Anywhere and by anyone. Just the other night here in Europe I was at a bar with friends when a group grabbed our jackets off the pegs near us and bolted out of the bar. I gave chase and caught them after they were already in a taxi. I was very surprised to find three drunk Americans. A few more seconds and they would have been long gone with our jackets and passports in tow.

Not to be too critical, but many of the thefts listed on this forum seem to be because people are behaving a bit stupidly. Leaving passports in jackets in a bar would seem to fall under the same heading.

Protect your property. Beware of "friendly" strangers, and be cognizant of the opportunity that crowded places offer to pickpockets.

In general, I try not to be in very crowded places, or if I am, have my hand over my shirt pocket where my money is. And of course, don't take out more stuff than you need. When I'm traveling, I'll keep my money and valuables in the safe, and just take out what I need for that day. So, if I'm robbed, I lose a 2 year old digital camera, and maybe $50-$100.

Yes, point taken. Sometimes you have reason to have your passport on you and you can't help that, but we should have been more vigilant.

I've flown millions of miles, and have never, and can't think of a reason why, I would ever leave my passport in a coat jacket, hung up in a bar.

If I'm not flying internationally, then I don't have my passport with me.

I am of the opinion that it's usually the city you least expect it to happen as you drop your guard for such an event. Every city, town in any part of the world is pickpocket territory if you make it easy for them...it's up to you to make it less likely to happen.

I have never had a problem in Buenos Aires until a few weeks ago when I was in the metro. I had a pair of trousers on which had cargo pockets closed with velcro. As it was quite busy and I was only going two stops I stood at the door next to a innocent looking chap who was facing out. I heard the noise of velcro being opened, looked down to see this guys fingers next to the pocket. I brushed them aside and he went and found a seat. His tactic was to look at the reflection of his "target" through the glass and obviously to make a fast exit should he be successful....so never stand at the door on a metro train if it's busy.
Little did he know that the bulge in my pocket wasn't a wallet but a packet of fags.

With the taxes most countries add to the price of cigarettes, he may have considered that a good haul!

I agree with you on keeping your guard up, though. My husband and I went to Rio in 2000 and we knew it was risky. I wore jewelry so minimal it wasn't worth stealing, nothing went in our pockets, and I didn't carry a purse or anything that looked like one. When I bought a bracelet at H. Stern it was kept hidden in a dirty sock in my suitcase till we went home. (The irony is that they sell exquisite jewelry in Rio-you just don't want to wear it on the street.) I could go walking on the beach undisturbed, but I wore only my swimsuit and a T-shirt. We had a great trip.

Sure, it stinks that the onus is on the tourist to protect against criminals, but you just have to decide which destinations are worth it.

I got hit by the worst group of pickpockets ever on the Barcelona metro who attempted just this tactic. With carry-on bags in each hand, I wasn't moving quickly and didn't really think that the group of people crowding the door (with me between them and the door) might be attempting to steal something. They were just.... really really bad at it. The guy going for my wallet was so off-target that for half of it I actually thought he was trying to feel me up, rather than steal anything. End result, when the train stopped one of them made a half-hearted attempt to carry off the bag I had a firm grip on, so he failed pretty miserably. The rest of them got nothing.

Based on actual crime witnessed, I'd rank Madrid higher, but that's probably due to total time spent in each city.

I don't think that there are any big cities out there that don't suffer with petty thieves and they don't always target tourists - even locals get caught occasionally.

I was sitting on the terrace outside a pub near my office in London last summer and one of my friends got caught. There were four of us (two blokes, two ladies) sitting around a table and one of the girls had put her handbag on the table between us all after going to the bar to buy a round of drinks. Within 10 minutes of sitting down she noticed it had gone - literally from under the noses of the four of us. The fact that someone pinched it from middle of four people facing each other just shows how clever they are. None of us can recall any diversion tactics and no-one came to talk to us to ask for a lighter (a common tactic with pickpockets).

Laptops are also commonly lifted in bars in London - one of my colleagues caught someone trying to walk off with his laptop bag from a bar a few weeks ago. The thief just handed it back and claimed to have picked up the wrong bag but then walked out the bar empty handed so clearly was lying. The surprising thing is that he was wearing a smart suit and blended into the crowd seamlessly. Even the police would have had a hard time picking him out as a thief.

But from personal experience Barcelona is the worst for petty crime - I know several people who have had the unfortunate experience of having their wallets stolen there.

If you let worries about pick pocketing put you off, then you will do yourself out of some wonderful experiences in life.

Yes, obviously pickpockets are an issue in Barcelona and Rome and Paris and London....and just about anywhere where there are lots of targets who make good victims (lots of cash on then, cameras etc.). Should it make you more vigilant? Yes of course. Should it put you off going? Definitely not.

Btw. my own anecdote of Barcelona is completely the opposite. After spending the day sightseeing we were at the Hard Rock Café when my husband realised his wallet was missing. Fearing the worst my husband went to the police station to report it, whilst my mum and I retraced our steps. We were extremely grateful when we realised it had in fact been handed it at La Pedrera, with all it's contents. So yes, bad things can happen, but so you may also be positively surprised.

I have spent a lot of time in crowded parts of and on public transportation of the following cities: San Francisco (thousands of hours), New York City (many dozens of hours), London (many dozens of hours), Rome (many dozens of hours), Paris (many dozens of hours). Not only have I never been successfully pick-pocketed in these cities, I've never even caught anybody trying.

On the other hand, I wasn't in Barcelona's central train station more than 10 minutes before I caught a woman trying to unzip my messenger-style laptop bag slung over my shoulder. (I wasn't foolish enough to have been carrying my laptop with me on a play-tourist day; had she successfully unzipped my bag, she would have found a turtleneck, a bottle of water, and a Nutella sandwich.)

However, that's not going to stop me from returning to Barcelona if I get a chance.

In the UK it's common to carry one to prove your age if you don't have a driving licence. Often, these two documents are the only ones acceptable for proving your age for alcohol purchase.

Hung up in your coat is just asking for trouble, though. A new passport costs something like �80-�100 these days. I wouldn't leave �80 unattended in a coat, so why a passport?

Neil

Good advice. And the trick you mention is quite popular in Manila.

Also Rome.

Hands down, just about any place in Vietnam, though I'm sure Hanoi and HCMC especially. Many in places like Barcelona and Amsterdam are rank amateurs (I've had problems there), but the teams in Vietnam are better-practiced.

Again, I've been to 55 countries, and have had hardly any problems. I often to go third world countries, and other places on this thread that there have been lots of reports of pickpockets.

I think a lot of it has to do with not being an easy target. In the last 10 years, I've spent a total of 5 years in many of the places mentioned here. Never lost a penny. I have been overcharged by taxis a few times, but that's hard to avoid.

Mostly, just don't take out more than you can afford to lose. Whether you're in a Brazilian favela, the worst part of Lima, or London, always figure you're target, and protect your belongings accordingly.