Attenzione Pickpocket!

Submission 25,919

Part of a series on TikTok. [View Related Entries]

About

Attenzione Pickpocket! (translated from Italian to English as Attention Pickpocket, Portuguese as Atenção Pickpocket and Spanish as Atención Pickpocket) is a memorable catchphrase that emerged from the TikTok account @cittadininondistratti2, which features a lady repeatedly yelling at petty thieves and pickpockets in Italy. The account has been posting videos since 2023, with their first account being deleted in early June 2023, and their second account gathering over 5.8 million likes in a month. In June 2023, recording one's pets or friends (typically being caught in the act of doing something humorously wrong) with the sound "Attenzione Pickpocket!" became a prevalent trend on TikTok.

Origin

TikToker @cittadininondistratti2 had been uploading videos of themselves loudly warning people against pickpockets in Italy since at least May 2023, however, the account's first iteration was deleted sometime in early June 2023. The account subsequently began posting on @cittadininondistratti2 on June 12th, gathering over 200,000 followers in a month.^[1]

A repost of a video originally posted on @cittadininondistratti's first account was reposted by @georgeachi55^[4] on June 9th, 2023, where it gathered over 1.8 million views and 68,000 likes in a month (seen below).

On June 12th, 2023, @cittadininondistratti2^[2] posted their first video to their new account, gathering over 800,000 plays and 28,000 likes in three weeks (seen below, left). A video^[3] uploaded on June 15th then gathered over 46 million views and 2 million likes in two weeks (seen below, right).

Spread

Several people used the sound from @cittadininondistratti2's videos in June 2023, often as a humorous way to tease their friends or pets. On June 19th, 2023, TikToker^[7] @iamatiktokerbicth posted a video parodying @cittadininondistratti2 cadence, gathering over 1.3 million plays and 150,000 likes in two weeks (seen below, left). On June 26th, TikToker^[8] @mphrdlicka posted a video parodying @cittadininondistratti2's catchphrase as well, gathering over 500,000 plays and 80,000 likes in a week (seen below, right).

TikToker^[5] @patrik_peto posted a video featuring his dogs and using the sound of @cittadininondistratti2 warning against pickpockets on June 29th, 2023, gathering over 800,000 plays and 130,000 likes in five days (seen below, left). On July 1st, TikToker^[6] @eevee.bork posted a similar video, gathering over 2 million plays and 500,000 likes in three days (seen below, right).

New York Times Feature And Backlash

On July 29th, 2023, the New York Times^[9] published a story detailing Monica Poli's efforts as documented on the TikTok account discussed above (seen below, left). Various internet users noted that the article underplays Poli's participation in a right-wing political party called Lega Nord, which stands for anti-LGBTQ, anti-abortion, and other conservative policies. Twitter^[10] user @sivomengro posted a tweet on July 31st sharing screenshots from the article that may point to Poli's anti-Roma beliefs (seen below, right).

Also on July 31st, Twitter^[11] user @CuteCatriona posted a tweet showing Wikipedia screenshots of Poli's party's ideologies, gathering over 9,000 likes in a day (seen below).

Monica Poli's Phone Is Stolen In Venice

On August 17th, 2023, the "Attenzione Pickpocket!" lady got her phone stolen by one of the pickpockets in Venice. She was accompanied by other people from the patrol group she is part of when her cell phone was snatched from her hands.^[12] The event became a viral topic on social media, inspiring a series of ironic memes and mockery against the Italian lady. For instance, Twitter^[13] page @forumpandlr tweeted about the incident (shown below), which garnered over 1,000 likes and 100 retweets in a day.