I just got robbed

[Husar]

Yes, he kinda knows that I live on the corner though, it kinda slipped out when I got more angry. Though I guess had he wanted to harm me, he would have already done so.
I know it's just a phone, just found that I could order the SIM card locked online, cost me some money though, at least he shouldn't get any facebook or other notifications anymore once it is locked(then again he should have turned it off to avoid tracking)...

I can calm down, I was hit and possibly almost killed by a truck before, seeing that come was scarier than a small guy with a needle, it's just that the guy may come back (even if unlikely as I said above) and I'm a bit worried about the insurance and the data on it, even if I did take some precautions.
Oh yeah, and then it did come a bit as a surprise as my biggest worry before that was my empty stomach and getting home, perhaps I should've been harsh but that could have lead him straight to my door as it was only around 30m away, one reason I decided to let him call in the first place (running around half the city to pretend to live elsewhere didn't come to mind, someone waiting to be picked up would have stayed in the area anyway etc. so many what-ifs )

[a completely inoffensive name]

Yes, he kinda knows that I live on the corner though, it kinda slipped out when I got more angry. Though I guess had he wanted to harm me, he would have already done so.
I know it's just a phone, just found that I could order the SIM card locked online, cost me some money though, at least he shouldn't get any facebook or other notifications anymore once it is locked(then again he should have turned it off to avoid tracking)...

I can calm down, I was hit and possibly almost killed by a truck before, seeing that come was scarier than a small guy with a needle, it's just that the guy may come back (even if unlikely as I said above) and I'm a bit worried about the insurance and the data on it, even if I did take some precautions.
Oh yeah, and then it did come a bit as a surprise as my biggest worry before that was my empty stomach and getting home, perhaps I should've been harsh but that could have lead him straight to my door as it was only around 30m away, one reason I decided to let him call in the first place (running around half the city to pretend to live elsewhere didn't come to mind, someone waiting to be picked up would have stayed in the area anyway etc. so many what-ifs )

If you perceive the guy to be a big enough threat that would want to get away from him and not have him follow you to your house, then you should not be worrying about making a plausible excuse to leave. Just get the hell out of there, run a few blocks away from your house if you have to. Do whatever to get away from the guy who says he is willing to infect you with AIDS.

Don't worry about the what-if's. What is important is how it actually turned out, and everything went better then one would normally expect.

[naut]

Phone your phone provider, every phone has an IEMI number, tell them it's been stolen and ask them to blacklist it. That way even if he figures out the password it is completely useless.

[Louis VI the Fat]

1 - Sorry about the phone, I'm glad to hear you are alright.

2 - I was mugged once, by some filthy character with an injection needle. I decided it wasn't worth risking HIV over twenty euros. No shame in that.

3 - All of the below is meant with the best of intentions:
You seriously need to man up. What's this nonsense about you worrying whether this guy knows where you live? There's only a blunt way to say this, so here goes: Husar, you're a wuss and you need to grow up or you're going to get bullied all of your life.
This useless pest NEEDS to know where you live, so he can avoid going anywhere near it for the rest of his life lest you bash his bloody skull in with the nearest blunt object you can find. He should be avoiding you from now on, not the other way round. We're not talking about a six man gang with guns here, eh? It is the junk who ought to worry about you two ever meeting again, not you. You need to look forward to that, because you're not going to be caught offguard again. You're prepared for him.

Also, and this took me ages to understand too - you need to tell somebody like that to off straight away. The guy was testing his luck, was testing you out. Bit by bit he discovered he could push you around, then took advantage of it once he understood he could get away with anything. You shall have to work on that. For starters three points:
If you say that you are making the call, then you are making the call and he can not smoothtalk/wriggle the phone out of your hand. It should've ended right there.
Never negotiate, and never let any line you've set be crossed, or they discover you can be pushed around.
You tell him once to give your ****** phone back, and then you take it. If you are not willing or capable of taking it back, then you shouldn't hand it over in the first place.

[Greyblades]

1 - Sorry about the phone.....then you shouldn't hand it over in the first place.

I have to disagree, unless husar was in or near a group of people I cant help but think that advice is more likely to get him killed than anything else. Anyone stupid enough to use a disease to get a poxy mobile telephone isnt going to be intimidated by telling them to frack off unless you happen to be built like a brick latrine or are in a group. And if that someone is willing to go to that amount of force over a harsh tone god knows what he'd do when he panics over a failing mugging.

[Crazed Rabbit]

I must disagree with you Greyblades. Telling someone, loudly and with confidence, to *go elsewhere* will let them know you're not going to be pushed around. They won't push it further, they'll look for an easier mark.

CR

[Greyblades]

That seems more likely to startle a mugger into attacking than making them run screaming. Not to mention having the confidence to tell someone off is kinda hard when he's the one with the weapon.

[Louis VI the Fat]

I have to disagree, unless husar was in or near a group of people I cant help but think that advice is more likely to get him killed than anything else. Anyone stupid enough to use a disease to get a poxy mobile telephone isnt going to be intimidated by telling them to frack off unless you happen to be built like a brick latrine or are in a group. And if that someone is willing to go to that amount of force over a harsh tone god knows what he'd do when he panics over a failing mugging.

It is not about physical strenght. I think two twelve year old girls could easily beat me up. I've never been in the least bit interested in knowing how to fight, or in any weapon whatsoever.

