# Thieves In Barcelona



## Hoc (Jul 28, 2008)

We're in Barcelona now, and so far, despite the fact that we love the food and the sights in this city, it appears to have more pickpockets than any other city I've encountered.  I've travelled all over the world, to many, many cities, and never have we had so many problems with pickpockets as here.  They tried hitting my girlfriend and me three times so far in two days.

Luckily, we are pretty street savvy, so they have not been able to get anything from us yet.  A guy tried to trip me on the escalator yesterday, and had his hands in both my pockets despite my pressing them against my sides.  Luckily, I never carry a wallet when I travel and rarely do I keep anything of value in my pockets.  Today, a girl pushed into my girlfriend, unzipped her backpack and removed her makeup kit.  But again, nothing of real value in the pack or kit.  In fact, frustrated, she threw the unzipped makeup kit on my girlfriend's lap before she walked out the doors of the metro train.

It's pretty annoying to try to deal with them, as you could get hurt, even though there's no way they can steal anything of value from us.

Thus, I prefer Madrid, where there's nothing like the volume of theft there is here, and the food and culture are just as good.


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## barndweller (Jul 28, 2008)

We were warned about Barcelona pick pockets very strongly by our tour company (Rick Steves) before our trip a few years ago. We had only 1 incident in 5 days in that city and it was pretty amaturish! We did get our room burglarized in Carcasonne,France, however. They snatched a backpack full of worthless odds & ends but left our camera.


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## taffy19 (Jul 28, 2008)

When I lived in Spain (Madrid and Cadiz) many years ago, you could leave something of value in the park and it would still be there the next day.  Times have changed so much and not for the better.  

In Holland, when you are at the train station, they are warning you in many languages to be careful for pickpockets and it happened to my sister when we were together in a train.  We never even noticed it.


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## Hoc (Jul 28, 2008)

I think that Spain in general is very different from Barcelona.  Madrid is still pretty safe, with the occasional pickpocket or smash and grab from car windows, like in other major cities.  It's probably something about the Catalan culture that makes Barcelona different.

I just know that, despite many journeys to other cities in Spain and around the world, and despite many warnings about pickpockets in many of those cities, Barcelona truly seems to have an overabundance of them.  The first night we got here, walking down La Rambla, everyone was clutching their purses tightly against their chest.  And, like I said, three times for us in two days.  I have only been the victim of pickpockets two other times in my life (once in a parade crowd during Mardi Gras about 9 years ago, and once in the Shubert Theater Lobby in New York in 2003).  It was these experiences that made me pickpocket-savvy.  Still, the thieves in Barcelona truly seem to be more abundant than anywhere else.

P.S. -- I lived in Salamanca about 27 years ago, and it was quite safe there, as well.


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## vacationhopeful (Jul 28, 2008)

Prague has pickpockets also. 

BIL got hit on the metro for the $60 in his front pocket (he was only a cop for 16.5 years in TX).  Small guys dresses as preteens with kid type backpacks - gyspys, I suspect.  I tried to pull him out of the "pack", but he brushed ME off, as we were getting off at the next stop.  Didn't even know he had gotten hit, til I asked him twice and he checked his pockets.

I tried to save him, really.


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## Passepartout (Jul 28, 2008)

I caught a guy's hand in my (empty) front pocket at a Metro stop in Istanbul. I think there were 2 of them working together. That's been my only experience with pickpockets, though we have been warned all over the world. 

In New York a guy recognized me as the hick I am and asked if I had change for $100. Helpful me produced 5 $20's. He took them, I got no 'C' note, and he ran a lot faster than I could.  

Live and learn....

Jim Ricks


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## lll1929 (Jul 28, 2008)

I can't imagine every finding someone elses hand in my pocket.  That's amazing.  

Thanks everyone for the past experiences.  It truly educated people like myself on tactics that are used.


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## silvib (Jul 28, 2008)

The only time I've been "hit" by a pickpocket was in Barcelona too, my DH and I had just got onto the metro when someone pushed into me, unclipped my bag and went off with my purse/pocket book which had all of the usual pieces of paper you don't want to lose, as well as money.  My husband thought it was strange that someone went rushing off just as the doors were about to close and thought I bet someone's just had their pocket picked!!

