4 ms·

Fascinating article! The one thing I've learned about pickpockets is not to let people get so close to you so that you are confused by all the "noisy" touches.

by kjackson2012 14y ago

Fascinating article! The one thing I've learned about pickpockets is not to let people get so close to you so that you are confused by all the "noisy" touches. That's how pickpockets work, either by getting large groups of kids to surround you and they start putting their hands in all your pockets (like what almost happened to me in Rome), or in crowded places like subways or tourist areas (like the Eiffel Tower). I've conditioned myself to put all my things in my front pockets, like my wallet, keys, etc, and whenever anyone gets close, my instinct is to put my hands on my pockets.

gnosis 14y ago
"whenever anyone gets close, my instinct is to put my hands on my pockets." Pickpockets love it when people do this, because it shows them which pockets your valuables are in. They also love the "WATCH FOR PICKPOCKETS" signs in tourist areas for the same reason: upon seeing those signs, people instinctively pat or check the pockets in which they store their valuables.
- kjackson2012 14y ago
  That's an interesting point, but it's also pretty obvious that my valuables are going to be in my pockets.
  - coopdog 14y ago
    Not necessarily if you're going into a pickpocket dense area like Rome
    - lostlogin 14y ago
      What did you do? My cash was in a hollow belt, my compact camera tied to my trousers and the pocket it was in was safety pinned closed. Everyone we met had been stolen from, we were tested 3x that we know of (all in crowds, 2 of them on trains) with nothing taken. Naples was just as ad, but with an undertone of violence, and Lima was downright frightening.
- jtheory 14y ago
  Quite right; I've heard that same warning before, and nowadays if I feel the urge to check my pockets, I check all of them in no particular order. I've traveled extensively and never had my pocket picked -- a little planning goes a long way. I don't flash valuables or any large amount of cash, I keep money separated into "using in the next few hours" in an accessible-but-somewhat-safe location (like deep in a front jeans pocket) vs. "needs to last until we find another ATM" someplace that's hard to access even for me, but I can still keep an eye on (e.g., not a backpack on my back: I imagine someone just slipping a blade down the side of a backpack, then just watching to see what falls out...). Related: choose traveling companions who keep their wits about them, and who will keep an eye out for you (as you watch out for them). It also probably helps that I'm tall and athletic -- I suspect many pickpockets would generally avoid people who might successfully chase them down after a bungled attempt.
rdtsc 14y ago
> I've conditioned myself to put all my things in my front pockets, My friend got his wallet stolen from his front pocket on his shirt. The pocket was buttoned down and he was also wearing a winter jacket on top of it as well. It happened in a crowded city bus. That is really just a goldmine for pickpockets. Well usually. It hasn't worked out for that particular group really as we managed to catch one of them (crowded city bus only stops at certain stops and because it is crowded it is a little hard to run). We brought him to a police station, where the cops promptly escorted him to a room and proceeded to torture him. I can still hear his disturbing and desperate cries. It felt like we won at the time but in looking back, I feel sorry for the kid.
- wging 14y ago
  In which country did this happen?
  - rdtsc 14y ago
    Eastern Europe, I'll leave it at that.
    - StavrosK 14y ago
      Why? Are you afraid of causing a PR nightmare for the country's tourism office? :-P
- deleted 14y ago
  [deleted]
- Dylan16807 14y ago
  Do you think he went back to being a pick pocket?
- GFischer 14y ago
  I had my cell phone stolen from my pocket as I was boarding a bus. I did notice, but it was great timing by the pickpocket - I had an elderly lady behind me so I couldn't run after him, not that I would have caught him had I done so. It's a really odd feeling of disbelief of having been robbed. The worst thing was, I hadn't finished paying the cell phone off :(
Argorak 14y ago
I am traveling a lot to places where pickpocketing is a regular occurrence (many parts of Africa, most of the time, but also South America and some parts of eastern Europe) and never had anything stolen from me. I attribute that to the (perceived?) fact that I am generally watchful and look at people alot. I never put anything valuable at easy to reach pockets and I am very watchful of my personal distance. My theory is that when dealing with professional thieves, you only have to be a harder target than anyone else on the same place. Still, I would expect any decent pickpocket to be able to steal from me - so I never carry anything which I cannot replace easily. Then again, I never had the opportunity to actually validate that way of thinking.
- lostlogin 14y ago
  Yes you have. What have you lost? With the time you have spent traveling I bet you have been told a host of I-just-had-my-xxx-stolen stories. Low profile, care and humour seem to keep trouble at bay in a huge way. I remember a particularly ugly moment when my wife realised that we were being eyed up by a group of pickpockets who were crowding around. It was either going to be pickpocketed or mugged. Knowing we had nothing on us, we kept joking with the guy who was supposedly distracting us, while we were subtly patted down. We left in a hurry as soon as the collectivo (dodgy van) stopped, exchanging goodbyes. I wouldn't have know I was being patted down except my wife observed it - I'm pretty sure that if we had made a fuss the result would have been very bad. Edit: spelling

gnosis 14y ago

"whenever anyone gets close, my instinct is to put my hands on my pockets." Pickpockets love it when people do this, because it shows them which pockets your valuables are in. They also love the "WATCH FOR PICKPOCKETS" signs in tourist areas for the same reason: upon seeing those signs, people instinctively pat or check the pockets in which they store their valuables.

