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Published on October 16, 2007

Wherever you go, particularly subway stations, take extreme care of your personal belongings, especially purses, cameras and mobile phones.

A reporter had a nasty experience with a pickpocket. During a trip to Moscow, she was enjoying the beautiful  interior of a subway station.

She thought to take a photo and suddenly flew into a panic when she couldn't find her camera in her backpack. Obviously, it disappeared after a man had bumped into her as he rushed toward the train.

This is a bad side too for Thai students living in St Petersburg.

They enjoy the scenery of the old town, but they have to spend their lives among pickpockets. And this is one of the first tips that older students tell newcomers on their first day.

One student developed a habit of keeping a distance from strangers. Whenever a man approaches him, from whichever direction, he tightens his grip on his backpack and walks away.

Another student named June developed a better approach to handle pickpockets.

In Moscow for her masters degree in biochemistry, June told our reporter that she encountered a pickpocket while boarding a subway train.

She remembered being touched by a man who had disguised himself as a postcard seller.

The man pushed the postcards up to one side, touching her shoulder. While yanking away, she raised her hands up leaving her jacket unprotected.

Then she felt his hand push into her jacket in search of her purse. She grabbed him around the waist and would not let go. For a while, they were tightly intertwined.

At the end, she let go of him. She demanded that he return her purse. The man made a blank face and asked, "What purse?" He patted his jacket and said he did not take her purse.

Then June reached into her own jacket and pulled out two items: his wallet and his mobile phone.

Once the man saw them, he could not keep up the blank face.

He looked stunned and asked June how his wallet and mobile phone fell into her hand. June offered a trade and the man agreed, admitting that he took her purse.

It did not end there. The pickpocket followed June home. She was terrified.

Just when she reached the last corner to her rented house, she turned around and asked him why he was following her.

"I don't mean to hurt you," he said. He explained that he followed her to find out if she would be interested in joining his pickpocket gang: "We're short of a girl."

Luckily, June decided to preserve her special skills only to scare off professional pickpockets. Ordinary visitors will just have to be more careful.

achara_d@nationgroup.com