How to OUTSMART Pickpockets in Europe (Avoid Scams + Stay Safe)

this video is brought to you by Unbound Mourinho okay very unfortunate reality of any trip to Europe is the potential of pickpockets in today's video I'm going to share several tips that will help you avoid being pickpocketed and even some things you could do to outsmart pickpockets that make an attempt [Music] here from away together my wife Ali and I have traveled extensively throughout Europe and one thing that we've encountered our fair share of is scams and pickpockets so today we're going to cover things like why Europe even has so many pickpockets the circumstances where pickpocketing happens and several things that you can do to avoid being pickpocketed like where to keep your items what to wear and several other tips that I'll share along the way now right out of the gate I want to say this I don't think visiting a European city is more dangerous than visiting a city anywhere else Europe overall has pretty low rates of violent crime however petty theft like pickpocketing can be common in certain places throughout Europe now pickpocketing happens all over the world every single day but the top five cities for pickpocketing at least at the time of filming this video are Barcelona Paris Rome Prague and Madrid do you see the correlation there's probably no surprise that these are some of the most visited tourist cities in the world and by the way this is not me picking on Europe actually pickpocketing used to be really prevalent in the USA as well there's a lot of different ways and places that pickpocketing happens but rather than give you a comprehensive list of every scheme to be on the lookout for I want to teach you the three circumstances pickpockets use to trick you and I'll fill in examples along the way circumstance number one you're in a crowd places like tourist landmarks and train stations drop big crowds and a disproportionate number of tourists these are prime spots for pickpockets because generally where there are tourists there are pickpockets in crowded situations you're more likely to get bumped into the classic pickpocketing scenario is the bump and lift someone accidentally bumps into you and they take something think about how likely that is standing in front of the Eiffel Tower or on the Charles bridge or around the Duomo in Florence you also want to consider public transportation many parts of Europe have amazing public transportation systems and you should totally use them but these are places to be especially aware Metro and train stations are crowded and the metro and train cars themselves can be too a common pickpocketing occurrence is actually on the train itself as you're getting off someone will jam up the door and then people are in a hurry trying to get it open and get out you're focused on stepping off you finally do get off and then you realize your phone's gone that leads us to circumstance number two you're distracted when you witness a public commotion or a strange distraction that's a time to be especially Vigilant pickpockets often work in teams and someone will cause a distraction while another will snatch valuables here's some common ones a fight breaks out a group of kids approaches you or encircles you someone falls and gets hurt right in front of you someone appears to pass out someone accidentally spills something on you street performers I love watching a good street performer when I travel but be conscious of the other fans hanging around you're distracted circumstance number three your guard is down a common cause of being pickpocketed is having a misconception about who could be a pickpocket and I'm not sure who you picture maybe a rough adult male maybe some Sinister guy with a twirly mustache I doubt it but the thing is pickpockets can be kids they can be people who are well dressed they could look like other fellow tourists this can be a very subtle thing so my point is don't expect the person who does it to look obvious and just while we're on the topic here's a couple of instances where I've heard of other Travelers being take advantage of okay you're dining in a restaurant you're seated outside it's really nice to sit outside in Europe and enjoy a great view a fellow tourist approaches your table and they're showing you a map they ask for directions and you're nice you try to help all the while their free hand is reaching out and they're snatching your phone off the table they say thank you very much they walk away you realize your phone's gone okay the solution to that one is don't put your phone on the table and actually when you're dining especially if you're seated out side in like a very crowded or thirsty area keep your phone in your pocket your bag put it between your feet or take the strap and loop it around the armrest keep it in your lap keep your stuff secure that's one example another example is really friendly people right going out of their way to get to know you or pay special attention to you I've heard of attractive women targeting drunk men specifically okay okay okay okay I hope I haven't sufficiently freaked you out what I am not saying is to be on high alert your entire vacation so much so that you can't even enjoy yourself what I am saying is this actually happens okay have some situational awareness and so now that you know the situations and the circumstances let's talk about ways that you can prevent being an easy target these are five things that I do to make myself more pickpocket resistant if you will okay first and most important have a plan for your stuff as you're out and about I recommend keeping less with you in general and then valuables that you don't need with you while you're out for the day like maybe a tablet as an example keep that in the hotel room or the Airbnb and the items that you leave in the room don't leave those out in the open I would stash them in your bag