worried

I intend to wear neck pouch under my clothing. How do the pickpockets steal your money if you wear your pouch under your cloth? I think I should secure my pouch a safety pin. It seems like Italy and France has high petty theft rate.<BR><BR><BR>

MJH

I usually wear a money belt around my waist. I keep my passport, a credit card, airline tickets, extra local currency, and the international phone numbers for my credit cards.<BR><BR>I carry a wallet with a credit card and some local currency to keep me going for the day. Maybe my daily metro train card. I keep my wallet in my front pocket and I keep my hand in it when walking in and out of the train and train stations.<BR><BR>Also, I take cash out at the airport's ATM to get the best exchange rate and no fee withdrawl. My bank does not charge me for withdrawls outside my network. I've done this in Italy, England, Germany, France, Belgium, and Japan. I take about US$100 and I keep taking money out of ATMs when needed.<BR><BR>I pay with credit cards everywhere I can to conserve cash. I make sure that my credit card does not charge me a foreing transaction fee. Some credit cards do this and include it in the exchange rate. I don't carry those credit cards with me!<BR><BR>This is how I prevent losing all my money if my wallet is stolen.<BR><BR>MJH

mh

read the threads on paris and rome for better ideas of what folks have done to successfully avoid becoming a statistic.

just

Since pickpockets are "in it for the money", wouldn't they all be professionals? Or are there amateur pickpockets who only steal things of no value? And if they accidentally snatch a wallet or purse, do they lose their amateur status if they don't give it back?

Al Godon

Perhaps they are professionals only if they derive more than half of their income from picking pockets. <BR><BR>Perhaps they pick pockets during the day and moonlight as pimps, or vice versa. <BR><BR>I do have a question about foiling would be pocket pickers. Some of the men's trousers I have seen in travel catalogs have zippered back pockets. <BR>Would a closed zippered pocket really stop a skilled pickpocket??<BR>Or could one of them unzip it and take your wallet without you feeling a thing??<BR>I have also heard that several rubber bands around your billfold make it harder to remove from your pocket.<BR>Any truth in that statement?<BR>

elaine

I've heard the rubber band thing to, sounds like a good idea as long as the wallet is in a front pocket.<BR><BR>I personally think all back pockets and backpacks are asking for trouble, zippered and locked, or not. On the other hand, I've been fine on every trip with just a large totebag, zippered top, zippered internal pockets, held close to me, but not uncomfortably so. Some people feel that not using hidden pouches is also asking for trouble. <BR><BR>Despite many trips abroad I was actually worried last fall about going to Rome because of all the "stories"--I was fine there too and didn't even feel vulnerable. I used the metro, was in crowded places, etc. The only incident that even came close was when I was approached by two urchins carrying a sign of some kind. I shooed them away with a hand gesture before they even got close, and then I left some money in a church poor-box to ease my guilt.<BR>I live in a large city at home so maybe I'm a little more street savvy. <BR><BR>Each person should do what they're comfortable with. Worry ruins a trip. But while theft rates are higher, the majority of tourists are still not crime victims.

Sue

I use a waist belt, and yes, I do secure it with a safety pin. Whatever method you choose, it must be comfortable enough that you aren't tempted to stop using it.<BR><BR>Regarding professionalism: I believe that for tax purposes, pickpockets need only declare income derived from locals. Tourists are tax-free, which is why they'd rather steal from us. <BR><BR>

Bob Brown

Immediately after WW II in Europe, the US Dollar and the Swiss Franc were highly sought after currencies. Most of the European accounts were "blocked". That means that there were restrictions on foreign exchange, and exchange rates were fixed by law, but if you had US or Swiss money, you could buy anything. I can remember when there was a fairly large unofficial market in Paris for US dollars. If you exchanged greenbacks on the street, the rate was much, much better. Unfortunately, the exchange was also riskier.<BR>There were all kinds of scams to relief American servicemen and tourists of their US green, with some brilliant schemes being perpetrated in Pig Alley, as it was called. <BR>If a pickpocket could not harvest enough green the light fingered way, there was always the tactic of mugging.<BR><BR>So many of the prime tourist attractions in Europe have a long history of pocket picking as a source of foreign exchange. Although highly unofficial, it was an encouraged industry in the immediate post WW II period. Best source of hard currency available to the small entrepreneur!!<BR>That sounds cynical, but start toting up those tourist dollars and you will quickly understand the impact of tourism on many economies.<BR>If the American tourist rate in Paris fell to 10% of current levels, I bet there would be a major impact on the hotel and restaurant industry in the single digit arrondissements.<BR>