We all have felt the pain of "hold button to steal" during footie operations after update this week. I've been doing some testing and I can confirm that scenarios where the action is not against the law i.e. legal salvage in an abandoned base or contraband in anarchies, the prompt will not require hold to steal. Because you're not stealing. If you're doing something either against the law or likely to get guard attention like stealing in an occupied settlement (anarchy or otherwise) or collecting contraband in a lawful jurisdiction such as picking up Push or Lazarus, you will need to hold the button.
There's abandoned bases in Civil Unrest, Terrorist Attack, and other negative socioeconomic states. For best results visit Boom or Expansion systems to find missions to nearby abandoned settlements.
Good luck CMDRs! o7
