History Main / FiveFingerDiscount

* In ''Literature/RWBYRomanHoliday'', Trivia sneaks out of the house and goes on a "shopping spree". When she returns her father already knows what she did and bought it all off. This upsets her as it means that she no longer owns any of it.
* ''Literature/ImOk2018'': Ok steals a customer's sample bottle of skin cream from a store to give to his mother. He doesn't feel good about doing it.
* In ''Literature/OliverTwist'', Oliver joins a street gang who are trained in the arts of pickpocketing.
** Perhaps in a ShoutOut to this, ''Series/LawAndOrderCriminalIntent'' runs across a similar pickpocketing training school when a body of one of its "students" turns up in the ColdOpening.
* ''[[Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar Take A Thief]]'' by Creator/MercedesLackey also features a pickpocketing training school that main character Skif attends for a while. Again, there's a lot of similarities to ''Literature/OliverTwist''.
* In the third book of ''Literature/CodexAlera'', High Lady Antillus is bullying Rufus Scipio, a.k.a. Tavi. He responds by acting meek, and the moment she's out of earshot, pulls her purse out of his pocket. How else is the [[TheCallPutMeOnHold only]] {{Muggle}} in the setting going to get revenge on a PersonOfMassDestruction? [[spoiler:This turns out to be a major plot point]].
* In the short story [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hitch-Hiker_(short_story) "The Hitch-Hiker"]] by Creator/RoaldDahl, the narrator gives a hitchhiker a lift and has a rather interesting discussion with the guy, who is a professional [[strike:pickpocket]] fingersmith. The hitchhiker is very proud of his work and is even able to remove the belt from the narrator without attracting attention. Apparently he makes a living by going to horse races and stealing from people who win several games (though he prides himself in never stealing from poor people or anyone who loses). [[spoiler:At the end of the story, when a police officer writes down the narrator's information for speeding, the fingersmith steals said notes so they won't get caught.]]

* Kate Ross's Regency sleuth Literature/JulianKestrel has a valet who used to be a pickpocket (which is why he's called "[[MeaningfulName Dipper]]"). Every so often this ability comes in handy in solving a murder.

* ''Literature/SaintessSummonsSkeletons'': When Sofia finds a vending machine that wants gold and won't accept fake bone coins, she just shatters it with a punch and loots the contents.
* In the first ''Literature/TruemanBradley'' novel, Trueman is robbed by a man pretending to help him find the bank.

* Trish from ''Literature/WickedGood'' regularly shoplifts candy.
* Arlo from ''Literature/TheSavant'' is targeted by a pickpocket while he's traveling across the Mediterranean in a cargo boat. He manages to kick the man overboard. Arlo isn't worried about him, since there are fishing boats nearby that could rescue him.

* ''Literature/TheFinding'': Poll tricks Alex into doing this by hiding food in his backpack and then carrying it out of the store before he can get it out. She rationalises this by stating she has 'some big boys to feed.'
* Lauren from ''Literature/EveryShinyThing'' shoplifts shampoo, sparkly hair clips, and a ring so she can sell them to [[JustLikeRobinHood raise money to help autistic kids afford occupational therapy]].

* Cody from ''Literature/TheMissingPieceOfCharlieOReilly'' once tried to shoplift a bottle of expensive perfume because he couldn't afford a nice present for his grandma's birthday. When the security guard caught him, he dropped the bottle. Instead of a present, his grandma got a $440 fine. [[spoiler:The guilt leads Cody to ask Brona to RetGone him so his grandma won't be hurt by his existence.]]
* Subverted in ''Literature/TheGreatTrainRobbery'' when Pierce hires a pickpocket to bump his mark (who has a safe key Pierce needs) but not actually take anything, and watches the mark's reaction from a nearby rooftop.[[note]]Hilariously the pickpocket [[Main/EvenEvilHasStandards is deeply insulted]] when Pierce asks if he used a mechanical aide to swipe a woman's wallet before hiring him.[[/note]]
* ''Literature/CanYouSeeMe'': In ''All the Pieces of Me'', Tally's "friends" pressure her into stealing a top from a store by smuggling it out under her T-shirt. She goes along with it because she's terrified of being friendless at school. She shoves the top into a bin at the first opportunity, but she still hates herself for stealing it.
* ''Literature/AllTheSkillsADeckbuildingLitRPG'': Arthur's "Card Shuffling" skill lets him swipe a single card from someone else's card anchor (not their heart deck), although he doesn't know in advance what he'll get. [[spoiler:It's effective enough that Prince Marion assumes it's an actual card power.]]

