Outdoor Safety Tips for Women:
PICKPOCKETS

For complete Outdoor Safety, pickpockets, though usually nonviolent, will rob you without even knowing - until it's far too late.

Most pickpockets work in crews of three or four. Their favorite haunts? Airports, train and subway stations, shopping malls and other busy areas. They blend in, dressing and acting like others in the environment. ... Their favorite victims? Women with loose, dangling purses. Lost out-of-towners or shy, naïve-looking people concerning outdoor safety. Parents distracted by their kids or babies. Well-dressed folks in pricey clothes or jewelry. For hours, pickpockets will scout stores and ATMs at airports and shopping malls. After victims buy something, the crooks can see where the wallets go. ... The crew tails the victim, then strikes. The first crew member, called "the stall," pretends to drop something in front of the victim, who may be walking along, riding an escalator, or waiting in a line. ... With the victim distracted, a second crew member nabs the wallet. Sometimes, pickpockets will use a suit bag or briefcase to hide their hands. ... Then the pickpocket quietly hands the stolen item to a third gang member, called "the dish," who walks away unnoticed. If the pickpocket is questioned by a suspicious victim or the police, he won't have the goods on him. All of this happens in an average of four seconds.
Excerpted from USA TODAY – 16 June 2003

Crowded public transit areas often have “Beware of Pickpockets" signs. You'll instinctively check for your wallet – thereby showing nearby pickpockets exactly where to go.

Pickpockets go for easy targets. Pickpockets may become friendly with their prey while an associate performs the ‘trick’. A pickpocket who gave up crime said, “Pickpockets’ hands are as fast as a snake. Pockets with zippers and buttons made ‘lifting’ more difficult. “The only plus side is that they are usually bigger, making the actual dip much easier. A razor is the tool when all else fails,” he said. “They hold it between their middle and index finger and with one swift movement slit open the bottom of the pocket. The wallet then falls right into their hands.” ... “A stranger that is quick to greet and anxious to get near you can be a pickpocket. Try to keep a hand on your belongings when such a person approaches you,” he said. “Most people think nothing of it when a person presses or bumps into them.”
Excerpted from The News International (Pakistan) – 15 September 2008

My title is professor of pickpocketry. As a security consultant… I have seen a person steal from someone in a wheelchair. I have seen women bare their breasts and drop their pants to shock and distract their victims if they are accused. ... I probably have more insight into outdoor safety within the subculture of global pickpocketing than any other person in the world, on either side of the law. But that doesn't mean that pickpockets can't outsmart me. Last summer in Rome, my wife and I were packed like sardines in a metro at rush hour. There were 20 people near the door, and 14 were probably pickpockets. A woman was working my hip pocket, gently moving out my [dummy] wallet. I had a small wireless video camera hidden in a cellphone in my right hand, high up filming the action. My wife was to my left, with two guys trying for her handbag. Another team of three guys was trying to go for a tall American man standing near me. I pretended not to notice anything. ... Unbeknownst to me, they succeeded in removing a small video recorder from a bag I was holding at knee level while I was watching everyone's faces. Embarrassing, yes, but I have to acknowledge the finesse of high-end pickpockets because of the perfection in their combination of stealth and precise choreography. I keep my money tucked inside my trousers, in a thin leather pouch hanging from my belt.
Excerpted from the 09 March 2004 New York Times interview with Bob Arno – coauthor of “Travel Advisory: How to Avoid Thefts, Cons, and Street Scams While Traveling” – Bonus Books 2003.

Pickpockets favor pedestrian bottlenecks (street intersections, turnstiles, elevators, escalators, or any doorway such as in a building, airport, bus, or train), or any crowded situation where people aren’t surprised to be touched or jostled. Thieves might use anything – a newspaper, jacket, map, or a baby – to hide their thieving hands. Other distractions include a person falling down, dropping something, or appearing to be ill. In the blink of an eye your wallet is gone.

Long ago, thievery was punishable by death. Ironically, public hangings were prime hunting grounds for pickpockets.

Anyone, from a child, a grandmother, or a beautiful woman, to a distinguished gentleman or an "invalid" in a wheelchair, touching you in any way, is a telltale sign of a pickpocket. They also distract you with anything from conversation to a nearby commotion while a partner picks your pocket. Also beware of small groups of vagrant children – they can swarm and fleece you in seconds.

Have photocopies of the contents of your wallet and keep them in a secure place so you can more easily cancel your cards and get new ones.

Your best outdoor safety protection from these masterful sneak thieves is to keep a tight grip on your wallet (in your pocket) while most vulnerable and to always maintain strong physical contact with your bags. Keep your valuables in hard-to-reach spots or get the stash clothing (such as money belts).

Pickpockets avoid alert prey, but may become violent if you catch them in the act. Better to follow the advice above.

Personal Safety Devices

Deter a violent predator by holding Pepper Spray & a Personal Security Alarm (a.k.a. noisemaker or screamer) in plain sight.

Outdoor Safety Tips for Women: ALL types of street crime and stranger danger - as well as dog attack defense

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