Thanks for pointing out that I 'outsourced' the thread to you. 

There's this nice lady selling selling embroidered bags and the likes from a make-shift shop at the passageway next to Molard. Last Thursday, around 2:30pm, I found her dozing at her shop. When I returned after about 45 minutes, I saw the shop still there, it was as is, she was also in good spirits and confirmed (with a big smile) to me that nothing was gone while she was sleeping.

I also saw many being extremely careless with their belongings early this week and for some reason, they did not get robbed.

credit where credit is due, dude.

Big mystery (to me, anyway ): where did thelpful stranger find you phone number?? 

I wondered that too. My guess is that the person called the hore company and got his number

Hire company!!!! Grrr Nir! Edit button!!!

@Maria good guess, typos not withstanding....

@Paxxie I'm an independent IT consultant (ask Maria) and I have a flyer posted in three windows. Name and number prominently displayed. :)

that was a hell of a typo Maria very funny.... my head is too full of things to follow up on it...I just can't....

Yesterday, I forgot my wallet with several hundreds francs and all my cards on the boxes where customers must leave their bags before entering, at Media Markt. Someone found it and brought it to the customer service. Pheeww

Last week whilst staggering back home from the pub, I was accosted by two youths, who decided it would be nice to give me a hug... whilst recieving this hug, I noticed my wallet being picked from my pocket... its a big wallet, and I was wearing relatively tight jeans...

When the wallet eventually came out of the pocket, I turned to face the guy, looked him in the eye and said...

"well done, very impressive, now give me my wallet back"....

and guess what... HE DID...

Geneva has criminals like no other city....

took out a 20 threw it on the floor, poked you in the eye and then ran away?

nope...he handed it straight back.... smiled, put his hands in the air, and left as I then threatened to murder him and his entire family if I ever saw him trying that again....

Just reread and HE DID.  Wow unreal.   

I had an incident when locking a bike and a guy tried to help me but got in the way...  I finished and got up, the hug came and i knew he was going for the wallet.. Felt great as i prevented him... but two hours later realised he had taken my watch.... :0) 

How you defined safe?

Well done Charlie.  It is the people like you that fight back and kick ass that keep Geneva safe.

Like these guys posting the mugs of "bonneteau" scammers on lampposts...

No sharks...

no bombs.????

... unless you count drinking "jaeger bombs" with me as unsafe...

hi dude... long time no drink...

yeah i saw these guys again last Friday by mont blanc bridge, and spent 10 minutes explaining to my daughter (who is 10) how these guys scam unsuspecting tourists... actually I did it right beside their game.. I even pointed out which guys were the "police potters", which were the "pretend customers who won" and which were the guys who say "dude you have lost enough now time to leave".... she looked at it all in amazement...and so did the guys who were playing the con... so much so they left within 10 minutes...

the police????..mmm...eating ice cream across the street... :-))))

Embarrassement is the easiest form of "outing" these crooks...

Great work Charlie. I would love to make comments to these people, but I'm too scared.

Article in the Tribune de Genève : Cent arrestations en un mois pour la Brigade anticriminalité genevoise

and scared for good reason. I have tried to intervene before with tourists, to explain to them it is not a fair game of chance but only theft, and immediately i get surrounded by the "fake gamers" men larger than me and very agressively shooed (this is not the right word, for when someone looks like they will pull a knife on you soon) away. 

I have also one time been followed down the lake by one of their "police lookouts" after making a similar warning to a group of tourists who pulled their money out, from a distance. I decided to not go home immediately, as i live close by to where they are often, eventually he stopped following me.

Here we come to a point, where you should decide if it is still our responsibility to intervene. Even as a child when I saw these guys I wouldn`t come close and I still won`t. Going to these people is like allowing someone to rob you.

Or these people need to be accompanied by an adult when they leave their home or just learn the hard way. It`s not worth getting yourself stabbed over.