Sting operations help startups crack down on stolen scooters

A patron uses her app to unlock a Lime-S electric scooter at Lake Merritt off Grand Avenue in Oakland, California. Wind also isn’t alone in having resorted to covertly photographing organised theft and vandalism in order to provide police with evidence. Lime, one of the world’s biggest eScooter rental companies, has done so in a number of US cities, according to a source. — Bay Area News Group/TNS

On a rainy July Sunday in Brussels, two men prepared to fill a rented van with stolen eScooters. They didn’t notice the Wind employees hiding around the city, ready to catch them in the act.

In the eScooter industry, theft of the two-wheelers is regular and costly, with replacements cost a few hundred dollars each.