How to avoid pick pockets

Just don't carry anything of value in the back pack. Carry passport, credit cards, major cash in a money belt. Only a bit of walking around money in your pocket. That will make you as pick-pocket proof as you can get.

What you can do is to add either a lock, locking carabiner or cable key ring to the zipper pulls to make them virtually impossible to open quickly.

For those pockets where the zippers cant be locked, don't put anything of value in them.

Another idea some people use is to carry the backpack on the front.

Yet another idea is to switch to a cross body bag.

I don't do any of these....I put most everthing in a money belt. My wallet and phone, the only things of value in my pockets, are clipped to a belt loop so if someone tried to take them, they wouldn't come out easily. Unfortunately, the devices I use are no longer manufactured.

I have heard of people using a liner of chicken wire (there is probably a modern high tech equivalent) to prevent attempts to slit the back pack.

I was once jostled in a crowd and my cross body bag was rifled, but all they got was a library copy of Fodor's Guide to Rome and a hair brush.
I have also been subjected to diversion tactics.
Ever since, I'm afraid I have been extremely suspicious of strangers coming too close or stopping me and asking apparently strange questions - they may be a diversion.

As suggested above, if you make it extremely difficult for anyone to get at your belongings, you are likely to stay safe.

I'm curious as to why you even need to carry a backpack. What do you keep in there that you cannot keep in a shoulder or cross-body bag?

janiesalvadalena, welcome. There's a lot of good information on the subject here: thefts&scams

Money Belt works best. Wife has a pack safe purse.

I think the best way to avoid pickpockets is to always keep your wits about you, check your surroundings when walking and don't let yourself get distracted. I've been traveling for decades but usually travel solo, so it's easy for me to keep my attention on my surrounds, and I have never had my purse or pocket picked.

However, I've noticed that couples and groups of travelers sometimes get engaged in conversation in crowded spaces,and are paying more attention to their companion(s), than what is around them. Always be aware. And as others have said, keep your valuations in a safe location. I keep mine in a crossbody bag that sits across my chest, making it difficult for anyone to get to. Others here use neck wallets.

First, I am in the camp that says "why do you need a backpack?" You are not on safari, you can get something to drink when needed, get snacks if hungry, forget all the "what-if" items (raincoat, umbrella, first aid kit, weather radio), the old tech back-ups (maps, guidebooks, compass). If you must, must, carry a few items, look at a small crossbody bag. I do have one, mainly if I want to bring my tablet for reading a book. It need not be "slash proof", just a simple bag.

I have worked hard to overcome the need to haul, to the point I am comfortable going out with just my phone, a credit card, and a little cash. The plus is, I all of a sudden reduce my "pickpocket profile" to miniscule odds, and the feeling of wandering with no bag is very freeing and a heck of a lot better on my back.

As for your phone, Americans have the bad habit of following their phones around. They have them out in their hand in front of them while walking and standing, on tables at cafes, just out all the time. Just keep it in a secure pocket, if you are using maps, step to the side, get your bearings, put the phone away and go. Same if you need to use it , get someplace out of the traffic, use it, then put it away. If you are walking and reach for your phone, ask yourself "do I really need it?" You really do not need to strap it to you with a steel cable, but, if that gives you comfort, fine.

I often use a pack (or sometimes my husband carries it for both of us). Are you using a daypack, not a full-sized backpacking camping pack? If it’s not enormous, then carrying it in front will help. I once had a pickpocket open a smaller lumbar pack he had in back on the Athens metro, but apparently nothing in it was worth stealing. We were in a hurry to catch the subway train, and weren’t considering how crowded it was about to become, or how vulnerable the pack was, being unable to see if some nefarious person was fiddling with zippers. I wasn’t blocking the pack, either, which could’ve kept it inaccessible to others. That’s never happened again.

Switch your pack to the front, with your arm(s) in front of it, if the conditions warrant that. Small luggage locks on the zippers would be an additional precaution, even though that makes it a bit more cumbersome for you to get into your pack. Any bag or purse can get opened if a thief creates a disturbance that results in distraction. Awareness and precautions will make a difference, if something comes up. Most of the time, you won’t encounter any crooks, but it can happen. A tram in Nice last summer had one such disturbance.

Your main stash of money, credit/debit cards, passport, and any other critical documents should be in your moneybelt.

