Very adept pick pocket to take the money out of the wallet and return the wallet back into the picket!

What a set of rascals. I try to keep everything strapped to my body in zipped up pouches but there are always scam mercahnts ready and willing to spoil people's holidays.

Don't let them put you off.

Interesting new variant on the distraction scam! I assume the "wife" must have already passed on your money to her accomplice, as she wouldn't otherwise have hung around - I wonder whether she was waiting for another opportunity with someone else, or just to make sure that if you raised the alarm, she could demonstrate that she didn't have anything on her.

Thank goodness you were canny enough not to have all your eggs in one basket.

Yes I am thinking that she must be very bold to sit there with us. I am assuming that she passed on the money for that reason. They must sum up the opportunity they get and see what is possible.

A similar thing happened to us in Rome last year when we took the regional train to Orvieto. The train was pretty empty and we were sitting in our seats with our luggage next to us waiting for others to pass before putting it on the overhead racks. A mother and daughter with a small child team kept coming up to us and telling us we had to put our bags on the racks. We kept telling them to go away and we'd do it when we were ready. They were very persistent and while I wasn't budging my husband decided to put his bag up.

Next thing you know I see his wallet sitting on the seat opposite me. I grabbed it and they only went away when we forcefully told them to leave us alone.

Long story short - nothing was missing from the wallet and a lesson learned. There was not a lot of money in it but it was a deep sports wallet and the money was very low down in it so if you made a cursory glance it would appear to be empty.

It happened to my wife in Prague a few years ago, only a little girl of about 10 was standing tight to her when the changing of the guard in the castle happened, so it must of been the little girl.went to the police station,and there were all nationalities there reporting their losses, happened every day at the guard change, and she had her bag zipped up and across her front, so you cannot be too careful

With our train it was very crowded and the luggage racks on the ground near the seats were already full. With the train filling up I was aware I was blocking the passageway which is why I let the man help me. I also had my bag across me and zipped up. I must have pushed it to the back of me to get it out of the way. While this was a sorry experience we did have lots of genuine help while we were in Italy.

ABC news just aired a story about the rise in pickpocketing in most of the popular cities in Europe. They showed some amazing videos of just how good these people are at taking things. We are going to do our best not to get ripped off on our upcoming trip.

When travelling on trains, I ensure my handbag is locked so I dont need to worry about anyone grabbing my purse or passport while I am distracted with my luggage.