Low-Tech Scam: Notebook computers are becoming a...

Low-Tech Scam: Notebook computers are becoming a popular target of thieves at airports, according to the Road Warrior Outpost, a Fountain Valley company that sells equipment and services for portable computers. Vice President Kevin Prince says it works like this: Two thieves spot a person carrying a notebook computer through a metal detector. Both get in line ahead of the victim. One thief slips through the detector and waits on the other side. The other sets off the alarm as soon as the victim lays the computer on the conveyor belt. As the victim waits for thief No. 2 to clean out his pockets, thief No. 1 takes the laptop.

Julie Pitta (pittaj@aol.com) and Greg Miller (Greg.Miller@latimes.com) contributed to this report.