User submission
20.8K
1.1M
People Warned Me About Pickpockets In Barcelona. So I Made This…
1.1Mviews
obviousplant Community member
While planning a trip to Barcelona, numerous people told me to watch out for the large number of pickpockets that inhabit the city. Thinking of ways to avoid theft, I devised a way to exact sweet revenge on anyone audacious enough to try and steal my hard-earned money.
The result is this decoy wallet that has a couple of diabolical secrets hidden inside. This idea is just one of many in my ongoing project called Obvious Plant.
1.1Mviews
Share on FacebookAbout the author
Popular on Bored Panda
What do you think ?
What makes the glitter "vintage". This is really bugging me
It was taken from the bodies of strippers from the 1920's
Lul of the day.
Are you sure???
it's taken from old cards :P
Vintage and sparkle are the company branding the glitter you retard
It's really old special, arsenic laced glitter!
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Actually says "Vintage & Sparkle Glitter." So it's vintage on one side and sparkly on the other?! WHAT?
I'd just make a thermite bomb. Fuck your thieving fingers.
Pedro is right. The main thing is not to dress like a tourist because tourists are the target. Try and dress like a local, it is not so difficult. Take with you every day no more money than you will need. And, incidentally, in Barcelona there are no more pickpockets than in any other city of the world.
"No more pickpockets than in any other city of the world" - OK, so why is it in the top 5 in Europe? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3423066/The-five-European-cities-likely-pickpocketed-avoid-victim.html
Why would you believe ANYTHING published on the daily mail????
Elliott: I take everything the Daily Mail with a grain of salt, but I trust it more than some random Internet post making a vague non-point. In this case, the data is based on a 2009 TripAdvisor study as mentioned in the article. And Jamie: No, actually I won't know the real deal if I live somewhere because statistics are objective and my day-to-day experiences (even if I try to inform myself from friends and acquaintances) are quite unreliable. Even people who live in a city for many years will be potentially worse informed about its crime rates than someone who spends about 5 minutes researching the topic. And no, I don't believe everything on FB too, and I am not sure why you are attacking my post (which contained a source, for better or for worse)rather than Ana's which just pulled the concept of Barcelona having "no more pickpockets than in any other city of the world" out of thin air. Why do you choose to believe her post and not mine?
You are quite right though that I should have checked more in depth about the list. In fact, the original source has the Top 10 cities in the world (not Europe): Top 10 cities worldwide to be on alert for pickpockets 1. Barcelona, Spain 2. Rome, Italy 3. Prague, Czech Republic 4. Madrid, Spain 5. Paris, France 6. Florence, Italy 7. Buenos Aires, Argentina 8. Amsterdam, Netherlands 9. Athens, Greece 10. Hanoi, Vietnam Hmmm, interesting.
Thanks Wayne, I never thought of that! It's not like I wrote almost literally the same thing in my next post and then carried on and quoted the ranked original list (not compiled by the Daily Mail - you will have to read my post to find out!) where Barcelona is number one.
Daily mail is fear mongering bullshit - take their negative nastiness with a pinch of salt
Julian, the same exact story has been published in many different publications. In fact, the original list is ranked, Barcelona being number 1.
Because it is in the Daily Mail doesn't make it true! They have a track record of racist anti foreigner discrimination.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
there is no such thing as wallet got stolen - there is a thing - person can't fucking focus on his belongings)
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Who cares that it was in the top 5 whatever! Do you know what other countries rate states in the US? States that I would never be afraid to walk around in! You don't know the real deal until you live somewhere,, but then again you probably believe everything on fb too.....
I've been in Barcelona for over 5 years and it's true. If you really want to get rid of your wallet walk on the Ramblas between 10 pm and 5 am. Or, Take the metro from Barceloneta station, guaranteed loss of stuff.
Barcelona is one of the less secure cities in the world. Most of criminals are out of jail because government don't want to invest in expensive jails and judicial system is extremely slow, most of pickpockets that are caught by police are in the streets again the next day. That's why more and more criminals go to Spain.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
In which way Barcelona represents aaaaaaall Spain?
I dressed like a local and went to La Sagrada Familia. Guess what? They took my camera from inside my backpack.
Dressing like locals ... i prefer to be robbed lol
That is not true on a trip to Barcelona one guy in our group from college was mugged 3 times in a week ...he had nothing left to give them ! 3 other people we're mugged and I was strangled !
