A Guide For Tourists In Italy: How To Avoid Being Robbed

[Latronico]

Hi, 

I work in Milan, at the railway central station (Milano Stazione Centrale in Italian), so I know what I'm talking about. 

I don't want to talk too much about my job, as I'm sure you can understand (first of all because it's not your business, and then because I don't want to expose myself too much).

 

A lot of tourists who come in Italy for vacations, usually, take with them really a lot of money. Especially people from eastern Asia, like Japan, Southern Korea and China. We don't know why but for some reason asian people (and strangers in general, from other continents) think that in Italy they will not be allowed to use credit cards. You know, Italy is still a First World country, you can use your Visa, American Express or MasterCard here. There's no need to come here with a lot of money in you bags because 'you're not sure about it'.

 

That said, as I wrote, a lot of tourists travel with really a lot of money in their bags and wallets.

Now let's do some math.

 

Tourist = person who know little or nothing of the country he/she's visiting.

Wallet full of money = interesting prey for robbers

 

Tourist + Wallet full of money = really high risk of being robbed. And that's not good, both for you, because it could ruin you vacation, both for us, because you will return to your country thinking about how not safe Italy is. And that's not true, because techically it's not our but your fault. It's not Italy not safe, but a lot of tourists a bit stupid.

 

Now let's see the technical part.

Tourists travel a lot using railway or underground/subway trains, using bus, taxi and so on. The material place where people can get in them (like railway or underground/subway stations for example) are, of course, full of people who work there, full of tourists who are traveling, and full or robbers.

 

Inside these caotic places there is a real risk to being robbed. How? By who? Now I'll answer these questions.

 

Italy is not really a multicultural country. Not today at least, maybe in the past. Italy is not USA, is not Canada, or UK, or Germany. Italy is not a place where people from different places, immigrants included, can be everything. The amount of foreigners in our country is really low and, in general, they're all inside a particular part of the population.

 

So, for example, people from Sub Saharan Africa (black people) could probably be migrants who came in Italy just to be allowed to reach northern Europe (Scandinavia, Germany, Uk, France). 

Arabic people could probably be migrants who live in Italy with their families (if they moved here permanently) or without it (if they're working here for a while, or trying to reach another EU country as before). 

Generally they're people who're escaping from misery and war in their countries. They're not robbers. 

 

As eastern Europeans (from Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova, or even Ukraine), who are generally workers. Or asian people, from China, Philippines or India. All normal people, who can or can't be honest. As everyone of course. 

Chinese people in particular are really closed-minded. They don't integrate that much (they don't integrate in general, except for new generations who are becoming more 'Italian' every year), but they're honest people. Don't be scared by them. 
Trust me. One of my ex girlfriend was italo-chinese (with chinese parents but born here in Italy) and I know the 'chinese panorama' here in general. 

 

So, don't even think about I'm racist or some other cap like that for what I'll write now, because it's sad but true. 

People who steal from tourist, in general, are gipsy. 

 

During the last decades a lot of gipsy people moved to Italy, lots of them from Balkans during or after the war. From those years, they've always lived as animals, segregated in camps where they use to live in shacks or caravans. No one was or is really interested in them, especially politics. You know, giving them a future, or treat them as people. 

Here people call them 'zingari' (gipsy in Italian), or 'nomadi' (nomads) and other names I cannot write here. 

 

It's sad and all, but nowadays, unfortunately, these are the people who use to steal from tourists. 

 

You could say 'they're poor people, how many money do you think they could "earn" this way?'. A lot. They're more rich than me, than you and than all of your families and friends togheter. 

In a single day, a single mob can steal up to 2,000, 5,000, 10,000 or even 15,000 Euros. Every day. They 'earn' so much they wear designer clothes. That makes them appear like real normal people. 

