Don't Pick my Pocket! and other Paris, France Warning Or Danger Tips

Metro and RER lines that serve popular sights are infested with thieves. Wear a moneybelt or neck pouch. Keep all important items in your moneybelt/neck pouch: passport, credit/debit/ATM cards, money, airline tickets. Keep a tight grip on your bags.

Operate with a day's worth of spending money in your billfold or wallet...the rest is kept in your moneybelt/neck pouch. If someone picks your pocket, your trip can still go on. If you need more money, step into the restroom and make a "withdrawal" from your secret stash.

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I saw a post on another forum, telling of an Arab pickpocket gang that works under the Eiffel Tower. They are selling miniature Eiffel Towers. Which is fine...Who doesn't come home from Paris without a mini Eiffel?

When you offer them money for a souvenir, they grab your purse, billfold or fanny pack and start running. As the police officer chases them, they toss the money to the others like Harlem globetrotters while the single police officer tries to catch the thief.

The person who posted saw it happen twice in 30 minutes and neither victim got their money back.

Do not talk to them or offer to buy anything from them. It's a safer bet to hit up a souvenir stand, maybe on Rue de Rivoli or anywhere else. Be careful!

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A scam I encountered in Paris was outside of the Notre Dame Cathedral, among other popular sites in Paris. We were approached by young women asking if we speak English. They would rush up to us as if they were in trouble and desperately needing the help of a fellow American/Englishman. Of course, your instinct is to come to their rescue. Then, they would give their spiel about being robbed, etc., and needed some money. Other times, they handed us a paper with a message in about 10 languages and pointed to the English one. Generally, it was a sob-story and asking for money...Their Bosnian family is in dire need of assistance...dad lost his job, brother needs a brain transplant, dog has a wooden leg--you get the idea. Don't be taken in. A person in need would be going to the police, not other tourists! If they keep pushing something in your hand/face and won't take it back until you respond, then respond by dropping it on the ground and walking away!

Be careful when someone asks if you speak English. And watch your belongings!

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Around the Eiffel Tower and several other major attractions, gypsies will try their best to get you to hold a trinket, to look at it. Then, they will refuse to let you hand it back. (As long as it is in your hands, you are essentially purchasing it and they want the money.) They are very aggressive about NOT letting you hand it back.

First of all, don't hold it. Second, if you were so foolish and they won't take it back, lay it on the ground and walk away. They also use this scam in the evening with long-stem roses. They will insist on giving them to women "for free" because they are so beautiful, etc. etc. Even when the woman/teenager has established that yes, it is free and walk away, they will hustle her escort to pay for it once they have moved further along.

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When visiting Sacre Coeur Basilica, be wary of the bracelet vendors. These guys are relentless and have been known to become physical with tourists. They try to get you to buy one of their bracelets...will tie one on your wrist if you let them and then demand payment...an outrageous sum.

Keep walking, don't stop, say "Non, merci" and keep your arms to your sides so they won't be able to grab you.

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On Champs-Elysses, there is an Asian couple in desperate need of Louis Vuitton wallets/handbags. They claim they can only get two items and want more, offering up wads of Euros to get the merchandise for them. Actually, there are limits on items you can purchase in some stores.

I'm not sure what the outcome of this is except that after they give you the money to "buy" them another purse, they wait til you go inside and grab a police officer, claiming you stole their money.

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