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Evelyn
Hannon
Be
very aware, ladies. Pickpockets are experts
in the art of distraction. They divert
your attention for several quick seconds
and in that short time they relieve you
of your travel valuables. It happens fast.
You have no idea that it has actually
happened and when you do find out, the
thieves are long gone.
Scam
artists prey on travellers because they
know that you are in foreign surroundings
and not completely sure of yourself. You
are so busy experiencing new sights and
sounds that you're not fully aware of
what else is going on around you. They
choose you because you are the perfect
victim.
It's
up to you to outsmart them. Be pickpocket
savvy! Here, taken from our Journeywoman
files, are some creative distractions
to watch for: |
Cardboards,
long skirts and doo-doo...
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Someone
deftly smears toothpaste on your
jacket and then tries to get you
to believe that it is bird droppings.
Since no one enjoys having "doo-doo"
on their clothes, we are relieved
to have a kind stranger appear with
offers to clean it off. Don't fall
for it! While he's scrubbing, his
pickpocketin' partner is stealing
your passport. |
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Children
carrying newspapers or large sheets
of cardboard swarm around you and
hold these items in front of your
face. This is suddenly very frightening
and you're momentarily distracted.
Try to keep focused because these
defiant little tykes are very quick.
Before you can say, "Journeywoman,"
your hard-earned holiday money is
gone. |
| Ed.
note: This happened to
me in front of the train station
in Paris. However, I had read about
these little street urchins and
began shouting and waving my free
hand (the one not pulling my suitcase
on wheels) and the kiddies were
not successful. Phew! |
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In
Rome, a mother holding an infant
(really a life-size doll) suddenly
shouts and tosses her tiny, helpless
child to you. What self-respecting
Journeywoman would let a baby drop?
You would... if you're pickpocket
savvy. Mama is only trying to get
your attention while Papa does his
dirty work. Uh-oh, your credit card's
gone! |
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What
about this one? In Rome, old women
wearing long soiled dresses come
right up close, surround you, and
in very loud Italian wail and beseech
you to buy the booklets they're
selling. While you're stepping back,
insisting you're not interested,
little kiddies reach out from under
those long skirts and...watch out!
You've been pickpocketed. |
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Picture
this. You're in a crowded bus minding
your own business and suddenly you're
groped. Yuck! While you're indignantly
looking around to see who's guilty,
someone else is busy zipping open
your backpack. He helps himself
to your wallet. That makes two big
violations and the guilty parties
are, sadly, seldom identified. |
| Get
the idea? We hope that these five
examples will convince you to keep
your valuables close to your skin
and in a money belt. Robberies are
never, ever pleasant. With a little
bit of Journeywoman smarts you can
have fun and avoid the hassles of
filling out futile police reports
for valuables that will probably
never be returned to you.
Down
with pickpockets of the world! |
|
 Women's
words on thieves... No
one is ever warmed by wool pulled over
his eyes.
(Marcelene Cox, Ladies' Home Journal,
1948)
He
was so crooked, you could have used
his spine for a safety-pin.
(Dorothy Sayers, The Nine Tailors,
1934)
She
could carry off anything; and some people
said that she did.
(Ada Levenson, Love at Second Sight,
1916)
(Source: The New Beacon Book of
Quotations By Women) |
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