Pickpockets in Europe
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Anonymous
| Why is this such a thing only in Europe? Why do they allow this? |
Anonymous
They don’t have big or well equipped police forces, so they focus their attention on public safety and more serious violent crime. You’d probably be shocked if you regularly read travel groups in FB. It’s shocking how routine crime is. The local police who are stationed by train stations or the most touristy places know and recognize the pickpockets. Police by buckingham palace literally pointed out the various pickpockets in the area while my friend and I were waiting to see the changing of the guard. |
Anonymous
Why would they only target white people? Money is money. |
Anonymous
Huh? I’ve had people try to pickpocket me on other continents. It’s a big thing in Europe because of the huge crowds of tourists with money who are easy targets. |
Anonymous
Over 100 million tourists visit France alone each year. Very hard to stop with those numbers. |
Anonymous
I think they will target anyone that looks like a tourist. My tall big white male friend was targeted by several young tweens on public transportation in Rome. His wallet was in his back pants pocket. He started yelling. He managed to keep his wallet. He told his wife he will not return to Italy. We had the incorrectly making change money scam done to someone in our party at a Roman ruin admission desk in Vicenza. He caught it and forced the woman to give him the correct bills but he had to get aggressive. |
Anonymous
| There have been several cases of influencers/stars that have had their lux airbnbs robbed in Europe while thy were out. |
Anonymous
France is a country, not a city. How many tourists visit the US? We saw pickpocket gangs in three spots in Paris during the course of one day: by the Eiffel Tower, near the HoHO bus, and right outside the entrance to Galleries Lafayette. I travel to US cities extensively for work and the only time I’ve seen a pickpocket team was in SF. |
Anonymous
| Keep passports/valuables in the hotel safe. Do not carry wallets/cash in back pockets, backpacks, purses etc. Do not engage with any strangers, especially if they are showing you something, trying to get you to sign a petition, etc.—even if they’re women or children. If someone engages with you put your hands on your pockets and say no repeatedly; they’ll move on. |
Anonymous
Almost all those visitors are to Paris. It's the most visited city in the world. Comparing the tourism load of Paris with the entire US is silly. FWIW I've traveled extensively and seen a purse snatched right here in DC. You have to watch your stuff on the metro here too. I will say Paris is the only place I've been where strangers will try to grab your arms (but mostly in the high tourism areas). |
Anonymous
Several reasons: punishment generally is harsher here, the police take pickpocketing more seriously, Americans tend not to carry as much cash compared to tourists in Europe, and so on. Also few places in the U.S. are as densely packed with people as European tourist hotspots (though pickpocketing still seems much less common in Times Square). |
Anonymous
Pickpockets in Paris actually target Chinese tourists more than Americans or Europeans because they tend to carry more cash. |
Anonymous
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Almost 40 years ago, I was in Paris with my parents. We went to use public toilets in a very touristy area and had to walk down some steps to access them. There was a low wall near the top of the steps where people were sitting. I'll never forget managing to catch the subtle change in facial expression on a young man as he was eyeing my dad and realized there was no wallet in a back pocket that would be easy to grab as my dad walked by.
A co-worker had her wallet stolen out of her cross-body bag on the crowded Paris Metro. She thought she was doing all the things right to prevent it, but there was a brief period where her hands were off the bag, and the pickpockets are quick. |
Anonymous
The pp said France, not Paris…which is why I countered with the US. PS - Bangkok was the most visited city in the world last year (30+ million) followed by London and Paris at 19 million. NYC was only 13 million, but when have you heard about gangs of pickpockets targeting tourists? |
Anonymous
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There is a permanent under class in many European countries. In many countries, it can take decades to get a work permit match to be able to work legal in the country.
In the US, it only takes six months to get a ID number to be able to work legal on any construction site roofing company restaurant, etc. |