terri58blue

You should watch your belongings everywhere, OK, but I only saw this type of crime in Rome (and we went and stayed in the Cinque Terre, Siena, Venice, Florence and the Amalfi Coast).

Getting on the subway on a Sunday morning at 11ish we helped a Lebanese woman who was uncertain how to get to Termini Station (Rome's central train depot). When we were getting on the subway train with her luggage (she had 2 pieces, DON'T DO IT, IT being more than one piece of easily managed luggage, unless you plan on paying for taxis every time you go to/leave your hotel) that's when it all happened, and soooooo fast.

It's hard to see on some of the subways if the cars are crowded because there is graffitti on some of the windows of the doors of the trains (not that I looked this time, I admit my guard was down and I was tired, this was day 25 of our 26 day European Adventure). Anyway this one was crowded and every precaution I had read before taking my trip flew out my head for the moment ie, don't get on a crowded car where you'll HAVE to be in the doorway. The perps look for confusion and crowded areas. We had both. Our friend from Lebanon was still confused even though we told her she had to get on this train with us if she wanted to get to Termini. I think she thought she was going to get her train to Florence right there in the subway. When the train came I said with urgency "you need to come with us". The doors were opened, two in my party stepped on the crowded subway car and I helped our friend with her luggage, the doors closed on her AND a piece of her luggage and as she struggled to get on I heard her say "hey" - someone was pulling on her arm. The doors finally were shutting and whish right before our eyes--like a shadow almost--2 or 3 little girls (maybe 10-12 years old) darted off the train right before the doors closed. We looked at our friend and the front zipper of her nylon back pack that she was wearing in the front was open. Her cards and money were GONE!!

Listen to me fellow traveller's. In the midst of that confusion of maybe 20 seconds total, your eye automatically goes to the confusion. In this case I was quickly looking at the doors and the luggage - I NEVER saw these girls reach in her pouch and she was 6-8 inches from me, I didn't see them grab her arm or anything. I only saw them run like a flash off the subway.

I felt sooo bad for my new friend and somehow responsible (even though I knew it wasn't my fault) for her being ripped off. I also knew it could have been ME, I was carrying a small pouch type purse with a wimpy string attached across my chest, but I tried to always hold onto the pouch as it laid under my arm along my side.

The thieves only got E15 and two debit cards from our friend. Once inside Termini Station, we went to the TI with her and got the appropriate phone numbers to cancel her cards. We bought an International Phone card to call Lebanon. She had missed her train to Florence so we helped her get a new ticket. Two hours later we sent her on her train to Florence with some pocket money as her brother was having money wired to her hotel in Florence.

I still wonder if she made it okay, I have her email so I will follow up with her soon.

In retrospect, I THINK what these snotty little theives did was this: from the inside of the subway car one stood and prevented her luggage from being placed onto the car with her foot--pushing it out the door while my friend was trying to push in on--at least one other stood in the doorway 1/2 way off the train with one foot in the car and one foot on the platform and pulled her arm out as my friend was trying to get on, thus my friends one hand was on the handle of her luggage and the other hand was restrained. Another girl from the inside, maybe the one with the foot on the luggage, maybe a third girl, was unzipping and reaching in her pouch. Amazing. And OH if I just could have seen one of the little snots I would have grabbed their arm and dug my nails so deep without letting go...but I honestly NEVER even saw their faces, they are that well trained or I'm that clueless! How sad. Does anyone know if any of these little theives ever get caught?

Well I write this to my fellow travellers so that maybe this wont happen to you. Overall, we felt safe and had a great time on our trip, you just must be aware of the tricks of these theives and act accordingly. I would still go today and use the subway in Rome, but I would not get on a crowded middle car or any crowded car. Instead I would walk down away from the "center" car nearest the stairs in each station and get on a different car.

(Also if you plan to wear a pouch or a backpack, bury your valuable items the deepest. Maybe that would prevent them from getting the most important stuff).

ira

Thanks for the heads up, terri.

Travelnut

Thanks for reporting a perfect example that advice to "just use your common sense" and "keep an eye on your belongings" is simply not enough precaution. Use a money belt for passports, tickets for future use, and your 'big' money - carry only enough money for one day and one card where you can access it. Then, it simply doesn't matter what transpires during your travels, you will still have the wherewithal to continue on your trip with only a small 'speedbump'.

ThinGorjus

Sure you are angry, but don't blame the children. Blame the adults who have trained them to steal. Many of these kids are abused, beaten if they don't come home with some loot.

These type of scams happen on a daily basis on the trains in Italy. Never, ever put money and valuables in a place where someone can easily reach. Your friend made a HUGE mistake in putting her money and debit cards in a backpack that was very easily unzippered. Remember, if it is easy for you to just reach for you money, it is just as easy for a thief to do so.

Zeus

"Don't blame the children"? That's the same attitude their parents were treated with when THEY were kids. Sorry, but political correctness and stopping crime don't mesh that well. When they catch these little SOB's they should give them all a good spanking.

