Do pickpockets target cell phones ?

We are spending a few days pre cruise in Rome and plan to use our phones as MP3 players to listen to walking tours. Is it necessary to secure our phones as we plan to do with our wallets/passports and if so, how ?

We are spending a few days pre cruise in Rome and plan to use our phones as MP3 players to listen to walking tours. Is it necessary to secure our phones as we plan to do with our wallets/passports and if so, how ?

If you keep your phone in your back pocket or easily accessible it is vulnerable. If you are using it during a walking tour I would keep a firm grasp on it or tucked into a front pocket or purse with your hand on it. Treat it like your purse. If you are not using it keep it secured in a waist belt or in a bag carried cross-body in front of you with your hand on the opening zipper when you are in a crowd or anywhere you could be distracted. Those were the instructions that were announced on the HOHO bus when we were recently in Barcelona.

Pickpockets target "clueless" tourists! Just be smart, and be aware of what & who is around you.

Carry very little cash & credit cards, don't wear flashy jewelry. If someone engages you in any conversation be aware they may be up to something!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

You need to keep your wits about you and look after your belongings as you would in any large city. Of course, phones are taken if somebody isn't paying attention to their surroundings.

In short, yes -- phones are targeted. I lost an iPhone to pickpocketers in Rome a few years back.

I see a lot of people put their phones down on a table when they're having a coffee or a snack in a cafe. I've also heard about thieves coming along and putting a map or a petition down on the table and asking you to sign the petition or give directions. Then when they pick up the paper, the phone goes too.

anything and everything is up for grabs. Doesn't mean you have to wear an armored suit (they'd take that too).

Google pick pockets. YouTube pick pockets. Learn some of their tricks and tactics.

Then use that situational awareness and knowledge to your advantage.

When we did the Mediterranean, I used a hidden money belt and DH had one that had a velcro band wrapped around his calf leg.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0199S7IUS?psc=1

I live and travel all over Europe frequently and haven't had anything stolen in probably over 40 years. I had my purse stolen from my bag at the carnival of Viareggio.

I don't think I have ever lost anything since then and have been in Rome and Barcelona loads of times.

I would never dream of putting my phone down on the table whilst sitting at a pavement cafe. We don't stop and consult our map in the middle of the street and don't sign any petitions or get involved in conversations with unsavoury characters.

Pickpockets are opportunists and are looking for victims who are not paying attention to their surroundings or can be easily distracted.

I see tourists that are potential easy targets very often in central London and have often warned them of what they are doing wrong.

So, as long as you are vigilant and take care of your belongings it is unlikely you will lose them.

Pickpockets are opportunists and are looking for victims who are not paying attention to their surroundings or can be easily distracted.

 

I see tourists that are potential easy targets very often in central London and have often warned them of what they are doing wrong.

 

So, as long as you are vigilant and take care of your belongings it is unlikely you will lose them.

This is true to an extent, but in both cases where I have tangled unsuccessfully with pickpockets, I was just "outmatched". The first time, in Barcelona near the Picasso museum, they got my wallet from my zipped purse which was under my arm without me even realizing it until I reached the museum. (Luckily I only had a small amount of cash and one credit card, the other cash/cards were in my room safe.)

The second time, in Rome, my phone was in a pocket in my coat, and it was taken while I was in a crush of people getting off the metro at Termini station.

Neither time did I obviously look like a tourist or do anything particularly clueless. But now my "wallet" (actually a "secret pocket") travels inside a second zippered compartment in my purse, where it is pinned to the purse lining, OR it is pinned inside my waistband. My phone is also either left behind if not needed or put in a secondary zipped compartment inside my zipped purse.

My Travelon travel purse not only zips, but it has a zipper lock that takes two hands to unlock. I used it as a camera bag and for my cell phone and miscellaneous needs this past month in Barcelona. I carry it cross-body in front of me with my hand on the zipper when I was in a crowd. My credit cards that I needed for the day & any cash that I carried were in a money belt under my clothes. My camera strap and purse straps were slash proof. Also my purse and money belt had RFID protection. My DH also had a money belt, a Travelon Murse and RFID protection for his wallet. Our travel companion had his credit card compromised while we were there and he had it with him at all times. However, his wallet did not have RFID protection. Any extra cash and passports were locked up in our apartment. We had no problems. It sounds like a lot, but it wasn't cumbersome and we felt a lot better about moving around freely than we would have otherwise.

We now travel this way whenever we will be in any airports or other high traffic public areas. I have used this same method in Las Vegas several times and even when traveling to Chicago to visit family and will be utilizing airports and public transportation. I also have a RFID protected wallet for my regular purse for daily use and only carry credit cards that I plan to use. I never carry my ATM card unless I need to stop at the bank.

Thanks for all the replies and recommendations !

Yes! I had my cellphone stolen on the Metro in Rome. Don't use a fanny pack

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

My phone ended up in Morocco but it was never recovered. We had it disabled. It was zipped up in a fanny pack. I was holding on to the strap on the Metro. The thieves got on,lifted the phone and got off at the same stop right as the doors were closing so we couldn't go after them. Also on the one other time I went to Rome, I was scammed in a taxi. I was very young and obviously pregnant. The taxi driver took me to the wrong place. I told him this wasn't my hotel where I asked him to take me. He said that I was correct and if I ever wanted to get to my hotel, I would give him additional money that I had. I didn't know know what to do or where I was and being in my early 20s, I gave him whatever I had. So on my next trip to Rome, I was afraid of taxis so I took the Metro and got robbed again

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I was also also alone when in the taxi and very scared. I don't really want to go back to Rome

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

angeleyes

Sorry you had your phone stolen, but don't say 'fanny pack' to a Brit as it has a different meaning.

I am talking about the pouches that go around your waist

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I am talking about the pouches that go around your waist

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Friends do not let friends wear a pouch that goes around your waist when on vacation. Unfortunately, it's like putting a big target on you, marking you as a tourist.

Sorry you were hit twice.

Angeleyes

I know exactly what a 'fanny pack' is, but if you say that to a Brit they will burst out laughing. We call them bum bags and they were popular in the 80s, so I didn't think anybody used them any more.

The word 'fanny' in English in U.K. And Ireland is a slang word we use for a lady's private parts.

A friend of mine just got off the plane in Rome and was walking out of the airport with her cellphone in hand, a guy just ran by and grabbed it. When my daughter and I travelled, I always keep mine in my purse but my daughter tends to hold it in her hand but after hearing our friends story, she always held it close to her chest, never swinging by her side.

Yes! I had my cellphone stolen on the Metro in Rome. Don't use a fanny pack

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Nothing says tourist like a fanny pack!:rolleyes:

B cruise

Having a mobile phone snatched from your hand has to be one of the most common thefts going. I just don't understand why anybody would walk around with a phone in their hand in a busy place, leAst of all in a foreign country.

B cruise

 

Having a mobile phone snatched from your hand has to be one of the most common thefts going. I just don't understand why anybody would walk around with a phone in their hand in a busy place, leAst of all in a foreign country.

I can think of many reasons someone could have a phone in their hand.

Reading email

Reading text messages.

Checking train schedule

Reading a map

Looking up something

I can think of many reasons someone could have a phone in their hand.

 

Reading email

Reading text messages.

Checking train schedule

Reading a map

Looking up something

All of which adds up to distracted, the ideal condition for petty theft.

Well, I lead my life very well not checking emails or the internet whilst walking in the street. How many of these people don't get knocked down by a car amazes me as they don't look before they cross the road or hear the traffic as they are wearing earphones.

It's why mobile phone theft has become one of the major petty crime in many European cities. Distracted people are a dream come true for thieves.