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Pickpockets in France | |
| Every big city in the world has pickopckets. As a visitor, you're a choice target for these stealth thieves. | ||
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Losing your passport, money, credit cards, mobile phone, etc. can ruin your time in France. Your chances of being victimized by pickpockets on Métro, buses, funiculars and trams, at crowded sights and events, are high. You must protect yourself—and you can. How Your Pocket Gets PickedYou're in a crowded Métro station, at a busy bus stop, or in a crowd at an event or waiting in a crowd to enter a sight. The crowd is dense. Two or three people gather around you. (You probably won't notice they've targeted you.) At least one of them, a man or a woman, is short and slender, carrying a cloth bag or garment. She presses next to you, holds the cloth over her arm to hide her slender fingers sliding into your pocket or purse. Immediately upon withdrawing her hand, she passes whatever she's stolen to an accomplice next to her, and the duo or trio depart together in a hurry. You never feel a thing—but whatever was in your pocket is gone. As a visitor, you're a particular target. You may not expect pickpockets at home, you may carry your valuables the same way you do at home. Don't expect to feel the hand in your pocket. You won't! On a recent trip, both of us (Jane and Tom) had pocket-picking attempts made on Métros in Lyon and Paris. We followed the rules below and the thieves got nothing (except some choice words from us). Be proactive! Here are ways to protect yourself: 1. Only carry what's essential for the day's activities. On most daily excursions, you can probably leave your passport, some important cards and documents, and most cash in your hotel's safe storage. 2. Carry valuables underneath your clothing, in a cloth pouch around your waist or hanging from your neck or leg, beneath your clothes. If it's in a pocket, a pickpocket can get it. If it's not, not. 3. Carrying a purse, cross-body bag or backpack, hold it close in any crowded situation. Be aware that a pickpocket can unzip or undo the catch and snatch your wallet or phone in seconds without your feeling it. Hold or lock the zipper or catch! 4. In a vehicle (Métro, bus, tram), claim a seat if at all possible. If not, stand next to a wall or at the very end of the car. Don't stand where you can be surrounded. The worst place to stand is in the center near an exit, holding on to a support bar. This is the best situation for pickpockets to surround you: you can be surrounded on all sides, one of your hands is gripping the support bar, and you don't have 360° vision. It's easy for them to steal your stuff and exit the vehicle as soon as the doors open. 5. Identify suspicious situations. Situational awareness is extremely important! If you see two or three people looking at you, approaching or touching you, bumping into you—they're searching for where your valuables are. Suspect short, slender people, male or female, even children. At least one of the thieves will probably fit this profile. What If They Try?What can you do if pickpockets make an attempt on you? Not much, and they know this. Shout Pickpocket! (it's the same word in French and English), and they'll deny it. Fight back and they will fight you and claim that you started the fight. They may even carry weapons—remember, these people are criminals. Someone could get hurt. Unfortunately, there's little you can do—except protect yourself in the first place. Don't be an easy mark, and don't let them get your stuff.
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Paris Métro, pickpockets' favorite target area.
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