Europe and pick pockets

I've traveled all over the world. I have only had two pick pocket experiences. One on a crowded street in Paris, I felt a hand in my coat pocket. All they got was my snotty Kleenex. The other was in Rome. It was raining hard and I went up to look at a menu and my sister was looking down the street. I saw a man go up behind her (he was dressed as a tourist with a baseball cap on) he tried to pull our backpack off of my sisters shoulder. He messed with the wrong woman. She twirled around and smacked him hard with her unopened umbrella. He didn't get the backpack only a good smack down. He ran off.

Someone told me years ago when I started to travel. Never carry anything on the outside of your clothes that you can't afford to loose.

I have had two. Both in Rome, only place ever in the world

Never wear a fanny pack. Pickpockets think of it as a snack pack. They stole my cell phone

I travel frequently in Europe and use trains, metro, bus, tram. I have never been the victim of a pickpocket because I carry nothing of value on the outside of my clothing. My CC and money is carried inside my clothing (I wear a passport wallet inside my shirt/sweater/blouse and for further security, it is pinned to the inside of my waistband. I do carry a small purse on the outside (worn cross body) to hold such things as aspirin, tissues, chapstick, comb, etc. If the pickpockets steal anything from my small purse they will be sorely disappointed with their "haul". :D

I have a cross body PacSafe bag that holds, wallets, credit cards, cash, attraction tickets, cruise card and a camera. It takes me 2 or 3 hours to get used to wearing my "man bag", then I hardly know it's there.

:eek:Anytime/Anywhere. Petty theft and bag snatching etc. is just a crime of opportunity. I have unfortunately had several times experience and in "well-known for pickpockets places" in my own office at a school, in a store in the mall, in the Paris metro and in Florence Italy I saw a theft right in front of me. Don't think that it won't happen to you -- but most of the time it does not. Be aware/ don't draw the thief's attention by having an open bag or unattended or distracted glaze on your face. But also consider your own safety!!

1. My personal method is to have an under the shirt soft cotton/silk pocket attached by the strings to my bra strap and I tuck the packet flat under the band of the bra (under arm or in back depending on the bra. This holds several credit cards/money bills/picture of my passport/. Ready money and items I like to carry are in a small cross body bag worn to the front not the back hip.

2 I personally am scared of those cable strapped bags. If the thief is tugging on it I don't want to fall down or worse get dragged because I can't get the purse off. Maybe an unfounded fear but strong for me! I keep my ready cash in several pants and coat pockets.

3. Distraction tactics!! If someone drops something in front of you. Shoves you or bumps you. Gets in your "personal space" then jumps back apologizing or asks you a question or starts something with another near you -- all are distractions and their partner is behind or beside you doing their job and taking your stuff. They are very good at their jobs. Even children get into the act. -- child ran into my child getting on the train. I reached for my child so would not fall -- the adult behind me lifted my wallet out of zipped crossbody purse. Then they melted into crowd. and the train door shut and the train left the station. I knew. I was aware. Not a thing you can do about it.

4. The last problem we had was pretty serious. Got off a river cruise in Antwerp. Taxi to train station on Easter Sunday -- early in day. No one in station boarding area except those of us from ship going to Paris. Waiting for train . Local train came in. Man gets off the train and asks where is the stairs? Several folks point to the right. (Meanwhile the action begins.) Several other people exit the local train and stream towards stairs while others are entering the local train. When we put our attention back to getting ready to board our arriving train -- 6 rolling carry on bags were missing!! in the swirling of getting on and off trains crews of thieves walked right past us and put out a hand and took the bag and kept on walking --entering the train with a black carryon roller bag OMG MY BAG. Police say they take carryon size bags because that's the good stuff like electronics and jewelry. They walk the stuff up the escalator, pass it to another person or double pass it and then it exits the train station less than 3 minutes from being taken. As many as 10 folks in the crew and go from station to station constantly changing clothes/looks/combination and never talking or signaling each other. This was 2 years ago but I bet has not been solved yet. I now try to hug a column with bag behind my body. Do the best you can. Hope you have good luck and don't meet the most professional of all thieves whatever their newest scheme is.

