How Pickpockets Spot Easy Tourists

Comments · 115

• FA

  @farmboy5129 · 3 months ago

  Criminals ate like lions. They go after the slowest zebra. You dont have to be the fastest zebra, just not the slowest. Do one or two things and they will target someone else.

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• LI

  @lisamcandrews5739 · 3 months ago

  It always bothered me in a lot of these countries they make millions and millions of dollars off tourism. But they cannot police the tourist areas against big pockets because they do not care. I think it’s disgusting.

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• CF

  @CFinch360 · 3 months ago (edited)

  My hubby & I do tag team: He checks his phone for directions? I watch, looking around, head on a swivel. We're checking in? He does the necessary, I watch, head on a swivel. I wear a cross body bag, in front that has a zipper which clips to the strap. We've traveled all over the world including Eastern Europe & SE Asia and have never lost 1 single item. Stay alert, take precautions and enjoy your trip.

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• MA

  @marygillespie2028 · 3 months ago

  A couple we know were experienced travelers. They were expats living in London, having previously lived in Singapore. They took a romantic trip from London to Rome, and didn&apos;t even know they&apos;d been pickpocketed. A local told them they&apos;d been robbed, grabbed the pickpocket and beat him badly. He returned their passports, said, &quot;Have a nice evening&quot; and left. Weird. (Our friends were afraid they&apos;d be blamed for the beating and hightailed it out of there.)<br><br> I guess the local REALLY hated pickpockets!!

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• AL

  @alisong2328 · 3 months ago

  Years ago, a thief pulled a knife on my brother in a park in Sevilla. My brother smiled, pulled down his collar to reveal a long nasty surgical scar, and said &quot;Tengo una cabeza nueva&quot; (I have a new head). The thief freaked out and ran away!

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• KE

  @keithclifton392 · 3 months ago

  As someone whose cell phone was stolen from a posh area in London, treat your phone as you would cash. Tucked away and only taken out when you are sure it’s safe.

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• JE

  @jeff640 · 3 months ago

  I work in law enforcement and I’ve been a solo traveler for over a decade. Be aware of your surroundings and look like you know how to handle yourself, and pickpockets will chose the next target

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• TH

  @thescentslessshaver8600 · 3 months ago

  It just goes to show that even the educated traveler can fall victim to pickpockets…<br><br>Summer of 2022, after watching ALL the WW videos about Europe and Pickpockets, buying my wife the purse with the metal cord built in the straps, etc. …<br><br>We were getting onto a metro in Paris. There was a larger crowd in front of us this time. As I entered I saw these young girls (preteens or so) who were standing just inside the entrance in front of the kinds of chairs that fold up into the back to allow for standing/wheelchairs/etc. I thought that was weird (because I would have for sure sat down and rested my feet) but kept moving. The crowd (primarily a bunch of children and two adults) almost “seemed to be moving so as to separate my wife and I as we entered”… obviously as a good husband she was my first priority, so I was focused on pushing my way through to be near her and try to get our backs against the inside doors. At one point I yelled out, “I am just trying to get to my wife!!!”. (What I later realized was) “the Dad” of this troupe yelled back at me in broken English with profanity (in hindsight another “distraction”). When I finally got there, my wife looked down and saw that all the zippers on my sling bag (of course worn in front of me) were open! Having watched all the WW videos, I knew what was happening and I immediately went to my travel pants with the secure zipper pocket where my wallet was. The “mother” of the group it turns out had been standing too close to me the whole time and was over a foot shorter than me so while I was distracted trying to get to/protect my wife, she had been “at work”. When I felt for my pocket, she had almost finished unzipping my pocket and getting to my wallet. The whole group jumped off the train right before the doors closed and I realized exactly what had just happened.<br><br>Thankfully all they got was my brand new pair of Oakley sunglasses, first time in my life buying an expensive pair of glasses 😤, my phone was attached to the selfie stick and was too bulky to get out of the sling bag and my passport was deep in an inside pocket.<br><br>I don’t mean to appropriate a feeling, but I have never felt so violated in my entire life. I ended up having to sit down for about 20 minutes while I processed what had just happened.<br><br>Be alert folks!

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• PA

  @patriciateague8677 · 3 months ago

  They may be surprised if they underestimate a grandma. &nbsp;We&apos;re tougher than we might appear. &nbsp;Would you mess with an Italian Nonna? &nbsp;Not me. &nbsp;lol

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• TH

  @thescentslessshaver8600 · 3 months ago

  On the same trip, Europe 2022, we were in an excursion in Italy to go see Pisa. As we were approaching the parking lot where the busses park and you walk a short way across the town to the area where the tower and museums are, the tour guide informed us that we should be careful because pickpockets were common in the area between the parking lot and the tower compound and also around the tourist area itself. Having been through the Paris incident described below, I was on full alert.<br><br>It was actually when we were walking back to the busses afterwards, people in our group were naturally walking at different speeds and we noticed a young girl and her mother ahead of us, who were being engaged by some “local women”, seemingly quite annoyingly, I then saw one of the local women start opening the backpack the young girl had on and thanks to WW videos, knew what was going on and shouted up ahead, “Hey! Get out of her bag!!!” “Ma’am, that woman is rifling through your backpack!!” Thankfully they scurried away and the mom and daughter were ok and I don’t think they said anything was gone, or at least not anything of value.<br><br>There’s just so much going on at all times, and it can be hard enough to watch out for yourself and your family, let alone other people being taken advantage of!

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• EL

  @ElizabethPetrie-m3z · 3 months ago

  I carry, and keep my hand firmly on, a cross-body bag in rip-resistant material, with a cable running through the strap. &nbsp;It has a zipper with a clip that can keep it closed. &nbsp;I also wear a fanny pack (actually it goes in front) that holds my phone, passport, health ID, credit card, and a small amount of local currency. &nbsp;The strap also has a cable running through it, and a false buckle, which will foil anyone trying to “undo” it from behind me. So what if a fanny pack is ugly? &nbsp;I’d rather have my belongings secure than lose something out of a more “fashionable” bag. &nbsp;I’ve travelled to many different places, and I’ve never experienced any problems. &nbsp;❤️🇨🇦

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• SU

  @suecampbell4811 · 3 months ago (edited)

  Here&apos;s a tip at ANY supermarket: use the child belt if there is one to link through your backpack/bag and lock together, so no one can grab them and run. Don&apos;t leave the bags open or unzipped either. Thieves know we&apos;re so busy picking items to pay full attention to the other &quot;shoppers&quot;. Also, as an &quot;older&quot; person, we come from a time when people were nice to one another and there was a degree of trust that we gave to one another. We were kind for the practice of kindness. THAT is why they fool some of us.

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