 

It's not easy to find those people, especially because they use to move inside the crowd. Here are some details about them:

- as I wrote, they could appear like normal people to you, thanks to their clothes, bags, shoes et cetera. In other countries it could be 'normal' to see coloured people with clothes like those (I call them 'coloured' because they're not caucasian white people, or at least most of them). Don't let them fool you, they're not 'normal' people. 

- they're always in group. Men don't steal, they collect. People who steal are in general women, really young women (even 13 years old), generally pregnant, because here in Italy, if you're pregnant or have children you cannot go to jail. Don't laugh at me, it's not a joke. In all these years not a single magistrate confirmed their arrests, even if they've been caught doing that. Or, at least, untill some weeks ago: for the first time 5 gipsy girls from Milan had been arrested, and are now in jail for 2 years if I'm not wrong. However, read italian newspapers if you can, to learn more about it. 

- even if the bigger part of them is not 'white', an huge number of them is or looks like a white person and could be confused with an italian girl. 

 

How they 'work'? They have different methods. I can tell you about some of them below:

- as I wrote, they prefear tourists (especially from Asia), because they carry a lot of money with them;

- they can steal alone or in small groups (2, 3 or 4 people). They can steal even with their babies with them (today we had halt a woman with a 2 or 3 weeks old baby on her back), even with their strollers, even (not even, especially) if they're pregnant (bacause as I wrote, a pregnant woman cannot go to jail). Don't be shocked about the fact that a 15 years old girl could be pregnant: it's pretty common for them. 

- usually, there is someone who search for 'victmins', someone who search for policemen or guards, someone else who make noises or act noticeably to draw attention on them while others steal and so on. They have really a lot of ways, especially in places full of people and tourists. 

- you could not see them, but they see you. They could search for victmins even for hours. 

 

I will not post any picture of them, because moderators will come claiming I'm breaking some rule for sure. Search for them by yourselves. Open your browser, and search for 'zingare ladre' (Italian words for '[female] gipsy thiefs'), so you can have at least an idea about how they could appear or look like. 

Although, I'll leave some videos where you can see HOW they really 'work'. 

 

This is how they steal from a person (look at how they try follow the victmin in the crowd):

The girl who spit at the end of the video is a thief, as the other two near her. 

 

The two girls on the video are thiefs who robbed a lady the day before. The man in red is a member of the security. The man who's filming is crying 'pay attention to these thiefs' to other people.  

 

Pay attention if you want to stop them, because they could be violent. These two guys are intimidating the man who's filming because he stopped them while doing 'their work'. If you need help, or if you see someone who needs it, search for security of police. 

 

This little girl was trying to steal some wallet making believe she was falling or sitting. Take a look at how other passengers hold their bags in front of them. That's because they know she's a thief. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMFtHHKZwEs

This is how they act on trains. Waiting at the end of the line, stealing.

 

Again, pay attention to everyone in general. This is not a gipsy girl, but however he stole a phone. 

 

Now you could think 'I'm not that stupid, I can watch my money'. Sure thing.

Today (today) a female chinese tourist (part of a larger group of chinese tourists) have been robbed. A female gipsy took her wallet and steal 450 Euros. Two Italian guys found it (the wallet) inside a waste basket and gave it to her, who accused them to be the thiefs. So, while she was crying and her friends were cursing on those two poor guys, the train stopped and policemen had to hold them (the two poor guys, who lost the train too) because the chinese tourists continue to accuse them. Unfairly, while the real thief was walking away with 450 more Euros in her bag. 

 

So, at the end, how could you protect yourselves? 

First of all, don't, DON'T travel around Italy with too much @(*()$ money for Goddamn sake. You tourists are a real magnet for thiefs. 

 

Secondly, watch, WATCH, your bags and you suitcases. ALL OF THEM. Thiefs are all around and are watching on you, waiting for a single your mistake. Leave a bag alone for a second and you'll lost you wallet and cellphone. When you're walking, or entering a train, put your bags and backpacks IN FRONT OF YOU. Don't put them on your back. 

