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How to avoid child pickpockets in Italy

How to avoid child pickpockets in Italy

While Venice is one of the jewels of Italy, it also has a reputation for children pickpockets. Most first-time tourists to Italy pick Venice as one of their destinations to visit. First-time tourists and even repeat visitors should be aware of children pickpockets in Venice. Tourists that are enjoying the charms of the city are prime targets for pickpockets of all ages including child pickpockets.

What may take thieves just a moment to “lift” from your pockets (passports, credit cards, and airline tickets) may take you days to replace. So travelers beware of even innocent-looking locals be they a well-dressed business person standing next to you or a playful group of young children.

Children as Thieves – Pickpockets in Venice

Schooling for thieves starts very early. A traveler was seated on a crowded bus in Rome on her way to the Vatican. She glanced down at her lap to find a tiny little hand reaching into her now unzipped fanny pack. The child could not have been more than 6 years old. Groups of children have been known to gang up on unsuspecting travelers as well. One common scenario is the newspaper trick. A group of children approach the unsuspecting tourist and ask for money or try to sell you knick-knacks as they jab at you with newspapers or cardboard. The papers effectively block your view of little hands fast at work, opening pockets, slashing belts, and cleaning out your travel funds. If you do catch on, usually the shock of being robbed by children delays your reaction a moment more, making for a successful robbery.

Why Children Make Good Thieves

Children pickpockets venice

Street vendors selling souvenirs can be a distraction for tourists and an attraction for pickpockets.

More common in Rome and other Italian cities child pickpockets are now working in Venice too. Under 14 years of age, these children cannot be held accountable for their crimes by local law. So they are ideal for older thieves to train and put out on the streets to work. If the child thieves are picked up by police, they are taken to child refugee safe houses, and then they abscond in the morning only to be back on the street the very next day. Some of the children are stopped by Carabinieri (national police), fed-up local vigilantes and shopkeepers on a daily basis, but the rewards are great and the young thieves keep on robbing.

Be streetwise – Venice is a very safe town but pickpocketing is one thing you should look out for. Favorite places for the robbers include busy lanes and bridges, the bus terminus at Piazzale Roma, the St. Mark’s area and rush-hour water buses. Don’t be lulled into a false sense of security if the only people near you are ten-year-olds or heavily-pregnant girls; these are classic examples of the pickpockets sent out by Fagin-like operators. Newspapers have reported children as young as 5 being employed in crime. Be very aware of people falling in behind you in a queue, especially if you are being jostled. Shout loudly and attract attention if someone attempts to rob you.

Often girls are the ones to approach purse-carrying women as they seem the least threatening. They will play around you or distract you with a cardboard sign asking you to buy a trinket or candy. Children also have smaller hands which you may not feel slipping into a bag or pocket. Venice with its many alleys and narrow streets is an ideal setup for the thieves to steal from tourists and to and run away out of sight. Your best defense is a security purse that has built-in anti-theft features to keep your valuables secure from pickpockets.  Travel with peace of mind.

Anti-Theft Travel Gear

Our best advice is to carry your valuables close to your body and hidden from view, if you can’t leave them locked in a hotel room safe. A neck pouch that zips closed or uses velcro to stay closed should be worn under your shirt or blouse. Even if the neck cord is visible or the item is a bit lumpy under your shirt most likely a thief will pass you up for another victim that isn’t wearing one. Another similar type of body wallet is a flat money belt that you tuck into the front of your pants.

Find a Money Belt to Keep ID from gettinglost or stolen

Anti theft neck pouch for travel

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children pickpockets Venice Italy anti-theft waist packs

Venice is a great “don’t miss” city in Italy, but it’s also where pickpockets prey on tourists. Like tourists, pickpockets love Venice, too. The allure of Venice with its great history, art, beautiful sights, and of course, gondolas attract tourists and tourists attract pickpockets, scam artists, and street thieves; the more tourists there are, the more pickpockets there are.  After the summer months, Carnival is the next popular time of year when pickpocketing increases with the increase of tipsy, foreign visitors. Here’s a quick read to help you avoid pickpocket scams and tourist scams in Venice, Italy.

Pickpocket Scams Are A Part of Venice Italy

The most popular areas for tourists to visit are where you could most likely fall victim to a pickpocket, as they love crowds to get lost in once they’ve committed their crime. The following are the most common locations where you need to keep your guard up and above all guard your valuables by using anti-theft travel gear like a hidden money belt or a backpack with lock-down zippers to keep thieving hands. Armed with some street smarts and the right travel gear you’ll be relaxed and able to enjoy your time in Venice, Italy.

The Most Common Locations for Pickpockets to Prey on Tourists

The most popular locations for pickpockets have a few things in common. The locations all have crowds and many distracted tourists enjoying the sites.

