The Kings of Thieves: Gypsies

A traveler's guide to spotting and foiling gypsies and their pickpocketing children in Europe

A gypsy woman begging—with an infant for bonus sympathy points—outside a market in Bologna, Italy.

First off, I've got nothing against the Rom. Most are decent, hard-working people. Thing is, it's unlikely you'll meet any of these.

Most of the gypsies—as the Romany are usually called—a traveler will come into contact with show up in tourist-heavy spots like major sights and transportation hubs for one reason: to squeeze money out of you. Since they are so easy to spot, and their techniques so easy to avoid or foil, here's a quick rundown of common gypsy schemes.

TIP

The Anthropological Explanation Behind Gypsy Thievery The Rom—as gypsies prefer to be called—consider themselves to be descended from Lilith, Adam's first wife in the Garden of Eden, according to some versions of the Old Testament. Adam found Lilith too uppity—she was an early women's libber—and asked God for a more pliant wife. After another false start (Adam watched God make another woman from dust, as he had done with Adam, was mightily disgusted, refused this nameless Second Woman, and she faded away), God put Adam to sleep, plucked one of his ribs, and spun it into Eve. The serpent, forbidden fruit, and expulsion from the garden ensued...but Lilith wasn't part of this whole flaming sword drama. Since Lilith never committed original sin, and hence never fell from God's grace, her descendents are free to do whatever they like to us sinners. Hey, I didn't say it made sense; it's just anthropology.

Though many gypsies go either traditional route to separate you from your money (begging or surreptitious pickpocketing), some take a different approach.

For some of these semi-nomadic peoples, thievery is a way of life, and they’re masterful at it. Gypsies are often easy to spot for their colorful but dirty and ragged clothes, often (with the women) in layers of thin scarves and shawls.

Gypsies are most prevalent in Southern Europe, but you’ll find them everywhere—especially around major tourist attractions like Rome's Colosseum or in the Latin Quarter in Paris.

The adults mainly beg—and are very pushy about it. It's the kids you have to look out for. They’ll swarm you, babbling and sometimes holding up bits of cardboard with messages scrawled on them in English to distract you.

Then, faster than you can say “Hey!...”, they'll rifle your pockets while the cardboard shields their hands from view. Near walls and in metro tunnels, they’ll even be so bold as to pin you against the wall with the cardboard so as to fleece you more easily.

They aren’t really physically dangerous, but they are very adept at taking your stuff, and they’re damn tough to catch. The best defense is to be on the lookout. If a group of scruffy children approaches, jabbering, yell “No!” forcefully, glare, and keep walking. If they persist, yell “Politz!” (which is close enough in any language).

If they get near enough to touch you, push them violently away—don’t hold back just because they’re kids. Take a page from my dad's book, a technique he invented on the fly while strolling through a Rome metro tunnel with two month's rent in cash in his pocket when, suddenly, we were beset by gypsies: Act just a wee bit crazy.

Jump up, do a full spin, and come down in a karate stance with a primal scream. Dad sure didn't win awards for his Bruce Lee impression (and I doubt the gypsies seriously thought he knew karate), but those kids bugged their eyes and scattered but fast.

They prefer befuddled, clueless-looking targets and would rather steer clear of the wackos. (For more of my dad's traveler's crime-fighting techniques, see the page on losing things.)

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