I knock on wood, but I think we can all use some guidelines that have been posted here on and off on various threads.

It saddens me when so many people are subjected to this experience and all the problems and changes in plans it creates, apart from the possibility of bodily harm.

my suggestions:

-Be very alert going into and out of and while you are on public transportation/ sitting in restaurants/sidewalk cafés.

-move away from any group of people you do not feel comfortable with

- pay attention to anyone sitting next to you at outdoor places.

- be aware should someone start "making a a scene". it usually is to distract the "group" that is working the crowds.

-imagine you are holding a transparent bag that shows all the goodies you have there.. your expensive camera, your euros, CC´s, your passport, etc.etc.

These people have no morals and are on a mission from the moment they get up,and it is a very lucrative business. They, from experience, know that the caché can be extraordinary at times, so that is why they just keep going and going at it.(apart from lax encarcelation laws)

-don´t think that just because you are at a hotel desk, that there isn´t a professional business looking thief just waiting for you to leave your laptop or briefcase/knapsack on the floor. Many hotel robberies happen in the lobby checking in/out.

-splurge for a taxi when you are in quieter areas and at night.

-remember that these thieves work in groups and that their favorite/ most popular/lucrative places are where YOU will want to go. ( cheapest way into town..etc.)

Enjoy your trip, but be aware.. just because some people don´t see anything happen, and it doesn´t happen to them, doesn´t mean it is not going on ALL THE TIME.

I haven´t been robbed either,and i travel a lot,( and live in Spain) but I am not unaware that this is a major problem in most big cities.

i can personally vouch for this problem in spain/ and brussels. someone always seems to be just WAITING for a tourist/resident to let his guard down.

So please take note and travel with your eyes open. enjoy the sights and food, and come home safely.

Hi lin casanova, great summary. Thank you for posting it.

You live there so you know. Actually I knew most everything but was robbed anyway.

I cannot stress enough what I believe adds a lot of danger, to me is that they act in a groups. Not two or three individuals but even more.

The way they seem to appear out of the blue moon.

If you think we were robbed not at Puerta del Sol nor at any tourist place that I know of, but at station Alonso Martinez, West of Salamanca or may be it is in Salamanca.?
Is there anything in Alonso Martinez I am not aware of?
No tourist landmark there that I know of.
The time was lunch time a Sunday. The station was neither deserted or very full.

My question to you is: is the situation detoriorating
fast lately or is it my imagination.? Are there more groups engaged in this lucrative activity than a few years back or would you say is the same?

Me, I pack a Magnum. Never had any trouble up to now.

Thanks for the tips anyway.

I would add one thing to lincasanova's list: you should not only be alert, but you should look alert. Most thieves go for easy pickings, and they are more likely to target people who seem to be off-guard.

Go to any popular tourist destination and observe people as if you were a pickpocket or sneak thief. It is fascinating to see how many seem to be offering themselves as victims. I am grateful to them, for they draw the thieves away from me.

I've been discussing pickpocketing with my Swiss friends. One friend's wallet was stolen in a local McDonald's. A person who works for Migros told us that purse theft has increased dramatically.

Moral: It can happen anywhere and to anyone (locals too!)

All those tips are gold dust, linca.

But the bottom lime is people who haven't travelled much will always be victims. Especially if they are American - so ignorant about the world outside their borders.

They are ignorant because their education system doesn't place any value on learning about other countries.

No need after all - couldn't possibly be anything outside the US of value.

It would be funny if it weren't so serious.

I disagree Chimani.

The victims are locals, European tourists, American tourists, ANYONE.

The thieves don't care if you're American, Arabian, Chinese, European or a local. They just want money. Basta.

Chimani - That's called blaming the victim. I think most of the above posters aren't Americans so you are making assumptions. My daughter lived in Madrid last year and traveled the subway daily in non-touristy areas. She was never mugged, but she saw it happen quite often.

I agree with Shuler. I wasn't robbed until my 21st and 22nd international trips.- Both in Rome. They were my 8th and 9th trips to Rome. I know Italians who've been pick-pocketed in their own country.

