Beware of the Pickpockets! (Part 2)

By Hannah Jang

On this very street, my cousin was approached by a man who claimed to be doing promotional work for a night club. My cousin showed disinterest, but the man did not stop there. He started to show off his dance moves, and my cousin admits that there was physical contact that made him uncomfortable. At this moment though, my cousin did not know that he had lost more than just his personal space. The man finally left my cousin alone, but at this point it was already too late. A little while later, my cousin wanted to buy a fresh fruit juice, but as he reached into his pocket to get his wallet, he realized that it was no longer there.

In general, one must be careful in especially crowded places. Another danger zone is the metro. Most of the time, these pickpockets do not work alone—they usually have one or more partners in crime. There will always be someone to distract you in conversation, while the other makes his/her way into your pockets or bag. Make sure you know where your valuable belongings are placed, and make sure your purse is in front of you and not behind. It tends to get crowded in the metro, but if someone is unusually close to you, make sure you keep a more firm grasp on your bag. Or you should consider investing in an inexpensive security pouch, which you can conveniently wear under your clothes.

Another location in which you must also take extra precaution is at the Barceloneta Beach. One of the first people I met in Barcelona was an exchange student from Denmark, and the first thing she told me was to be careful at the beach because she had just been robbed of her camera and wallet. She was at the beach with a friend, and their belongings were in between the two of them as they relaxed on the beach. The girls had been told to be careful of the pickpockets, but with their bags so close they didn’t imagine they would become victims as well. They were approached by two women who were offering a massage service (which is not uncommon at the beach), and as one led them in conversation, the other busily found her way through their belongings.

The unfortunate truth is that the pickpockets get away with their transgressions most of the time. The occurrences of pickpocket and mugging incidents are way too frequent, and there is not much the police actually do about them. It is a shame that in a city so beautifully constructed, there is this one attribute that can ruin one’s experience there. However, it is something that can be avoided, so do your best to be a smart traveler!