Video of an American tourist catching a pickpocket in the act in Venice is going viral – showing her holding the suspect by the ponytail, while the criminal screams continuously, and a crowd forms.
The transgressor screams “calm down, calm down” while the tourist declares “you’re not getting away” – the call to calm down is strategic by the thief, and common, playing victim to reverse optics and pressure for release, accusing their victim of being the perpetrator of violence. The tourist, though, remained unbothered and decisive.
There are unverified reports that the suspect was 14 years old and that police arrested her.
She had time today pic.twitter.com/aOb6oaP4RC
— ✧˖°.₊˚ (@ScaryMaryx) August 19, 2025
As tourist-overloaded as Venice gets in the summertime, it’s actually pretty safe. Violent crime is extremely rare. Pickpocketing is mostly a daytime problem around Piazza San Marco and other tourist hot spots, but less so at night (though local media has covered an increase in incidents).
Any time there are crowds it’s a risk. I don’t carry my wallet in my back pocket around Venice (or other major European cities). There’s some basic principles when traveling as a tourist.
- As soon as someone you don’t know calls you “friend” you can be pretty sure they’re not your friend. Something is gonna go down.
- You aren’t as attractive as you think you are – magnetic to foreigners – and you aren’t that interesting to talk to. People you meet aren’t trying to ‘practice their English’. If strangers seem incredibly happy to talk to you, remember that you aren’t that interesting.
- Just because someone is in uniform, doesn’t mean they’re an official (plus, sometimes people in uniform are in on the scam).
I remember my first time in Bangkok, being approached by an ‘officer’ in uniform telling me an attraction was ‘closed to foreigners’ for a special holiday – but there was someone in a tuk tuk who would happily take me to the best sites.
You may wind up in a bar and threated to sign a credit card bill for $2000 on a ~ $20 tab. My most important advice is never to put yourself in harm’s way. If they threaten to call the police, let them, although if they do it suggests the police are in on the scam. In the end, sign the slip.
Your credit card company’s charge back process will be helpful here if you handle things promptly. Don’t wait until your return to the U.S. to deal with it. A police report will help. They won’t get your money back but contemporaneous paperwork will substantiate your dispute.
Your hotel can be helpful, too. They can call the police for you and it will be harder to participate in the scam with hotel management who are locals and more likely on your side – plus probably have good relations with local police.
I’ve written about the Paris ring scam, where someone along the road ‘finds’ a ring and rushes to return it to you. Taking advantage of your greed, they separate you from your money in exchange for worthless ‘jewelry’.
And the Chinese tea ceremony where a local wants to spend the day with you to and shows you to a local tea place where you’ll experience local culture… and receive a bill many orders of magnitude higher than it should be. Rambling along Las Ramblas? So are the pick pockets. They’re in Malaysian temples, too.
Some general principles for protecting yourself.
- Pay with a credit card, not cash. You can dispute charges later if you’ve been scammed.
- Split up your cash, keeping it in multiple places. You won’t be out everything if pick pocketed.
- Keep multiple copies of your important documents. That will make it easier to recover if your passport or other important items are stolen.
- Don’t be greedy. If you think you can take advantage of a local, they’re probably the ones taking advantage of you.
- Your hotel is your best ally. If a cab driver isn’t using a meter, is quoting you an impossibly high price, and your destination is your hotel — don’t argue until your baggage is out of the vehicle, then enlist the hotel’s help. They know local rules and expectations and what rides should cost, and they’re likely on your side as their guest.
- Hire a guide, even if you don’t need one. I think of it as paying one tout to keep away all the other touts.
- Stay aware of your surroundings. If you’re in a crowd, you’re a pick pocket victim. If you’re more focused on the awe around you than the people around you, you’re a pick pocket victim. And know what countries, cities, and attractions are home to such things, but in general where tourists gather they’re targets.
- Know what your purchases — whether souvenirs or transportation — should cost before you buy. Have some basis for comparison.
It’s better to be taken advantage of than to escalate a confrontation, losing a little money isn’t the end of the world for many. But staying aware will help you avoid making costly mistakes.
