## Pickpockets

Have you ever been robbed while shopping abroad? Do you know anyone who has? What happened?
You are going to read a text in this section about situations in which thieves try to steal something from you.
Before you read the text, have a look at the paragraph titles.
Copy the table in your notebook. For each title, fill the second column. You will fill the third column on the next page.

| What do you think the paragraph is about? | What is the paragraph about?
Londoners robbed |  |
The secret to a successful robbery |  |
Look over here! |  |
The changing room |  |
It leaves a bad smell |  |
Not as bad as it seems |  |

You are now going to read the text. Fill in the third column of the table which you have copied in your notebook.
Use an online dictionary as for example www.macmillandictionary.com to look up difficult words.

Most people think that the majority of victims of crime in Central London are tourists. In fact, this is not the case. In official police crime profile reports of incidents in Oxford Street, of 3404 victims of pickpockets, only 128 were visitors to London. The secret to a successful robbery By far the biggest crime is pickpocketing; the criminals are now very professional in their approach. The key to being a successful pickpocket, it would seem, is to distract the victim away from what he or she is doing in order to allow the pickpocket to steal without anyone realising a theft has taken place. Look over here! One pickpocket’s tactic was to have a woman fasten her stockings and suspenders in the middle of a shop; this obviously attracts a lot of attention, thus allowing the thief to go about his business. Another diversion tactic was to squirt sauce on people’s clothes, the thief then starts to try to ‘help’ while his accomplice moves in and steals the victims bag or wallet. The changing room If you are trying something on in a clothes shop, be careful. One scam involved a woman apparently buying a jacket for her husband. She asked a man to try on a jacket, saying that he was approximately the same size as her husband, while he was doing that; her accomplice stole the man’s jacket. Customers in shoe shops often leave their bags unattended while they go and look in the nearby mirror, a perfect opportunity for a thief. It leaves a bad smell Finally, beware men with suitcases selling designer perfume for £10 a bottle. You can be sure it’s cheap, nasty and short lasting. These conmen usually get the stuff for £3 a bottle then sell it to unsuspecting passers-by. Not as bad as it seems Sounds like you shouldn’t go out, you should stay at home and keep a hold of your wallet. Remember there are literally thousands of shoppers on Oxford Street every day, and only a tiny percentage of people are victims of crime. It would be wrong to paint London’s West End as riddled with crime – but as with all major cities, just that little bit of extra care can make all the difference.

Discuss: Do you know any other travel scams?