Gypsies
“thieves are dark-haired women in their 20s or 30s with “Eastern European accents”
Yes, Gypsies. This is what they do, this is how they survive. No other skill except an almost magical way of robbing people.
Gypsies was my first thought too. I’ve seen them operate in Europe and this is very typical.
Yup Cher has a song about them.🙄