We breakfasted at the same cafe every day in London. One morning there was a gypsy woman with a baby two booths behind us. The waitress made a point of leaning in and whispering a warning...."Be careful with your things, she's a gypsy. Don't let her get you talking, they're never alone."
The girls (14, 14, 15) had absolutely no clue about the 'gypsy problem'. After that they started to notice the panhandlers and beggars. When we got to Paris they laughed because it looked as though the exact same gypsies had followed us over.
I was in Paris last fall. There the gypsies stake out the tourist spots (Notre Dame, outside the Lourve, etc.) and try to get you to read small 5x7 cars written in English indicating they are Bosnian Christian refugees and asking for donations. But while you read the card someone sneaks up behind you to try to pick your pocket. I sat off to the side in Notre Dame square and just watched them go at it. Extremely low success rate, but they were at it for hours.
A number of years ago my nephew was playing semi-pro hockey in Europe. After the season ended he stayed for a while to do some touring. One day a lady with a baby in her arms approached him and started asking him question. She then thrust the baby into his arms which of course threw him off guard. After he had given the baby back and she left, he realized someone had stolen his wallet during the incident.