling’, or ‘the shell game.’ The Spanish call it trile (shell), and the authorities in Benidorm are cracking down hard on this illicit activity.
The summer months see a rise in this activity in Benidorm, what with the influx of tourists (victims), and so with the full support of the town’s businesses, the Department of Safety and Mobility, under the direction of its head, Jose Fransisco Banuls, and working in conjunction with both Local and National Police, have together rolled out in the last few weeks a special initiative to halt this street crime.
So far in 2010, 416 incidents have been recorded where the authorities have stepped in to break up such a con. This compares with 229 recorded incidents for the whole of 2009.
It is not clear whether this apparent rise in the statistics is due to increased efforts on the part of the authorities or a rise in the prevalence of confidence tricksters, perhaps with the onset of the economic crisis. However, what is certain is that Benidorm is taking this matter seriously, and a formal letter of support from the AICO – Benidorm’s chamber of commerce – to the town’s authorities says that the initiative is working, and asks that it be continued.
By Paul Deed
Photo Credit: jimw