Flash Rob

A flash rob, also called a flash mob robbery or multiple offender crime, is an organized theft in which a group of participants converges on a retail shop or convenience store and steals goods en masse, overwhelming staff before they can react. The National Retail Federation describes these as multiple offender crimes rather than true flash mobs, since participants typically already know each other as members of a group or gang rather than coordinating as strangers, and the incidents rely on speed and sheer numbers to intimidate resistance and complete the theft before police can respond, frequently organized in advance using social media. Because the presence of the crowd creates an implied threat of violence toward employees or bystanders who might intervene, the offense is legally treated as a form of robbery rather than as simple theft, with documented incidents in cities including Chicago, Portland, Houston and Los Angeles, and in Brazil, where similar mass raids on beaches and shopping malls are known locally as arrastao robberies and prompted heavy mall security responses and a 2013 protest movement called rolezinho.