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The lost art of pickpockets

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Re: The lost art of pickpockets

#51

Post by wmf »

makmanalp wrote: post #43
mechanical_fish wrote: post #19

Those who have no stomach for violence can eke out a living snatching cell phones on the subway, which are much easier to convert to cash than stolen credit cards... At first I thought this was a fake semantic distinction, but now I see: Snatching is not the same as pickpocketing, because the mark helpfully takes out the most valuable item they own and holds it in prime stealing position for you, instead of concealin…

My mother taught me never to take out valuables, especially money, in crowded public places. Isn't this a common teaching, such as "never cross the road without checking for cars"?

Sure, but the point of smartphones is that you can use them any time, anywhere.

Re: The lost art of pickpockets

#52

Post by ugh »

sp_ wrote: post #4
there wrote: post #2

i bet the proliferation of skinny jeans is to blame. the person wearing the jeans can barely get their own hand in their pocket, how's a pickpocket supposed to do it undetected?

I can confirm this first hand. Two pickpockets tried to get my stuff in Barcelona. One had his hand in my left pocket with my cell phone, the other one in the right pocket with my wallet and passport. Sorry, folks, but my jeans pockets are like monkey traps. If you grab anything in there you won't be able to get your hand out. They pickpockets figured that out quickly and ran off without any loot. Tight jeans saved m…

Ah, damn. I should have known that. My wallet was stolen in Barcelona. (The police was super nice, everyone in the German consulate was extremely grumpy. Since only 50€ and my ID card were stolen I didn’t care one bit and continued traveling all around Europe as planned even though – as the woman in the German consulate grumpily told me – that is most definitely verboten. Open borders are nice.)

Re: The lost art of pickpockets

#53

Post by makmanalp »

anateus wrote: post #48
makmanalp wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My mother taught me never to take out valuables, especially money, in crowded public places. Isn't this a common teaching, such as "never cross the road without checking for cars"?

In most parts of the US such lessons are rare. I grew up in the Middle East where I learned similar lessons. To many here's unthinkable that one can't just leave their bag lying next to them, or some such. Heck, outside of the cities many people here don't even lock their doors.

Yup, I'm from Turkey. Maybe it is a Middle East thing.

Re: The lost art of pickpockets

#54

Post by [deleted] »

christkv wrote: post #31

Barcelona is damn bad for pickpocketing so watch yourself if you are in town and look around you for potential thieves. Be especially vary of people who are very nicely dresses as it's a normal rouse to dress sharply so you have your guard down. Also a jacket casually over the arm can be a sign that they are looking for quick dives into open handbags etc. I usually just assume an agressive posture and look around. If…

[deleted]

Re: The lost art of pickpockets

#55

Post by ananthrk »

btilly wrote: post #35
there wrote: post #2

i bet the proliferation of skinny jeans is to blame. the person wearing the jeans can barely get their own hand in their pocket, how's a pickpocket supposed to do it undetected?

I disbelieve. My brother learned to pick-pocket for giggles and grins. And I've seem him demonstrate the skill. Tight jeans is not a challenge as long as the target's attention is elsewhere.

True. I had my cellphone picked from my jeans when trying to board a bus. My attention was on ensuring whether i was boarding the right bus and i was relieved off my cellphone in a matter of couple of seconds.

Re: The lost art of pickpockets

#56

Post by hammock »

sp_ wrote: post #4
there wrote: post #2

i bet the proliferation of skinny jeans is to blame. the person wearing the jeans can barely get their own hand in their pocket, how's a pickpocket supposed to do it undetected?

I can confirm this first hand. Two pickpockets tried to get my stuff in Barcelona. One had his hand in my left pocket with my cell phone, the other one in the right pocket with my wallet and passport. Sorry, folks, but my jeans pockets are like monkey traps. If you grab anything in there you won't be able to get your hand out. They pickpockets figured that out quickly and ran off without any loot. Tight jeans saved m…

Barcelona is really bad. I lived there for a while, and was never pickpocketed but was attempted multiple times, each time in the metro down at the south end of Las Ramblas. I have seen people's wallets get picked in the tourist areas. This is the same area where all the shell game people are.

I was eating in a cafe with a girl once in Gracia, and her bag was stolen off the chair next to her (dumb of her to put it there, dumb of me for not warning her or paying more attention).

Another time I was out at night with friends, and the girl walking in front of me on the sidewalk had her shoulderbag straight ripped off her arm by a speeding moto, knocking her to the ground.

The key I think is awareness of your surroundings, and preventive measures like checking your belongings regularly (I have a habit of tapping my pockets when passing people etc). And don't go into any place where you feel uncomfortable.

Re: The lost art of pickpockets

#58

Post by [deleted] »

Semiapies wrote: post #23
araneae wrote: post #20

We're supposed to be sad about this? I mean, sure, if it were being replaced with more violent thievery that would be bad, but crime has been dipping across the board.

It's a romantic post, hence the references to all the fictional depictions of pickpockets. It's very much of a piece with the heroes of caper films - people don't normally root for crooks, but the idea of a nonviolent, clever crook who puts a lot of work into perfecting what he does appeals to people.

[deleted]

Re: The lost art of pickpockets

#59

Post by kingsley_20 »

anateus wrote: post #48
makmanalp wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My mother taught me never to take out valuables, especially money, in crowded public places. Isn't this a common teaching, such as "never cross the road without checking for cars"?

In most parts of the US such lessons are rare. I grew up in the Middle East where I learned similar lessons. To many here's unthinkable that one can't just leave their bag lying next to them, or some such. Heck, outside of the cities many people here don't even lock their doors.

Same lessons from India, so I think it's a developing world thing. Or maybe even a high-income-disparity-culture thing?

Re: The lost art of pickpockets

#60

Post by anateus »

kingsley_20 wrote: post #59
anateus wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In most parts of the US such lessons are rare. I grew up in the Middle East where I learned similar lessons. To many here's unthinkable that one can't just leave their bag lying next to them, or some such. Heck, outside of the cities many people here don't even lock their doors.

Same lessons from India, so I think it's a developing world thing. Or maybe even a high-income-disparity-culture thing?

Yes, probably. These things are also common in some parts of Europe. For example, I remember being told to beware of pickpockets and bag snatchers in Spain in the 90s.
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