Unfortunately it is just part of travel. I had zero problems in Bucharest, but have had lots of attempts by pickpockets in many countries. The successful pickpockets were in Amsterdam and Prauge. The most brazen ones were in Barcelona.

Jaimito's keeping all of the valuables inside the coat adds a lot of security to your possesions. My tips for travelers include: Only keep about $10 in your easily accessible pockets. You can even keep a small bundle of 1 lei bills that someone can steal, kind of like what I have heard New Yorker's in the past refer to as "mugger money" Travel with a debit card from one bank and a credit card from another. That way if you call to cancel one after a theft they don't cancel everything that you have. (That happened to me). Also keep $20 in you shoe or bra. That is enough to take a cab back to your hotel, the police station or a bar so you can recover.

Always be aware of your surroundings. At home a group of "youts" would really stand out because our mind has already filed everything else into background noise. While traveling everything is new and our mind is trying to process it all so it is distracted. Just try to be aware.

If you see a situation developing move into a store or restaurant. Thieves will normally just fade away because they don't want to be seen. Don't be shy about yelling. Police and Security are words that are similar in many languages. Yell those and people will respond. Dutch: Politie, French: Police.

Yelling in general will draw attention to you and them. In Barcelona when someone tried picking my pocket I yelled out that he was a MOTHER BLANKITY BLANK PICKPOCKET AND A LOUSY ONE AT THAT. As well as a few other things. Everyone in the area knew that they should be cautious of him.

Safe Travels.