The world's worst pickpocket hotspot has been named - and it's not London

You're enjoying your overseas holiday and immersing yourself in the local culture when the unthinkable happens: you can't find your wallet.

"It was right here," you think, frantically fumbling through your handbag.

Then you realise: you've been pickpocketed.

Pickpocketing is one of the oldest scams to which travellers have fallen prey overseas, and it's still wildly common.

But the cities with the worst pickpocketing offence ledgers might not be the ones you think.

A new global ranking from Compare the Market suggests the city of love, Paris, in France, is the number-one pickpocket and scam hotspot.

Keyword data was collected from TripAdvisor's city forums as well as Numbeo from comments made in 2025 about being mugged or robbed, pickpockets, things being stolen, theft and scams for 34 different cities.

Taking second place in the ranking was Las Vegas, in the USA, for which mentions of the word 'scam' were the highest of any city studied.

Lima, in Peru, which came in at 14th place, had the highest community concerns about being mugged or robbed.

Compare the Market chief executive of general insurance, Adrian Taylor, says the data shows pickpocketing remains a concern across the globe, and scams have become a more prevalent issue in many cities.

He pointed out Sofia, Bulgaria, which recorded low concerns around being mugged, "however their ranking was bolstered by online 'scam' mentions, which were some of the highest in the index".

New York City in the USA was third on the list, with a high number of scams reported.

In fourth place, Rome in Italy rated highly for its mentions of theft or stolen belongings.

Rounding out the top five was another USA city, Los Angeles, for which the keyword "stolen" ranked highly.

Despite snatch and grab thefts being a known issue in London, the UK capital came in at number six.

"The findings show for London there were greater concerns about being robbed or mugged than for those higher in the index (excluding Paris), however the strong score wasn't evident in the keyword results," Taylor said.

"London performed fairly lowly for keyword mentions, highlighting the difference between online commentary versus overall safety concerns. The higher crime concern score suggests that travellers were more wary of potential theft, and less likely to turn to online support."

The key to dodging pickpockets is to have someone watching your back, says Associate Professor Min Teah, a scam and marketing expert from Curtin Business School.

"In a lot of cases, pickpockets work in groups, and they work also on the idea of distraction," says Teah.

Solo travellers are more vulnerable, and should know where their belongings are at all times.

Both types of travellers should keep their wallets in a pouch closest to their front - rather than in a back pocket.

Teah recommends being aware of which types of scams are rife in the area to which you're travelling. For pickpockets, shopping strips are "classic, especially those that get people to bargain".

She suggests leaving your flashy jewellery at home as it can draw attention to you - and try not to look like a confused tourist, because this can also be a red flag for scammers.

Be wary of people offering assistance.

"[A tourist] might be requiring help and somebody can actually pose as a person to come and help, but in actual fact, it's another scam," Teah says.

Before Teah travels, she organises travel insurance, researches which scams are common in her destination city, and identifies where she might go for help - including local police stations and consulate services.