All good advice.
And gosh, if something does happen to you, you won’t forget it. More than 25 years ago and I still remember my digital camera being stolen on the Rome Metro. At least I had backed up my photos – that is what was important.
Good advice, Gary. And if somebody spills something on you and starts brushing it off, watch out! They or their friends will soon have their hands in your pockets. Along these lines I found a money belt very helpful in Colombia when an incredibly light fingered person on a bus got some minor stuff from an inside jacket pocket. But one can still get caught, such as I was last year with a far too high taxi bill in Warsaw–should have done my homework and after that called through the hotel. Still, the biggest nuisance I’ve had lately was a skimmer in an ATM in Florence, but Citi was good about catching the unexpected charge and the card was immediately canceled with no out of pocket expenses. (I wrote the store where this was located, no reply so suspect they were in on it.) Live and learn, and travel is very much a learning experience. That’s what makes it almost always fun.
“It’s better to be taken advantage of than to escalate a confrontation, losing a little money isn’t the end of the world for many.”
So true. In India, the auto rickshaw driver cheated me and demanded a “fuel surcharge”, which was about $1. The hotel doorman spoke with the driver and told me the price, which I already knew, having taken the auto rickshaw during my stay. I did not want to be stabbed over $1.
If I can’t trust that the police won’t be part of a scam, I just won’t visit that place.
Your hotel should be an ally but isn’t always; sometimes they, too, are in on a scam, yes, even the corporate American companies like Marriott…
Kids one tip. Those small day backpack purses things are a target. In any crowded place the pickpockets will clean out everything. They might be fine for your school but not travel.
Do not put your mobile phone on your table at any outdoor restaurant/cafe and take your hand off of it. My wife and I both did that in Paris two years ago; the waiter was on us in a second and told us that thieves will come over and chat with you and put the newspaper they are carrying over the phone, then lift both the phone and the newspaper when they leave.
Of course, now come to think of it, seeing a thief with a newspaper in this day and age might tip you off straightaway 🙂 but there are probably infinite variations on that scam.
“Wallet”. How quaint.
I got approached in Bangkok by a tuk tuk driver who offered to take me to see the sites for some nominal fee – $20 bucks or something. I agreed. In the back of my mind I was thinking he’s probably going to take me to an abandoned warehouse where there are four other guys waiting to take everything I have, but it actually turned out to be pretty fun day. He did take me around to a bunch of different things that I never would have even thought to look at. Of course, at the end he dropped me off at the Jewelry Exchange, which I was fine with. He probably got paid for doing so but I didn’t mind, it was a great day. However, I don’t recommend that everybody makes the same decision I did.
The front pocket can also be picked by experienced thieves who can remove your phone or wallet. It’s happened to friends of ours. To prevent this, pack a large safety pin. Before putting on your pants, turn them inside out and reduce the opening of the front pocket with the safety pin, nearest the bottom slit of the pocket so that, while wearing the pants, the phone or wallet can only be slipped in sideways before dropping to the bottom of the pocket. For extra measure, you can then turn the phone or wallet sideways by manipulating it from the outside of your pants. When you need the phone or wallet, you will need to manipulate it back up to the narrowed opening and push it out. A pickpocket won’t be able to figure this all out in the split second it takes them to do their deed. Also, zipper and Velcro pockets are of little defense.
Why is this woman carrying her passport around in her purse?
There is absolutely no need to go around anywhere nowadays with just your phone and some small cash.
No wallet, no passport, no cards
A Goomba wallet can help (I grew up in an Italian neighborhood where the boys carried big wads).
You may have seen it on the Sopranos. Construct a wallet by wrapping the cash you are carrying around one credit card and your license- then secure all in place with broccoli rubber bands- two will work. Then slide your wallet into your front pocket on a pair of cotton pants like jeans etc. You will have a hard time pulling your wallet out to pay but the pick pockets have to get really friendly to do the same from the outside!
I’ve also used this at home for the last 20 years. I do not eat broccoli but having friends that do keeps me in supply and keeps my local grocer happy too.