Society & Culture Getting robbed or uneasy moments

[Stats Man]

I was walking towards a train station today when two,, shall I say, 'rough' looking guys walked in the opposite direction. I did not make eye contact but one called out
"Excuse me buddy, my friend here is from overseas (looked Aussie to me) and has never seen a hundred dollar note before, do you have one you can show him?"
I never carry such an amount on me anyway, so I politely said no and walked off. Was a bit weird though because it was in broad daylight. And maybe he did want to see a hundred dollar note, but let's get serious.

Has anyone ever been robbed on the street or 'in person'? Or witnessed anything troubling in real life?

 

[Toshowyouwhy]

I was walking towards a train station today when two,, shall I say, 'rough' looking guys walked in the opposite direction. I did not make eye contact but one called out
"Excuse me buddy, my friend here is from overseas (looked Aussie to me) and has never seen a hundred dollar note before, do you have one you can show him?"
I never carry such an amount on me anyway, so I politely said no and walked off. Was a bit weird though because it was in broad daylight. And maybe he did want to see a hundred dollar note, but let's get serious.

Has anyone ever been robbed on the street or 'in person'? Or witnessed anything troubling in real life?

Somewhat unrelated.... but imagine if that worked on someone!!!

Thats worse than the wallet inspector!!

 

[Illinois Nazi]

I had a bloke approach me in Northbridge one afternoon with a set of headphones on but not plugged into anything - came up and asked if he could borrow my iPod! I just laughed and said "nah mate" and kept walking. He didn't seemed too bothered - just went on to the next person.

 

[Plogs]

I was walking towards a train station today when two,, shall I say, 'rough' looking guys walked in the opposite direction. I did not make eye contact but one called out
"Excuse me buddy, my friend here is from overseas (looked Aussie to me) and has never seen a hundred dollar note before, do you have one you can show him?"
I never carry such an amount on me anyway, so I politely said no and walked off. Was a bit weird though because it was in broad daylight. And maybe he did want to see a hundred dollar note, but let's get serious.

Has anyone ever been robbed on the street or 'in person'? Or witnessed anything troubling in real life?

"Google it for him"

 

[Plugger35]

Had a couple of kids in Rome try to pick my pocket once. Was walking near the Colloseum and the older girl, who would've been around 10 or 11, grabbed my arm and was pleading with me to help her. I wasn't sure WTF was going on at first and then the younger girl, who would've been around 7 or 8, stuck her hand into the side pocket of my shorts trying to grab my wallet.

It was then that I woke up to what was going on and threw the older girl away and grabbed the younger girls arm and told them both to f*** off. I think they got the message and ran away back to what looked like their parents, who were waiting down the road for them. Obviously the parents were using their kids to try to scam people, with the Colloseum being a prime place for tourists. Pretty dodgy stuff but Rome is notorious for pickpockets and I've heard plenty of similar or worse stories from there.

Barcelona is shocking for that sort of stuff too. Had a little backpack stolen while I was sitting at a cafe there, didn't see anyone take it but when I went to leave it was gone. Just had it sitting at my feet so I've got no idea how they took it without me or the people I was sitting with noticing. Luckily there was nothing too valuable in it apart from a camera and some photos. Learned to be a bit more careful with my stuff after that.

 

[raskolnikov]

I got mugged in New York back in the 90s.

 

[Plugger35]

I got mugged in New York back in the 90s.

Never really been mugged myself but a mate of mine got mugged when we were in Galway in Ireland. He left a nightclub we were at early as he was too hammered and got lost on the way back to our hostel, ended up down some dark little alleyway and got rolled by a couple of local thugs at knifepoint. They took his wallet and some ring he got off his grandpa for his 21st, was a family heirloom apparently so he was spewing to lose it. Kind of put a bit of a dampener on our trip after that.

 

[Niximus]

On pickpockets, i've always thought it would be funny when travelling overseas to have your money in a money belt but keep a cheap arse wallet in your pocket with no cash in it but a photograph of myself pulling a full moon with 'Screw you, mother****er' in the appropriate language.

If I got back to the hotel and found that wallet missing, I'd laugh for weeks.

 

[ronnie1234]

Getting off at springvale station and having people, who are high from chroming, asking for $2. Bloody bunch of annoying pricks as they always do this regularly during peak hour

 

[yeah_nah]

In Melbourne some guy performing on the street hussled up a pretty good crowd (I cant remember what he was doing but he was ****ing brilliant) anyway he was asking for some volunteers, an asian dude with a camera around his neck put his hand up and the guy points at him to come forward. The asian guy could barely speak any english at all.

