When they arrive at the train station, the passengers flow out of the train towards the exit.
The hall is teeming with people.
Now quickly buy a ticket for the subway, and then it goes on.
But where is the wallet that was just in your back pocket?
Criminals like to grab hold of the crowd, especially in the crowd in front of the trains.
Before Corona, in 2019, there were around 65 pickpockets every day at Frankfurt Central Station, according to the police.
Because of the pandemic and the associated travel restrictions, the number has decreased, but one must expect that it will quickly rise again to the previous level as a result of the easing.
Advice to prevention teams
To prevent this, the federal police have now started an action to prevent pickpockets at the main train station. It is part of the European stop-pickpockets.eu campaign and aims to educate travelers about what pickpockets do. The campaign is supported by Deutsche Bahn and with money from the "Police crime prevention of the federal states and federal states" program. On the days of the German EM games, those interested can get advice from prevention officers from the Federal Police and the prevention team of Deutsche Bahn at the train station and get tips on how to protect yourself against pickpockets.
When it comes to stealing prey, the perpetrators are very creative. They use tricks to distract the victims and thus get to the valuables unnoticed. Flower handlers, window knockers, traffic jam producers, bumpers, fake tourists or polluters - they slip into these roles in order to achieve their goal. In the flower-giving trick, the thief greets the victim in a friendly manner as a distraction and hands over a flower, while at the same time he fishes the cell phone or purse out of the open pocket.
In the window-knocking trick, the main culprit has an accomplice. He knocks on the outside of the window to attract the victim's attention, while the perpetrator steals the cell phone from the passenger's pocket on the train. Nobody is really safe from such acts, but you can still make it much more difficult for pickpockets: it is best not to put cell phones and wallets in your back pocket, always lock handbags and rucksacks and generally show a certain degree of vigilance.