Statistically, he wasn’t doing well.
Collecting information about people’s whereabouts at any one time was hard enough, without the infection coming along. He only received a commission on information that lead to a successful burglary. The emphasis was always placed on the job being successful. Then, only when the goods had been fenced or sold off and the value of the haul known, was it calculated what each member received. The team was made up of five housebreakers, one of them being the boss, and himself in deep background. He had always been good with IT stuff and an absolute whiz at hacking. It was his skill at slipping past firewalls, encryptions and personal passwords that enabled him to check emails, holiday plans, itinerary details from travel agencies, and chatty social media about their intended holiday plans. In short, reliable information about families going away, taking small trips or even longer holidays was his meat and potatoes. Knowing when the house would be empty was what it was all about and when a job was done, the commission was good.
Any information gathered had to be about punters that were far away from where the team of robbers were based. However, because of the growing number of the population needing to isolate at home, together with the fact that movement around the country was being severely restricted, this ongoing search area for any unsuspecting would-be victims was necessarily becoming much wider. He, as a cybercriminal, needed to cast a much wider net.
For him, things had dropped off dramatically. There was a noticeable slump in unoccupied houses. Suitable targets were becoming harder to find and the other team members were placing more and more pressure on him to perform as time went on.
Bloody Covid!