While Helsinki is quite safe for travelers, and has been ranked the world's second safest city, keep in mind that just like any other large city, Helsinki has its share of pickpockets and petty thieves during the busy summer travel season. As any traveler knows, pickpockets can be found anywhere in the world, and Helsinki Finland is no different. If you are going to Helsinki, take a few mins to keep up with pickpocket trends so you don't have to end up in a police station making a police report of your wallet being stolen.
The issue of pickpockets have been an area that the Helsinki police have been trying to aggressively deal with and the undercover police officers are hunting petty thieves in the busiest areas of Helsinki The Helsinki police are spending much of their time at Helsinki’s Central Railway Station, which has been a hot spot for pickpockets. In July, a total of 738 pocket-picking incidents were reported to police, which is over 200 cases more than last year in the same period. Most of the cases were concentrated in the city center. The increase in the number of crimes made the police launch a special operation. The number of incidents was so high that the police decided to focus surveillance on the areas in which the number of disclosed cases was the highest. Statistics for June have not been completed yet, but it seems that the number of thefts was smaller”, says law enforcement.
Other locations which pickpockets like to favor is around Kauppatori and Esplanadi during the summer months, as well as Kaisaniemi Park in downtown Helsinki during nighttime hours (especially single travelers). Other reported locations are areas around the Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral near Helsinki's Market Square. Additionally, like other major cities around the world, pickpocket activity in Helsinki is most likely to occur around restaurants or other public places where lots of people pass through.
According to police, most perpetrators are professional criminals who have come to Finland from abroad, where police also report that the thieves arrested tend to be from the Roma minority and hail originally from Eastern Europe.
Pickpockets on Helsinki's Transportation Systems
Trams and trains in Helsinki are the number one spot for pickpockets, especially when these trams and trains are full. So when taking a tram in Helsinki, mind your valuables especially when entering a tram and leaving one. Most of the pickpockets hit you when you are trying to use the card reader in the trams.
Use Caution around Helsinki ATM Machines
Typically, thieves may push and shove travelers or generously offer to help them with their luggage in order to get an opportunity to steal their valuables. Unwary tourist, especially those who may have had a little to much to drink are the easiest victims for thieves. Tourists tend to let their guards down and they do not watch out for thieves who sometime stand behind them at ATM's - watching them type in the PIN codes of their bank cards at restaurants and ATMs.
Once the tourist gets their money out of the ATM, the pickpocket sees which pocket their wallet goes into, then tries to steal their wallet and the next opportune moment. That's when they now have complete access to the travelers bank account. Police know of cases in which the bank account of a victim has been emptied within just a few minutes of the theft. When a thief lays his or her hands on a bankcard and has a PIN to go with it, it really does not take long before the highest possible sum has been withdrawn from an ATM. Professionals know where the nearest ATM is located, Helsinki police report.
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