Picking before picking

Some pickpockets, Angelo for example, rifle full speed through as many pockets and purses as possible in a tight crowd. That’s his M.O. Others, like Kharem in Barcelona, look for a good bet before taking chances. Kharem wanted to show us his talent. We had to hold him back.

Barcelona pickpocket Kharem guided us on a thief’s tour of La Rambla.

“Just point and talk,” Bob instructed him.

But he did more than that. Brazen and fearless, he actually tapped on men’s pockets as we fast-walked through the crowd. No one seemed to notice. Nobody gave him a second glance. Kharem, the professional thief, slipped in and out of strangers’ personal spheres like a gnat through a window screen.

How pickpockets pick victims

“Most important is to figure out where the money is. Pants, jacket, waist pouch, backpack. That man has a fat wallet in his jacket pocket,” the pickpocket said, while the would-be victim was still several yards away. “See how his jacket is hanging unevenly.” He swept his thumbtip across his forehead in that odd gesture of his.

“And this man,” Kharem touched the thigh of a stranger. “He has loose cash. Very good. Very easy.”

Read one of our interviews with Kharem, and about that thumbtip thing.
Read how Kharem steals at the airport.
Read how we first met Angelo in 2004.
Read about Angelo-the-family-celebrity in 2014.
See Angelo in the National Geographic documentary Pickpocket King.

Excerpt from Travel Advisory: How to Avoid Thefts, Cons, and Street Scams
Chapter Five: Rip-Offs: Introducing… The Opportunist