[[folder:Real Life]]
* Teenagers shoplifting is both TruthInTelevision and a stereotype. If you're a teenager and you enter a shop in the mall, you bet those super-nice staffers are watching your every move. This is why, even with CCTV cameras installed, a lot of convenience stores practice an "only two youths at a time" rule, simply so the clerk can keep an eye on them and/or not be distracted: unfair rule or not, the poor clerk would be robbed ''blind'' if he allowed crowds of teens into his store at once.
[[/folder]]

* In ''Series/DegrassiTheNextGeneration,'' ControlFreak Liberty tries to make nice with the school bad boys. When she tries to impress them by saying she'll provide a "five-finger discount," they're hysterical that this dork thinks this phrase is cool. A few episodes later, as the bad boys are shoplifting, the ringleader flexes his fingers and says, as if he thinks it's cool, "I can get us a five-finger discount."

* This is part of Parker's repertoire in ''Series/{{Leverage}}''. They have an actual pickpocketing expert, Apollo Robbins, on staff to make sure it's done right. He appeared in one episode as Parker's EvilCounterpart in another crew and they end up in a pickpocketing duel.

* Hanna and Mona from ''Series/PrettyLittleLiars'' were both shoplifters (in fact, the scene in which Mona steals a scarf is pretty much her EstablishingCharacterMoment). However, Hanna was later caught by the police, which resulted on her mom having an affair with [[DirtyCop Detective Wilden]] to prevent charges (plus getting blackmailed by [[BigBad A]] because of it), so she quickly drops this.
* In [[Recap/DoctorWhoTVMTheTVMovie The TV Movie]] the [[Creator/PaulMcGann Eighth Doctor]] demonstrates a talent for pickpocketing people while directly speaking with them. He uses this talent to steal an ID card and a gun... [[StopOrIShootMyself which he uses to hold himself hostage]].

* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': In "The Bicycle Thief", Stevie, a poor but otherwise honest honor student just can't help himself; he borrows Mr. Conklin's bicycle for his birthday. Miss Brooks tries to prevent Mr. Conklin from discovering the identity of the borrower.

When this is done to a retail establishment, this is known as shoplifting. The distinction between shoplifting, burglary and robbery is that a shoplifter enters the store when it's open and sneakily conceals an item on their person; a burglar breaks into a closed store to steal items; and a robber goes into the store and steals with violence (or threats). In RealLife, shoplifters range from impoverished people who steal food, to eat to middle-class {{Suburbia}} teens doing it as a prank, to career criminals who do it methodically using accomplices to distract staff and aids like baggy clothes.

* Series/ElChavoDelOcho would sometimes resort to this whenever he's left guarding or asked to deliver some food to someone else. There's also one time he pretended to sleepwalk in Quico's house to take a bag of bread, and when Quico chides him for it, he says "But I didn't steal the bread. [[BlackmailIsSuchAnUglyWord I just ate it.]]"

When this is done to a retail establishment, this is known as shoplifting. The distinction between shoplifting, burgalry and robbery is that a shoplifter enters the store when it's open and conceals an item on their person; a burglar breaks into a closed store to steal items; and a robber goes into the store and steals with violence (or threats). In RealLife, shoplifters range from impoverished people who steal food, to eat to middle-class {{Suburbia}} teens doing it as a prank, to career criminals who do it methodically using accomplices to distract staff and aids like baggy clothes.

When this is done to a retail establishment, this is known as shoplifting.