The guy doing the street show tells him to give him his camera and step into the centre of the stage thingy, Asian guy hands over the camera and the guy doing the stage show sprints off with what looked like a very expensive camera.
He was only joking around and came back with the camera pretty quickly but the look on the asian guys face was priceless. Im pretty sure this can sum it up -

I was honestly laughing for about 10 minutes.

 

[JimDocker]

Had a couple of kids in Rome try to pick my pocket once. Was walking near the Colloseum and the older girl, who would've been around 10 or 11, grabbed my arm and was pleading with me to help her. I wasn't sure WTF was going on at first and then the younger girl, who would've been around 7 or 8, stuck her hand into the side pocket of my shorts trying to grab my wallet.

It was then that I woke up to what was going on and threw the older girl away and grabbed the younger girls arm and told them both to f*** off. I think they got the message and ran away back to what looked like their parents, who were waiting down the road for them. Obviously the parents were using their kids to try to scam people, with the Colloseum being a prime place for tourists. Pretty dodgy stuff but Rome is notorious for pickpockets and I've heard plenty of similar or worse stories from there.

Barcelona is shocking for that sort of stuff too. Had a little backpack stolen while I was sitting at a cafe there, didn't see anyone take it but when I went to leave it was gone. Just had it sitting at my feet so I've got no idea how they took it without me or the people I was sitting with noticing. Luckily there was nothing too valuable in it apart from a camera and some photos. Learned to be a bit more careful with my stuff after that.

Just down the raod at Trevi Fountain, I saw a girl who would have been a similar age try and pick pocket a guy and he grabbed her arm and held her till the police got there. She was crying her eyes out and I felt a bit sorry for her, but he probably did the right thing !

 

[Junk Time]

Just down the raod at Trevi Fountain, I saw a girl who would have been a similar age try and pick pocket a guy and he grabbed her arm and held her till the police got there. She was crying her eyes out and I felt a bit sorry for her, but he probably did the right thing !

Of course he did the right thing!

 

[JimDocker]

Mate, I am a bleading heart left wing liberal type ! He did do the right thing, but I felt sorry for her.

 

[hawksfor2010]

When i was in Rome doing the local tour hot spots and was on a tour bus i saw 2 young kids (couldn't have been older than 13) have a masted plan. They would slowly walk up behind a lady, doesn't matter if she with someone or not, one would grab hold of her hand bag and the other would cut the lace with scissors which is the only thing that keeps the bag on the shoulder. And they were off never to be seen again, saw it done about 5 times in less the half an hour. I find it pretty clever using the scissors and the location being full of tourist, heaps of money in the wallets.

LOL @ another one on Rome.

 

[Juddy88]

I'm a postal worker and my mail truck was just ambushed by a band of backwoods, mail-hating survivalists.

 

[Faithful Hawk]

When I was younger working in a small Servo while I was studying, I got held up at knife point by 2 15yr old girls.
Seeing it was not my money and would be covered by insurance I stood back and let them take whatever they wanted.

They didn't get far because the police had them arrested less than 2 hours later.

 

[aaronm46]

i'm a postal worker and my mail truck was just ambushed by a band of backwoods, mail-hating survivalists.

goodbye norman! Goodbye!!!

 

[rocker_oz33]

goodbye norman! Goodbye!!!

Norman ? don't you mean Newman

 

[J_Moore]

Was with my sister in Paris, and she got her wallet lifted from her handbag by a group of gypsy kids on the metro. They got on in a big group on a reasonably crowded train, bumped into us, then got off as the doors closed. As soon as they jumped off, I knew what had happened, but was kind of annoyed I didn't pick it 5 seconds earlier.

Learnt my lesson, though, which is never trust a gypsy.

Every person she spoke to afterwards, from the Police to the the hairdresser she went to that afternoon ("oh, they come in here ever now and then and spend 50 euro on shampoo", which I found pretty sad), said they knew who the girls were, and that it happens all the time, but there's not much they can do about it because they're all illegal immigrants with no documentation or parents. Which is fair enough, I guess.

What I found most interesting. though, was how all the French passengers on the train, who presumably, like the police and the hairdressers, knew exactly what was going on, just watched it and said nothing.

