Probably one of the most popular travel scams and/or hazards in the world is the art of pickpocketing – where sneaky hands cleverly move into your pockets so that your belongings can be removed from your possession in quick time just so that your credit card can be flogged all over the internet to make all sorts of dodgy purchases.
It’s a popular travel alert and warning that you see on all foreign affairs department websites. And rightly so, being pickpocketed would be pretty annoying. It hasn’t happened to me yet, but there is always a first time!
There are definitely more than a few shonky characters out there looking to make pickpocketing their full time ‘business’! In fact, when I was doing some keyword research on what people type into Google, there were quite a few searches for terms like ‘pickpocketing techniques’, ‘how to pickpocket’ and, believe it or not, ‘pickpocket tutorial’!
Pickpockets tend to be everywhere that hordes of travellers and tourists are, especially during peak tourist season – from crowded railway stations to tourists traps, there are some people who make a living solely from stealing from someone else. Sure, there would be many instances where people are forced into desperation to do it just to get by, but I’d honestly rather buy these people a meal!
Sometimes, the warnings are pretty blatant – for example this is a common sight at the Eiffel Tower in Paris:
There are very few places in the world where I would walk into a crowded market with my wallet in my pocket. I couldn’t be bothered of going through the pain of cancelling all my cards and having them re-issued all over again!
Plus having my passport being listed as ‘stolen’ and being interrogated by every border security person for the rest of you life!
Pickpockets – How To Annoy Them!
But I’ve come up with my top ten list on how to annoy those pesky pickpockets for a bit of fun, plus how to potentially avoid them in the first place!
Here is a my Top 10 list of anti-pickpocket techniques!
- Dress up scruffy, like a tight arse traveller. If you don’t look like you’re worth robbing, you won’t be! Plus if you smell bad, that’s an added bonus! Natural pickpocket repellent!
- Always carry a designated decoy wallet in your pocket and hide your real one away. Make sure you leave a note in their in case it’s stolen which says ‘ha ha, are you eating this piece of paper for lunch?’
- Leave only your foreign affairs department ‘how to avoid pickpockets’ leaflet in your pockets just so the pickpocketers might ‘pick up’ on the irony when they steal it
- Always wear anti-pickpocketing trousers so that your gear is always safe in the second pocket. But stuff the first pocket silly with the most useless things you can think of that no one could possibly want
- Wear a silly T-Shirt with an arrow pointing both ways that says ‘They’re way more richer than I am!’
- Alternatively, wear a different T-Shirt that says ‘I’ve already been pickpocketed today, go find some other unlucky punter!’
- Just walk around with your hands in your pockets all day. Even when you’re going to the toilet.
- Become friends with, and then go trevelling with the stealing monkey from Bali so that the monkey can pickpocket all of your stolen stuff back for you! They’re pretty smart and will know who has taken your stuff in no time!
- Travel with a folded up, photocopied Australian five dollar note in your pocket that shows an unflattering portrait of a well known monarch so that when it’s stolen, the pickpocket might still laugh even though he has none of your money! And finally
- Make it very well known that you’re just a travel blogger. The pickpockets will definitely know you’re not worth robbing!
There you go. My shonky travel tips on how to avoid being pickpocketed when travelling!
How about you? What unusual or weird anti-pocket technique do you find works well?
Leave your comment below and share it with the world!
This is hilarious. I love it!
No worries! Some of these tips might actually be practical too!
This article cracks me up! Just to add to tip 4, you could put something icky in your pocket, like a dirty tissue or candy wrapper, to give the pickpocket a nasty surprise 🙂
Sabrina
http://www.babymoonadvice.com
I’m sure pickpockets would love boogers underneath their fingernails!
Im sure some of pickpockets had read your blog. and then now changing their tactics 😀
just kidding. thanks a lot for this sharing informative post 🙂
anyway keep it great ! 😉
Ha ha, I didn’t think of that!
Some great tips! A poor friend of mine got pickpocketed because he was coming home from a night out and believe a girl in Spain was trying o pick him up…. meanwhile, the friendly touches where not so friendly! Hilarious!
I say the best way is to always keep your guard, but you can never be too careful
I reckon you’re friend would have been doubly annoyed at 1) being pickpocketed and 2) not getting lucky!
After I finish packing my backpack I cover the goods with a heavy material with fish hooks sewn to it, when the pick pocket quickly reaches in and grabs whatever they can they will be hooked and caught red handed.