How it works:
- Version 1: they work in a gang – one onlooker, one blocks, pushes, distracts, or engages you, one grabs and the final hides the loot under a cover (e.g. jacket/newspaper) and escapes.
- Version 2: bird poo scam.
Places to beware:
- Arequipa: Plaza de Armas, Historic Centre of Arequipa
- Cusco: Centro Historico De Cusco, Plaza de Armas, Mercado Central de San Pedro, Twelve Angle Stone, SantuarioHistorico de Machu Picchu, Archaeological Park Ollantaytambo
- Iquitos: Pilpintuwasi Butterfly Farm, Belen, Plaza de Armas de Iquitos
- Lima: Miraflores, CircuitoMagico Del Agua, Barranco, Plaza de Armas (Plaza Mayor), Miraflores Boardwalk, Centro Historico de Lima, Parque Kennedy – Parque Central de Miraflores, CircuitoMagico del Agua, Plaza San Martin, Balcones de Lima
- Trujillo: Plaza de Armas de Trujillo
What to do:
- Passport: carry a photocopy instead of the actual one.
- Valuables: wallet in front pocket, small valuables in a money belt/hidden pouch, large valuables in an anti-theft bag.
- Travel insurance: get a good one that covers theft (e.g. World Nomads, trusted by Lonely Planet and National Geographic – review).
