In a closed Facebook group for tourism industry workers, several guides have brought up the presence of pickpockets in Iceland using tried-and-true tricks.
In the thread in question, in the group Bakland Ferðaþjónustunnar, a tour guide reveals that he has heard from three different sources that pickpockets are visiting popular tourist spots in Iceland.
Apparently, the thieves in question use the common trick of asking tourists to take a photo of them, robbing them while the conversation takes place. A few different guides have chimed in to report similar experiences at some of the more popular spots in the country.
Unfortunately, the conversation later descended into baseless and unsubstantiated griping about asylum seekers. For the record, there is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that asylum seekers are behind the thefts—in fact, the nationalities of the thieves in question are entirely unknown, let alone what their residence status in Iceland is.
That said, it would probably be a good idea to leave your valuables with the front desk of your hotel or guesthouse before visiting the more popular spots in Iceland. Pickpockets rely on stealth, and will not risk being caught; the harder it is to lift anything of value of off you, that better off you will be.
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