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Pickpockets
- Thread starter D7reamers
- Start date
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2001
- Messages
- 887
Well you could go to Europe and hook up with some Gypsies and learn from them 
I don't think the skill is really that difficult although there must be some really good opperators. Mostly the gig is about redirection and getting your awareness away from your valuables on to something else. They usually work in teams one creating a diversion and another to pick your pocket or grab your bag. I must say that the pick pockets are very cleaver and come up with some creative scams.
I was in Paris last year and was told a pick pocket story by my brother who was involved in the incident. Happened on an escalator at the Metro. My Uncle was riding up when the guy in front of him drops something and tries to pick it up causing a log jam on the escalator. My Uncle being the nice guy that he is, trys to help the guy pick up his object. While my uncle is bending over he exposes the front pocket of his pants and his wallet. The guy behind my uncle reaches in and snags the wallet. My brother was right behind the pick pocket and does not even notice until he sees my uncles pocket inside-out at the top of the landing. By then, they were long gone.
It's a good thing for the most part that pick pockets are non-violent even when they are caught red-handed. I've seen a few go down and usually yell something and they take off running and drop the loot.
S.
I don't think the skill is really that difficult although there must be some really good opperators. Mostly the gig is about redirection and getting your awareness away from your valuables on to something else. They usually work in teams one creating a diversion and another to pick your pocket or grab your bag. I must say that the pick pockets are very cleaver and come up with some creative scams.
I was in Paris last year and was told a pick pocket story by my brother who was involved in the incident. Happened on an escalator at the Metro. My Uncle was riding up when the guy in front of him drops something and tries to pick it up causing a log jam on the escalator. My Uncle being the nice guy that he is, trys to help the guy pick up his object. While my uncle is bending over he exposes the front pocket of his pants and his wallet. The guy behind my uncle reaches in and snags the wallet. My brother was right behind the pick pocket and does not even notice until he sees my uncles pocket inside-out at the top of the landing. By then, they were long gone.
It's a good thing for the most part that pick pockets are non-violent even when they are caught red-handed. I've seen a few go down and usually yell something and they take off running and drop the loot.
S.
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2001
- Messages
- 577
Some "Magic Trick" shops have a book, or two.
And some even have a guy who will show you how,
and then take all your money as you walk up to the check-out!
It's a fun thing to work on, but If you don't do it alot
it's hard to get good at it
but if you do you can have
some fun and trouble
And some even have a guy who will show you how,
and then take all your money as you walk up to the check-out!
It's a fun thing to work on, but If you don't do it alot
it's hard to get good at it
but if you do you can havesome fun and trouble
The best school is reportedly in Equadore. The School of 7 bells. All 7 bells must be removed from the pockets of a "victim" to graduate. Most picks do indeed work in teams. Most use some sort of distraction or misdirection rather than just a straight pick. Ways to spot them? Thats a tough one. If you are around them alot (following them) you can pick them out in a crowd no problem. They are very good though, hard to catch and hard to prosecute. Most time the pick will hand off the items picked this way if stopped he/she does not have the property on his/her person. They go in different directions and meet up later in a pre arranged location. Probably didnt answer your questions...
I was once watching a show on the educational channel about traveling through Europe and the narrator, who was an experienced traveler, had a neat trick to foil pick-pockets. He simply carried an empty wallet in his back pocket like a typical American with a nasty note in different languages for the pick-pocket to read! He carried all his money and documents in a money belt under his shirt.
- Joined
- Jan 27, 1999
- Messages
- 5,891
In Europe, many of the pickpockets are Rom, or "Gypsies". Many others come from the former Yugoslavia. At the risk of sounding "un-pc" or some such, it's not intended as a racial profiling thing or a slur, but I lived & travelled a good while in Europe & I've seen it. I have also known Rom as well as Bosnians, Serbs, etc. & they are very warm & wonderful folks. It is said that they (the Rom) have "holy" permission to steal, due to some thing w/ the cross that I now forget. The "fake wallet" trick is a good one- especially when combined w/ a good curse (not curse words, but an honest-to-goodness, evil-eye curse) in a horse-skin wallet. The Rom revere horses & eating them is forbidden. Some cafes in Germany in towns with a high Rom population have gone as far as to put "We serve horse meat" signs in the windows to ward off "unwelcome" customers. Ugly, indeed, but it happens. Watch sudden outbursts around you & look out when someone is overly friendly for no reason & crowds your "space bubble" (American "space bubbles" are wider than those for most Europeans, btw)