Bag stolen in Barcelona

Posted by Troy (Vancouver, BC, Canada) on 10/22/09 03:13 PM

My parents were robbed in Barcelona the other week. While sitting on a bench my mother was approached by a man asking for directions, when she turned to point she took her hand off of her bag and the partner in crime of the man asking directions grabbed the bag and they both ran off.

Other than the Rick Steves book nothing of great importance or value was in the bag so they were not overly upset. Just thought I would give travellers a heads up to watch out for the same scam while in Barcelona.

BTW Mom is fine and they loved Barcelona.

Posted by Susan

San Francisco/Marin County

10/22/09 03:58 PM

9436 posts

Thanks for taking the time to warn us Troy. So sorry that happened to your mom and dad.

Posted by BG1

SF Bay Area, CA

10/22/09 04:17 PM

2030 posts

Always keep your purse strapped across your body or safely tucked under your arm -- setting it down in public is only asking for trouble.

Posted by Ken

Vernon, Canada

10/22/09 05:26 PM

32353 posts

Troy,

Sorry to hear about that, but as the others mentioned that's quite a common scam. The distraction in this case was asking for directions while the accomplice "nicked" the bag. Barcelona has a reputation for this sort of thing (a Google search of "Barcelona Scams" resulted in ~372,000 hits).

This is a good reminder for all of us to be sure to wear Money Belts and exercise diligence when travelling. If I'm touring around with a Backpack or Camera bag with a strap, I usually hook this under one leg of the chair at restaurants or put my arm through one strap.

Cheers!

Posted by Charlie

Honolulu/Seattle, HI/WA, USA

10/22/09 05:43 PM

2787 posts

I got in the habit of carrying a day pack every day after taking numerous RS tours and I do so here in Hawaii. But, as I learned on those tours, I keep my arm thru at least one of that straps no matter what I am doing. Even if I sit down at a restrauant, I put one strap under one of the chair legs. Good habit to be in.