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Pickpockets have been around since the beginning of currency. They steal wallets, purses, and backpacks, and since the advent of credit cards, they can steal identities. They look for distracted targets and use tricks to blend in. To prevent theft, carry money in inaccessible places, keep a list of everything in your wallet, and use lockers in crowded areas.
Pickpockets can be said to have existed since the birth of currency. A pickpocket is usually a petty thief, who steals directly from a “mark,” or person, by taking his wallet from his pockets, purses, backpacks, or fanny packs. References can be found in Shakespeare to pickpockets and these cunning individuals who work en masse at hangings, and certainly one of the most famous literary references is to the gang of thieves in Charles Dickens’ novel Oliver Twist.
Since the advent of the credit card, the pickpocket has the ability, when he picks up a wallet, to steal far more than any cash it contains. A pickpocket can also use anything like checkbooks, ATM cards, driver’s licenses, passports, social security cards, or credit cards, to withdraw money directly from someone’s bank account or line of credit. This increases the total profit and some pickpockets no longer steal for the money but for identities which they can then access or sell to others in the criminal underworld.
The pickpocket tends to look for the easiest “sign” in a crowd, maybe someone who is momentarily distracted, and of course also anyone showing their money or identity assets in plain sight. Generally this thief doesn’t want to be noticed or interact with the brand in any way, and there are many tricks to make this type of thief “normal” in appearance. Such thieves might look like well-to-do businessmen, mothers with crying babies, or just look very ordinary. The pickpocket’s goal is to steal quickly and get away quickly without people realizing that their possessions are missing.
In society, trust is a precious thing, but it remains something that pickpockets will take advantage of. If you fall asleep at the airport, leave your bag in your shopping cart while looking for products, or simply aren’t paying attention to what you’re doing, you’re an easy target for pickpockets. How you carry your possessions can also matter. Wallets, for example, are much harder to lift when carried in front pockets, and you should try to avoid carrying things like social security cards. Generally the safest way to carry money around is to use a money clip under your clothes, or at the very least, place your wallets in the front pockets of your pants.
Women who carry purses do best when they have snaps or zippers closing them, and purses should be carried in front of the body, rather than hanging loosely to the rear. This, of course, doesn’t stop a pickpocket from deftly using a knife to open a purse or even cut the purse straps, and many pickpockets are excellent at hand; in fact, wizards always use pickpocket skills.
The pickpocket can work alone or in concert with other thieves; sometimes two work together to effectively insert a sign between them or to use distraction so that one person can rummage in his pocket while the other distracts the sign from paying attention. There are a number of methods such a thief or thieves can use to keep you from noticing that they have stolen from you.
Even if you’re super vigilant, it may be impossible to prevent your possessions from being stolen this way. It is therefore advisable to keep a list of everything in your wallet, especially credit cards or passports, so when you discover its loss you can make a full police report and immediately cancel any debit or credit cards. Only carry the money you need with you and try to keep it in as inaccessible a place as possible. Some people even carry a dummy wallet or purse that contains nothing, so if their pockets are picked, the thief gains nothing. In crowded areas such as amusement parks, train stations or airports, take advantage of lockers to store most of your possessions and do not leave your possessions unattended or unattended for any length of time.
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