Best way not to get pick pocketed?

In doing research for our upcoming Med cruise I'm reading about so many people getting pick pocketed in Barcelona and Athens.

What's the best place or best wallet type for your money and ATM card to prevent this?

Thanks in advance...

Wear a Money-belt!

Have NO pockets to pick.

Money inside socks; moneybelt; money sling.

I have even sewn my pockets shut; or put noisy velcro on the openings.

Another fun thing to do is put some "play" money in your pockets.... I'd love to see the looks on a pickpockets' face when they realize they've been "had."

I put my wallet in my front pockets if I am worried.

Take a look at Magellans.com or one of the other travelwear sites -- they sell lots of pouches and moneybelts and other security items.

Make sure that you are not carrying things you would hate to lose -- go through your wallet before you leave home and take out all the extra cards you might be carrying around with you -- your library card, your AAA membership card, your kid's picture -- all of that. Get down to some cash, your ATM card and one credit card and one ID card. Leave everything else at home, or in the safe on the ship while you are ashore.

I wear the kind that goes around my neck between my shirt and sweater or coat. Have also used the wallet that fits in a front pocket.

Be very savvy when you are in a crowd -- watching the street entertainers on Las Ramblas in Barcelona, or on the subway in Athens, anywhere that you might be distracted and squeezed in close to other people.

A money belt is the answer, they are usually thin but strong material and fit under the T-shirt/shirt

Orvis.com sell anti pickpocket trousers, of which all the pockets have internal buttons and zips as well as external buttons and zips. They also sell money belts.

Rome and Naples are as bad if not worse than Barcelona.

Not an expert but in high risk areas and if you are travelling in a group, have one person fall behind the group to act as a spotter. As soon as something looks untoward the spotter calls out to the group to stop.

My personal experiences (once in Naples, Italy; once in Ulanbaatar, Mongolia) is that as soon as the alarm is raised the perpetrators just keep on walking - trying to blend into the crowd to avoid detection.

Only other time we were nearly pickpocketted (we've never actually been pickpocketted) we were walking to the hotel in Waikiki, USofA, side by side. It was lucky that I caught sight of the perpetrator out of the corner of my eye. We were seduced (falsley, it's true) into trusting the USofA, it being a western country and all.

Only other suggestions, which are probably obvious to anyone who travels a lot are to research common scams in the area you are travelling, only carry essentials for your trip, put them in a place in front on your torso, and check regularly at random intervals.

I don't know much about money belts. Can you access it easily if you need more money?

For my part I keep my wallet in my front pocket. I use an oversized one (now) so it fits snugly and can't be removed without me noticing - I even have trouble getting it out. Also, I only carry what I must have in it, and leave the rest in the safe.

A money belt is the answer, they are usually thin but strong material and fit under the T-shirt/shirt

Under a shirt? I'll look for that.

Not an expert but in high risk areas and if you are travelling in a group, have one person fall behind the group to act as a spotter. As soon as something looks untoward the spotter calls out to the group to stop.

 

My personal experiences (once in Naples, Italy; once in Ulanbaatar, Mongolia) is that as soon as the alarm is raised the perpetrators just keep on walking - trying to blend into the crowd to avoid detection.

 

Only other time we were nearly pickpocketted (we've never actually been pickpocketted) we were walking to the hotel in Waikiki, USofA, side by side. It was lucky that I caught sight of the perpetrator out of the corner of my eye. We were seduced (falsley, it's true) into trusting the USofA, it being a western country and all.

 

Only other suggestions, which are probably obvious to anyone who travels a lot are to research common scams in the area you are travelling, only carry essentials for your trip, put them in a place in front on your torso, and check regularly at random intervals.

I did get pick-pocketed.

The way it happened was I found myself in the centre of a large crowd all of a sudden. You get pushed a jostled from all angles. Then they got me.

Fortunately, I only had about 40 dollars and a bankcard and one piece of ID in it. No credit cards.

The wallet was in my breast pocket. I don't put it there anymore.

It was found and I retrieved all except the money.

I bought some pants from travelsmith that have zippers on a front pocket and a back pocket. Putting a rubber band around your wallet makes it harder to get out of your pocket

They also sell jackets that have zipper pockets and hidden inside pockets. They are good quality clothes, but they are a bit pricey.

For women, make sure you wear your purse across your body and the flap should be facing in. The purse should have strong straps

Beware of buses and subways, these are prime spots for pickpockets.

If you take simple precautions and are aware of your surroundings, you should be fine.

I don't know much about money belts. Can you access it easily if you need more money?

 

For my part I keep my wallet in my front pocket. I use an oversized one (now) so it fits snugly and can't be removed without me noticing - I even have trouble getting it out. Also, I only carry what I must have in it, and leave the rest in the safe.

Perhaps the front pocket will work for you, but I've found that the pickpockets are so professional and adept (say in Barcelona) that I will only use a money belt. On one occasion I had to ignore all my training as a gentleman and use my backpack as a weapon to escape some marauding women and their agile fingers.

More typically, some co-workers create a distraction, such as a breast feeding mother or scuffle, and poof! your pocket's contents are gone. Reports last summer suggested that many of these nefarious types have descended on Barcelona as the police squeezed them in other jurisdictions.

Personally we didn't notice any in Athens, but then they make certain you don't.

I...Beware of buses and subways, these are prime spots for pickpockets.

 

If you take simple precautions and are aware of your surroundings, you should be fine.

In fact, they got me waiting for - actually getting into a tram. :eek:

...More typically, some co-workers create a distraction, such as a breast feeding mother or scuffle, and poof! your pocket's contents are gone. ...