  • Piazza di San Marco
  • Academia Museum
  • the Rialto Bridge
  • smaller crowded bridges
  • crowded narrow streets
avoid tourist scams in Venice , pickpockets st marks square

St Mark’s Square – The most visited tourist location in Venice

The Most Common Types of Theft Committed Against Tourists Involve

  1. Distractions: An example is someone close to you creates a sudden distraction such as asking the time or for directions. We’ve seen staged shouting matches between a woman and a man designed to distract you while your pocket is picked.  If this happens, this could be a setup for someone getting ready to steal your wallet or valuables as you turn your attention to the distraction.
  2. Back pocket wallet thefts are very common in Venice. Outsmart these thieves with an under clothing money belt for travel that safeguards your money, credit cards, and passport.

Pickpocket Scams on Venice Water Bus or also Known as Vaporetto

Since the canals are the main transportation in Venice, many travelers use water taxis as transportation. These water taxis are known by several names including public boats, water buses, or in Italian – “Il Vaporetto” or “Motoscafi.” While these boats run almost constantly, the Vaporetto is usually overcrowded and people are jammed in like sardines, which is why it is favored by pickpockets.  The pickpockets know tourists love to ride on these boats. So pickpockets too love the boats.

avoid tourist scams in Venice, pickpockets rialto bridge, venice italy

The Rialto Bridge is the oldest of the four bridges spanning the Grand Canal

A Few Tips to Avoid Pickpockets While Riding on Venice Water Taxis

  1. The standard water bus or autobus fare is a rather steep € 6,00 for the popular lines on the Grand Canal.
  2. The Vaporetto (waterbus) that travels between the Academia and Rialto boat debarkation stops is known to be a favorite of tourists and pickpockets alike. When the Vaporetto is full on a rainy day, the commotion of passengers entering and disembarking creates an ideal situation for thieves to add luggage or a few wallets to their collections.
  3. Pickpockets look for those who get caught in the crowd rushing toward the water taxi embarkation ramps.
  4. Venice pickpockets are also known to take advantage of those waiting in line to get onto a water ferry.  Depending on the time of day, the lines can be very long and pickpockets have been known to work their way into the crowd.
  5. Be careful if you are parking at the Tronchetto and want to ride the public Vaporetto boat into Venice. Men have been known to surround travelers and told where to walk.  Many of these people will not direct you to the right place – they will direct you to the private taxi boats and not the public Vaporetto dock. There you will be over-charged.
Venice Water Taxi, avoid pickpocket and tourist scams in Venice

A Vaporetto is a water taxi and Venice’s major form of public transportation

Most tourists fall victim to pickpockets during the height of the travel season – summer – where skilled Venice pickpockets take advantage of overcrowded water taxis. However, rainy days are also common times when pickpockets seem to strike travelers more since the water taxis are packed to the gills with travelers. Avoid pickpockets and tourist scams in Venice by guarding your valuables with anti-theft travel wallets, money belts, and bags.

Protect your credit cards and money with an anti-theft travel wallet. This is a favorite one for men, make sure you use the belt loop attachment feature, while many women prefer this style of travel wallet and purse, it fits a passport and most phones.

Once pickpockets have stolen a wallet, many drop the stolen wallet(s) in mailboxes around the city – keeping only the cash. Identification and credit cards not belonging to them make it easier to catch these thieves; therefore, many of these items are not valuable for particular pickpockets. The postal service then delivers the abandoned wallets to the local police. The police only return a missing wallet if someone comes looking for it.

Always try to avoid pickpocket scams and tourist scams in Venice by staying slightly suspicious of strangers who get too close or are too friendly. One lesson to learn here is to split up where you carry your valuables if you opt not to carry an anti-theft wallet or bag that protects all your valuables. That way if you are victimized you’ll still have some of your important belongings.

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8 Things Not to Keep in you wallet, Ever! ,

Your car can practically be your home away from home whether you drive for business or leisure. Therefore, you will want to take some precautions to protect it and your possessions inside. Ideally, you wouldn’t leave anything valuable at all in your car, but the reality of life is that your car is going to serve as much like a safe deposit box or a storage closet in addition to transportation. The following are a few tips to help you protect your car and everything in it while taking a car trip or even while just driving around town.

Keep your keys safe – even when you are at home

  • At home keep your keys safe, this goes for your extra or spare keys too. Don’t leave them in the car or on an entrance table or bench in the house. Secure them in an out-of-the-way place such as a drawer or somewhere safe that is out of sight so a burglar can’t easily find them and drive away in your car.
  • Don’t leave your keys in the car while you are putting gas in your car at the gas station, or when you go inside the station to pay. Don’t tempt or make it easy for a thief to jump into your car and drive away.
  • Don’t go back into the house during winter while you let the car warm up. Yes, we understand it is freezing cold but thieves take advantage of this time of the year. And don’t leave the car running but lock it with the spare key – a thief is most certainly going to forgo the cost of replacing the window to smash it when they’ll have possession of your car. Put your coat, gloves, and scarf on and stay with the car!