The thieves are opportunistic ... the key is to minimize their opportunities, but dont' be paranoid about it.

lincasanova,

I have stayed at Hotel Europa on Puerta de Sol and witnessed what you described. Thieves are thieves everywhere in the world you travel. Thanks for posting this it will be helpful to the innocent who are just looking for a good time.

chimani,

Sounds like you have a personal vendetta against Americans. This is a travel forum not your personal venue for hate speech.

You only paint yourself as a bigot and shame your fellow countrymen by making such bigoted remarks.

I hope you can find it in your heart to give all people of the world the respect we all deserve and give helpful and useful information not your hate speech.

Aloha!

I have only been robbed in the States when I was younger ( altho I hung onto my hard earned cash inside my purse and they got nothing).

Most tourists who get robbed ( purse snatch etc) could avoid it if they had on a money belt. If you have nothing of value in your purse or wallet, who cares if it is stolen?

One needs to use common sense and be extra alert in ANY city around the world and any place where crowds gather.

It is a good idea to stay alert and aware and pro-active against the crooks all the time as they are always on duty looking for a victim.

We have been traveling in Europe for 7 months and have had no problems and have found that most of those who have had problems took some chances or got distracted.

I have to admit even in my own mugging, I made some critical errors.Don't ever let your guard down when you are carrying valuables!

WTnow wrote: "If you have nothing of value in your purse or wallet, who cares if it is stolen?"

Referring to another thread: people who do not feel complete without their Louis Vuitton purses.

Lincasanova, thank you for posting this well-worded and non-inflammatory information.

I second the advice and would emphasize the need to take care in a hotel lobby; I was the victim of a mugging at the hotel reception desk a few years ago. This is a place where most of us would tend to let our guards down. I certainly did and paid the price!

Just a modicum of caution...

Hi chimani, most of your assumptions are way out of target...
all kinds of people get robbed, what that has to do with the American education system?

I don't buy neither that nor that some people have to steal because they .....you know for any of the excuses in vogue following the political correctness sense of guilt.

I know you did not say that but I have heard some people do it.

Just pass over Chimani's comments. This poster likes to swing by the Europe board occasionally to stir up trouble. He was giving us Brits a bad name last week.

Robbery=armed confrontation with a victim placing the victim in imminent fear of physical injury or death.
Mugging=generally unarmed confrontation but equally serious threat of injury or actual injury.
Pickpocketing or theft=deceptive taking of victims valuables.
I think we need to use correct terms to be informative. Theft or pickpocketing is serious enough but robbery or mugging has very serious consequences to both victim and perpetrator if caught. I don't think this thread is discussing "robbery".

i have had clients listen to a "safety in valencia" "mini speech " i give before we venture to learn the metro and visit a market.

well.. it took 5 minutes in the market for one to get robbed.

she had her backpack on her back.. and "the group" pushed past us and one by one must have unzipped her zipper. then finessed her wallet (LIFE) out.

this is after i had said to keep things in the front.

oh well.

even with warning it is hard to imagine how SLICK these guys/girls are.

is it happening more? You bet it is.

we have thousands of illegal immigrants and legal immigrants and perhaps SOME locals who fnd it much more lucrative to steal all day than work.

rarely are they caught with the goods on them, nor put in jail (due to some unexplainable lax system we have and tardiness of coming to trial).

hopefully something will give here at some point.

...ooops, so I guess I was robbed, not mugged!!!

I just wanted to add something to lincasanova's suggestion about taxis.
While we were in JFK waiting on our luggage last week, two women who spoke very broken English asked the customs officals how to take the subway into town, he advised not to as they spoke English poorly and were clearly tourists and it wouldn't be safe if they got lost. They argued for a few minutes about it being too expensive and the customs official again said it was better to be safe than lost in a foreign country barely speaking the language.
I doubt they took the taxi and wonder if they were ok. Very scary to me.

I think all of lincasanova's points were excellent, as well as many of the comments. However, I think this goes beyond traveling. Don't be lulled into a false sense of security just because you are on home ground.

I guess I get the brass ring, because I've experienced all three of the crimes defined by macanimals (armed robbery twice). Three of the incidents occured in upscale neighborhoods in Washington, DC. The only one that occurred on foreign soil, the pickpocketing, was by far the least traumatic, and the local police were far more accommodating than DC's finest.

So just remember, the world has changed. It is important to be streetwise wherever you are.