The discovery that cunning criminals had installed hidden cameras to monitor ATMs brought a new term to Hong Kong this week: 'shoulder surfing'. Hang Seng Bank invented the term for its warning to 'beware of shoulder surfing', which presumably refers to the charming habit of fellow bank customers peering over your shoulder as you conduct your transaction. Yet why not expand the term to help describe other Hong Kong activities? Waste surfing: swimming anywhere in Victoria Harbour. Concrete surfing: a walk through a country park. Turf surfing: online horse betting (another method of emptying your bank account). Muffler surfing: where domestic helpers sit on the kerb on Sundays comparing exhaust fumes. Digressing slightly, how about the tram tickle, referring to the practice of little old ladies who jab you with sharpened elbows to beat you on board. But getting back to those ATM thieves. Has anyone thought of offering them jobs? There's clearly talent and initiative going to waste.
