
Larger-size “pocket secretaries” are particularly inviting to pickpockets, and relatively easy to steal.ĭo not carry your wallet in your purse. Never pat your pocket to see if your wallet is there this lets a criminal know the exact location of your valuables. The best place for keys is on a chain attached to your clothing. Some people even place a rubber band around their wallet, because the rubber band creates friction and rubs against the fabric of your pocket if someone is attempting to remove it without your knowledge. Keep large sums of money, credit cards, IDs, in your front pocket or any buttoned or zippered pocket. If you have to carry your wallet in an unbuttoned jacket, coat or pants pocket, be sure it holds only what you can afford to lose. A pickpocket generally avoids front trouser pockets, and especially buttoned or zippered pockets. The target areas are back trouser pockets, and suitcoat and sports jacket pockets, located both inside and out. What can you do to protect yourself? The best protection is to eliminate the opportunity of becoming a victim in the first place. This entire act only takes a second or two. The expert pickpocket reaches into the top of the pocket, takes up a pleat in the lining, and continually folds the lining up until the bottom of the pocket (holding your valuables) reaches the top of the pocket. When a female member is used in this “team effort,” her role is generally to engage the victim in conversation to distract his or her attention.Ĭontrary to what most of us believe, experienced pickpockets do not put their hands all the way into your pocket to steal your belongings. He then passes them on to the next member who disappears quickly from the area. The first team member removes the valuables from the unsuspecting victim’s pockets. Many times, pickpockets work alone however, there are also teams of two or three, which sometimes will involve a female accomplice. In fact, about the only "known" fact about pickpockets is that they generally focus on the public during times when they may be carrying more money than usual, such as during the holidays, at store sales, at fairs or carnivals, at casinos, or near bank entrances, etc. They operate in crowds just as easily as "accidentally" bumping into an unsuspecting victim alone on a sidewalk. Pickpockets don’t have a regular schedule they operate just as well at night as they do during the day.


#Professional pickpocket how to
Because of their chosen "line of work," they spend a great deal of time studying how to blend into a crowd, therefore eliminating the possibility of detection before they can get away. He (or she!) appears as an average person in both appearance and manner. Protecting yourself from a pickpocket or other thief is not as difficult as you would think just a few thoughtful precautions can be enough to give you peace of mind and confidence in going about your day.Īn experienced pickpocket is not necessarily the sleazy person lurking in dark doorways we expect to see.
