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I got picked by a pack of 8-10 year old gypsy kids in Paris 20 years ago. Got bum rushed in the subway and they got my cigs and some money out of a coat pocket. I didnt realize it until they were around the corner and gone.

Surprise and misdirection.

When we travel there’s really no need to take a purse or a bag. I have the wallet with the credit cards in my front pocket if we need to pay for anything, so why do people have to lug purses/bags everywhere they go?

Same thing in Paris 38 years ago. Came at me in the tunnel with an open newspaper, frisked me and took my daytimer. A little while later a guy brought it back saying I dropped it, wanting a reward. I grabbed it and pretended I didn’t understand French. Later I had to speak to a metro ticket agent in French who pretended she didn’t understand English and wouldn’t give me my change.

A few summers ago I made the mistake of riding a jam-packed rush-hour metro in Kyiv. As I got off I checked my pockets and said, “My passport is missing.” A guy pointed to the gap between the train and platform. When the train pulled away I was excited to see it in the baggy that held it. It took an hour for the train frequency to drop enough for a guy to get it out with a long pole. I wasn’t so excited when I saw over $100 was missing from the baggy.