Anti Pickpockets

There are even travel trousers with a zipper in one of the front pockets to a second pocket. This creates a hidden pocket within a pocket. I've seen them in travel stores.

I like that pin idea. Someone had mentioned sewing extra pockets in clothing, or using velcro.

In fact, anything we can do to make their jobs <-(A BIG LOL to that) harder is worth the effort.

Is that 3" heavy duty pin going to be an issue thru security?

For backpacks, etc., those with the twin zipper 'pulls' joining in the middle; pick up a half-dozen, large, 'split rings' (similar to key rings), and connect the two zipper pulls with the split rings. Airport security/ramp folks/etc. can open them if they want and even if they toss them aside after opening, they're cheap. I get the stainless steel ones from my boat chandlery and I defy a pickpocket to undo a split-ring from my backpack zippers while I'm attached to the pack without me knowing he's there. The bigger the better for ease of opening/closing/re-using. Kilt pins sound good, though, for change purses, etc.

Geoff, that's another good idea. Boy, we sure plan on making their lives difficult. They'll be talking about the good old days when they were able to rip off the North Americans without being caught!

Ever heard the joke about the two hikers. One puts on a pair of running shoes. The other asks, "What are those for?" The first replies, "In case we run into a bear." The other says, "You can't outrun a bear in those." The first says, "I don't have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you."

A pickpocket is looking to get the most with the least effort.

"The most" means they often target Americans because that's where the money is. Maybe with the low dollar, they'll start focusing on other tourists.

"The least effort" means anything you do to make the pickpocket's job harder, the more likely they are to expend their effort on someone else. Just keep asking yourself, "How can I avoid being an easy target?" Usually that means use a money belt, don't get weighed down carrying a ton of shopping bags, camera equipment or luggage, keep track of your stuff and be aware of your surroundings.

Try diaper pins because they are a little harder to open.

I used safety pins on my zipper pockets, inside my front pockets and behind my belt when I wear my credit card size bag. They work wondefully.
Safety pins, even the larger ones will not set the security alarm off. I had a few on me and went thru the gate without any problems. I also had a few in my carryon and nobody said anything. But I gathered them some how together in a little box and I had other metal things in that box.

Do what ever you can to prevent the pickpockets. We were in Paris last week at the Gare de Lyon Station on the A metro and I saw a guy looking people over. I warned my family about him and he walked away but luckily apparently some police must have been watching him too. He and another guy were grabbed on the platform and hauled away!!!

Thanks Ed. Glad you were not a target for that lot.

I think we should become proactive and watch out not only for ourselves, but others too. My sister lives in Germany and while on a train she saw someone getting too close to a foreign couple, so she quietly made her way across to warn them. The "suspect" moved away in no time.

Rather than being scared (like I was in the past), I have been alerting my family and thinking of ways to make the pickpocket's "job" much harder. Pins, velcro, fasterners, buttons, combs or whatever, let's give 'em hell!

I am so glad to see the interest and exchange of ideas in stopping or at least making it more difficult for Pick Pocketing. It is a real issue. We Senior Citizens really do need to be alert. As a know it all DUMB American I lost $300 last year in Buenos Aires because I wasn't being careful. "I knew no one could ever get their hand in my pocket wthout me knowing it" I'm still trying to decide to be mad or embrassed. Karen, from Fort Wayne, ask a valid question about the three inch Kilt Pin going through Airport Security. I do not know the answer but believe it may be no. It is heavy and when opened the 3 inch pointed section could be a weapon.

Dar, sorry you lost money in BA.

Brad, I had a chuckle about the low dollar there. Maybe they will turn on some other group this time.

I would take the pins in checked luggage if it's a problem. My kids like the idea of trying to make this hard on the poor, hardworking picketing crew out there. We plan to travel light, and be on our guard. If I see anyone trying to steal from another person I am going to make some noise!

Not High Tech, but this idea works & for mere pennies:

Try using paper clips. Just thread them through your backpack zippers to hook 2 of them closed. They come in varing sizes & even vinyl coated colored ones...

This also works for checked bags to assist in keeping 2 zippers shut. Security can still open your bag if necessary, but it helps to deter someone who might want to quickly unzip your bag searching for free goods.

The extra clips can be used to mark guide bk pages LOL