How I Got Pickpocketed With a Stroller on the Paris RER

Pickpocketed on the Paris RER (Metro)

I hate to write this, but I do so hoping it helps someone else. (And yes, I know the RER and Metro are not the same, but this could happen on either…)

As a native New Yorker, it’s second nature to me to have complete situational awareness on the streets or on public transit.

My wallet has been in my front pocket since I was a teenager (everyone knows that back pocket wallets are made for pickpockets!) and when it’s crowded on a train, I have one hand in each pocket – one over my phone and one over my wallet. If I need a hand up to grab a pole, I know which pocket is vulnerable and keep an eye on it.

So what was different this time?

A not very crowded train and…. a stroller.

How the Pickpocket Unfolded

We were in the Auber RER station, headed with our 4 year old to Disneyland Paris. The station was not crowded and neither was the train as the doors opened. My son jumped out of the stroller on to the train (he knows how to remove the straps and sometimes gets pretty excited about riding a train!) alongside my wife. I had the simple task of just rolling the stroller onto the train. 

The RER is not made for things with wheels, though. There is both a large gap between the train and the platform and the train is several inches higher than the platform. So I couldn’t just “roll it right on.” Instead I was jockeying to lift and push just right. (Seriously, how did Paris wind up with such an inaccessible setup?!)

What happened next happened in literal seconds, by design of course.

A crazy looking man dropped his glasses next to me. He started shouting at me. As I always do, I ignored him and worked to move away – but I was somewhat trapped between him and the stroller. 

And my instinct kicked in within less than 2 seconds. 

“Check pockets.”

My right hand went to pat the wallet pocket while my left checked for my phone. The phone was there – the wallet was not. 

I immediately yelled to my wife: “My wallet – he got my wallet!”

She looked down, and there it was – open and sprawled with half my cards on the floor. Of course the first priority was scooping them up while keep an eye on our son. And as we collected the cards and the wallet, the doors shut and that’s when I noticed that the money was gone. All of it. So was the crazy guy.

Worse, because we’d been in Malta at the Westin Dragonara (review coming!) which has a casino, I had about 400 Euro on me. I didn’t need that much on me, but I also had no way to deposit it. That context is for anyone that will ask why the heck I had so much cash. And of course the thief couldn’t see the cash deep inside my pocket inside the wallet – he got lucky.

And this is probably where I should stop saying “him” or “the thief” because of course the person I was looking at and trying to wave off was “the distraction.”

Beyond any doubt, he had at least one accomplice and the accomplice is who actually lifted the wallet – and why I didn’t see any sort of movement towards me by the crazy man with the glasses.

It turns out, this is very common in Paris, both on the Metro and RER. The stroller immediately makes you a target because, of course, you are focused on the child. You are naturally somewhat distracted.

I’m quite sure I was marked on the stroller alone. My son jumping out only made the job easier for them.

The upside?

1. They only got my money. No cards and no ID. I did think for a second they might have took a picture of the cards, but they were gone too fast. I did lock them all for a bit just to make sure there were no declined charges, but there weren’t. 
2. They didn’t actually give me a chance to run after them by throwing the wallet. Naturally that was going to be my priority. If I saw the man taking off down the platform with my wallet, I instinctually probably would have given chase – which could have left me stabbed or worse. Bad for me and potentially traumatizing for my son who really only ever thought my wallet fell and I was in a bad mood for a while. So I didn’t have to cancel cards, get new ID, or wind up in the hospital. I’ll take the win.

You may be wondering why they even threw the wallet back. Why not take the cards, too? Well, if they did somehow get apprehended, they have absolutely nothing tying them to you. Cash is cash.

I did immediately call the police (phone number: 17), and despite getting disconnected in tunnels twice, finally got the whole story out. I was anxious to tell them the station, the exact time, the train carriage number, and the fact that there were at least two cameras on the train pointed right at the scene of the crime. Can you take my name, I asked? “No need. We have your phone number. You can file a police report if you’d like.”

But what was I thinking?

That I was Inspector Gadget foiling the thieves? The Paris metro is overrun with pickpockets. The police don’t have the bandwidth for pickpockets. They need to focus on violent crimes, not thefts of 400 Euros. 

Of course I wish there had been a police presence in the station or on the train, but there wasn’t. And this happened.

But maybe now, it won’t happen to you…

How to Spot the Stroller Pickpocket Scheme in Paris

If you have a stroller and are using a train in Paris (and truly I guess anywhere), you need to do more than just have your wallet in your pocket (or, ladies, your purse in front of you). You need valuables safely tucked away and a plan. What is your exact plan? I don’t know.

If I were doing this again, I’d have left the cash in the hotel safe for one thing – I never needed anything but credit cards the entire stay in Paris. And I’d probably consider wearing something with internal pockets for whatever I really needed which truly did not include a wallet at all. I wore jeans with a pocket sewn into the inside when I went to Brazil. Those would have worked here as well.

But whatever you do, stay aware. Not “I know to be alert” aware – but a bit more aware of this specific technique.

Remember, it’s almost never the person trying to get you off guard that is going to get your stuff. So the sooner you recognize it as what it is, the better the chance you can dodge it.

No matter how street smart you are, there is always a way for someone to catch you off guard because, remember, this is their “profession.” They know what they are doing!

And if it happens?

Don’t go after them. You never know how truly crazy that crazy guy is if cornered.

Thoughts?

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