Professional pickpockets easily steal around 10,000 euros or more per month. The crimes don't start in the dense crowds on a train platform or between supermarket shelves, but in some cases at an ATM.

This is where the gangs scout out their victims and follow the cash-strapped citizens to make an unnoticed grab at a favorable moment. At the beginning of the month, when salaries and pensions were arriving in bank accounts, the weekly market and typically the retail trade in Lünen city center on Tuesdays and Fridays caught the attention of the criminal investigation department as crime scenes. In Lünen, citizens have reported more than 40 pickpocketing incidents since the beginning of 2023.

Pickpockets steal cash in Lünen

Just one example: on Monday (3.4.2023), unknown persons stole not only 350 euros in cash from a 69-year-old woman from Lünen, but also a debit card and ID cards. Before the perpetrators took the wallet on Bäckerstraße, they opened the zipper of a shoulder bag unnoticed. In another case, unknown persons stole 650 euros from a mother who was distracted by looking after her child.

In many cases, it is well-dressed women, both younger and older, who act in a division of labor: For example, at a rummage counter in a discount store, they first set their sights on a victim. One of the perpetrators shields the victim while perpetrator number two grabs the purse - and nimbly passes it on to the third accomplice.

Wallet in the walker and smartphone in the trouser pocket

The gangs specialize in older people who are unable to defend themselves or follow the perpetrators because they are dependent on a walker, for example. Younger people should know: The smartphone carried in the back pocket is gone just as quickly - the perpetrators bump into their victim, apologize profusely and use the surprise effect to pull out the smartphone.

The police advise: Do not create an opportunity to commit a crime by keeping wallets or smartphones visible or within easy reach in your (open) jacket, trouser or shoulder bag. Particular caution is advised in crowded areas

Police: Do not keep secret numbers with EC cards

And: do not keep the PIN of your debit card in your wallet. If you can't remember the PIN well, you should change it yourself (the banks will provide information about the procedure).