The first phone in line 13, the second as well, and the next three on boulevard Rochechouart in the 13th arrondissement of Paris: Amanda, a young American who regularly posts videos on TikTok, has come across many pickpockets since she moved to Paris five years ago.
“I was naive at the time, I didn't think it could happen to me,” she explains candidly.
Once her fifth phone is in hand, she decides to be more careful and systematically puts it in a zippered bag… but that's not enough.
Since then, with the launch of her TikTok channel, she has been trying "to alert people and give them advice so that they don't repeat the same mistakes as her".
Do not put your smartphone in your pocket
For Amanda, the pockets “are no longer useful, except for storing her tissues”.
She explains: “We don't call these thieves pickpockets for nothing: they are excellently good at that.
In English, the literal translation would be “pocket catch”.
Do not carry a backpack
“You just have to type on YouTube: “Paris backpack pickpocket” and you will come across many videos that show thieves using themselves directly in backpacks”, states the tiktoker.
For her, the best way to carry her belongings securely is to put them in a shoulder bag, closed with a zipper.
Buy a choker
'Looks like a kid's accessory but it's awesome': Amanda recently discovered phone neckloops, preferably ones that are trendy.
Since then, she has not left hers and knows where her phone is at all times.
Be careful though: “I recommend that you don't buy the fabric ones because they're easy to cut or tear off, and that's what thieves do.
To her TikTok viewers, the young American prefers to recommend those made of solid plastic or metal.