Hoc - we lived in Mallorca for 28 years - didn't have the same problem with pickpockets there, except with the gypsies selling carnations to the tourists.  Quite a lot of bag snatching went on though, in the city center, not so much in the tourist areas.


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## Jimster (Jul 28, 2008)

*pickpockets*

One strange case is Charles DeGaulle airport in Paris.  They have a sign there warning of pick pockets.  Now you might think that is good, but the pickpockets hang out there.  When a tourist sees the sign, he checks his wallet and thereby notifiying the pickpocket of the precise pocket to pick. So be careful all the time- not just when u see a sign!


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## LLW (Jul 28, 2008)

We were in Barcelona for 3 nights in December, staying in a hotel on La Rambla; spent almost 3 days walking around on the streets and in Christmas markets, and did not have or see any problems. Neither did we in Madrid or other Spanish cities, or in London. It was actually in Rome (8 years ago) when we encountered gypsies and their tactics. Fortunately we were forewarned.

It could be that we didn't look American, or we were just lucky.


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## Conan (Jul 28, 2008)

Also watch out, in Barcelona, for the fake police scam, described here:
http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/general/barcelona-safety.html#fakepolice

I had exactly the encounter described, except for some unknown reason the fake cop took 'no' for an answer and didn't steal anything from me.


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## Hoc (Jul 29, 2008)

vacationhopeful said:


> Prague has pickpockets also.



There are pickpockets everywhere, just apparently not to the extent as in Barcelona.  There appear to be hundreds of them here, every day, all day, in the metro stations.  I have been talking to some of the staff at this hotel, and each of them is are telling me they have been hit 4, 5, 6 times on average by pickpockets.

I was in Prague.  No problems.  New York.  Once in probably 30+ days of visits.  Paris, never.  Hong Kong, never.  Bangkok, never.  There are lots of places with them, but apparently they are not as consistent or as numerous as in Barcelona.  I think it is mostly the Gitanos here, and that it is pretty much tolerated (and expected) by the Catalan culture.


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## x3 skier (Jul 29, 2008)

Last time we were in Barcelona, I was sitting in the Subway stop at Diagonal Del Mar. We decided to go back to the Hotel because I had forgotten something. A Gentleman called after me because I had left my camera on the bench. Refused a reward but did accept our profuse thanks.

Just goes to show there are good and bad people everywhere.

Cheers


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## nerodog (Jul 29, 2008)

*Frommers page added Lisbon to high pickpocketing*

Read an article on recent Frommers page that is weekly ... noted Lisbon has a high rate also. Anyone hear that ?  Try to put my bag or other valuables under my coat in the colder weather or under my shirt !!!!


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## e.bram (Jul 29, 2008)

I once was dipped in a trolley in Lisbon, but the other passengers nabed the guy and I got my money back. I been hit in Paris twice.(but I go to Paris more often. Never got much, because all my valuables are carried in wallet slung around my neck under my clothes.(good idea).


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## CMF (Jul 29, 2008)

HOC, fill your pockets with Gummy Worms. Might as well have some fun with the  thieves.






Charles


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## stmartinfan (Jul 29, 2008)

We weren't hit by pick pockets during our stay in Barcelona, but it was interesting watching them case the crowd on the main pedestrian area.   Our girls enjoyed stopping to watch the street performers, so my husband and I would often stand back at the edge of the crowd and look for the guys whose eyes weren't on the performers but on the posessions of the crowd.  I was surprised to see how many of them there were - standing back slightly and evaluating targets.  We didn't see anyone get "hit" but I'm sure some did as the crowd started to disperse.


