When traveling outside the USA you should certainly be on your guard. Although you may be on your vacation, things can get pretty bad pretty quickly. Imagine having your wallet, in which you keep your documents and money, stolen on your second day in Europe! Even though cities such as London, Paris and Rome are beautiful beyond measure, they are also crawling with people who have nothing to do but turn to the life of crime and tourists and their favorite targets! This lesson will teach you how to avoid pickpockets and keep your things safe.

Pickpocket Techniques and Statistics

Pickpockets are not just thieves as they tend to take their so-called profession very seriously and as a result there is a whole set of tactics and techniques that they use. These can either be very subtle or based on the creations of a diversion to lower your guard. Pickpockets mostly work alone, but the most successful ones go in groups and carefully plan everything out. They also quite picky about their targets and tourists, who are rather easy to spot, are the perfect choice most of time. It is also very interesting that in Europe, 50% of stolen items are actually smartphones due to their high value. These are also much easier to snatch than a tightly secured wallet.

So, what sort of diversions can you expect? Well, there really is not an actual list that these people stick to and their methods are always changing. Generally, the idea is that one member will distract you while another robs you. The distraction can be just about anything, someone might act like they are also a tourist and ask you for directions, or they might spill something accidentally and offer to clean it off you. No matter who approaches you it is best you do not let your guard down for a second, even if it means being a bit rough (verbally) to the other party.

Also, keep in mind that many of these pickpockets use children as bait and often toy on empathy and emotion of visitors. Keep a calm head and your guard up.

Countering Pickpockets

The single most effective strategy to counter pickpockets (and just about any criminals for that matter) is being a part of a strong, confident group. This does not have to be a large group of course, but having three adult males certainly make things much easier and most pickpockets will not even dare to try anything. It is important to show confidence and that you are aware of your surroundings. Also, learning the local language is a major advantage and will greatly help you experience the country you are in, but also allow you to get help and valuable information.

The second most important piece of advice is to always remember the factor of loss. This means that you should always know which items you cannot afford to lose at any cost (such as your passport). You should keep documents locked-up in the official hotel safe for safe-keeping. It can be a service that is a bit more expensive than what you would like, but it is a good method to keep things safe.