Travel light - leave your fancy bling and valuables in your hotel room or at home.

So avoid looking like you are lost or don’t know where you are going. A pickpocket will lose interest if they suspect you are onto them.ĭon’t look like a tourist - pickpockets love tourists because they often carry lumps of cash and are not paying attention. Enter the nearest shop for a few minutes to collect yourself.

To help you stay on your guard, Nationwide has teamed up with Lee Thompson, an entertainer that specialises in pickpocketing who also advises the police on keeping the public safe from street theft.īe vigilant - if you suspect a pickpocket is following you, stop what you are doing and go in a different direction.

>Only a fifth (22%) had all of their items covered by insurance.

From this poll, just 19% reported that the culprits were caught.Following London, Manchester comes second and Birmingham third, while joint fourth is Glasgow / Leeds.London is by far the most common place for pickpockets offences, with visitors from the South East and East Anglia the most likely to fall prey.Pickpockets appear to be exactly that, with the most common place to steal from being pockets (34%), followed by a bag that is being worn (26%) then bags placed on the floor or table (18%).How often do you get your phone, wallet or cash out of your pocket without so much as a second thought? While doing so may seem perfectly normal, Britons and tourists are unaware they may be unwittingly advertising their valuables to pickpockets.Īccording to the Office for National Statistics, there were 442,000 ‘theft from the person’ offences in the year ending June 2015 in England and Wales alone, and a study of pickpocketing victims by Nationwide Building Society reveals some interesting statistics. 10 ways to have a secondary monthly income.

Lee thompson pickpocket