Choose your parking space wisely

  • When parking in airport lots, park in view of the exit toll booths or parking office if possible, or just within view of a shuttle pickup location or kiosk. The increased foot traffic will discourage potential thieves. Well-lit areas are next best; most airport lots have surveillance cameras in place, so making it easier for an attendant to see your car on a security camera will help.
  • Be careful when you park your car at a sporting or entertainment event such as a football game or concert.  These cars are a dead giveaway to thieves that you’re going to be away from your car for a set period of time. Never leave ticket or event information in the car that would indicate to a thief how long you’ll be gone. Again choose a well lit or well-trafficked area if possible. Never leave any valuables visible in the car either.
  • Park “trunk out.” If you are storing items in your trunk, you will want to point the trunk out into the lot aisle, where more people can see anyone trying to break in. Don’t give thieves the opportunity to use your car as cover while ripping you off.
  • When parking on the street, try to park within sight of a busy store or hotel entrance, under a street lamp, near a busy corner or out in the open away from things that might provide shelter to a thief (like thick or low-hanging trees). The busier the street, the better.
  • When you park your car in a pay parking lot  – take your parking ticket with you when you leave the car. That way, even if a thief gains entry into your car if they have to pay for a lost ticket and they’ll be getting themselves noticed.
  • Self park when you can so you don’t have to relinquish your keys.

When in doubt, use a parking garage

  • Parking on the street is the most vulnerable place to be, so if you are uncomfortable with your street parking options, by all means, use a parking garage instead. Parking garages often have surveillance cameras. Although you are safer in a parking garage, that does not mean that you are invulnerable.  Remove or lock up any really valuable items – that means accessories for your cell phone, loose E-ZPass apparatus bags, etc. to remove temptation. All of the same precautions above apply; no matter where you park, make it as difficult and uninspiring to potential thieves as possible.

Load and hide your stuff before you reach your destination

  • By the time you pull into a hotel lot, valet queue, parking garage or any parking spot, everything you plan to leave in the car should already be well stowed and hidden. To pull into your spot, and then take your most valuable items and pack them in the trunk, is to broadcast to anyone within view exactly where to focus their attention if they want to rip you off. The best approach is to put your things in the trunk or another safe compartment before you even get in the car at the beginning of your trip.

Don’t leave ANYTHING visible in the car

  • If you leave your radar detector attached to the windshield, your cell phone in the front console, or your handbag on the seat, then do not expect sympathy when it gets stolen.  A car alarm will not, ever, protect from a smash and grab. It takes a thief 5 seconds to smash the glass, grab the item, and be around the corner. Even with your alarm sounding he’s gone.
  • It’s not just electronics that thieves break into vehicles for.  Don’t leave gym bags, shoe boxes, shopping bags or anything in the vehicle.  If a thief sees a bag in a vehicle, they may think the bag contains something of value and smash your window to get it.

Unload your stuff away from your parking spaces as well

  • If you are planning to return to the same parking area, you will want to take your stuff out of the car away from the lot if possible. If you open the trunk and take out all the good stuff each time you return to your car, eventually someone will notice. The best case is to be able to pull over somewhere safe away from either your home base or destination and get your stuff then.

Make your car look protected

  • A huge part of the job an alarm does is to give a visual warning to a thief that the car has security measures. Make sure you put the alarm warning stickers on the window and the LED warning light in the dash is fitted. (And if you don’t want to get an alarm you can buy these little extras separately.)
  • Make it a habit to always lock your car doors, in your driveway, at a gas station, even while driving and certainly when parking even for a minute.

A neat car is less likely to be burglarized

  • A car that is filled with jackets or beach towels that appear to be covering items of value suggests that valuables may be under the pile of jackets or towels. If a potential thief sees nothing but car upholstery, he or she is less likely to be curious about what might be hidden in the car.

These security devices will help you guard valuables in your vehicle. They are portable, so you can take them from your vehicle to your RV to your home or your office.
PORTABLE SECURITY
LOCKBOX +  MOUNTING SLEEVE
Built like Fort Knox, this security lock box is perfect for locking your valuables inside your vehicle. Currently used by several U.S. law enforcement agencies.
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TRAVELSAFE X15 ANTI-THEFT PORTABLE SAFE
This water-resistant portable safe is designed to protect your valuables when you need to leave them behind. It easily secures a 15″ MacBook, and DSLR Camera.
SENTRYSAFE PORTABLE SAFE
W/STEEL CABLE
Secure your valuables inside a well-made mobile safe that lockdowns in your vehicle or to a fixed object. A great feature when security is needed in an office, hotel, or car.