Gerard is in a London restaurant when he notices a woman’s purse hanging from the back of her chair. As if strolling to the restroom, Gerard drops his keys on the floor right behind the woman. Reaching down to pick up his keys, the man’s other hand finds its way into the woman’s purse. Her wallet is lifted so skillfully, the woman is unaware there’s a pickpocket.

As soon as Gerard clears the restaurant, he begins wondering how he’ll spend the proceeds of his newfound wealth. He checks the wallet and finds a bank card, similar to the ATM debit cards we use in America.

Next, Gerard heads for a betting parlor where he decides to play the ponies in the last two races. Knowing a little something about horse racing, Gerard selects "All the Way," in the seventh race, and "Mommy’s Best" in the last race. Both tickets are "to win." He pays the betting fee using the woman’s debit card.

Amazingly, both horses win! Gerard goes to the pay window but he doesn’t have the proper identification, something that matches the charge slip on the debit card.

"That’ll be quite all right, sir," says the attendant at the pay window, "we’ll just credit the win to your account."

Done! What can Gerard say? The winning horses paid a total of $550 (U.S.) but he can’t touch a shilling of it. Meanwhile, the woman back at the restaurant has discovered the loss of her wallet and is now reporting it to a bank official and the police.

The bank immediately cancels all transactions. However, the deposit of the horse race winnings skids in just moments before the cancellation. In the end, the woman earns a handsome $550 profit from the loss of her wallet.

What about Gerard? He’s identified by police from the betting parlor video cameras and is now spending several years in a London prison for pickpocketing and credit card fraud.