New Laptop Stolen in Just 5 Minutes at New York Park—Experiment Video Goes Viral

[The Financial News] A video by an influencer in the United States, who left a new laptop unattended in a New York Manhattan park to see how quickly it would be stolen, is drawing attention online.
On the 30th of last month, the YouTube channel 'Sambucha,' which has 11 million subscribers, uploaded a video titled 'How long does it take for someone to steal your laptop in New York?'
The video shows channel operator Sam Beres pretending to work on a laptop while sitting on a bench in Washington Square Park, Manhattan, New York.
He left the new laptop on a bench in a visible spot and walked away, monitoring the situation from a distance with a camera set up.
Passersby glanced at the laptop, but for more than four minutes, no one touched it.
Around the five-minute mark, a man wearing a yellow hoodie and a black jacket approached.
The man briefly checked the laptop, looked around, then picked it up and walked away.
Sam Beres stated, "I was shocked to see the laptop was really gone when I returned from the restroom," and advised, "In New York, it only takes about five minutes for a laptop to be stolen if you leave it unattended. Never leave your belongings behind."
As of 11 a.m. on December 4, the video had surpassed 2.77 million views and received 170,000 likes, quickly going viral.
Reactions from viewers were mixed.
One viewer, who identified as a former Starbucks employee, commented, "I once saw a laptop stolen in less than a minute while someone was getting a regular drip coffee refill at the counter," expressing concern about crime in New York. Another viewer humorously remarked, "He didn't steal the laptop—he just found an ownerless laptop."
Some commenters suggested, "Maybe he intended to turn it in to the police, so check if it was reported," and "He probably took it home to try to find the real owner."
newssu@fnnews.com Kim Soo-yeon Reporter