Has your pocket ever been picked? Has it happened when you were away from home, enjoying a vacation? I have a friend who had to spend a night in police custody in Venice while he was the victim of pick pocketing and did not have money to stay in a hotel and so was sleeping on a roadside bench!
The world is opening up once again after the pandemic and we are itching to travel. We have to make up for the lost time and the need to see places we've never seen before has again awakened inside of us. However, as tourists, there are many locals who would love to swindle us out of our hard earned vacation cash. Pick pockets are the craftiest con-artists of the world, found in almost every city. The top three cities notoriously infamous for pickpocket con artists are Barcelona, Spain; Rome, Italy; and Prague in the Czech Republic (according to ConsumerSafety.org)
Pick pocketing is not an easy profession. Without dexterity and fine motor skills you can't deceive someone into thinking nothing has happened when picking their pocket if they can feel your hand in their pocket. Additionally you need to be able to read people’s mind, distract them and have a sense of timing and choreography! The idea is that the victim does not suspect anything out of the ordinary.
Where do they hit you?
Invariably these are busy places with high footfall. So metro stations, bus stops, super market exits, ticket counters of cinema halls and stadiums and temples and other religious places and tourist attractions are where they are most active. The fact that these places today are invariably under close circuit television surveillance does not deter them as they are masters of their game. The early hours of the morning when people go to work, and again when they come home in the evening, are the times best suited to the pick pocket.
Beware of the fairer sex!
A special drive against pickpockets was launched by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) in the Delhi Metro after it witnessed three-fold rise in the numbers of those apprehended by it in the first five months of 2017 compared to the same period in 2016. Out of the 521 pickpockets apprehended by the CISF personnel, 90 percent are women! The passengers, in maximum cases, were not willing to lodge police cases and hence pickpockets kept moving in the metro network soon after they were released after their brief detention.
They work as a team
The pickpocket works in formation order; usually three men comprise the group. One of them is the chap who does the actual work, the other two are ‘‘stalls”—that is, they pave the way for and shield the operator. The most important thing is always be on guard in a croud. Have you ever felt a gentle shoving from behind you as you stood in a crowded metro? Or perhaps this gentle shoving may have come from the side? If you do feel anything of the sort, change your position. It may not be a pickpocket, and, again, it may be. Be on your guard at all times when in a crowd. Always, there is a gentle crowding before the operator can work. Never mind your pocket, watch your neighbor, both in front and in the rear and by way of good measure, those on your sides as well.
They work when you are distracted
Curiosity is the direct cause of many people’s becoming the victims of the pickpocket. It is nothing unusual for one of these gentry to go with his companions to a busy street and in order to collect a crowd have one of the gang faint. The sympathies of the crowd are all centered on prostrate man exactly what the thief wants; and while curiosity prompts you to edge or push closer to the “victim” it is then that the sinuous fingers of the thief are inserted into your pocket or purse. If you get off a train in a city you’ve never visited before, you’ll need time to adjust to your surroundings. That’s when pickpockets strike. People are most disoriented when they move from one environment to the other and before they know they have been robbed.
Public transports are as unsafe as roads
Buses and metros are also fertile playgrounds for pickpockets. Dangling purses of small backpacks are easy targets. Keep your purse or wallet in front of your body (front pocket or hanging across your stomach rather than your back) and keep your hands firmly on the opening so you can feel anything that tries to get inside.
Digital money too is unsafe
Carrying less cash in lieu of paying with a credit card seems like a natural defence against getting your money stolen, but thieves are adapting to modern technology, too.”E-pickpocketers,” will try to steal your credit card numbers by waiting for you to take out your card to make a purchase and snapping a picture of the numbers with a high-res digital camera or camera phone. That could end up being more damaging than stolen cash.
The Modus Operandi
Pickpockets look exactly like other people. They cannot be recognized by dress or features, we are told, but they may be suspected because of their fictions. How a band of pickpockets work is interesting: The team of three gets on a car and work their way to a prosperous-looking man. They do not know if the man carries a purse with him or not but it is their duty to find out. This is done by lightly touching the back pockets of the intended victim. Long experience has made the pickpocket very deft, and he can tell, to a certainty, the difference between a bill-fold and a package of letters by the lightest of light touches. Finding that the victim has a wallet in his pocket, lie coughs, or otherwise gives his confederates the knowledge that he has found a victim, and does nothing until the confederates take their proper places. The operator stands immediately behind his victim; the other two pickpockets station themselves one behind the operator and the other in front of the victim, leaving the victim and operator between them. Then the men in front and rear open newspapers so that the operator and the victim arc hidden. The chap in front will lurch against the front of the victim, and the victim, in turn, will lurch against the operator, and it is while this lurch takes place that the victim is relieved of his purse!
Pickpockets are not just masters of sleight of hand; they’re also very good psychologists. In fact, some of them have become such professionals in their area of expertise that they even get invited to different research projects that are studying human consciousness. These are a few common psychological ploys that pickpockets love to use, in order to make you aware of them so you can make sure you never fall victim to their tricks.
1. A Push on the Street
One pickpocket “accidentally” bumps into their mark, while another one “coincidentally” walking by at the same time takes the wallet from the victim’s purse or pocket. Sometimes the two criminals act like they are fighting in public to distract someone and make them lose focus.