and lock the bag or put them in the hotel safe some people swear by that option then as you're out and about you don't need every credit card you own all the cash that you may have gotten for the ATM for your trip just carry enough with you for the day or maybe two days plus your passport your phone and any other items that are essential for you you'll also want to consider the placement of the items that you're carrying with you opt for things that you can keep on the front of your body for example if you carry a purse or a bag with you consider a sling that you could wear in the front this is one that Ali really likes and one thing she likes about it is that the clasp is in the front as well as opposed to in the back something you may consider is a bag that's slash proof some pickpockets are not so subtle and they'll just cut the strap or even into the bag itself some people swear by money belts and to be honest I've never used one I've always just put my items in some other hard to reach place I'm not discouraging money belts but there are alternatives for example if you're a person who puts things in their pockets try to use your front pocket instead of a back pocket not only is this going to be better on your back it's going to give pickpockets a harder time too for example I have this wallet by nomadic it's really meant for the front pocket and I've been carrying it for a few years now another tip is to use clothing specific for travel that is hidden or zippered Pockets these pants and shorts by Unbound Merino have a zippered pocket that's exactly passport sized now if you've seen any of our other videos you already know that I'm a big fan of Merino wool for travel it's soft moisture wicking temperature regulating wrinkle resistant antibacterial resistant to odor which all means that you could wear it more than once on your trip before needing to wash it which then enables you to pack less it's the perfect fabric for travel now I've actually been wearing Unbound Merino for a couple of years now look at this clip this was a couple of years ago that's why I'm very happy that they agreed to sponsor this video before we started traveling full time I researched a bunch of Merino Brands But ultimately I chose Unbound Merino because they are squarely focused on Travelers they took that perfect fabric Merino wool and made pieces specific for travelers this zippered pickpocket deterrent passport pocket it is a perfect example their clothing is simple good looking versatile and high quality next you'll want to make sure that you have backups of any important documents it's lifted your passport your driver's license other important documents you would hate to lose those make sure you have color copies of those stashed somewhere deep in your bag and digital copies of them stored somewhere safe in the cloud that you could access if needed I tend to put these pieces of paper folded up in a Ziploc bag and then I stash them deep in both my personal item bag and my luggage where only I could see or access them consider this a form of insurance in case any of your stuff gets taken speaking of insurance you're going to want to get travel insurance that covers theft or at least consider it you probably already know about or have at least heard of travel insurance typically you think of this for things like interruptions or cancellations to your trip or if you get sick and you have to go to the hospital but many travel insurance policies also cover theft when Ali and I traveled for six months straight I took out a policy with World Nomads that covered every country we visited and part of what was covered was baggage and personal effects in essence that would that would cover the loss of any items that gets stolen make sure you know what's covered for example anything that gets taken from an unattended vehicle is not covered so don't leave stuff in your rental car overnight or really ever read the fine print okay there are catches but travel insurance can honestly be worth it it saved our butts a couple of times tip number five is about mindset earlier we talked about situational awareness and not being naive not every stranger you encounter on your trip is a villain that's out to get you and I would hate the fear of being pickpocketed to keep you from traveling or make you so skeptical that you can't even have a good time balance wisdom and optimism be wise as serpents yet harmless as doves and in the same token if you get pickpocketed don't let it ruin your trip it's gonna suck if something gets stolen and I'm not trying to minimize that at all hopefully some of what I'm sharing this video will help prevent that from happening but please don't let it ruin your trip things are replaceable but memories and experiences are not if you're curious about other scams that you could possibly encounter while traveling I've got a channel recommendation for you portable professional run by my friend Megan shares all kinds of valuable travel tips and she's got a useful and informative video about common scams that you'll want to avoid I'll link her video in the description below please check that out and make sure to subscribe she does a really really good job thanks so much for watching happy travels thank you [Music]

Channel: Away Together w/ Nik and Allie

Views: 218,658

Keywords: pickpocketing, pickpocket, pickpockets in europe, europe pickpockets, how to avoid pickpockets, outsmart pickpockets, stop pickpockets, how to prevent pickpockets, paris metro pickpockets, how to avoid pickpockets in paris, les frenchies, unbound merino, travel tips, europe travel tips, travel scams, unbound merino review, europe travel mistakes, money belt, how not to get robbed when travelling, how not to get pickpocketed, how to prevent pickpocketing, avoid pickpocketing

Id: DDSiKovKsFs

Length: 11min 14sec (674 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 26 2023