Protect yourself by knowing the three categories of theft:

First category: burglars. They want nothing to do with people and, therefore, make every effort to strike when your house is empty. How can you protect yourself? Leave your house well-locked and alarmed. Better yet, leave it occupied. If you can't, try to create the illusion of activity within by putting lights and radios on random timers.

Second category: pickpockets. Pickpockets are generally prepared for non-violent confron- tation. We'll define the pickpocket in detail in a moment.

Third category: muggers. These are prone to violence and, obviously, extremely dangerous characters about whom we claim no understanding. They are crude, smash-and-grab desperados whose advantages are speed and isolation. These individuals must be avoided at all cost.

Back to the second category, the pickpockets, the non- violent confrontationists. These characters are prepared to meet you face to face but they have no intention of bodily harm. They only want what you've got. Of these, too, there are two types.

The opportunists. They watch and wait, on the lookout for a sure thing. A perfect mark, to the opportunist, is someone who has left himself wide open. He's practically painted the word victim on his forehead. He falls asleep on a late-night train and his bags are there for the quiet taking just before a station stop, where the opportunist can make his escape. The perfect mark may be a woman at a sidewalk cafe who's slung her bag on the back of her chair—out of sight, out of mind. Again, it's easy pickings for the opportunist. These guys are easy to outsmart. Use common sense to protect your belongings. There will always be others out there for the opportunist—it doesn't have to be you. Once you understand the opportunist, you need not be his victim.

The strategists. Also non-violent, these are the crafty ones, and somehow worthy of admiration.

The waist pouch, or fanny pack, has become very popular, and can be relatively safe if its zipper is on the inside, against your body. But with a little distraction, it's the easiest thing for the pickpocket to steal from. [See Bag Photo in New and Old Scams Await Travellers to the Far East, Pg A4.]

In some parts of the world, Naples for example, pickpockets are crude. They'll grab your watch utterly without finesse, breaking the pin or strap. They'll zoom by on scooters and snatch the bag off your shoulder or the gold chain from your neck. It's crude, but they get what they're after. The strategists, on the other hand, are sly about it. They practice the art of distraction.

The masters of distraction are the gypsy pickpockets. Many of them come from the former Yugoslavia and migrate to all of southern Europe. There they're considered political refugees, and won't be deported.

How do you recognize a gypsy pickpocket before she recognizes you? They're often young girls, either pregnant or carrying a baby. Under Spanish and Italian law, this makes them immune from prosecution. The infants are often supported in a sling, freeing both hands for more important work. They may carry a flower, which they'll try to give you in exchange for a few coins. This is their excuse to get close to you, to make contact.

Most important, they carry a sheet of newspaper to shield their pickpocketing. It could be a piece of cardboard, a map, or flattened paper bag—anything to cover their hand movements and further distract you.

The gypsy pickpocket may also have a youngster with her, a child too big to carry, yet too young to be picking pockets himself. That child is the hand-off. As soon as the gypsy gets a wad or a wallet, she hands it off to the child, who instantly disappears with it. The gypsy pickpocket never carries stolen property.