Still, the girls were ****ing good at their job, though. Class above the petty criminals we have here (give us your ****ing wallet, ****).

 

[rocker_oz33]

l was held well hostage in a dodgy Paris bar for like a hour they wanted me to pay 500 euro for a bottle of bubbly that l never ordered.l was scared and make some noise and they let me go.with in 10 mins the bar was closed...

 

[Mr Meeseeks]

Laughing at the Rome stories. I was there for about 4 days a couple of years ago and saw two robberies where the kid just grabbed and ran.

The second one we were sitting outside at a cafe opposite the Pantheon. Some kid grabbed a handbag near the door and legged it, but the waiter was near his path out. He chased him for a few metres and then crash tackled him to the pavement. Bloody good tackle too, pulled him sideways as he did it so as not get done for in the back...

Felt like yelling BAAAAAALLLL, but was feeling a little ashamed of Aussies at the time. The night before I'd seen 5 drunken countrymen strip to their boxers, climb the trevvy fountain and put an Aussie flag there.

 

[FootyJunkie]

Rome... nice empire, but what have you done for me lately?

Overrated and full of pick pockets.

 

[TheStinger]

A few months back I was walking down the main road near my house to the local deli, it was about 8ish at night, just getting dark. I had passed this guy that I had assumed was a little drunk. It wasn't until I got to the deli that I realised he had picked up the pace and was following me.

I went in and got what I wanted and when I came out he was standing there. I went to go past him and he asks me for some money to get something to eat. I politely said no and went to go past him again. He then grabbed my jacket and was like "Come on man, you must have something." I again said no, this time a little more forcefully.

He pulled on my jacket which turned me around a little as he started to swear and get angry at me. So as he had already turned me a bit, I followed through with what I intended on being a push but in the heat of the moment turned into a punch to his jaw and he dropped to the ground.

I then legged it up the road a ways to where a busy servo is and slowed down to look back at him. By then he had regained his feet and was shuffling his way off down the road. I didn't mean to hit him hard and truth be told I don't think I did, he was a bit drunk and it probably stunned him more than anything.

Is a good story to tell though.

 

[Plugger35]

Just down the raod at Trevi Fountain, I saw a girl who would have been a similar age try and pick pocket a guy and he grabbed her arm and held her till the police got there. She was crying her eyes out and I felt a bit sorry for her, but he probably did the right thing !

Yeah as much as I was pissed off at the two girls trying to pickpocket me, I actually felt a bit sorry for them too. They were probably being forced to do that by their parents and had no choice. I guess little kids are better to use as pickpockets because if they get caught most people just tell them to f*** off like I did and don't tend to get the police involved and/or beat the crap out of them.

When i was in Rome doing the local tour hot spots and was on a tour bus i saw 2 young kids (couldn't have been older than 13) have a masted plan. They would slowly walk up behind a lady, doesn't matter if she with someone or not, one would grab hold of her hand bag and the other would cut the lace with scissors which is the only thing that keeps the bag on the shoulder. And they were off never to be seen again, saw it done about 5 times in less the half an hour. I find it pretty clever using the scissors and the location being full of tourist, heaps of money in the wallets.

LOL @ another one on Rome.

When I was in Barcelona some American guy that was staying at my hostel/pensione told me that he had his wallet stolen in the train station while he was having a bit of a snooze. They actually used a knife or scissors to slice open his jeans pocket to take it so as not to disturb him.

There are some seriously professional pickpocket/thieving gangs working in Europe who love to prey on unsuspecting tourists like us. I heard the warnings myself but even then you still underestimate the lengths these people will go to just to steal your stuff. These guys know every trick in the book and you need to have your wits about you the whole time.

I used to laugh at all the dopey looking tourists with their bum bags keeping their wallet, passports, valuables etc around their waists in front of them but it's a pretty good idea over there. If you keep your wallet or other valuables in your back pocket/backpack over there you're just asking for them to be stolen.

 

[Dirtywhirl]

When I was in Paris with my parents about ten years ago we were driving through one of the less glamorous districts when a couple of black guys tried to pull a fast one. One stepped out in front of the car, forcing it to stop whilst the other one tried to reach through the open window where my mum was sitting to grab her handbag. My old man sped up straight away, knocking the first guy to the curb, so no real harm was done but I reckon it had a lasting effect on her and how she now goes about her life.