The *only* time I have ever had a purse stolen (which I almost never carry whilst on holiday) was in my own home city - NYC in 1993 (it's even safer now) and it was partly my fault due to where I'd placed it - I've never made that mistake again AND the proprietor of the establishment I was in helped make good on part of the loss. Not a complete disaster.

 

I've traveled to four continents - visited many major European cities, Asia, Oz/NZ (hardly anything happens Down Under!) the Caribbean, Mexico and NOTHING has ever happened AND I've traveled many times ALL ALONE - a woman. While I think I have pretty keen radar and senses of what's going on around me, I'll be the first to admit I too get awe-struck and amazed at the drop of a hat in say...in the Roman Forum or Eiffel Tower (every single time) or watching the Glockenspiel in the Marienplatz? It happens but things don't always go wrong, not especially when we take precautions - as many people here have mentioned doing...keeping copies of documents, carrying different credit cards, light cash amounts but maybe most of all - walking with happiness and CONFIDENCE.

 

While I think having lived in NYC has probably helped me develop/hone "awareness" skills (ever ride the subway?) that people living in smaller suburban, rural areas might not have - I also have only ever seen anyone GET pickpocketed just once on the Paris Metro but in an area that was NOT surprising - way further out of central Paris! (A friend of mine, an NYC transplant and former Naval Officer, did get pickpocketed in the Rome Metro BUT ran after the perpetrator and got his stuff back - don't try that yourself!)

 

If you arrive worried or expecting trouble - guess what - the thieves have already taken something from you....the joy of travel. Wisdom is still yours: buy and carry cleverly a decent travel bag or wallet with sturdy snaps/closures/zippers the works. So what if it takes an extra 30 seconds to open/close each time - your stuff is there. Make copies - digital (photos on phone or ipad) or paper or both of passports and important documents and keep them SEPARATE from what you carry *just in case* as copies help in replacing lost items. Preparation for something happen usually or often precludes something happening - it helps to add to your confidence because guess what - you're armed and ready - they won't get you, confident people do NOT look like easy targets.

 

Now....GO HAVE FUN.

There will be pick pockets in any major city where there are crowds. Rome and Barcelona are notorious. Surely though, Paris is no worse than NYC or Washington? As for Norway and the Canary Islands (and most other places in Europe), the risk is low.

I walk around with a large Nikon camera, the equivalent to wearing a big sign saying TOURIST. I'm also frequently looking up, preoccupied with the architecture and my hubby is often puzzling over a map. Not to tempt fate, but we have never been pick pocketed. I do have a keen awareness for what is around me. Just don't carry all valuables on you when out. I take the view that if we were to lose one camera and one iPhone, we still have others and the insurance will cover it. Also, if you are ever infortunate to be held up in Europe (chance = extremely low), the assailant won't be carrying a gun. The same can't be said of the US.

Enjoy your trip.

'If you are ever unfortunate to be held up in Europe' so, that's a joke, right?

'If you are ever unfortunate to be held up in Europe' so, that's a joke, right?

No, it's unlikely, but rarely, people can be mugged anywhere. In Europe though an assailant won't have a gun, in America, there is a reasonable chance that they will. It seems to be Americans who worry about crime in Europe. Perhaps knowing that your own criminals are very often armed, and ours are not, may help put things into perspective!

Other correction is on my next visit to Rome years later, I vowed not to use taxis and used only Metro

In Rome I had a cross body bag with very little in it - nothing of value but I was targeted by a moped rider while I was on a corner waiting to cross a minor road letting him go round the corner first. He grabbed the bag strap whilst still moving and took me along with it. It was not comfortable being bumped along the ground over cobbles. The reaction is to hang on to the bag. Had I been able to free myself from the bag I would have done so. It all happened in a split second. The bag was the attraction and a thief doesn't know if it contains rubbish. A fractured bone in my pelvis was the result, bag and contents still in tact. I am small and an easier target than the six foot woman I was with. He did eventually give up and let go. Needless to say I wished some evil things on him. It hasn't stopped me travelling thankfully.

You should take reasonable precautions wherever you are. Home or away there are gangs that work. Fingers crossed we've travelled to over 500 ports of call and had 1 event and it was Palma where a wallet with 2 cards was taken by being crowded in and split up and they took it from cargo shorts thigh pocket. Just split things up, don't carry anything unnecessary or excessive. I hide enough in my holiday purse (my bra) to get us back to the ship if the worst happened.

