Thread: Dipped in Rome

Wifey and I are just completing our European holiday.
We have been in UK, France, Netherlands, Greece and Italy.

Everything has been great until yesterday.
Visiting the colosseum in Rome, my wife concentrating more on her selfie stick angles than her handbag lost her purse to a pickpocket.
It was all very quick, she is usually most attentive however not on this occasion.

There was A$400 plus around 40 euros, so not a bad catch for the little dago. (credit card as well- which I cancelled within the hour)

This is the first time I have been ripped off (other than the odd taxi price hike) in any country.

Anyone else fell victim to pickpockets?

In Napoli on a school trip. Whilst we were out, the van got turned over and basically emptied, and 1 kid thought a couple of local beauties fancied him but were in fact emptying his pockets whilst touching him up. I searched high and low for them, but alas could not find them for my go.

Did alright on the insurance though. The backpack I lost was suddenly filled with everything I could find a receipt for in the house.

I was once pick pocketed Thai style, three guys were waiting for me as I went into my room and they jostled in behind me, the two most menacing of them stood either side of me about six inches from my face while the third riffled my wallet, passport and air ticket out of my pockets. Being on Samui I of course called the police for assistance

Aint that fraud and another crime PSE?

Originally Posted by Dragonfly94

Aint that fraud and another crime PSE?

Nope. I was told that they would be paying out 1/4 of the price of all stuff knicked. So to ensure that I got 100% of the cost of all things knicked I hedged my bets.

Once in angeles city riding a jeepney, 2 guys sat close to me and there companion a good looking filipina sat opposite me as the distraction, didnt loose much fortunately,

I was robbed of a few lei by a Romanian gypsy. She tried to pull the old baby milk trick so I asked for a bj in exchange. Back in the hotel she was noshing away like a good un, then gestured that my cock stank and to take a shower.

Whilst in the shower I start thinking about my phone in the jeans on the floor near the bed so peaked around the door only to find her stuffing her snatch with the equivalent of 500 baht.
Luckily most of my dough was locked in the safe.

Moral of the story: wash your nob before you go out

Originally Posted by Latindancer

my natural politeness held.

Originally Posted by Latindancer

I would have smashed the pricks if I'd found them

schizophrenia?

One of life's little paradoxes and contradictions


I'm polite up to a point, but if someone rips me off for 800 bucks (1987 dollar value) , I'll smash em.

Originally Posted by Iceman123

Anyone else fell victim to pickpockets?

Only the once but it was big time by a gang in the Paris Metro more than a few years ago.

In Paris on business stood waiting for a train briefcase on the ground between my legs when i was approached by a bloke asking for directions, I think. He was enough paces away that i couldn't hear him clearly so i moved forward no more than 2 steps. - My big mistake.
Someone came from behind snatched the briefcase and did a runner and was off into the warren of tunnels that is the Paris Metro ( for people not trains).
I ran in pursuit as the briefcase got switched between thieves a couple of times.

Actually more than that.


I thought i was gaining on the guy with my case and we went around a bend and came to one of those flights of stairs with about 10 or so steps and i thought I was close enough that I could dive onto him, which i did. Unfortunately he didn't have my case. He was obviously involved as he said nothing, no word of complaint , after some crazed man had dived on top of him leaving us both sprawled on the floor
I got up looked around but there was no other likely suspect and this guy I had jumped had also not gone.
I went to the police.

The briefcase had my passports credit cards, keys, money, plane ticket , business notes from 2 weeks of travel and all sorts of other important stuff.
The embassy was terrific and I had another passport in my hands that evening and my travel agent had me booked on another flight to that nights destination where i arrived very late and without any cash.
Continued on my business trip the next day

Lesson learned.

Not happened since

Originally Posted by Iceman123

Wifey and I are just completing our European holiday.
We have been in UK, France, Netherlands, Greece and Italy.

Anyone else fell victim to pickpockets?

Sorry to say...Italy is the only country i have ever been to where the national sport is thieving from tourists. (Spent three months in each of France, Sweden, Belgium, 6 months in each of Netherlands, Spain. Travelled throughout Germany and Switzerland. Also spent 20 years living in NYC). Even survived three days in Tijuana without losing a dime...

I was on a night train going down to Brindisi early 90's. The car filled up and one young student type did the translating for all the others. All drinking and getting along famously. Even gave the student type my address for postcards. (I recall stopping off in Bologna and being unable to find a room so got back on the train instead). We were all properly shit-faced, or so i thought when i felt the young guy kicked my foot. Dropped off to sleep again...again another kick. This continued for some time. I had all my credit cards in my shirt pocket. Eventually, they gave up and got off at various stops along the way.

Dont get me started on the Greeks...

^
Yep, those Italians certainly are a thieving bunch. You would think that the authorities would crackdown hard to eradicate the problem. However as it is being tourists being fleeced the police do not even look for the perps as the tourist will be long gone before any court action is possible.

I forgot, one other instance of me being ripped off, this one my own greedy fault.

Mombasa, circa 1992. Was advised not to change money in the street only to use Banks etc.
Guy offered me great rate on street, I gave him 100 quid to change (he was wanting 500 sterling better rate blah blah blah). He left me his ID card as security and went off into a building. He never returned and the ID card I was left with could have been anyone of the male Kenyan population.

I went into the building he had disappeared into - it was like a warren with lots of doors and exits.
I was laughed at and told I had invested in the "moving bank" and the ID I was left with was obviously a stolen one.

I could not find any carrot juice at the local cafes as I felt right a real donkey in front of my female companion who had advised me not to enter into the transaction.

We live and learn!

Only once i've been pick pocketed back in the late 80's walking back to my apartment by some Spanish scrotum who i caught.

He skulked off pretty sharpish returning my worthless to him marketing material from my back pocket..

There's always some one out there waiting in the wings to take advantage if you let them.