yosoyyo

If any of you wonderful people would like to share any experiences of getting robbed in beautiful Barcelona, there's an interactive map where you can add your own personal theft location on www.landofguiris.com and you can even join that site if you are a Barcelona fan and share your everything!!

teacher33

Thirty years ago a beggar approached me in Dublin. As someone earlier mentioned, I felt guilty for my ability to travel and took out some change (a couple pounds=three dollars maybe). She threw it on the ground and called me a selfish miser. It cured me of giving money to beggars--luckily. Cheap lesson all things considered.

A couple years ago I arrived in Amsterdam at the train station. I needed to buy a ticket to the next point in my travels. The line at the ticket counter was long and there was a machine where I could buy tickets. I hesitated while I tried to determine if the machine would give change for the bill I had. A fellow with a uniform (or what appeared to be a uniform) approached and asked in English if he could help. He said the machine would not give change and took my bill as he removed change from his pocket and put it in the machine. Out came my ticket, and I looked to the fellow for change. He said, "I get to keep it; after all I helped you out of a situation." I lost about $10 on that transaction. Dumb, dumb me! A more expensive lesson.

Both times I guess I set myself up; both times looking unsure.

I just hope the "gentleman" bought something good with his takings.

vivi

I was in Venice with vacationing friends in May , I told them how I had been pickpocketed in Vernazza. They just got back from their trip and reported that their 19 year old son was accosted by teen thugs on a narrow street near their Pantheon-area hotel and punched in the face after a scuffle over his wallet! He lost 100 euro in the "transaction" and the thugs threw him back the wallet with ID intact. How very polite, geeeeeeeez.

My daughter had wallet (local ID but not passport) lifted from her purse in Salamanca, ditto my next door neighbor.

tomassocroccante

Just for balance, let us not forget German tourists murdered in Miami 10-15 yrs ago when the rental car was targeted (US rental cars usually have specific # prefixes on the license plates) - con artists MO was to rear end the rental car and rob the tourists(was happening regularly here and there) In one or two florida cases, the robbery took a lethal turn.

One of the real lessons, I think, is to educate oneself a bit before traveling to another country: not just about the dangers, perceived or real, but about what to expect. A person who arrives in Paris with an idea about the layout of the city and it's arrondisments, about how the metro works, about how to get cash from an ATM without looking like a target ... that person will have fewer incidents than one who steps out of his hotel and doesn't know left bank from right. Obviously anyone can be targeted, but pros usually target those who look vulnerable - and that doesn't necessarily mean an elderly woman!

Also note that the events are almost always at the tourist "meccas": the Collosseum, the train station, the subway or bus ...

I would hate for everyone to go around looking over their shoulders for the next bad guy - instead, get an idea of where you are going and what to expect. And please, anyone who leaves her purse or his briefcase on the floor in a busy bar or restaurant is cruising for a bruising. Ditto for hanging over the chair, or on a hook.

Don't be paranoid, but pro-active.

africatravel

About 10 years ago, I was in the American Express office in Florence. Earlier in the day, the ATM machine outside the amex office had eaten up my friend's ATM card so we were in the office to retrieve it.
We were seated at the desk of someone who had gone inside to get the ATM card. I kept my $50 camera between my back and the back of the chair I was in. Foolish, I know, but we were in a private office, still foolish.
My back was touching the camera, or so I thought. When I got up to leave 5 minutes later, the camera was gone. Impressive.
My BP still rises from the thought of my personal item being taken away in such a way. I lost some of my photos and some sense of security...

In a couple days, my family and I are headed to Spain and Italy and I am trying to convince them that pickpocketing rate is very high in these areas, but they think I am making a big deal. *sign*

janisj

I gave a presentation yesterday to a large group of local teenagers and their parents/chaperones who are taking a trip to Europe w/ their youth orchestra.

It was mostly a packing presentation since they are really limited in how much they are allowed to take. But I spent quite a bit of time explaining money/security/money belts and so on. There were lots of rolling of eyes "I'm 16 and I wouldn't be caught dead wearing a money belt" -- until I explained some of the scams/pickpocket tactics - and after the talk was over about 15 or 20 of the kids came up to ask which types of money belts work best.