Hmm, I find that statement rather sweeping. I'm from Singapore and neither me nor anyone around me has ever been pickpocketed a day in our lives. Maybe if it has not happened to jus me, I've no case, but no one ard me, acquaintance, close Friend or family has ever been subjected to that. We have been really blessed. So the situation is not that bleak, there are countries where u can still walk around safely, regardless of the amt of money in ur pocket, wallet, bag, etc. :)
What makes the glitter "vintage". This is really bugging me
It was taken from the bodies of strippers from the 1920's
Lul of the day.
Are you sure???
it's taken from old cards :P
Vintage and sparkle are the company branding the glitter you retard
It's really old special, arsenic laced glitter!
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Actually says "Vintage & Sparkle Glitter." So it's vintage on one side and sparkly on the other?! WHAT?
I'd just make a thermite bomb. Fuck your thieving fingers.
Pedro is right. The main thing is not to dress like a tourist because tourists are the target. Try and dress like a local, it is not so difficult. Take with you every day no more money than you will need. And, incidentally, in Barcelona there are no more pickpockets than in any other city of the world.
"No more pickpockets than in any other city of the world" - OK, so why is it in the top 5 in Europe? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3423066/The-five-European-cities-likely-pickpocketed-avoid-victim.html
Why would you believe ANYTHING published on the daily mail????
Elliott: I take everything the Daily Mail with a grain of salt, but I trust it more than some random Internet post making a vague non-point. In this case, the data is based on a 2009 TripAdvisor study as mentioned in the article. And Jamie: No, actually I won't know the real deal if I live somewhere because statistics are objective and my day-to-day experiences (even if I try to inform myself from friends and acquaintances) are quite unreliable. Even people who live in a city for many years will be potentially worse informed about its crime rates than someone who spends about 5 minutes researching the topic. And no, I don't believe everything on FB too, and I am not sure why you are attacking my post (which contained a source, for better or for worse)rather than Ana's which just pulled the concept of Barcelona having "no more pickpockets than in any other city of the world" out of thin air. Why do you choose to believe her post and not mine?
You are quite right though that I should have checked more in depth about the list. In fact, the original source has the Top 10 cities in the world (not Europe): Top 10 cities worldwide to be on alert for pickpockets 1. Barcelona, Spain 2. Rome, Italy 3. Prague, Czech Republic 4. Madrid, Spain 5. Paris, France 6. Florence, Italy 7. Buenos Aires, Argentina 8. Amsterdam, Netherlands 9. Athens, Greece 10. Hanoi, Vietnam Hmmm, interesting.
Thanks Wayne, I never thought of that! It's not like I wrote almost literally the same thing in my next post and then carried on and quoted the ranked original list (not compiled by the Daily Mail - you will have to read my post to find out!) where Barcelona is number one.
Daily mail is fear mongering bullshit - take their negative nastiness with a pinch of salt
Julian, the same exact story has been published in many different publications. In fact, the original list is ranked, Barcelona being number 1.
Because it is in the Daily Mail doesn't make it true! They have a track record of racist anti foreigner discrimination.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
there is no such thing as wallet got stolen - there is a thing - person can't fucking focus on his belongings)
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Who cares that it was in the top 5 whatever! Do you know what other countries rate states in the US? States that I would never be afraid to walk around in! You don't know the real deal until you live somewhere,, but then again you probably believe everything on fb too.....
I've been in Barcelona for over 5 years and it's true. If you really want to get rid of your wallet walk on the Ramblas between 10 pm and 5 am. Or, Take the metro from Barceloneta station, guaranteed loss of stuff.
Barcelona is one of the less secure cities in the world. Most of criminals are out of jail because government don't want to invest in expensive jails and judicial system is extremely slow, most of pickpockets that are caught by police are in the streets again the next day. That's why more and more criminals go to Spain.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
In which way Barcelona represents aaaaaaall Spain?
I dressed like a local and went to La Sagrada Familia. Guess what? They took my camera from inside my backpack.
Dressing like locals ... i prefer to be robbed lol
That is not true on a trip to Barcelona one guy in our group from college was mugged 3 times in a week ...he had nothing left to give them ! 3 other people we're mugged and I was strangled !
Hmm, I find that statement rather sweeping. I'm from Singapore and neither me nor anyone around me has ever been pickpocketed a day in our lives. Maybe if it has not happened to jus me, I've no case, but no one ard me, acquaintance, close Friend or family has ever been subjected to that. We have been really blessed. So the situation is not that bleak, there are countries where u can still walk around safely, regardless of the amt of money in ur pocket, wallet, bag, etc. :)