HowardR

Questions: How much did you spend to help this woman? Did you buy her train ticket? What else?
Pardon me for being a skeptic, but is it possible that the "Lebanese woman" was part of the plan and that you were scammed out of some money?

lilminkey

I must add We as Americans look at families With a much different perspective,I know to some this will sound twisted , but the parents look at each child as an earner. A father will look at a daughter as a great earner,with out going into the reasons we can use our imaginations,this has been going on in famalies for generations.Very very sad. Good luck and please don't get to upset.

BTilke

Zeus, I understand your frustration, but those children are often beaten by their "caregivers" if they DON'T steal. For them, it's a lose-lose situation.
Belgium just passed a law making it illegal for children to beg or to accompany adults begging. Some families would actually rent out their children to professional beggars and thieves. Personally, I'm surprised such a law took so long to be passed. It was disheartening (to say the least) to see children as young as 5 or 6 sent off to accost strangers as beggars or pickpockets.

Spygirl

Well, guess what. There are PLENTY of these children running around who are absolutely NOT beaten, they steal because they've grown up on the street, the stealing has become ingrained, and they actually LIKE this life. I know of a woman in Amsterdam, a good friend of a friend, with a very good heart who adopted one of these street kids, in order to give him a chance to be part of her loving family so he would have every opportunity to do well in life, and it turned into a living nightmare for the family in question, because the boy stole from them constantly, went out on the street at night when they were in bed, and refused, basically to be "rehabilitated." They finally had to give up, because the whole family was suffering, and had become fearful that he would do one of them harm.

So I'm all for the state taking control and putting these kids in some sort of reform school who are caught repeatedly stealing, but really, I believe most of them by middle school age are too far gone to be truly rehabilitated.

And terri58-I hear you-I hope others traveling to Rome do as well. I've certainly said it enough times, Rome is most assuredly NOT like other cities in Europe, it may well have the worst of the pickpocketing culture, and it's been that way since I was first there 25 years ago, if anything, it's gotten worse. (although Florence is very bad for this as well-my wallet was lifted there once upon a time, and we saw two other instances out on the street of attempted thefts from backpacks).

You can't let your guard down for a moment-particularly in the train, subway and bus system, where confusion and overcrowding is most prevalent. The Colosseum is another favorite pickpocketing venue.

socialworker

The above sad tale--as well as my having had my wallet stolen on a Paris metro when I was a naive young thing, many moons ago--is one of the reasons we spring for cabs whenever we are traveling w/our luggage....I am aware that is a "luxury", but to me, well worth it.

nytraveler

IMHO - it is extremely foolish to use any form of mass public transit with any luggage larger than a single, easily managed carry-on. You are:

Making yourself a target for thieves

Leaving youself open to all sort of falls/accidents on stairs/escalators/closing doors

Asking to spend the rest of your vacation with a bad back or turned ankle

I will never understand why people are unwilling to spend a few dollars more to take a car when they're dragging all that luggage around

SeaUrchin

I guess I am a skeptic but I thought you were going to say that the Lebanese woman was a part of the scam too.

Yes with luggage on public transportation you are setting yourself up for at least aggravation and at most being a victim.

platzman

HowardR, thats just what I was thinking as I read the original story.
Or maybe I'm just too damned cynical?
I have witnessed a similar set-up in which the apparent victim was actually part of the scam, and the bystanders were pickpocketed amidst all the chaos.

Pausanias

Europe has a long and fine history of pickpocketing -- I don't know that Rome really sands out. There are some top-notch talents working London, and I understand Barcelona is the continental capital of the crime.

Best way to avoid them is to avoid dense crowds and chaotic situations -- unfortunately, that describes most metro systems during rush hour. When on vacation the morning rush doesn't factor in -- I'm having breakfast. Consider avoiding public transit during the evening rush.

platzman

I forgot to add this note. Not everyone you see running through the Termini with a bag glancing nervously at his wristwatch is late for a train.
Some of those people are running for the exits.

elaine

While some European thieves seem to have perfected the craft of pickpocketing, there are other countries in the world where people simply shoot each other because guns are so prevalent. I don't want to be a crime victim ever (and I haven't been on any of my travels, including the most popular and crowded cities in western Europe), but there's crime that produces great inconvenience and monetary loss (where one with precautions can greatly reduce the odds), and then there's random violent crime which includes guns. So, let's not feel too superior about "those people."

WillTravel

I'm inclined to think the woman was part of the scam. She may not be from Lebanon either.

massagediva

thanks,Elaine,you expressed my point of view beautifully

tuscanlifeedit

but about the woman from Lebanon: didn't they hang around with her for two hours, and help her change her ticket to Florence, go to security to report her lost cards, help her get in touch with her brother????

That all seems pretty complicated and elaborate if she were part of the scheme? No?

Do we think the woman would hang around for hours just to get a calling card and a little pocket money? I think that the poor woman was truly a victim.

Just my 2 cents...

Edward2005

Wear a money belt.