'20/20' Crew Gets Some Street Smarts

July 30, 2004 -- It can take just moments to ruin your vacation. While you're taking in the sights, someone just may have an eye on your valuables.

Every year thousands of tourists and travelers fall prey to scam artists and pickpockets.

So 20/20 traveled from Spain, to Italy, and finally Las Vegas, with hidden cameras to get an inside look at the tricks of the thieves' trade.

20/20 also brought along some secret weapons — Bob Arno and his wife, Bambi Vincent — who shared tips on avoiding cons, scams, and pickpockets.

In Barcelona's main tourist drag, La Rambla, one of con artists' favorite scams was under way — the shell game. Vacationers are lured in, betting $60 or more a shot to guess which shell is hiding the ball. But there's a catch.

$300 on a No-Win Game

20/20's Jami Floyd thought she was certain which shell was hiding the ball. But time after time she was wrong. Arno, who's an expert on crimes against tourists and even has a stage act where he showcases his own pickpocketing skills, says it's "utterly impossible" to win the shell game.

Arno said there's generally a team of six or more people orchestrating the shell game scam: the dealer, who moves the shells, a few others, called shills, who pretend to play a game or two and win, and a couple of lookouts who keep an eye out for police.

Floyd lost about $300 in less than 20 minutes, never picking the right shell. So how did the dealer do it?

Arno explained it's all a matter of sleight of hand — like a magic trick — the dealer secretly slips the ball out of the shell then slides it into another one, and it all happens out of the player's sight.

Arno and Vincent travel the world studying and videotaping con artists, pickpockets and thieves. In their new book, Travel Advisory! How to Avoid Thefts, Cons, and Street Scams While Traveling, they share what they've learned over the years.