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American Expat Shares Tip to Avoid Paris Pickpockets
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Paris – the City of Love – and, according to Money.co.uk, one of the pickpocket hotspots of the world.
With the Paris Metro, the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, and Notre Dame de Paris all popular spots for pickpockets to strike, one American ex-pat living in Paris is sharing her top tip on what to look for.
According to Express, Amanda Rollins has been living in Paris for five years and regularly shares her life in Paris on her Instagram account, @americanfille.
Rollins knows just how cunning Paris pickpockets can be and shares one of the criminals’ tactics.
“If you ever visit Paris or come to Paris, please listen to this video,” Express reports Rollins as sharing on her Instagram page. “In Paris when they are trying to rob you, what they will do, is one guy, two guys, sometimes a couple of guys, will approach you in a seemingly innocent way and ask you for a cigarette, ask you for a lighter, as you for directions.”
“I’ve seen it where they pretend to be drunk and they come up to you and they’re all silly and they want to dance with you. And you think ‘oh my god look at these drunk idiots’ and it catches you off guard and it seems innocent. I’ve also had it happen to me where they pretend to be drunk and they bump into me,” Rollins explained.
“What they are doing in this time is they are trying to get close enough to touch you to see where your items are, where your phone is. Where your wallet is,” Rollins shared on Instagram.
“If a person on the street or anywhere in Paris approaches you and touched you in any way, even if it is a slap on the shoulder, run immediately. Get out of there immediately,” Rollins warned travelers.
