Comments on: 6,000 thefts per day on Barcelona visitors

By: Bambi Vincent

Bambi Vincent — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 21:45:16 +0000

Not much more you could have done, Kevin. Splitting up your money and using zippered pockets is more than most people do. There’s always the possibility that you left your wallet somewhere… but it’s true that the thieves are very, very good.

I know it’s difficult and sometimes impossible to file a police report, and not much good seems to come of it after taking the trouble. It IS good for the stat books though.

By: kevin

kevin — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 23:24:47 +0000

My wife and I just returned from Barcelona. We were warned by so many that it was unbelievable. I am a longhaul pilot of 20 years so can blend in, dress shabby, and walk with meaning, wife similarly shabby! I only take what cash I need split in zipped pockets concealed under real pockets, with a small-change wallet for water etc in the front zipped pocket. We went last Saturday with tickets for Barcelona FC to play at home. We went an hour early and left 30 minutes after the game but the Metro was still so crowded people were jumping in backwards (and I live in London!). The Metro is pretty much the only way to get 100,000 people to this outer part of the city for big matches so we had to use it. On return, I discovered my small-change wallet from front concealed zipped pocket was missing. Luckily most of our cards and money were in the hotel safe and the majority of the money on us was still concealed and zipped in 4 other locations. I have walked the most dangerous cities in the world for over 20 years and not been robbed. I am glad we took our precautions, but I still felt bad about being robbed (20euros,2 credit cards which were cancelled immediately with no loss). It was no point in wasting a half a day reporting this on a short-break so it is not an official Statistic. What could I have done differently? Looking back,not a lot if I wanted to go to the football which we both enjoyed. It slightly spoilt our holiday, my wife didn’t want to go down the Ramblas even during the day, and we dread to think how many attempts we may have had on us during our stay. Why don’t the authorities sort this out as I will definately NOT be recommending going to Barcelona.

By: Bambi

Bambi — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 22:38:44 +0000

Sorry to hear of your rip-off, Liz, but thanks for sharing it. I haven’t heard of the clipboard twist to the old cardboard or newspaper shield. Clever!

Seems the only way to protect ourselves is to increase our levels of cynicism and suspicion, not trusting anyone who approaches us. But that’s not a nice way to travel either! We must stow our stuff safely, so a clever distraction does not give easy access to our valuables. Refresh with Purseology 101 and Pocketology 101 under the Theft Thwarter Tips tab at the top of this page.

By: Liz White

Liz White — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 15:50:46 +0000

I had all my cash (about Euros 150 and Â£40) stolen from my purse in my handbag at the Sagrada Familia yesterday, by three kids — two boys and a girl about 10-12 ish.
They used clipboards and seemed to be asking, very aggressively, for sponsorship for charity, pushing the clipboards in my face and shouting loudly,
I thought I’d avoided the problem, and just moved on.
Then the same kids came up to me again five minutes later, when I was sitting down reading, doing exactly the same, again very loud and annoying.
I pushed them away and moved on, and a woman sitting nearby said to me that they were not just being annoying and to be careful. But I could see that my purse was in my bag and thought nothing more about it till I went to pay for something in the Boqueria Market later on and realised they had taken all my notes.
And I think the worst thing almost is that you feel so foolish for not realising what is happening. I thought they were annoying and horrible kids, but didn’t have a clue that they were criminals! No doubt they have been forced into this life by one means or another, none of it very pleasant, but nevertheless

I had been warned that pickpocketing and so on was rife in Barcelona, but haven’t experienced it before.

Shame for such a beautiful place.

Liz

By: Bambi

Bambi — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 13:12:25 +0000

Good advice. Thanks Hannah!