We just got back from a tour in Rome and one of our fellow travelers was pickpocketed in the metro. Our guide was explaining how the metro worked. We all had our ear pieces in listening while he pointed at the map on the wall. Might as well had a neon sing binking easy pickens ahead for all the world to see.
Then we all go down to the platform. We stand right in front of the entry and exit area of the metro. We should have walked down the platform 40 or 50 feet away or all the way down to the end of the platform. So the metro shows up and we all shuffle into the car right in front of the main exit. So now we have given our pickpocketer the fastest exit and getaway.
We were only going one stop. There must have been thirty to fourty people packed in this part of the car. Thirty feet down there was nobody.
There was some commotion at the front of the car we were in when it reaches the next stop. Some yelling and screaming like they were getting ripped off. We all turn around to watch. But we have to get off because this is our stop and we are running out of time before the doors close and it takes off again.
We all get off and then one of the people in our tour realized her phone was gone. It was that fast. They made a distraction and in just a second it was gone.
Then a couple days later my wife and I are taking the metro out to Ostia. Three females, let me say shady girls in their late teens or twenty's hope on one of our stops. One is pregnant with no purse or bag. The two other girls had large bags that looked like nothing was in them. My Spidy senses kick in.
My wife nudges me and the local lady seated across from us gives a side eye look at the girls, then looks at my wife, the grabs her the bag she was carrying moves it to her front and places her hands over it. We gave her a little nod of thanks and did the same thing.
The girls jumped off on the next stop and we just smiled at each other.
I wore a sling type pack that I always carried in front of me. It could carry a small water bottle. It carried my phone in one pocket and my credit card holder with a few euros, passport card the US issues and a debit and credit card. Both these go in the same place everytime. One quick feel or look I can see them. I also found that I could rest my hand over the bag when in a crowded situation like your arm was in a sling.
My wife did the same thing with her Lululemon hip bag. The bag was always in front of her.
I would aways have a bag that has a zipper. They would have to get through that and then the pocket to get anything.
I would never put your phone in your jacket or back pocket.
Just keep your eyes open and any time you hear a commotion check your surroundings first and avoid packed crowds. Because unless you over 6 feet tall your just going to be looking at somebody's front or back like my wife that is 5'2".

Thank you for your responses! They were great! Yes, I have decided that I must let go of my need to carry stuff. I plan to use bike shorts with pockets under my wrap skirt so that I don't have to wear a money belt or cross body bag. Sadly they both annoy my body. Phone in one pocket and passport/money in the other. It will be like a money belt but more comfortable for me. I just needed a few real people, not the internet, to convince me that I need to let go of carrying everything with me. Thanks again everyone!

Janie

We’ve liked the neck wallets. Lightweight, comfortable and easy to access and washable. They hold passports, credit cards, some cash and whatever few valuables we carry.

I was very smug about not being picked having traveled in Europe since 1960. Basically you need to be pickpocket proof and not have valuables where thieves can reach. Carry only essential valuables and then don't carry them in pocket or backpacks but in cross body bags under your control in crowds, or neck wallets under your clothes or for things you want to carry like passports but won't need to access, in money belts under your clothes.

AND then in Florence this fall, smug me finally got hit. I had my phone and valuables in a cross body bag but was on a small bus in Florence that was lurching and crowded and needed to hang on with my left hand while composting my ticket with my right hand and very briefly didn't have a hand on my bag. In that lurching crowd someone unzipped the top of my bag and grabbed a handful. I actually felt it in retrospect and realized it quickly -- but to no avail. Luckily they only got cash, my apartment key and my back up phone charge battery. This was all annoying to lose but they didn't get my Uffizi card, my credit card or my driver's license all of which would have been a greater loss as those were in the bottom of the small envelop bag. The landlord was great about the keys and replaced them without cost although I was prepared to pay for them and replacing the battery back up was easy if a cost I resented. So evven someone who is careful can have a momentary vulnerability.

Crowded touristy Italian cities are rife with pickpockets -- both amateur and highly skilled. If you are going to carry your passport (mine was locked in a drawer in the apartment) then carry it in a money belt under your clothes. Even with taking care, there can be moments like mine where you are vulnerable.

Do not let anyone at all “help” you at ticket machines, no matter how official they look.
Just stop, stand back, stare them down and wait till they go away.

If you need an ATM, use one inside an open bank, never on out the street.

Tape #10 fish hooks flush to your zipper pulls on your pack.

Avoid using city buses or subways, and avoid going to markets, at least the crowded ones, and you will be fine. 80% of pickpockets occur on buses/subways or markets. Also don’t let the gypsies get too close to you with their silly excuses (like panhandling).

I agree with Roberto.

I've never been pickpocketed but I did have my bag slashed from behind in the crowded El Rastro in Madrid, back in the '80s. I was also held up at knifepoint in the lobby of my hotel in Palermo, when the thief also robbed the hotel's cash drawer and all the gold jewelry off the neck of the female receptionist. But that is such an extreme incident that I probably should not even mention it here!! The point is that anything can happen but if you are always worried and anxious you will put a damper on your enjoyment of the trip.