kjackson2012 14y ago
That's an interesting point, but it's also pretty obvious that my valuables are going to be in my pockets.
- coopdog 14y ago
  Not necessarily if you're going into a pickpocket dense area like Rome
  - lostlogin 14y ago
    What did you do? My cash was in a hollow belt, my compact camera tied to my trousers and the pocket it was in was safety pinned closed. Everyone we met had been stolen from, we were tested 3x that we know of (all in crowds, 2 of them on trains) with nothing taken. Naples was just as ad, but with an undertone of violence, and Lima was downright frightening.
jtheory 14y ago
Quite right; I've heard that same warning before, and nowadays if I feel the urge to check my pockets, I check all of them in no particular order. I've traveled extensively and never had my pocket picked -- a little planning goes a long way. I don't flash valuables or any large amount of cash, I keep money separated into "using in the next few hours" in an accessible-but-somewhat-safe location (like deep in a front jeans pocket) vs. "needs to last until we find another ATM" someplace that's hard to access even for me, but I can still keep an eye on (e.g., not a backpack on my back: I imagine someone just slipping a blade down the side of a backpack, then just watching to see what falls out...). Related: choose traveling companions who keep their wits about them, and who will keep an eye out for you (as you watch out for them). It also probably helps that I'm tall and athletic -- I suspect many pickpockets would generally avoid people who might successfully chase them down after a bungled attempt.

rdtsc 14y ago

> I've conditioned myself to put all my things in my front pockets, My friend got his wallet stolen from his front pocket on his shirt. The pocket was buttoned down and he was also wearing a winter jacket on top of it as well. It happened in a crowded city bus. That is really just a goldmine for pickpockets. Well usually. It hasn't worked out for that particular group really as we managed to catch one of them (crowded city bus only stops at certain stops and because it is crowded it is a little hard to run). We brought him to a police station, where the cops promptly escorted him to a room and proceeded to torture him. I can still hear his disturbing and desperate cries. It felt like we won at the time but in looking back, I feel sorry for the kid.

wging 14y ago
In which country did this happen?
- rdtsc 14y ago
  Eastern Europe, I'll leave it at that.
  - StavrosK 14y ago
    Why? Are you afraid of causing a PR nightmare for the country's tourism office? :-P
deleted 14y ago
[deleted]
Dylan16807 14y ago
Do you think he went back to being a pick pocket?
GFischer 14y ago
I had my cell phone stolen from my pocket as I was boarding a bus. I did notice, but it was great timing by the pickpocket - I had an elderly lady behind me so I couldn't run after him, not that I would have caught him had I done so. It's a really odd feeling of disbelief of having been robbed. The worst thing was, I hadn't finished paying the cell phone off :(

Argorak 14y ago

I am traveling a lot to places where pickpocketing is a regular occurrence (many parts of Africa, most of the time, but also South America and some parts of eastern Europe) and never had anything stolen from me. I attribute that to the (perceived?) fact that I am generally watchful and look at people alot. I never put anything valuable at easy to reach pockets and I am very watchful of my personal distance. My theory is that when dealing with professional thieves, you only have to be a harder target than anyone else on the same place. Still, I would expect any decent pickpocket to be able to steal from me - so I never carry anything which I cannot replace easily. Then again, I never had the opportunity to actually validate that way of thinking.

lostlogin 14y ago
Yes you have. What have you lost? With the time you have spent traveling I bet you have been told a host of I-just-had-my-xxx-stolen stories. Low profile, care and humour seem to keep trouble at bay in a huge way. I remember a particularly ugly moment when my wife realised that we were being eyed up by a group of pickpockets who were crowding around. It was either going to be pickpocketed or mugged. Knowing we had nothing on us, we kept joking with the guy who was supposedly distracting us, while we were subtly patted down. We left in a hurry as soon as the collectivo (dodgy van) stopped, exchanging goodbyes. I wouldn't have know I was being patted down except my wife observed it - I'm pretty sure that if we had made a fuss the result would have been very bad. Edit: spelling