kelem@aero.ARPA (Steve Kelem ) (07/12/85)
In Europe there is a popular form of pickpocketing that can be avoided
if you know what to look for. The three cases I am aware of involved a
gypsy (read streetperson) woman with several children. One or more of them
would carry a piece of cardboard which may or may not have anything written
or drawn on it. The cardboard is held in a way that you cannot see their
hands while they are picking your pockets. The cardboard and the children
also serve as distractions so you can't tell what's going on or who's robbing
you or that you're being robbed. I was warned about it occuring on the narrow
walkway to the Vatican Museum in Rome. The people would surround you and not
let you pass until they had finished their business. The street is very busy,
so you can't go into it. I didn't encounter them there, but I did somewhere
else in Rome and I was able to back away from them. A friend was robbed in a
narrow stairway leading out of the Paris metro by the same method.
The friend didn't know she was being robbed and only figured it out later.
What to do about it?
1. Know the pickpocket's methods and be wary in crowds.
2. Avoiding crowds and narrow places is close to impossible considering
they know the territory better than you do. Being cautious (not
necessarily paranoid) helps.
3. Do what many Europeans do with their money - wear it in a pouch that
is fastened to your belt or hung from a string around your neck and
kept inside your shirt.srm@nsc.UUCP (Richard Mateosian) (07/19/85)
> Do what many Europeans do with their money - wear it in a pouch that > is fastened to your belt or hung from a string around your neck and > kept inside your shirt. After my wife had her purse snatched in London last winter, we took some precautions before going to France this June. The main precaution was to leave unnecessary credit cards, library cards, museum memberships, etc., at home, so we knew exactly what we had with us. My wife used a pouch such as described above for a while, then went back to a purse. I obtained a wallet with a belt hook. I wore it inside my pants, hooked over the waist band, and carried most of my money and all of my credit cards and blank checks. An ordinary wallet in my back pocket contained just a small amount of cash and my ID (a business card with my hotel written on it). -- Richard Mateosian {cbosgd,fortune,hplabs,ihnp4,seismo}!nsc!srm nsc!srm@decwrl.ARPA