No link to this at present, but Crimewatch have just featured footage on camera of a thief who somehow managed to hypnotise a shop worker while he proceeded to pick his pocket and also steal the day's takings. The Crimewatch team seem baffled about what actually happened there.
There have been a few of these "hypnotist thief" cases reported in the past - like this one from 6 years ago:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7309947.stm
and here an episode from one of Derren Brown's programmes, with a narrated explanation of how he is believed to have carried it off:
There have been a few of these "hypnotist thief" cases reported in the past - like this one from 6 years ago:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7309947.stm
'Hypnotist' thief hunted in Italy
Police in Italy have issued footage of a man who is suspected of hypnotising supermarket checkout staff to hand over money from their cash registers.
In every case, the last thing staff reportedly remember is the thief leaning over and saying: "Look into my eyes", before finding the till empty.
In the latest incident captured on CCTV, he targeted a bank at Ancona in northern Italy, then calmly walked out.
A female bank clerk reportedly handed over nearly 800 euros (£630).
The cashier who was shown the video footage has no memory of the incident, according to Italian media, and only realised what had happened when she saw the money missing.
CCTV from the bank showed her apparently being hypnotised by the man, according to the reports.
Italian police believe the suspect could be of Indian or North African extraction.
and here an episode from one of Derren Brown's programmes, with a narrated explanation of how he is believed to have carried it off: