How you make yourself easy prey for pickpockets on holiday – we bet you’ve done it

THE well-worn streets of Europe’s major cities are places tourists can feel reasonably safe from crime — except for the dreaded pickpocket.

Even the instinctive actions of a conscientious tourist can inadvertently backfire and make them an easy target for street thieves.

Seasoned traveller Rebecca Baldwin, from the United States, raised the point in a discussion about things tourists did that screamed, “I’m asking to be pickpocketed”.
In her experience, signs that warned people to beware of pickpockets — which are often seen in subway stations in big cities like Paris and London — often backfired on tourists.

She said: “When the subway stops and tourists see these signs, they stop in their tracks and check their most valuable possessions.

"They check for their money, credit cards, passport, and visa by touching their pants, coat pocket, or purse where their valuables are, even check[ing] their neck and wrists to make sure their necklaces and watches are still there."

She continued: “What they don’t realise by doing this is they’ve actually told pickpockets and other thieves where their valuables are.

“That sign they saw is an unknowing prompt to check their valuables. People in pickpocket rings on the subway will signal the other pickpockets waiting right under those signs, and they’ll follow you for a bit and take your very important papers, currency, or keepsakes.

Rebecca suggested tourists kept their things safe by putting them in unusual places and not checking for them while on, or getting off, the subway.

Another typical mistake was when tourists wore expensive jewellery while sightseeing, including during the day.

She said: “It’s just stupid to do that and too easy to get a nice necklace yanked off your neck.

“Even wealthy people rarely wear expensive jewellery when sightseeing. Many even wear replica costume jewellery during nice evenings out."

An Australian traveller recently told news.com.au she fell for two common street scams twice in 48 hours in Rome.

In the first robbery, Mary Wallace had her bank card stolen from a seemingly genuine man who offered his help while she was struggling to use an ATM.

Two days later, on a bus in Rome’s popular Trastevere district, she had her wallet swiftly stolen from the bag she was tightly clutching under her arm.

She said: “I was furious. I also felt very vulnerable, was I an easy mark, did I look frail, stupid? Why had it happened to me twice in two days?”

Travel insurance company Travel Insurance Direct said there was a variety of common crimes targeting tourists in Europe this year.

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• The “there’s something on your shirt!” scam: A foul substance such as fake bird droppings or mustard is splashed on to your shirt, and while a “helpful stranger” cleans it off for you someone picks your pocket.

• The “gold ring” scam: A passer-by stops you and says you’ve dropped something, and shows you a “gold” ring. It’s either a distraction technique — and your pocket is picked — or they insist you pay them a reward for finding it.

• “There’s something wrong with your car!” scam: As you’re driving a car pulls alongside and the driver indicates there’s something drastically wrong with the rear of your vehicle. You stop, and as you and the stranger go to inspect the problem an accomplice makes off with your wallet/purse from the front seat.

• Hotel rats of Paris: Gangs of thieves are disguising themselves as tourists and infiltrating hotels around Paris. Some of them are opportunistic and will hang out in the lobby waiting for luggage and personal belongings to be left unattended before swooping.

If you’ve fallen victim to pickpockets, scams or other crimes on holiday, make sure you notify the police immediately and contact your travel insurer’s Emergency Assistance team should you need any medical assistance.