Paris tops global list of pickpocketing hotspots, study finds

Paris has been ranked the world’s leading hotspot for pickpocketing, according to a new study by luggage storage service Radical Storage, which analysed more than 13,000 Google reviews referencing theft-related incidents.

The French capital accounted for 16.5 per cent of all theft-related reviews examined over the past year, placing it at the top of the list. Rome followed with 10.7 per cent, while Barcelona ranked third at 5.3 perc ent, underscoring concerns about petty crime in some of Europe’s most visited tourist destinations.

The study assessed cities worldwide by scanning online reviews for keywords such as “pickpocket,” “robbery,” and “fraud,” in order to gauge where travellers most frequently reported feeling unsafe. Cities were then ranked from most to least secure based on the proportion of theft-related mentions.

Among the most common scams reported by tourists in European cities was the so-called “friendship bracelet” trick, in which individuals tie bracelets onto unsuspecting visitors and then demand payment. Other frequently cited schemes included fake charity petitions, distraction thefts, taxi overcharging and currency exchange fraud.

Outside Europe, Orlando recorded the highest proportion of robbery-related mentions at 12.5 per cent, while Delhi showed the highest share of fraud-related references at 7.9 per cent.

At the other end of the scale, the Turkish city of Mugla and China’s Shanghai were identified as among the safest destinations in the study. Each accounted for just 0.1 per cent of theft-related reviews.

By Sabina Mammadli