INDIANAPOLIS -
The Super Bowl, hands down, is about good hands, handoffs and - sticky hands?
"Just pick it right out," says an expert pickpocket in an online demonstration.
"I come to you and say 'Hey, don't I know you?'," said security consultant Alan Palagy, demonstrating the distraction technique.
One person stops you, touches you, distracts you. That's the "bump." His partner, the "dip," moves in and grabs your wallet from purse or back pocket.
Police warn big crowds like a Super Bowl are a magnets for a blitz of pickpockets. IMPD is on the lookout for them.
"It takes seconds," said Palagy.
"A guy touched my wallet one time. I just felt my wallet twitch," says Ed Adams, a pickpocket's intended victim.
But he was lucky.
"I stuck my hand back there and he looked the other way," Adams said.
But many pickpockets are pros and don't fumble. Palagy says women should keep purses closed and close to the chest.
"Leave your valuables at home. Wear your Timex and not your Rolex," he said. "[Men] should carry their wallets in their front pockets. Your chances of getting ripped off there are very low."
He also recommends not carrying a lot of cash, taking just one credit card and splitting your money up among both front pockets. Also, watch for the person distracting you.
"They count on people being good Samaritans," Palagy said, so beware of pleas for help.
After his close call with a pickpocket, Adams says, "I just realized right there, I need to be more aware of myself."