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## Elli (Jul 29, 2008)

Hoc said:


> There are pickpockets everywhere, just apparently not to the extent as in Barcelona.  There appear to be hundreds of them here, every day, all day, in the metro stations.  I have been talking to some of the staff at this hotel, and each of them is are telling me they have been hit 4, 5, 6 times on average by pickpockets.
> 
> I was in Prague.  No problems.  New York.  Once in probably 30+ days of visits.  Paris, never.  Hong Kong, never.  Bangkok, never.  There are lots of places with them, but apparently they are not as consistent or as numerous as in Barcelona.  I think it is mostly the Gitanos here, and that it is pretty much tolerated (and expected) by the Catalan culture.


Hoc, my sister and I were in Barcelona for a few days after a Med. Cruise in June, she got hit but, fortunately, got her camera back.  This was a new system we hadn't heard about.  There were three very young teenagers with clipboards, wanting us to sign a petition.  They came really close when we tried to push them off, and one of the girls got my sister's camera.  She ran after them, other pedestrians stopped them, and they returned the camera.

We talked to the front desk in our hotel about it and, apparently, they get a lot of East Europeans who are really aggressive.

Elli


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## Elli (Jul 29, 2008)

Hoc, I remember you were asking about hotels in Barcelona when you were planning your trip.  Where did you end up booking?

Enjoy the rest of your stay.


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## Carol C (Jul 29, 2008)

CMF said:


> HOC, fill your pockets with Gummy Worms. Might as well have some fun with the  thieves.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Brilliant idea...and oh so funny! :rofl:


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## e.bram (Jul 29, 2008)

a few years ago a friend of mine was the brief victim of a snatcher. Unfirnatelt for the thief his brother-in-law saw what was happening. They gave the crook what for and I sure put him out of commission for a while. Probably retired after that. These guys were from southern Italy.


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## CarlK (Jul 30, 2008)

When we were in Barcelona we were fortunate that we were not bothered by pickpockets.  Although I did not carry much in my wallet, I had a chain on my wallet and the other end of the chain attached to a belt loop, and I had the wallet in my front pocket.  I may not have looked like a fashionista, but who cares.  What amazed me were the number of people getting conned on the Ramblas by the old "shell game."  I watched a tourist lose 100 Euros within a couple of minutes; then the game operators, and their confederates, disappeared into the crowd.  It's on-going entertainment.
Carl


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## Carolinian (Jul 31, 2008)

I encountered a variation of that in Budapest.  They weren't too plausible as as police, and I threatened to find some real police and they left.




rklein001 said:


> Also watch out, in Barcelona, for the fake police scam, described here:
> http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/general/barcelona-safety.html#fakepolice
> 
> I had exactly the encounter described, except for some unknown reason the fake cop took 'no' for an answer and didn't steal anything from me.


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## Carolinian (Jul 31, 2008)

Calling them ''eastern Europeans'' or ''Romanians'' is unfair to the vast majority of honest people in those countries.  Call them what they are - gypsies.

The cities in which I have had the most encounters with gypsy pickpockets are Rome and Bucharest.






Elli said:


> Hoc, my sister and I were in Barcelona for a few days after a Med. Cruise in June, she got hit but, fortunately, got her camera back.  This was a new system we hadn't heard about.  There were three very young teenagers with clipboards, wanting us to sign a petition.  They came really close when we tried to push them off, and one of the girls got my sister's camera.  She ran after them, other pedestrians stopped them, and they returned the camera.
> 
> We talked to the front desk in our hotel about it and, apparently, they get a lot of East Europeans who are really aggressive.
> 
> Elli


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## Fern Modena (Jul 31, 2008)

Many people confuse them with Romanians because they (Gypsies) call themselves "Roma," and they are often referred to as (a group as) "Romani."  Their origin is believed to be Northeastern India, although they immigrated to Europe later.

Fern



Carolinian said:


> Calling them ''eastern Europeans'' or ''Romanians'' is unfair to the vast majority of honest people in those countries.  Call them what they are - gypsies.
> 
> The cities in which I have had the most encounters with gypsy pickpockets are Rome and Bucharest.


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## Elli (Jul 31, 2008)

Carolinian said:


> Calling them ''eastern Europeans'' or ''Romanians'' is unfair to the vast majority of honest people in those countries.  Call them what they are - gypsies.
> 
> The cities in which I have had the most encounters with gypsy pickpockets are Rome and Bucharest.


