Be vigilant
Offenders prefer to take advantage of crowds in stores and shopping centers, at events, at flea markets and Christmas markets, at train stations or on buses and trains. It is not unusual for them to work in teams of several offenders. "Popular" areas for pickpockets in Gelsenkirchen are Bahnhofstraße, Hochstraße and flea markets.
A total of 4,481 suspects were registered in Germany in 2019, 71.5 percent of whom were aged 21 and over. It is often children and young people who are caught pickpocketing. In 2019, 15.9 percent of suspects were under 18 years old.
Keep an eye on your bag
Do not hang handbags on the back of chairs in restaurants, department stores or stores (even when trying on shoes or clothes) and never leave them unattended, because opportunity makes thieves! The same applies when shopping for groceries: do not hang your bag on the shopping cart, always carry it on your person! The same applies to walking frames and wheelchairs! Valuables generally do not belong in your handbag! You should carry them directly on your body. Chest or stomach pouches under clothing, inside jacket pockets and front trouser pockets are suitable. Never carry your wallet in your back pocket! Carry handbags and shoulder bags closed on the front of your body or tuck them under your arm. Use a breast or stomach pouch, an inner belt pocket, a money belt or a wallet chained to your belt. Valuables do not belong in the rucksack on your back!
The tricks
There are many tricks that thieves use to distract you and steal from you. Here are two common ones:
- The supermarket trick: Strangers ask the victim for a particular item in the supermarket. While the victim is looking for it, the bag is removed from the shopping cart or stolen.
- The bag carrier trick: While you are shopping, the perpetrators offer to carry your bags home, apparently willing to help. On the way, they take out your wallet unnoticed. The loss is only noticed later.
Due to the professional approach of the perpetrators, any citizen can become a victim of pickpockets. The risk of becoming a victim of pickpockets can be reduced by adopting very simple behavior. These are in particular
- Carrying your wallet, smartphone and other valuables close and securely to your body
- Keeping a constant eye on your handbag, rucksack etc. and closing them again after each use
- Consciously refrain from carrying valuables that are not required
Pickpockets are unrecognizable
Experience shows us that pickpockets cannot be recognized!
- The increase in crimes cannot be attributed to any specific group of perpetrators.
- Pickpockets are very flexible in their choice of victims.
Always carry valuables such as money, checks, credit cards, papers and your keys in various closed inside pockets of your clothing, as close to your body as possible, but not in your back pocket. Anyone who steals your completely filled handbag has every conceivable opportunity to commit crimes to your disadvantage.
If you become a victim
It can happen quickly: you yourself have become a victim of pickpocketing. Make sure you report it to the police immediately! You should also have any lost cards blocked as quickly as possible. IMPORTANT CALL NUMBER: Central blocking emergency number: 116 116 (www.sperr-notruf.de). Your EC card can be blocked there for the electronic direct debit procedure, which only requires a signature and no PIN number.