Pick Pockets
 

Is it as bad as I keep hearing from others? My husband and I will be in Madrid & Spain from 4/10 to 4/24.

Hi Imoy,

No.

If you consider the millions of tourists on a given day, then if only 0.01% are victims that comes out to about 100.

These hundred then tell everybody about it.

When was the last time someone told you, "I went to Spain and my pocket wasn't picked"?

Just take the usual precautions that you would in any large city.

I never hear stories of someone wearing a money belt being pickpocketed. I don't wear one...

... and I actually have been pickpocketed, both unsuccessfully... and successfully.

Live and learn.

Or live and (in some cases) fail to learn.

Best wishes,

Rex

Just keep your wits about you. My wife was pickpocketed in the Barcelona metro in the following way. We were going up an escalator next to each other, and two young men were riding up at the same time. No one else was around. The one in front of my wife was fiddling with his watch which happened to fall just as we reached the top of the escalator. He naturally tried to retrieve it clumsily, which meant that my wife was pushed agasint him and thrown off balance and in a panic, which gave his associate behind her a chance to pick her pocketbook while he helped stabilize her. They immediately returned the glass case which had "fallen" on the ground, which was the only thing they had picked out of her pocketbook. We had a near call in Paris in an isolated metro entrance, and I have seen some pretty fancy work on a San Francisco bus. So I wouldn't be more concerned in Barcelona than in any other big city.

That brings up my first rule:

Don't let anyone touch you.

I was never aware in any way of being touched by the thief who successfully picked my pocket at the Colosseum, ira.

I would not have known that it occurred when it did, but some others around me said to me - - I think you just got your pocket picked.

And the unsuccessful pickpocket was in a crowded "standers mass" on a jam-packed metro in Paris. I felt fingers in my pocket; nothing was taken. I yelled "No!" very loudly. And amazingly, I could never tell to whom the fingers belonged. It was not close (in time) to an opening or closing of doors. Spooky.

I was picked on a Paris metro train. Two young guys working together, one grabbed my wrist and pretended to look at the time on my watch. The other one unzipped my purse and had his hand inside when I caught on. I grabbed his hand and jerked it out of my purse. They just died laughing. Never even moved away! Luckily I wear a money belt under my clothing so there was nothing in my bag for them to steal but a few Euros, my map, pen and lipstick. But always be careful - they are very bold.

I was thinking of this for a personal-pick-pocket-plan:

Wear a pair of cargo pants, as many pockets as I can find in a pair. Fill each one with some small but noticeable parcel labeled "Sorry, you are not a winner". It seems a sporting approach.

Love it.... Imagine the look on their face when they figure what's happened! :))

That's too funny, Clifton!

oh oh. cargo pants in Paris??!! Fashion Police alert!
Seriously, I love cargo pants. I do look awful in them though. Alas, choices, choices.

I went to Spain (twice) and my pocket wasn't picked. Don't let fear overshadow your vacation. I read an interesting book not long ago titled, The Gift of Fear. The author said that sometimes people worry so much that they can actually miss the signs that a would be thief or attacker may send off.
Be alert but not afraid. Have a great time, Spain is a wonderful country.

Would putting a mouse-trap in every pocket be considered unsporting? :D

I agree that you shouldn't be afraid. Just be very careful. The 1 in a million wag is an understatement. When we visited the Al Hambra, my sister had her wallet stolen from her purse in the first half hour. She reported it and was told to come by at the end of the day. She got her wallet back. It was there with one or two dozen others. That was on my first trip to Europe. On my second trip, I was walking down the street in Paris in the middle of the day. Felt a rustle in the pocket of my jacket just as a man passed by. I turned around and 20 feet or so down the sidewalk was a man poking into the almost empty pack of cigs that he had just snatched from my pocket. Finding nothing worthwhile, he handed the pack back.

I found one article online just now saying that there are 50 to 60 reported pickpocket incidents at the Coliseum every day. At the main train station in Milan, they 1300 a month.

I think that it really is almost as bad as you hear. Statistically, my personal experience is not a good sample, but I've never been pickpocketed in the U.S. nor do I know of anyone who has. Haven't heard that it is a problem here in U.S. and haven't experienced it. Haven't experienced it elsewhere and the warnings elsewhere are not as strong as in Europe.

From personal experience I would say Spain and Madrid are WAY up there when it comes to watching out for pickpockets. We witnessed more petty crime in Madrid in 24 hours than we've ever seen in the last 10 years combined in Europe. That said, it's not so hard to be safe. Keep your valuables safe and look like you "own" the city.

Fashion police? I'm one of The Usual Suspects. Have even worn jeans. Gasp.

Oh, I don't think putting a mousetrap in at least *one* pocket would be unsportsmanlike. You almost have to - there should be at least one winner. We don't want any lawsuits. We'll just write "congratulations!" on the bottom of the trap, in marker...

I was in Spain last month and didn't have any incidents, and I am a female and was traveling alone.

I wore a money belt just in case, but I also had a small backpack and my cameras with me most of the time. Just be alert, and hold onto your belongings when you are doing things like standing on a metro platform. I also didn't stand too close to other people on the escalators, leaving a few steps between me and the people in front of me, etc.

Have a great trip. Spain is a beautiful country.

Karen

In five trips to France I have had two attemps by pick pockets. Both failed and both were in the Metro. I keep my valuables in a pouch that hangs around my neck and under my shirt and if I have to have my wallet with me I put a large rubberband around it and keep it in my front pocket. I will normally carry a small amount of cash and one credit card in my pocket while in Paris. Be constaintly aware when you are in the metro or a busy tourist area.

In all my travels I have only been pickpocketed once and that was while riding the Barcelona Metro and I was also not using my moneybelt that day.
I agree you should not live in fear...it is easier to "not live in fear" by taking reasonable precautions which include, as far as I am concerned, using a money belt.
Ira's recommendation to "never let anyone touch you" seems a little unrealistic since by the time they HAVE touched you they've already gotten what they want and are speeding away.
You can play it smart or go on your trip worrying...OR you can goon your trip NOT worrying and NOT playing it smart and then come back here and whine about how you were robbed, or pickpocketed, or scammed, etc., and that it happened even though nobody touched you!

Thanks to all for your replies, especially to Clifton and Angel UK. I appreciated the laughs.