Editor's Note: This is your second known stopped pick-pocket attempt in Mexico, and your second stop in Playa Del Carmen.

Dear Clothing Arts,

I have been targeted by an older guy in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. The scam is he sprays a brownish substance on your back, shorts, and legs. He then claims it is bird poop. (Believe me you don't feel a thing when he does this) As he "helps" you to clean it off with some tissues he robs you in the process.

His female accomplice pulls the same scam on the ladies. They clean you out. Wallets, Passports, Billfolds, Phones, and Purses. Well, when he targeted me he got absolutely nothing. Zip, Nada, Bugger all. My Clothing Arts Shorts stopped him in his tracks, NOTHING was taken. Thanks Team.

And just a random thought, Bird Poop is usually white !! :o)

Best Regards,
Alan S. from Tukwila, Washington​

Editor's Note:  Incredibly, this is the 31st known stopped pick-pocket in Rome! This testimonial was recently sent in by Dale J. via a Facebook comment and is your first known stop since travel has restarted.

As tourists return, pick-pockets will inevitably follow. The pick-pockets have been out of work for nearly 2 years and we expect to see a rise in attempts being made in the near term. So now more than ever, it pays to be prepared. Since receiving this testimonial, we have learned of two more successful stops that we will publish shortly. Dale was wearing a pair from our Adventure Traveler Line where the front pockets features a horizontal security guard unique to our apparel.

Pro-tip: Wear your shirt untucked to cover the pocket as a 4th layer of defense, on top of the triple-secure design our pants offer. The pick-pocket will have no idea what is going on with your pocket and move along to find an easier target... since everyone else has unsecured pockets, why try harder?!?!

A Very Special Editor's Note: This stopped pick-pocket testimonial came from a recent review left on the Adventure Traveler Pants page. It is a special stopped pick-pocket story as the pants Keith wore on his trip to Xi'an were inspired here over a decade earlier when our founder/designer Adam Rapp had a run-in with a team of pick-pockets beneath the famous Bell Tower pictured above.

There is a large traffic circle above ground and an underground walkway for people to access the tower and cross the street beneath - much like the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It was in this tunnel where the ideas that would eventually become Pick-Pocket Proof Pants were inspired when our founder looked down at his chinos and thought, "Why not combine a great pair of travel pants with the security of money-belts."

Fast forward 14 years and 250,000+ of our pants walk the world and now they have come full circle, with Keith stopping a pick-pocket attempt in Xian... perhaps the very one that tried to get Adam's wallet all those years ago!

Editor's Note: This is your 5th known stop in Florence.

Dear Clothing Arts,

Just wanted to send a note and t​h​ank you. We just got back from a great trip in Italy, where I was wearing my new Adventure Travel Pants. I was being double paranoid, using a money belt and a decoy wallet in the back pocket of my pants.

No issues that I know of in the airports, or over most of the trip, but that changed when we took the train from Florence to Rome. It wasn't long at the Florence train station before I noticed the back right button on my rear pocket was undone, and the zipper was partially open. They of course never got into the pocket itself, much less to my decoy wallet in the inside pocket.

Hopefully, I gave the attempted pickpocket a frustrating day!

Regardless, the pants helped take a lot of stress and worry out of our travels, as I was able to feel confident that nothing would be stolen.

Thanks,
Jerry W. from Edmond, Oklahoma

Editor's Note: This stopped pick-pocket testimonial came from a recent Facebook comment. Wes was wearing a pair of our Business Traveler Pants at the time he encountered the team of pick-pockets.

Editor's Note: This is your 5th known stop in Florence.

Dear Clothing Arts,

Last October, my wife and I spent a week visiting Florence, Italy. Every day we walked across the main square, the Piazza del Duomo to get somewhere. As usual, one afternoon, the square was filled with people but I was unaware of physical contact with anyone. As we left the square, I noticed that one front pocket button of my PPP Adventure pants was no longer closed.

Another wallet saved by Clothing Arts!!

- Larry H. from Ann Arbor, Michigan

Editor's Note: This stopped pick-pocket testimonial came from a recent review left on the Adventure Traveler Pants page. It references Adventure Traveler Shorts that feature the same secure pockets found on the pants.

Editor's Note: This stopped pick-pocket testimonial came from a review of our Adventure Traveler Pants.

Editor's Note: This stopped pick-pocket testimonial started with a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Review of our Business Traveler Pants. We then followed up with Tom to learn more about the story and here is how it happened...

- Here is our follow-up correspondence with Tom -  

Dear Clothing Arts,

It was a first-time trip to Italy for the mrs. and me. I was aware there was a pickpocket problem there, especially since one of my son’s friends almost caught a fellow with his hand in his pocket. Anyway, the Rome Tiburtina station was crowded and we were trying to figure out where to find our train to Naples. We were tired from our flight, not as sharp as we should have been.
 
I was looking at the board of destinations and got bumped on my right side, though I felt something at my left pocket. When I reached down the zipper was halfway open. I figured he got his fingers in but had no luck. My cash, credit card, and ID were zipped inside the inner pocket of the business pants, no way he was getting to that, and our passports were in an RFID pouch tucked inside a thin book tucked inside the Velcro pocket, no way he was getting to that.
 
Usually, I never go into the left pocket during the day, but this was the first day and I was not as careful. In my right pocket, I zip in a photo ID, one credit card, some euros; my phone goes in the hidden pocket behind the Velcro. This is normally the only pocket I use for shopping, eating, and drinking. I never put anything in my back pockets.
We quickly figured out the trains and took them back to Rome, then to Venice, Florence, and Pisa. Pisa was very crowded too and I felt there was another attempt there, but whoever it was was completely deterred by the outer pocket.

Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, any time I go thru an airport, basically any crowded place, I wear your pants. They are the best for peace of mind. Besides security from pickpockets, I love it that I can zip the pockets shut and not worry about anything falling out. I will confess that in Italy, after that first day, I wore them every day for the three weeks we were there, Thank goodness they wash and dry fast and look great.

- Tom M. from Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey

Editor's Note: This is your 13th known stopped pick-pocket in Greece.

Dear Clothing Arts,

In 2019 I stopped a pickpocket attempt in Greece in a crowded area, restaurants, etc. He could not get into my rear pocket where my wallet was.  

The pick-pocket had one button cut-off, but there was another button intact plus a zipper. I would have lost money, our ID’s and several credit cards.  

The pants are the only way to travel.

- Frederick S. from Peoria, Arizona