I now carry a normal leather shoulder bag, the same one I would use at home. I can put it across my body but rarely feel the need to do that, even when walking alone at night in Spain or Italy, in big cities or small towns.

BUT, I no longer take buses or subways. If you are a couple, or a couple of friends the cost is negligible and to me, it's worth the price to feel secure. I walk when I can but on the few instances when a restaurant is longer than a mile or so away, I take a taxi. And I leave my passport in my hotel room, except when I plan to shop for items more than 20 euro or so. (You one need to show this in order to obtain the tax refund accorded to citizens outside the EU.)

If you are very nervous, pay the price and take a cab.

Some suggestions on how to avoid pickpockets from the Carabinieri.
It’s in Italian but you can use Google Translate.

https://www.carabinieri.it/in-vostro-aiuto/consigli/Cose-di-tutti-i-giorni/prevenire-le-aggressioni/borseggi

In regards to the above suggestion to leave your passport in the hotel safe, know that a passport is the only official ID that is recognized for non EU citizens. I’m not saying you will end in prison for the rest of your life if you are asked to produce a passport in the streets, but I recommend that at the very minimum you carry another form of ID and photocopies of your real passport. That may or may not suffice, but police officers tend to be lenient with citizens of the United States or Canada, even when not fully compliant with such ID law. Carrying your real passport is however recommended if you venture out of town on a day trip, as ID random checks on trains or at stations (and also on buses) are more common than in the streets. Of course if you rent a car, the real passport is an absolute must while driving. Random checks of motorists at police check points are very common.

Wow! Such incredible stories! You are all so kind to share your stories with me and the forum community. Thank you! I had read to beware but now I fully understand that it is truly important! It was also helpful to know that there are police check points to be prepared for. I was amazed at how bold the thieves can be, unzipping the front facing cross body bag! Wow!

Thanks everyone!

Janie

I carry a Travelon brand crossbody purse, which holds my phone, a small wallet with one credit card and a little, if any, cash. In the purse is also hand sanitizer, lipstick, chapstick, maybe a small snack and tissues. I always keep a hand on the purse. I just bought a phone tether that I'll bring on my next trip (to England & Ireland) in three weeks. If I want to bring a jacket or umbrella, I wear a string backpack to hold them. On a crowded bus or metro, I will move the string backpack to the front. I also wear either a money belt or a "Stashbandz" under my clothes for my passport, extra credit card, debit card and perhaps a little cash....this is what I consider "deep storage" and I don't go into it in public view.

PacSafe and Travelon both make anti-theft backpacks. I still wouldn't put my wallet or phone in any backpack in a crowded area unless it was on the front of me.

The chances of police in Italy stopping an obvious tourist like yourself (and me) are so low to be almost nil.

I've traveled to Italy at least 30 times (I'm not a kid anymore!!) and have never been asked to show my passport by police. Not in Italy and not in Spain.

I leave it in my hotel and truth is, I almost never use the hotel safe. (I'd be more afraid of forgetting it than having it stolen) .I hide it in my luggage under clothing. For me, if I was worried that a hotel person would steal my passport, I'd probably find another hotel. But I'm not at all suggesting that anyone not use a safe..I just do not.

I take passport only when I am going shopping, so that I can get the paperwork for the tax deduction and claim my cash refund at the airport on departing.

Yes, I would carry my passport on a train, and yes, I had to show it when I've rented a car in Italy which I did twice last year.

Most (but not all, car rental places also ask for the IDP and you MUST have your American license to rent a car. (More important than the IDP, but you should have the IDP as well, in case of police checkpoint, which I've never encountered)

Like Sherry above, I have a Travelon bag. While I have not had an issue with a pick pocket, I also think the bag, appearing aware and keeping my hand rested upon it serves as a deterrent.
Regarding passports, in 2022 or family was stopped by the police near the train station in Florence and they requested to see our passports. The stop seemed random, but it was three obvious polizie - properly uniformed and identified; they were very polite, but I was so glad we all four had our passports. After they looked at our passports, they returned them and told us to enjoy our trip.

Janie, if you decided to wear bike shorts with pockets ( under a skirt,) I'd suggest you wear them inside out. I wear bike shorts with pockets all summer, and it's so easy for things to fall out , especially when using the restroom. So I'd stronkgr suggest wearing them inside out, so that the pockets are on the inside.
For myself, I prefer a silk neck wallet for my passport. It's very comfortable and the straps are like bra straps.
Have a great trip. Safe travels!

What a great tip on the bike shorts inside out!!

I wear a neck wallet/pouch thing when I go to airports and take trains.

Interesting about getting stopped by police asking for passport!! I wonder what would have happened to me since I dont' carry one!! But I see you were coming off a train, so in that case, I'd have one on me..