Hope they follow up and actually use them. A huge group of American teenagers will be a big target.

hanl

"I would never want to be responsible for someone else's passport (or have someone else carrying mine)!"

Agree it's a very stupid idea. A friend of mine was mugged at machete point in Costa Rica while carrying not only his own passport and wallet but a friend's too. Both had to cancel onward travel plans while they stayed in San José trying to sort out new passports, cancel credit cards, etc.

Sue_xx_yy

<<He put his arm around me and....
>>

... said, This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Can I borrow 20 francs till Lunedi?

Tomassosocrante, count me as one who also enjoys your quick wit!

(By the way, that'll be $5....)

Jake1

We've experienced only two robbery attempts in 40 years of travel in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Both unsuccessful.

1996 in Florence, a young fellow on a motorscooter attempted a drive-by purse snatching from one of our traveling companions. She was too strong for him (she was quite a "sturdy" woman; would have made a great pionerr wife).

Last year in Amsterdam, a very incompetent pickpocket made an attempt on us while on a tram. He was so obvious that we all started making fun of him and giving him advice (such as, don't wear a plastic shopping bag on your dipping hand, and, probably more on the spot, change careers). He got off at the next stop to the sound of hoots and laughter.

LadyOLeisure

After many years of travel all over the world, our first and only experience happened last Fall in Barcelona, in the middle of a 35 day "road trip" through France and Spain.

The only time we tried to use the Barcelona subway, we were involved in a potential pick-pocket situation. Just as we were getting on a train, a couple of young boys on skate boards came zipping through the crowd, with some older boys pushing "random" people in the crowd as if they were wanting to avoid the kids while boarding the train. DH Steve suddenly shouted out "HEY! He tried to pick my pocket!" Of course, lucky for us, this was an empty back pocket, which maybe had a local map or museum pamphlet and a comb, but nothing else in it, but he said the guy clearly had slipped his hand all the way in. We didn't take any trains after that, but frankly the weather was so beautiful and the scenery along the bus routes so pretty we really hadn't seen a need to depend on the subway to reach any of our destinations.

SuzieCII

The only time I've been pickpocketed is in my home town at a delicatessen.
Nice though, they took all the money and then dropped the wallet in a mailbox. I was a kid then, all I owned was a driver's license and a medical card.

tomassocroccante

REading some of these I was reminded of a consequence that can arrive when the theft is in your own town:

Say you lose your wallet on the street, or it is stolen. Shortly after you receive a phone call, someone saying "I found your wallet - looks like someone tossed it on the street. No cash, but your credit cards are here. I can meet you later to give it to you."

Then the caller sets up a meeting. Feeling relieved, you don't call the credit card companies. Meanwhile, the caller goes on a shopping trip, figuring he/she has a few hours to spend. No one shows up at the meeting to return your wallet.

If it's your purse or backpack that was lost, with keys inside, they may just set up a meeting really quickly some distance from your home. Then while you're meeting them, they use the keys to enter your place ... (see a Frasier episode where his car is stolen this way.)

Again, this is just information to help avoid a bad problem. Now if we can get squared away on preventing robbery by our HMOs ...

opie

2 attempts and a redemption
My first experience with a robbery attempt was at the Amsterdam central train station. I had noticed the scruffy trio of young men, & held my small purse tightly until I decided to take some pictures of the station. While positioning for the photo, my sister, who had been several feet away from me, suddenly came to my side & dragged me away, telling me she thought the trio was targeting me & about to make their move. They left the platform immediately after that.
2nd attempt was outside Santa Maria Novella train station in Florence. We had just gotten off the train with luggage in tow. As the crush of people started to cross the street, I felt something at my wrist. I looked to my side and the young man that had probably & (badly) tried to lift my watch nervously raced ahead to disappear in the crowd.
"The redemption" was one of my most memorable traveling experiences. Long story short - I forgot my purse (with passport, plane tickets, camera, money, credit cards!) on the Athens subway. With the help of an anonymous young local woman & subway employee, I retrieved my purse with contents untouched exactly where I left it. Greece was the safest place I've travelled to in Europe.

ekscrunchy

Ok, here is my story.

