Many travelers think they know what pickpockets look like. Typically they stereotype them as "shady characters" who look like a crook. While that is true for a small portion of the time, many times professional pickpockets go to great strides to blend into the area so their victims are not aware of them. To prove this point, police in Sterling Heights, Michigan have begun to alert the public that they should not assume that the sweet old lady in a hat they see standing next to them in the mall is not someone who just returned from the royal wedding. These older, non threatening women just might be there to steal your wallet.
Police in an upscale Detroit suburb say an all-female criminal ring, made up of middle-aged and elderly women, are running a sophisticated con in which they allegedly pick the pockets of unsuspecting shoppers and use the stolen credit cards elsewhere. The group which police nicknamed the "Mad Hatters," is a pickpocket ring is made up of at least six women who frequently wear hats to disguise their identities and have allegedly swiped more than $500,000 in the past year and half, authorities say. One bank alone estimated it had lost at least $200,000 at the hands of the hatters. Travelers should be very aware that pickpockets come in all shapes, ages, colors, and ages.
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