We agree that there is less risk in Northern Europe then in some of the Med countries. But there is always some risk (even in your home town) and more then forty years of extensive international travel has taught us to always use some degree of caution. Get in the habit of being careful (without obsessing) and you do not have to worry no matter where you travel. We use the same procedures whether we are in Oslo (very little street crime) or Barcelona! For example, I tend to wear jeans on many port days. Money and a credit card is usually in a front pocket...which I secure with a large diaper pin! DW always carries her purse "cross shoulder" and uses a large safety pin to secure the zippers. These are very simple techniques, have become habit (I even find myself doing it near home) and have served us well. Are they 100%? Nope. But most street thieves seek out the easy "mark" and that will never be us.

Hank

I know of a man who went on public transport in Beijing with a wallet with $2000 in it that was lifted very fast from the thigh area of his cargo pants. His wife had advised him not to carry it there before they went out.

My brother had stuff in his cargo shorts in Egypt at the pyramids. He felt some guy's hand going in there to get his stuff. Fortunately he stopped it before he lost whatever it was - I think it was his wallet.

Do not carry all with you. Europe is safe, you do not need large amounts of cash when sightseeing. You do not need to carry passports ,leave in the hotel safe, large handbags are an easy target. Keep valuables out of sight, only carry what you need for the trip,1 card and a little cash for the day. Why did anybody have $2000 dollars on them, advice at trevi fountain bags on the bus etc is good, think do you need to be encumbered with most stuff . You will enjoy it more with less, you do not need a set of everything to survive most tourist sights. If US tourists are you going to use a cell phone in the day: then leave at hotel, same with expensive watches and big cameras, use a compact in a city if at major sights. One of the worst is Verona, Juliet's balcony( I know a 1930's mock up) pick pocketing in this area is bad. But no worse than LA at Mann's Chinese theatre where we were warned of issues.

Enjoy trips, much of it is urban myths. But just take precautions as in NYC ,LA, Boston etc rather than small town USA.

Do not carry all with you. Europe is safe, you do not need large amounts of cash when sightseeing. You do not need to carry passports ,leave in the hotel safe, large handbags are an easy target. Keep valuables out of sight, only carry what you need for the trip,1 card and a little cash for the day. ...

Enjoy trips, much of it is urban myths. But just take precautions as in NYC ,LA, Boston etc rather than small town USA.

I agree, you barely need money in Europe at all. Chip-and-pin cards (Mastercard and Visa, NOT Amex or Diners) are accepted almost everywhere, even for small purchases. If you're planning to buy things at markets or street vendors then you'll need some local currency for that, and you'll also need some change for toilets in many European countries, but that's about it.

I have a pair of travel pants and a pair of travel shorts, both of which have a small zipper pocket on the leg. That's where I keep my debit card. I figure it's not a place a pickpocket would expect to find a pocket - and even if they do notice it, you have to pull the pants leg tight before you try to open the zipper, so I'd notice before they got it open.

We were advised to take our passports with us at every port (just in case of getting left behind, I guess), but since we knew we wouldn't need to access them, we kept our passports in a cotton passport pouch under our clothes. We left everything else in the safe in our room. That's the advantage of cruising as opposed to independent travel!

Crossbody bag and keep it in front of you. I don't know how necessary it is to have the ones with the cable in the strap or carabiner things for the zippers. If you keep it in front of you and on at all times you probably don't need zipper locks. and don't take it off when you sit down to eat. Definitely don't hang it on the back of a chair. I'd probably think twice about hanging it up in a bathroom stall too.

for most European cruise ports you may be able to get by with a photocopy of your passport but there are some countries where you may be required to carry the actual passport. Russia for sure. I remember being told to bring the actual passport in Germany and Sweden but that was six years ago.

I have traveled all over Europe and never had an issue. Just be aware of your surroundings ( since I live in Brazil, I am quite used to being hyper vigilant).

The only place I have ever had a problem was in the French Quarter in NOLA. We almost got robbed bit managed to "escape".

Make a copy of the picture page of your passport and take that with you. No one needs a passport in any country, as long as you have a picture ID which you do.