Two years ago in Palermo I was standing in the lobby of my hotel a few minutes after checking in and just an hour or two after arriving in Italy from the US.

I was discussing restaurants (of course) with the female receptionist. Other than the two of us, the lobby of this small hotel was deserted. It was May 1 and the city was very quiet.

A young man walked in and inquired about a room. The receptionist told him to wait his turn, as she was talking to me. He took out a knife, held it to me, and took my wallet that happened to be in my hand at the time. He then walked around the desk and held the knife to the receptionist, took her gold chain with cross, her ring, and forced her to open the cash drawer which he emptied out. I tried to restrain him from leaving the hotel and ran after him screaming as he bolted through the park in front of the hotel. Quite a few bystanders watched him run away.

The police were very nice but nonplussed. They told me they were from Naples and that I should visit their city where none of this type of thing ever happens. (!) They gave me (and my partner, who had been upstairs in the room and missed all the action) a tour of Palermo from their patrol car and took us to the police station where I filled out the reports and made the requisite calls to credit card companies. Two days later Visa delivered a new card to my hotel in Siracusa.

That's about it..also I fractured my finger when I foolishly attempted to restrain the thief and prevent him from taking off with my wallet.

I was very shaken for the rest of the day, but we did have a good dinner at one of the restaurants I had been discussing just before the "event." I was not charged for the two nights at the hotel.

tomassocroccante

EK, it sounds as if you recovered your equilibrium pretty quickly after that frightening event.

I wonder what criminolgists, social scientists and others say about the tourist-target crime = whether they feel the high rate in some places is due to unemployment, immigration (no doubt some blame immigrants for everything), gangs, lack of education? Clearly, most of what we've been talking about has been pre-meditated crime at various levels of "professoinalism", as opposed to "crime of opportunity" when someone sees a purse left on the subway.

Your case was one of happening to be at the hotel desk when the hotel was being robbed, it seems. We're grateful no one was hurt (I haven't even met you but I'm thinking how thankful I am my friend is OK!) As we know, in some of our local neighborhoods the thief would have had a gun - the deli-owner victim, too, like as not - and the results often are very sad indeed.

ekscrunchy

Thomas I think my little event was so unusual, being robbed in a hotel at the desk. And not only did the thief not have gun, but I am embarassed to say that the knife looked like a kitchen knife!! Because the weapon was so unthreatening, and because it happened so fast, I hardly had a second to think about what was happening. The worst part came afterwards when I kept reliving the event in my head and wishing I had hit him over the head or something...I was just so angry! I think I blamed myself for being in the wrong place at the wrong time..I know this sounds silly now, but that is what I was feeling at the time.

I think it was less the case of a professional than of a desperate guy who snagged a good opportunity; the police told me they have a lot of this kind of thing from addicts. This was the same policeman who told me that Palermo was just like "Falluja" and that I should come to his hometown where I would certainly be safe from all wrong-doing! Well, we shall see, since I am hoping to visit Naples next spring!

I walked around with a bandage of my hand for the next week and lots of people (in other parts of the island) asked me what had happened. When I told them, their response was always something on the order of "....oh, Palermo, those things always happen there...but they do not happen here .."

I tried to have a good attitude because I did not want to ruin the rest of the week....! Anyway I did not get hurt so looking back it was just an annoyance...

kaneda

A workmate's wife had a lot of the skin scraped off of her arm while hanging onto her shoulder bag carrying her valuables which was grabbed by a passing motorcyclist on the Costa Brava.

A book dealer I knew told me that he had someone poke him in the ribs with a knife just off 42nd Street in New York. He had $4,000 on him at the time. The guy demanded 25 cents, which he got.

Trying to get a bit of sleep on a long haul flight, I had an attractive young Russian woman sitting next to me put her hand into my thankfully empty pocket for a moment.

