apersuader65

My wife paid over 100 euro for some facial cleanser system in the Marais last year.

I thought it was highway robbery then. Since it is still sitting in a cabinet, pretty much unused today, I know it was some form of a crime.

vincenzo32951

>>IMHO if there is a problem the best thing to do is scream police (or local equivalent) as loud as you can. Most pickpockets will run rather than risk facing the police.<<

I witnessed a pickpocket incident at the Piazzale Michelangelo in Florence. The victim shouted loudly and the cops were on the perp in seconds. The perp tried to resist. Big mistake.

As for me, haven't been robbed yet. But I did over-tip in Paris once.

rncheryl

Saw a theft on a Roman bus. Distracted tourist had what looked like a camera case grabbed just at a stop, and thief exited in a flash.

On a group tour in Rome, most of the passengers left their luggage in a corner of the lobby waiting for rooms to be available. (we had requested and received early occupancy, so our room was ready). The lady in our group had left lots of Euros in her luggage , and it was stolen sometime during the waiting period.

Friend had about 75E pickpocketed from her purse in a Paris subway station. She was having trouble accessing the turntable and was not sure how the deed happened. I nagged her the entire trip to keep her cross body bag in FRONT of her instead of over her back shoulder.

PatrickLondon

I must live in a complete bubble. I did once manage to prevent someone from falling for the cardboard-in-the-face technique in Rome, but the nearest I've come to being a victim was being diddled out of a couple of euro by a sweet old lady at the Gare du Nord. I thought she wanted to change smaller coins for the ticket machines, but no, off she waltzed.

Mind you, there was also a time when I desperately needed a 50c coin for the facilities at Apeldoorn station. I could see that until I showed him the small coins I needed to change, the young man I asked thought I was some old dosser on the cadge.

Ironically, I had just come from.... Het Loo.

Maria_G

Unfortunately yes, on our first trip to Rome, about 10 years ago. My fault, we sat to rest on the steps of a fountain, had my bag next to me, we both nodded off for just a minute, and my entire handbag was stolen. Mercifully our passports & camera were not in there, but they got away with cash, credit cards, ID's, maps, etc. Lesson learned: in any busy city, I only use a small bag that crosses over my chest and UNDER my jacket. But I will say this: even in Rome, while you must be alert to pickpockets, etc., we've never worried about violent crime there. Wish I felt that way in the US.

mike1728

I would suggest that the majority of the aforementioned crimes were committed by drug users looking for funds for further drug use..."junkies". Same as in the USA.

Just a reminder for those who advocate that personal drug use is "victimless crime".

Underhill

Only once, on the London underground. I was hanging onto a strap with my handbag over my shoulder: dumb! The security folks found my wallet in a trash bin, with cash and stamps missing but not the credit cards. But by then we'd cancelled the cards, which made checking out of our hotel an interesting experience.

Underhill

My experience was back before pickpocket became a verb rather than a noun. "Pocket picked" was the term back then.