What is the world's worst city for pickpockets?

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This was published 9 years ago

What is the world's worst city for pickpockets?

By Michael Gebicki
Barcelona is the world's pickpocket capital.

Barcelona is the world's pickpocket capital.Credit: Cathryn Tremain

Barcelona. The combination of spellbinding urban beauty, crowds of distracted visitors carrying imprudent amounts of cash, a vast army of unemployed and a police force stymied by the sheer number of scoundrels make this a happy hunting ground for those who would relieve visitors of their wallets, purses, bags and cameras.

Their strategies are ingenious. Fake policemen who ask to see your passport, the helpful stranger who points out the splotch of pigeon poo on your jacket and offers to wipe it off, the flower seller holding out a blossom, the raucous girls who sit down at the next café table and leave without ordering, the young student who approaches and asks you to complete a survey – they're all scammers.

What they have in common is the aim of distracting you, and you can assume that anyone who approaches you and asks for your attention has malicious intent.

Be alert but not alarmed. Don't look rich, try not to look like a tourist and don't carry anything you're not prepared to lose.

Take the cash you need for the day and maybe one credit card if you plan to shop, and there is absolutely no need to carry your passport. If you find yourself in an uncomfortable situation and you're being hemmed in, make lots of noise. Shout, scream - the last thing thieves want is attention.

If you are robbed, report it to the police – join the queue of the dispossessed – who will issue you with a denuncia, a report to enable you to make a claim against your insurer, but you will never see your goods again.

Don't expect any help from the police, compassion fatigue chased sympathy out the door long ago.

Finally, Barcelona is an entrancing and enchanting city. Don't let fear keep you away.

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