Have you ever been pickpocketed? (cruise, Spain, map, backpack)
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The pickpockets of the good ol' USA are pretty good at it too. My husband had his wallet stolen from his front pants pocket as we were getting off the El in Chicago. He never knew it happened until he went to get his wallet a few minutes later and realized it had been stolen.
How it happened was apparently there was a team of bad guys -- one created a diversion as passengers were getting off the El by pretending to have his foot stuck in the door, meanwhile the other one grabbed my husband's wallet (and maybe other people's wallets in the confusion too).
That's a classic professional pickpocketing team in action! They often work in groups, and create a distraction so the marks don't notice their valuables are being lifted. By the time the victim realizes he's been robbed, the pickpockets are long gone, and so is his money.
The other favorite move is to silently slip through a tourist crowd that's intently watching something else, picking a pocket here and there along the way. The Old Town in Prague is a great place to see this happening: the tourists are all watching the Astronomical Clock chiming, while the pickpockets are carefully lifting wallets right and left. Ditto Papal Audiences, as the Pope provides a great distraction and the crowds are huge.
I haven't been pick pocketed, I tend to keep anything of value pretty tight to me, but I had a boss that was twice.
He was a big drinker and a perfect mark because of it. He was out in Vegas propping up a bar and had his wallet picked. Another time he caught the guy in the act and the thief acted like nothing was going on and slipped away before my boss could get security. Another time he learned his lesson and carried a wallet, empty except for a nasty note in it and guess what it got picked. If I remember right this was all on the same trip to Vegas.
That's a classic professional pickpocketing team in action! They often work in groups, and create a distraction so the marks don't notice their valuables are being lifted. By the time the victim realizes he's been robbed, the pickpockets are long gone, and so is his money.
The other favorite move is to silently slip through a tourist crowd that's intently watching something else, picking a pocket here and there along the way. The Old Town in Prague is a great place to see this happening: the tourists are all watching the Astronomical Clock chiming, while the pickpockets are carefully lifting wallets right and left. Ditto Papal Audiences, as the Pope provides a great distraction and the crowds are huge.
Yep. As a former New Yorker, I learned at a young age to always draw my possessions close whenever there's any sort of distraction. It could be a crazy person yelling in the street, police or EMS activity, or someone following too close for my comfort (which tends to mean closer than double arms length). It could be a kid chasing a puppy or an old woman who drops a bag of groceries, or anything else that would cause me to be the least bit distracted.
I haven't had my pockets picked, but I am extremely careful with my belongings. Most likely, pick pockets are like other thieves who look for the easy target. Either that, or I never look like I am rich so maybe I don't look like a profitable target.
I know a couple of people who have had their pockets picked and I know 2 people who had vigilant locals interrupt theft (in Chile where the population seems to be divided between thieves and the extremely honest and kind)
"Vultures, vultures everywhere!" (says Peter Lorre in Casablanca, as he's stealing the valuables of a a naive tourist couple sitting in an outdoor cafe).
My European buddies tell me that the stereotype of the American tourist is that they are all wearing "marshmallows". Those are the big thick soles bright white running shoes. I own 4 pairs of those myself and they are the most comfortable to walk around in, so that's what I wear while sight seeing.
American clothing is different and American haircuts are different. Last time I was in Europe a pair of Levi's cost $350. The same jeans cost $16 in the USA. So not many locals were wearing Levi's and the tourists wore a lot of them. Not to mention the stereotypical print walking shorts, bare knees, and black socks on the old men. No European wears that ensemble.
Then there is the ethnic thing which we are well trained to not notice because it is rude. I confess, but at a whisper, I can tell who the Japanese tourists are, whether it is at Yellowstone Park or Stonehenge. They clump together in groups, they all have big cameras hung around their necks, they are speaking a foreign language, and I swear, I never notice it, but they all look Asian. Ahem, no racism intended.
Americans look like Americans. We tend to be big, taller than locals, well dressed, but the biggest giveaway is that we move big and take up a lot of personal space. We have loud voices and we are almost always speaking American English.