23 years ago in a telephone call shop in Delhi I had some well dressed little s*** try to pick my pocket. When I moved away from him, he even followed me to try again, poor as he was at it. I told him and his mates who were standing near by to clear off which they sullenly did.

In Bangkok I have taken to carrying an empty drinks can in my pocket making it about impossible to get at anything further down. I used one particular internet cafe when I was last there and it was amazing how many people left things behind after their spell on the internet. Shopping, shoulder bags and even even a purse that the woman came back for an hour later!

As a tourist, if you are robbed the best you can do is to get a police statement for your insurance company. The police do not give a damn as you're there for a day, a week and then gone. They don't want to do the paperwork and don't even report the crime since you are just a nuisance to them.

In a court case in the UK so years ago an old Albanian woman caught stealing complained to the judge that her people had been stealing for a thousand years. Why should they stop now? Western Europe is now flooded with Eastern Europeans (gypsies, etc) with that same attitude. A Pakistani I worked with in London complained about the number of eastern Europeans in a nearby shopping centre and how his wife had almost had her purse stolen there.

sarge56

Tomas, I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. And that each moment of each day contributes to who we are, at any given moment. I will be a different person in 10 mts than I am right now, by virtue of what I experience in that 10 mts. That being said, I always "recover" from traumatic experiences and try very hard to find the lesson in them. (The carjacking week was 25 yrs ago. Five years ago, I had a week of competition against the original...the day I returned from my brother's funeral, I found a lump in my breast, received a letter from my doctor saying she no longer was taking my insurance, and a sheriff showed up at the door to serve me with court papers that stated I was being sued by a cabdriver who had been involved in a car accident with my then-minor daughter two years earlier!) BUT, again, I try to find the lessons. After my brother's untimely and unexpected passing, (and after the grief started to thin) I no longer questioned "why". I just know it has to be. If I'm delayed two minutes at the checkout, it might mean I'm going to miss being hit by a drunk driver had I not been delayed. If I miss my plane, then perhaps I'll run into an old friend two days later. Everything happens for a reason. I have had many blessings in my life. I figure we all have our crosses and blessings. I am healthy, have two great kids and three beautiful granddaughters; five surviving siblings whom I adore; a great job, a nice home, a wonderful garden and three sweet kitty-cats. Not to mention wonderful friends and many varied interests on which I get to spend my spare time. I hope I don't have any more of those "challenging" weeks, but I will take them in stride. What doesn't kill ya makes ya stronger! Now, with all that said...I have a question. WHY IS IT that the police in these cities (such as Rome) allow these gypsy beggars? Why are there not Italian police stationed in front of the Colisseum and why don't they chase off these kids? I don't understand it. Why do we (as tourists) continue to put up with it? (I'm not talking about your random spots, but those that are quite well-known for this.)
Anyone?

tomassocroccante

Sarge, you have a very healthy outlook.

I don't share your belief that everything happens "for a reason." That requires handing over too much power to "destiny". I do, however, share your conviction that once things happen, we can either curse them or see what we can learn from them. (Or when something good happens, we can either congratulate ourselves for being superior or be grateful. AND we can try to learn something then, too! )

One thing we ought to learn is that random good things don't happen because they are "deserved" any more than do the bad things. People don't "deserve" disease nor do they "deserve" to be born rich or in a free county. The lottery is a game of chance, not God's way of occasionally rewarding a hardworking laborer or housemaid. "Bad things" do happen to "good people," and vice versa. If disease only struck the evil among us, we would be sorely tempted never to seek a cure ... )

I met a woman once who told me she knew what was in store for me - psychic. I asked her to please keep it to herself and not ruin the end of the story for me!

sarge56

Tomas, you make some good and valid points. I don't know about "deserving" per se. But I do believe that what "goes around, comes around". Which is why I try to follow the Golden Rule. I also like "pay it forward" and "random acts of kindness". (Of course, those are truly selfish, because you know how good you feel after you've done something for someone else!)