By: Hannah

Hannah — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 09:13:10 +0000

I lived in BCN for 10 months on my gap year, and by some miracle, I got nothing stolen. Not even a metro ticket! For me, my main pointers would be:

~ Avoid Las Ramblas at all costs! Especially at night.
~ The Raval is bad, yes, but if you walk quickly, and with your head held high, suspecting everyone, you should be okay.
~ For girls like myself, buy a complicated bag, which hangs across the body. It looks less tempting to nick. And wear it in front of you!
~ Don’t carry cameras/maps/guide books in an obvious place: it screams tourist. And don’t walk around in big tour groups; they draw wa-ay too much attention.
~ Dress as locally as you can. Shirts and jeans would be fine for men, and linen trousers, floaty skirts, or anything from Zara for women will be perfectly at home.
~ Speaking from experience here: when I first went to BCN, I was blonde, and got a lot of whistles and suspicious looks. As soon as I dyed my hair dark brown, most stopped, and I got treated like a local.
~ DO NOT go anywhere near the people selling the stupid dancing cartoon characters: they don’t work, they’re just an easy way for some con-man to make money.
~ And under no circumstances (apart from if there is a HUGE match on) wear a Barca shirt. No one wears them! Really!!
~ Do your research before choosing places to eat, drink or stay. God bless the Internet!
~ Appear relaxed, even though you are paranoid. And if anyone gets too close, tell them where to go.
~ After all that, try to remember to enjoy yourself. BCN is a beautiful, vibrant city. You just have to take care.

By: Bambi

Bambi — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 01:08:17 +0000

@LetterRip: Brazen, for sure, but the methods work often enough for the thieves to keep on using them. They don’t mind failing, and they do fail about 90% of the time. They’re feelings aren’t hurt—they just move on to the next victim.

You didn’t say that your trip was to Barcelona… Wherever it was, I hope you had a good visit despite the pickpocket attempts.

By: LetterRip

LetterRip — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 22:28:21 +0000

Was suggested I post this,

I read your articles related to Barcelona, recently returned from a trip overseas and was surprised at how many pickpocket attempts were made on me. (I was staying at a hostel and about 10 of the individuals had a theft of some sort happen).

One particularly interesting method was they attempted to drape my arm over their shoulders, leaving my pocket nearest them exposed.

Another interesting method was jumping up and down trying to get you to do the same.

The sheer brazenness of some of the attempts was rather shocking.

By: Mark

Mark — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 16:20:51 +0000

The Barcelona police and council are letting the whole city down and making more of a crisis for this area. Friends and relatives have come home to London, happy to be in a safer place. Few are keen to visit again! If it didn’t have the beach and sun, it would be stuffed!

By: Thiefhunters in Paradise » Pickpocket statistics

Thiefhunters in Paradise » Pickpocket statistics — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 09:40:19 +0000

[...] consider this possibility when I extrapolated the numbers for Barcelona and came up with a whopping “6,000 thefts per day on Barcelona visitors.” I took the police at their word when they reported 115,055 pickpocketings and bagsnatches in a [...]

By: Rick

Rick — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:19:33 +0000

Yeah, only 300 per hour. That’s containable. ;) And ‘mouth-breathing obliviates’ – take a patent on that. I’m going to use it a lot. ;)

By: Graham Jackman

Graham Jackman — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:05:29 +0000

Obviously it’s not only in Barcelona, although they are particularly brazen there. I’ve been surrounded in a train and stared at the fellow next to me, who was attempting to open the zipper on my belt pouch. Didn’t faze him at all.
However, reporting a theft was easier in Madrid. Having already avoided an attempt to con me out of a passport, I lost a wallet as the train doors closed. The enxt day at the police station, the police were helpful and eventually introduced me to a young officer with limited English. He was having trouble until a more senior officer told him to make a phone call. There I was put in contact with a woman, who took the report in English and then printed it out on the officer’s printer in Spanish. My Spanish is good enough to read it and we signed it and left happy. My insurance from the Visa card reimbursed most of my loss.

By: uberVU - social comments

uberVU - social comments — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:51:52 +0000

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