Carolinian, I just repeated what the front desk person told us.


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## Hoc (Aug 1, 2008)

Elli said:


> Hoc, I remember you were asking about hotels in Barcelona when you were planning your trip.  Where did you end up booking?



I had originally booked at the Hotel Continental Palacete, but then I figured that, with a confirmed booking, I could try a real deal on Priceline.  Kept bidding on 5-star properties at less than the price for the Hotel Continental.  Then, about a month or two before I left, I hit on Priceline and got the Hilton Diagonal Mar for about $150 a night.

Checked into the Hilton and because of my Diamond Status with that chain, they upgraded me to an Executive Suite.  I had a great ocean view, large suite and lounge access.  The lounge was open from 7 am until 11:30 pm and had free breakfast, afternoon tea and pupus, and all day drinks, with unlimited alchohol served from noon until closing.

I'm not a big drinker, but there was always at least one guy (different one each night) who was falling down, sloppy drunk by the late evening.  The food was not great, but the unlimited access to water, juice, wine, and sodas was wonderful.  They had an open-air balcony that got a nice ocean breeze each night (important, since it was incredibly hot).

We ate breakfast in the lounge each morning, and mostly had the pupus for dinner, taking at least one nice meal - lunch - out each day.

Ultimately, it was a good deal.


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## Hoc (Aug 1, 2008)

x3 skier said:


> Just goes to show there are good and bad people everywhere.



Of course, that's true.  But the point is that, when it comes to pickpockets, there seem to be more bad ones in the Barcelona metro than in any other city in the world.


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## Elli (Aug 2, 2008)

Hoc said:


> I had originally booked at the Hotel Continental Palacete, but then I figured that, with a confirmed booking, I could try a real deal on Priceline.  Kept bidding on 5-star properties at less than the price for the Hotel Continental.  Then, about a month or two before I left, I hit on Priceline and got the Hilton Diagonal Mar for about $150 a night.
> 
> Checked into the Hilton and because of my Diamond Status with that chain, they upgraded me to an Executive Suite.  I had a great ocean view, large suite and lounge access.  The lounge was open from 7 am until 11:30 pm and had free breakfast, afternoon tea and pupus, and all day drinks, with unlimited alchohol served from noon until closing.
> 
> ...


Hoc, looks like you really got a good deal and enjoyed your stay.


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## MaryH (Aug 3, 2008)

Another scam I came across in Brussels airport / train station 3 years ago:

I was waiting for a hotel shuttle bus at Brussels airport.  2 latin or middle eastern looking man (both dress well in business casual) came up with a digital camera saying they have not seen each other for a while and can I take a picture of them.  I had my bags, a rollabord plus computer bag and a longchamp bag, on a cart.  I agreed and had to step sideways to take the picture.  Fortunately being a little street savvy, I saw in the corner of my eyes someone was approaching my cart from behind me and turned and went back to my bags.  That person run away and the person who asked me to take the picture came and got his camera claiming he was afraid that it would be stolen.  I was trying to protect my bags so let him take it since it would be bad if he ran off with my computer. 

Nothing was taken but I was very unhappy.  I went to the information both to warn them that someone was trying this and they should warn the public.  They asked if I was willing to wait and talk to the police since they have had a lot of problems recently.  Since I had a little time, I agreed and the police came to fetch me and one took my statement in their office while 2 went to search for those guys.  They manage to locate one just after my statement was finishing and I was able to identify the guy and also the scratch in a particular location on the digital camera that I noticed while focusing the camera.  

I had been hit 20 years ago in London while on my first major vacation with my sister.  Both of us were doing brass rubbings at Westminster Abbey and had our day pack between 2 of us.  She thought I was looking after it and I thought she was and someone walked away with it  The took a camera, umbrella and some guidebooks....

The other 2 times I lost my stuff in Prague and Las Vegas are due to my carelessness but they were not there when I went back to look for it.


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