This sort of thing happened to us in Rome. It seemed to be teenagers. One girl tried to distract us by flapping a piece of cardboard while others moved into position.

It was obvious what was happening so we got the he** out of that mess.

You have to keep your antenna up.

I carry MOST of our cash and valuables in a money belt type inside pocket hidden inside our clothing. There are several different styles of these you can find on the online travel sites and Amazon to fit your needs and for men and women. They are not expensive.

I then carry a small amount of cash and one credit card and, if at a port of call, our ship cards in a regular wallet with nothing else in it. Everything else goes into the money belt including back-up credit card and passports. The idea is that if I make a purchase I don't want to be pulling out my my money belt in public. If worse comes to worse and my wallet is stolen I'll be out only a modest amount of cash and one credit card which I can immediately cancel. But the important items, including a back up credit card, will still be there.

And don't think the term pick-pocket means you only need to worry about your pockets. Last year while waiting on the sidewalk in front of our small hotel in Barcelona for our taxi to the ship the bellman cautioned us that a nearby group might be pickpockets possibly looking for an opportunity to grab one of our pieces of luggage from the large pile we had stacked on the sidewalk just outside the hotel.

I bought my son a money strap that fit under his shirt this worked well for him. Believe me- Barcelona is really bad. I walked all over the city being totally aware and watching my handbag like a hawk. Then I let my guard down for seconds while I shot hoops with my son in a videoarcade. I sandwiched my purse between my feet- and someone still managed to reach in and steal my camera and change purse (I wasn't carrying much money) but the camera was brand new and had 14 days of photos on it. I cried. I am sure that it was a little gypsy kid.

When we were in Rome, my husband wore a cross body bag and it held everything from his wallet to a water bottle. You have to unclip the large clip at the bottom to open the front flap, lift the flap over the top and then undo a zipper to get anything out. It felt pretty safe. I think the only way anybody would get anything form that bag is if the wrestled my hubby to the ground!

I bought DH a travel wallet, I think it was from Magellan. It is designed for his front pocket and has a clip to attach to one of his belt loops. For myself, I bought a Pac Safe purse, also from Magellan I think. We felt more secure in Athens and Rome and Barcelona, and thankfully have never been pickpocketed.

This or something similar to this is what I have been using for 30 years. So far I haven’t had my :D “leg picked” :D.

Click on this

Leg Safe

In fact, they got me waiting for - actually getting into a tram. :eek:

They got my husband stepping onto the train in Athens, he had it in a noisy velcro pocket, so I wouldn't recommend that.

OP, just keep in mind they're about 100x better than you think they are so don't carry much. Maybe even give your wallet to your wife to keep zipped away in her purse.

Take a look at Magellans.com or one of the other travelwear sites -- they sell lots of pouches and moneybelts and other security items.

 

Make sure that you are not carrying things you would hate to lose -- go through your wallet before you leave home and take out all the extra cards you might be carrying around with you -- your library card, your AAA membership card, your kid's picture -- all of that. Get down to some cash, your ATM card and one credit card and one ID card. Leave everything else at home, or in the safe on the ship while you are ashore.

 

I wear the kind that goes around my neck between my shirt and sweater or coat. Have also used the wallet that fits in a front pocket.

 

Be very savvy when you are in a crowd -- watching the street entertainers on Las Ramblas in Barcelona, or on the subway in Athens, anywhere that you might be distracted and squeezed in close to other people.

Having been to Barcelona and Athens within this past year, my Wife and I diligently prepared not to become pickpocketed. I acquired a money belt and kept extra cash and a credit card as well as passports, if I decided to take them out of the safe in my hotel or the cabin safe on the ship. The only thing that I had in my pocket was enough cash to pay for the Metro, meals and souveniers that day. My Wife acquired a special purse (Pac Safe) with a strap that cannot be cut (steel inside strap), and she only carried minimum cash, etc. On most occasions, she would leave the purse on the ship.

The other thing is to be aware of your surrondings. Be careful when going through crowd of people. Try not to get too close to others, particularly people that don't look like tourists. Never pull out large bills. I generally would only carry 20Euro bills.

Some people put a credit card in their shoe. I tried to do this, but could not avoid my foot being uncomfortable. I found that I didn't need to carry a credit card most of the time. I acquired my Euros at the airport from my ATM, and never used it again on the trip, so it stayed in the safe.

The pickpockets are really good. Someone took my wife's wallet out of her snapped purse in a church in Gouda. She never even knew anyone was close to her. In Amsterdam, carrying my wallet in my front pocket, I almost had to fight someone trying to take it out in a crowd waiting at a stop sign. In my back pocket it would have been gone. Now we only carry some money, one credit card, and, if cruising, our sea pass. The rest we leave in a safe in the hotel or ship. I don't mind losing a little money. I do mind losing several credit cards, insurance cards, drivers license, etc. Some of my friends even switch out memory cards in their camera halfway through a cruise so they won't lose all their pictures.

Another thing that works for us is that we try to look like locals. We wear dark clothes, no white sneakers, no tshirts, no baseball caps.

We are in our 50's and 60's so we don't wear jeans, but jeans are fine for younger people.

We always try to walk with a purpose when possible and we don't pull out the maps unless we need to. We don't have a camera around our neck.

When riding public transportation, we try not to speak at all or we whisper so no one can tell we are Americans.

My husband uses his old wallet in his back pocket filled with paper as a "decoy". We always keep our money in our front pockets and close them with diaper pins. Impossible to pickpocket, but easy to remove money or credit card when purchasing something. Can be bought for about $1 for 25 of them.