These people use to steal generally when people get in trains, walking through the chaotic crow. So, pay attention! 

This is not the right wat to wear a backpack or a bag if you are a tourist. Or, to be honest, this is the right way to wear it if you want to be robbed. 

If you don't want to, wear backpacks and bag this way.

If you can't wear it this way because it's too big (you know something about it German tourists, right?), don't put items of value or money inside outer pockets. Put them inside, where they cannot be taken from stangers. 

Furthermore, always pay attention to them, or hold them with one of your hand to be sure NO ONE except for you will put their hands inside of it. 

 

Third, if you need informations, or if you need help with your bags, DON'T TRUST unauthorized people. Here in Italy, especially in big cities like Milan, Rome, Florence and Venice, there is a service for everything. There are people paid to ask questiond about trains, bus, taxis and so on, about the city and everything else. There are also people authorized to carry your bags for you. DON'T TRUST a person just because he or she has a t-shirt with 'ITALIA' written on it, or because he or she has a card with the same word. A lot of times 'undesired' people use to dress like that to beguile stupid tourists. If someone persistently annoy you to let him or her carry your bags, or lead you through here or there, think about it, because probably he or she's not a good person. 

Search for uniforms, not only soldiers (Carabinieri are soldiers too, if you didn't know), or Police (one of the many, we have many kinds of 'Police' here), but also employers and workers (stations, railways, trains and so on). 

 

In two words: be careful. And don't even think it's rare. Tourists who are robbed here are a real problem. Pay attention.That's all. 

Edited August 9, 2015 by Latronico

[-Amaterasu-]

Thought this was a joke... then I read it, good advice kind of strange that there are so many videos of this and nobody decided to do anything about it

[Latronico]

Thought this was a joke... then I read it, good advice kind of strange that there are so many videos of this and nobody decided to do anything about it

 

What can you do? Expel them all from Italy? Kill them? 

Because as I wrote, if security (and so Police, because if caught security will in general call for Police) catch them, the magistrate will not validate the arrest because they're too young, or pregnant, or because they have 5 or 6 children at home. 

 

You stop them today, tomorrow they will return doing the same thing. It's like a work for them. Every day they come to stations, every single @(*()$ day. 

I'm kind of new, but there are older employers here who know every single damned face of them, because they literally see them every day.

[Latronico]

This is from Milan subway. The first ones were from Rome one.

 

 

This is Milan again, outside of the railway central station.

 

This is from Padova. The man in white is a policeman. 

 

This is from Florence, on a train. The thief is a tunisian man. 

 

This is from Palermo (Sicily). A french tourist been robbed by a man and a boy she tought were guides of the city. Speaking of 'search for authorized personel only'. 

[WetAedeagus]

Walking around naked without showering for 60 days. No one would get near you now.

[MagPrime]

Wow.

[OverlordMcGeek]

That is why I put broken glass in the small pockets in backpacks when I travel.

[Latronico]

Speaking of 'take credit cards with you while traveling', yesterday happened a thing that can make you understand how stupid, or ignorant, those gypsy thiefs are. 

 

We found a wallet of a US female citizen (probably naturalized, because her name was Natasha and she had a slavic surname) from New York I think (I read something about New York State on her driver license if I remember well). It hadn't any money in, but all the documents and credit cards were there. 

Honestly, I don't know why they left all those credit cards, especially because it seemed to be a rich persons' wallet. Maybe they don't know how to use them, or maybe they already know that an improperly used credit card is istantly blocked... However, credit cards were there. 

 

I don't know what happened to that wallet, because we gave it to the Police (probably it has been given back to its owner), however this is exactly what happen when been robbed by those thiefs: in general they only take money and left the empy wallet behind. 

Sometimes it happens that if the robber is caught, money too are given back to the robbed person. But this happens rarely, when Police is able to 'frisk' the robber.

Edited August 27, 2015 by Latronico