> I thought it a good idea to kindly ask for my wallet and phone back by convincing them the phone was several generations older, it would be locked as soon as

> I thought it a good idea to kindly ask for my wallet and phone back by convincing them the phone was several generations older, it would be locked as soon as I returned home. About a decade ago when El Salvador was more dangerous, cell phone theft at gun point or knife point was more common. And well SIM cards used to be easier to remove from phones. So the "good thieves" would allow you to remove the sim card from the phone before stealing it from you. There were also times where the thief would be "pickier" than you, so if you had a very old or a damaged phone they would just give you your phone back after mugging you. Two tricks were faking an ugly phone while carrying without a battery cover and cover it with duct tape. Or carrying a hidden good phone and a visible old phone.