It is about attitude. In many crimes, victims choose themselves. Sometimes, to further complicate matters, by being too provocative in telling somebody off. A mistake that more than once caused me a good fright - I do not always find it in me to conceal my contempt for scum. Fortunately I am quite swift and understand the art of dissapearing in a crowd.

Then there is the complication that one wishes to be a kind, well-mannered citizen, willing to help others out. One should not be aggressive and rude oneself in the public sphere out of retaliation, or as a social protection. This is sadly the real cost of crime. The cost tonight is not the telephone, it is that a decent and kind man like Husar learns he can not be nice and decent. Which is a tragedy.

That seems more likely to startle a mugger into attacking than making them run screaming. Not to mention having the confidence to tell someone off is kinda hard when he's the one with the weapon.

The weapon was only pulled near the end. It wasn't even necesary, Husar had already been pushed around/strongarmed/intimidated/made advantage of.

In this case, a stern 'no' would've been best. No explanations are required, it's your phone, you do not have to excuse yourself to anybody. If you are willing to make a call for somebody, then a stern 'no' it should be when they try to take over the phone. Again no explanations or negotiations. ('Just one minute, I'll stay right here...'. Then they slowly move away, and discover they get away with that, and so they understand they can keep the phone for more than a minute too)

[Lemur]

I think two twelve year old girls could easily beat me up.

If I believed in siggies, this would go in. Immediately.

[miotas]

It's an orgah crime wave! Some made off with my wallet and withdrew $800 before I could have my accounts put on hold. Now I'm gonna have to take the morning off work tomorrow to get my licence and cards replaced and fill in an incident report with the bank so I can get my money back. To top it all off I was going to go shopping this afternoon so now all I've got to eat until I get new cards is rice and stale bread.

[Husar]

You seriously need to man up. What's this nonsense about you worrying whether this guy knows where you live? There's only a blunt way to say this, so here goes: Husar, you're a wuss and you need to grow up or you're going to get bullied all of your life.
This useless pest NEEDS to know where you live, so he can avoid going anywhere near it for the rest of his life lest you bash his bloody skull in with the nearest blunt object you can find. He should be avoiding you from now on, not the other way round. We're not talking about a six man gang with guns here, eh? It is the junk who ought to worry about you two ever meeting again, not you. You need to look forward to that, because you're not going to be caught offguard again. You're prepared for him.

Also, and this took me ages to understand too - you need to tell somebody like that to off straight away. The guy was testing his luck, was testing you out. Bit by bit he discovered he could push you around, then took advantage of it once he understood he could get away with anything. You shall have to work on that. For starters three points:
If you say that you are making the call, then you are making the call and he can not smoothtalk/wriggle the phone out of your hand. It should've ended right there.
Never negotiate, and never let any line you've set be crossed, or they discover you can be pushed around.
You tell him once to give your ****** phone back, and then you take it. If you are not willing or capable of taking it back, then you shouldn't hand it over in the first place.

I WAS willing and I WOULD have beaten him up, there are two things to consider though:

1. With all the rules and laws I'm not very keen to beat anyone up, this I consider a last resort, it never happened because he drew the needle.

2. he could have stabbed me with the needle while fighting, of course I couldn't have known that, but afterwards it's too late, he seemed VERY confident once he had his needle which was exactly why I decided to break it off there and call the police

And again, the reason I didn't go and tell him that he couldn't call was that, or at least so I understood him, he wanted to call from my cell or landline, so if I had gone the 30 meters to my door instead I would have expected him to follow me and beg me to come in, maybe even do what he did anyway and draw the needle, the door is in a dark corner as well. I decided giving him my cellphone couldn't end up worse than showing him straight away where my landline (and many other things) is, that may sound weird considering I didn't consider him a threat at that point (precisely because he was physically weaker) but I don't like to show everyone where exactly I live usually, maybe this lead to a wrong decision, maybe I prevented worse.

The whole lieing straight to your teeth is fine, I get it, but it is not my nature, my nature and usual first reaction is to tell the truth, or maybe it's just my upbringing, but it is how I am, I wouldn't take pride in being a good liar but maybe I need to learn a bit in that regard, I certainly won't be as willing the next time.

[Crazed Rabbit]

ACIN makes good points.

One thing I'll add: when shady people approach me asking for stuff, I will lie straight through my teeth at them. Never think you're under any obligation whatsoever to lend someone your cell phone or anything. It doesn't matter if they see you talking on it, don't feel obligated by what you think people expect. The simplest thing is just to say 'no'. Don't bother thinking up a reason or excuse. Say no, strongly, and keep moving (though keep an eye on them)

Importantly, you're alright and the phone was insured. Now, I'd suggest moving up the schedule for canceling the phone, changing bank account numbers, everything. Don't wait.

I think in this case (after you did agree to make the call) it would have been best to just start demanding he give you your phone back immediately after he grabbed it. Start loud and move to shouting quick - and then start yelling to the general public about stopping this 'thief' and yelling that someone should call the police. If he doesn't give it up, consider following at a safe distance.

EDIT: I'll just say that I agree with what Louis says in his own edit, the last paragraph.
This (NSFW: Swearing!) video illustrates the correct mentality. It's about a woman calling out the ass who tries to flash her on the subway.

CR