Our family just returned from an awesome trip to Europe - Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, London. Before the trip I read all about the pickpockets and taking precautions, we talked to our teens as well. We live in the city and not the suburbs and are used to city life and mass transit, etc. We had an amazing trip and had nothing stolen from us, thankfully. We took mass transit everywhere we went and never rode in taxis during our almost 3 week trip. We used common sense, paid attention, and took some precautions. My teens chose not to carry ipods in their front pockets as they do at home. They sometimes carried them inside jackets that had interior pockets. I used a safety pin to close my pocket when i carried anything of value in it. When we had our camera with us, we had it in a bag that we made sure was always in front of us, never behind us, if was PacSafe brand bag. I would say that we were more cautious than we are at home, but we were also in cities taking mass transit and frequently using maps to find our way around. In Paris, the first day we went to the Louvre it was actually closed because the workers had striked on account of all the pickpockets that work inside the Louvre. Pickpockets love distracted tourists. Be aware of your personal space and your surroundings and don't let your fear spoil your trip. Europe is awesome, so many beautiful cities to explore and great food to eat. Hope you have an amazing trip.