Make a copy of the picture page of your passport and take that with you. No one needs a passport in any country, as long as you have a picture ID which you do.

You actually do need your passport in Russia. You won't get through Russian immigration with just a copy. For most ports when on cruises, we do the same as you - carry a copy & leave the original in our stateroom safe.

We left everything else in the safe in our room. That's the advantage of cruising as opposed to independent travel!

From that statement, you appear to have stayed in hotels that did not have a safe in the room during your independent travel. Did you ask about alternatives when you didn't spot a room safe? My experience on independent travel is quite different from yours so I've shared the options I've encountered.

In some hotels, there are individual safe deposit boxes, but they are located in the hotel's administrative area. In other hotels, you'll be allowed to store your valuables in the hotel's own safe. In that case, you'll typically put your valuables in a sturdy large brown envelope, seal the envelope, and write your name across the sealed seam. Then, your envelope gets placed in the hotel safe along with whatever the hotel is safeguarding.

There are many differences between cruise travel and independent travel, but, I've found that access to safe deposit boxes isn't one of them.

Pet Nit Noy

I agree, I don't think I have come across a hotel that doesn't have safe facilities. As you say, either in your room or at the reception. TBH I wouldn't be travelling with anything very valuable.

I have found that in lots of European hotels these days that the safes are FOC, whereas before there was always a charge.

As I have said before, I find the obsession with pickpockets very strange. Wherever you go you need to be aware of your surroundings and look after your belongings, just common sense.

As I have said before, I find the obsession with pickpockets very strange. Wherever you go you need to be aware of your surroundings and look after your belongings, just common sense.

Broad generalization: Americans do not travel as much internationally as Europeans. With the exception of Mexico and Canada, we have to travel long distances to get to a foreign country and that ups the cost. Additionally, the US is so vast, that citizens can visit some place quite "foreign" compared to their home town and still be in the same country. (And American's reliance on English intensifies their uncertainty.) So any time I read a poster's anxious question about pick pockets, I understand where their timidity is coming from. I know their fear is misplaced, but I understand its source.

Your final sentence says everything these pickpocket-phobic posters need to know.

Pet Nit Noy

I understand what you are saying, but from what I understand Mexico is a far more dangerous country than anywhere in Europe. I had a wonderful holiday there years ago and never ever felt threatened, but things may have changed since then.

You only have to do a Google search of statistics and the US is far more dangerous than any European country. If I was worrying about safety in a destination, I think I probably wouldn't visit as it would spoil my holiday if I felt I had to look over my shoulder all the time.

Pickpockets are opportunists and will target what they see as easy pickings, so if you are sensible they will leave you alone.

My partner and I would love to return to Egypt, but he says he wouldn't feel safe there. I would go tomorrow.

I really don't see the point in fretting over something that is very unlikely to happen.

We live in the centre of London and never feel unsafe, because it's not a crime ridden city. We go frequently to France that has had its problems, but never give it a second thought. Life is too short to fret about 'what if'.......

I understand what you are saying, but from what I understand Mexico is a far more dangerous country than anywhere in Europe.

Absolutely correct. Mexico adds the threat of physical harm and kidnapping to pickpocket issues. And, I suspect, this means many US tourists wouldn't consider going to Mexico at all or would go only if they go to a beach resort and never leave the premises or make occasional trips into the town, awash with other tourists, via the resort shuttle.

You only have to do a Google search of statistics and the US is far more dangerous than any European country.

Again, I think you're right. But you're missing the point that what you don't know seems scarier than what you do know, and a very, very large number of Americans "don't know." A person from a small town in the middle of the United States is far less likely to have traveled internationally than the same person living in a small town in most countries in Europe.

New travelers hear one factoid ("Watch your possessions especially on the subways and buses in Rome") and suddenly the whole city gets perceived as a threat. Or hear a news report about the impact of refugees flooding the the port cities along the Mediterranean and the whole of Europe seems threatening.

Pickpockets are opportunists and will target what they see as easy pickings, so if you are sensible they will leave you alone.

Unfortunately, we'll probably continue to get these posts despite how silly they are in reality. If we could begin to get some follow up posts saying, "Thanks for your wise advice. We behaved appropriately, enjoyed our trip immensely, and gave home with all our possessions" we might see an improvement.