According to my British friends, Americans smile too much and share too much and are openly cheerful.
My European buddies tell me that the stereotype of the American tourist is that they are all wearing "marshmallows". Those are the big thick soles bright white running shoes. I own 4 pairs of those myself and they are the most comfortable to walk around in, so that's what I wear while sight seeing.
American clothing is different and American haircuts are different. Last time I was in Europe a pair of Levi's cost $350. The same jeans cost $16 in the USA. So not many locals were wearing Levi's and the tourists wore a lot of them. Not to mention the stereotypical print walking shorts, bare knees, and black socks on the old men. No European wears that ensemble.
Then there is the ethnic thing which we are well trained to not notice because it is rude. I confess, but at a whisper, I can tell who the Japanese tourists are, whether it is at Yellowstone Park or Stonehenge. They clump together in groups, they all have big cameras hung around their necks, they are speaking a foreign language, and I swear, I never notice it, but they all look Asian. Ahem, no racism intended.
Americans look like Americans. We tend to be big, taller than locals, well dressed, but the biggest giveaway is that we move big and take up a lot of personal space. We have loud voices and we are almost always speaking American English.
According to my British friends, Americans smile too much and share too much and are openly cheerful.
All of that is what we completely try not to do when traveling.
We wear black--lots of it. Spring, summer, winter, fall. I tend to wear skirts. Below the knee or above--but if above always with tights and boots. Sneakers? Nope. Only for running. My husband wears slacks with shoes. In the summer he'll wear fishermens sandals. No fanny packs, baseball caps, etc. We are quiet and can't stand obnoxious "ugly Americans." We tend to be extremely reserved for Americans.
We have been mistaken for locals in a number of countries. It's quite easy in the UK as I am of Irish/English ancestry. We can't blend in in Greece or parts of Italy as we are too fair skinned, but we've been mistaken for Brits and locals (this one still puzzles me) in Rome.
All of that is what we completely try not to do when traveling.
We wear black--lots of it. Spring, summer, winter, fall. I tend to wear skirts. Below the knee or above--but if above always with tights and boots. Sneakers? Nope. Only for running. My husband wears slacks with shoes. In the summer he'll wear fishermens sandals. No fanny packs, baseball caps, etc. We are quiet and can't stand obnoxious "ugly Americans." We tend to be extremely reserved for Americans.
We have been mistaken for locals in a number of countries. It's quite easy in the UK as I am of Irish/English ancestry. We can't blend in in Greece or parts of Italy as we are too fair skinned, but we've been mistaken for Brits and locals (this one still puzzles me) in Rome.
I'm kind of the same - when traveling alone or with family in Northern Europe many people assume I am a local. Even in Paris, others assume I am French, though clearly not Parisian. In Southern Europe, I'm clearly not a local, but the default assumption is English, Irish or German. On the other hand, when traveling with a good friend who looks more Eastern European, people immediately knew we were North American - they usually defaulted to Canadian until they heard us speak (in clear Southern US accents), then were able to place us as Americans.
Pickpockets generally like to avoid detection and confrontation. They usually work in crowded areas--outside the Colosseum and at the Trevi Fountain in Rome and any crowded train terminal (Gare Du Nord in Paris) are classic spots. They also like to work in places where people typically let down their guard--churches like Notre Dame and St. Peters for example.
A decent but not 100% rule of thumb is that if you have paid admission to enter (a museum, historic site, etc.), your chances of encountering a pickpocket are significantly lowered--but not completely gone.
The 25 people deep queue to get up close to the Mona Lisa is pickpocket paradise. It's so bad that there are actually signs, the first of its kind, in French and English, warning people about pickpockets as you're trying to view the Mona Lisa.
The 25 people deep queue to get up close to the Mona Lisa is pickpocket paradise. It's so bad that there are actually signs, the first of its kind, in French and English, warning people about pickpockets as you're trying to view the Mona Lisa.
As I said, "but not completely gone." There are exceptions to every rule.
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