<p>This does not come as a surprise to me - almost everyone that I know who has been to Paris has had something stolen - either an ipod, wallet, etc. S was shopping in what he describes as a very nice thrift shop - one of the best in Paris (designer clothes, etc.), and he put the case housing the external hard drive down on a table for what he says was one second, and he turned around, and it was gone. Too bad they don’t have hidden cameras. I’m just concerned as to what he might have lost - hopefully, he backed everything up - he was editing his film. He has been in Paris for over a month, and so far, he was doing well with not losing/getting anything stolen - and this was after I warned both of my kids to be extra, extra careful and vigilant with their belongings.</p>
<p>Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if this is a trend more in Paris than in other European capitals?</p>
<p>epiphany,
I’m wondering that, too. Also, I forgot to mention that a couple of years ago, S was either coming or going on the train to Paris - he left his eye glasses on the train, and they were gone, too!</p>
<p>My husband was robbed in March in Prague while at a conference, and discovered afterwards that at least two others at the same conference were similarly parted from their belongings. And when we visited Rome a couple years ago, we were strongly warned to keep all important belongings in pouches inside our clothing if possible, or in hand/eyesight at all times otherwise.</p>
<p>I also hope your son has a backup, nyumom… although in our family, we use the external hard drives <em>as</em> our backup drives. Thinking good thoughts…</p>
<p>Thanks mootmom - that is terrible - at a conference of all places. It’s probably all over Europe if it happens in Prague and Italy. It is a big concern, because S said that he might not be able to make the deadline for Sundance, so hopefully when he gets back to the US, he’ll be able to finish the editing process and everything will work out. I’m just hoping for the best.</p>
<p>My guess is that every tourist city in the world has high theft rates.</p>
<p>“My guess is that every tourist city in the world has high theft rates.”
Some more than others. My D left her passport on a counter in the airport in Kyoto. A small elderly woman chased after her down a long hallway, waving it and calling. Japan vs. Europe? On the other hand, maybe that’s the difference between losing something and having it taken?</p>
<p>Oh please, there is no worse problem in those European cities than any American city. Are you all serious?</p>
<p>It’s probably a problem everywhere, but he shouldn’t have let thecase/bag with the hard drive out of his sight for even a split second, and that means that he should have been holding onto it at all times. I guess he didn’t realize/think that someone would have picked it up. Oh well, live and learn!</p>
<p>NYUmom, I’m sorry about your son’s bad fortune, but it’s done. Maybe it was a relatively cheap lesson about taking care of yourself and your belongings anywhere. Try to let go now.</p>
<p>collegekid100,
Thank you so much for your concern, but the point of my OP was just to alert other parents to the info that I’ve been receiving in terms of the pickpocketing and other petty types of thievery that has been recently prevalent in Paris. It just so happened, coincidentally, that there is one more incident to add to the list - that’s all.</p>
<p>This gives an idea why pickpocketing is so prevalent in large European cities, especially since many emigrants from Eastern Europe or Arab countries struggle to adapt. Adolescents who do not fit easily in schools and cannot find employment are tempted to play a game that works pretty well and is rarely punished.</p>
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<p>Best not to slander whole countries.</p>
<p>I hope his files on the drive were encrypted so any personal info won’t be able to be accessed by the thief.</p>
<p>ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad,
Thanks, I hope so, too - it might just have been the film - if they submit it to a festival and it’s accepted, then we’ll know who took it. I’ll run your thoughts by him just to make sure.</p>
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<p>True, for it to be slanderous, a statement should be malicious, false, and defamatory. And, in purely legal terms, slander is considered defamation by oral utterance rather than by writing. </p>
<p>So, which words did you consider to slander whole countries?</p>
<p>xiggi,
Thanks for posting that link.</p>
<p>“It’s probably all over Europe.”!!@@**@@!! Not you Xiggi. Sorry, I come from a town where people make such comments if you suggest you’d like to go to Europe.</p>
<p>nyumom, I’m sorry this happened! I can relate. S had his laptop stolen last year and lost everything. All his photos and music and papers from freshman year of college, everything. So far nothing bad has happened in terms of any identity theft, but it’s very discouraging. Luckily, our homeowner’s insurance replaced the computer, after the deductible, though.</p>
<p>I’ve been surrounded by gypsies in Italy. Very scary. I’ve had pickpocket unsuccessfully try to steal from me on a crowded Metro in Paris. Never had an incident at all in five years in Germany, though I’m sure there are occassional thefts. I do think some cities and countries (and locations within those countries) are somewhat worse than others. I bet you would have been all right leaving a hard drive on a table in a three star restaurant for example.</p>