2. Headphones Trick
People with headphones in their ears are easy targets as they’re already distracted by their music. This makes it easier for thieves to steal their cellphones. The thief walks up to the victim, carefully takes the phone out their pocket and unplugs the headphones. The victim will blame the headphones at first, and it will take them a minute or two to work out what has happened. However, by then it is too late as the phone is long gone.
3. Frauds in the Metro or Local train
• During rush hour, if you’re the last person to get into the subway car and you’re standing near the doors, hold onto your stuff tightly. Pickpockets love to run to the subway doors a second before they close and grab things from peoples’ hands. Before you realize what has taken place, the doors will be shut.
• If someone happens to intrude on your personal space and maybe even bumps into you, never turn your back on them. That’s the whole point: you’ll be facing away from them, and your bag will be on full display.
4. Restaurant Tricks
• If you hang your coat on the chair, you’re just asking for dishonest people to rob you. All they need is a distraction. For example, they might start a small fight at the next table, and while you’re enjoying the show, their accomplice will snatch your items.
• If you see a group of people that are obviously together but are spread out, talking on their phones, you can be certain that they’re trying to locate a victim.
5. Map Trick:
There are thieves in tourist crowds who pretend to be tourists themselves. They will show you a map and ask for your help in directing them somewhere. While you are trying to help, another fake tourist will be going through your bag or pocket. You should always be suspicious if they’re trying to get the map as close to your face as possible.
6. Spilling Method
This trick is mostly played out near ATMs. A pickpocket spills a drink or drops some ice cream on a person who has just withdrawn some cash. The thief heartily apologizes, helps to clean up the clothes, and clears out the victim’s pockets.
7. Flower Excuse
Have you ever had a homeless person try to sell you a flower for a very cheap price? Next time you do, don’t buy it, even if they beg, as they’re simply trying to distract you so that they can clean out your pockets.
8. Charity From
Time to time you’ll come across those “selfless” people who are trying to get others to sign petitions or raise funds for a good cause. While you’re reading the brochure or signing up, one of these kind strangers will try to steal your stuff.
9. Porter Service
This ploy is usually tried on older or disabled people. A thief offers to carry heavy bags to a room, takes them, and runs up the stairs so that they have time to check them for any valuables.
10. Grocery Store Trap
If you’re the
kind of person that likes to place your purse in the shopping cart, you can
fall victim to this very simple trick. The thief will timidly ask for your help
while trying to reach a certain product, and while you’re trying to help,
they’ll nab your purse.
How to guard yourself against pick-pockets?
1. Do not allow yourself to be hidden from the gaze of the other people in your vicinity
2. An open newspaper are used to hide the hand of the operator, never be behind one
3. If you have an overcoat on keep it buttoned securely, and your hands on the buttons, for it is ridiculously simple for the operator to unbutton them.
4. If you feel the slightest push, put your hand on the pocket where you have your money and then move away to a different place.
5. Look sharply at those whom you suspect, then watch the amazing result. After a minute’s wait, they will leave your company as hurriedly as they can without arousing suspicion.
6. Don’t use dangling handbags that hangs pendent to the arm. They can be opened and closed again, almost with the rapidity of lightning.
7. The public display of a large roll of bills invites the pickpocket to hover around your so do not put money in your breast pocket or count your currency in public. Try to camouflage your wealth and use digital currency when paying for something and do not pull out a wad of cash and count it out.
8. Always be aware of your surroundings and always suspect a female co-passenger trying to get too close to you
9. Don’t be too over cautious - Somewhat counter-intuitively, travellers can also make themselves more vulnerable by being obviously over-protective of valuables. By constantly patting your pockets to check on your wallet, you are signalling to very observant pickpockets that the pocket contains something of value.
10. Use your credit and debit cards very carefully and do not let them leave your gaze
11. Situational awareness is your best strategy - being aware of every situation you are in, looking for anyone paying any unwanted attention to you, and understanding what’s going on 50 to 100 feet around the perimeter of your body at all times is vital.
The best pickpocket protection practice
I discovered as a simple way to protect my wallet and phone.
· Whenever possible locations come, I shift my wallet from the back pocket to the pocket in front.
· I place my phone in the same pocket keeping in mind that the phone is above the wallet, i.e. the wallet touches your thigh.
· I put on my earphones. It's up to you to play music or not but make sure the earphones are jacked in.
Now both my phone and wallet are safe. How?
· The reason behind putting the wallet in the front pocket, same as that of the phone tightens the front pocket making the wallet to be in a firm contact with my thigh which is sensitive enough to inform me of any unwanted touch.
· The reason behind jacking in the earphones is that it will alarm you if anyone tries on your phone rather than the wallet. Stealing your phone will require removing your earphones which will convey it your ears(even if you're not playing any music).
I have a rule when I travel, I always parse out what I need and keep with me and the rest of it I keep locked in a hotel safe. So I end up keeping the driver’s license, a photo of my passport in my phone and one credit card and just a bit of cash on me, in the event that if I lose it, I still have a backup card, more cash, and another ID my original passport in my hotel.
