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The YouTuber Tyler Oliveira visits Barcelona and exposes the insecurity problems with pickpockets and street scams

The content creator has traveled to the Ciudad Condal to document the real situations derived from deceptions and thefts against visitors

The latest Crime Index by Country of 2025, prepared by Numbeo, places Spain in position 102 of the 195 countries recognized by the UN. Although this position places the Spanish territory practically in the middle of the insecurity table, the figure has a logical explanation: with a population of 49,442,844 residents, it is inevitable that managing public order has its own challenges.

If we transfer this data to the list of Spanish cities with the highest crime rate, Barcelona appears among the top positions. When crossing it with the number of tourists the city receives, correlations are observed that usually generate debate, since experts relate it to the high influx of visitors, a factor that can influence certain indicators, especially in the crimes of theft and pickpocketing. However, this does not mean that the Catalan capital is unsafe. About this, precisely, the content creator Tyler Oliveira has shared a video on YouTube.

On his channel he accumulates more than 8.46 million subscribers, a figure he has achieved based on his street interviews and documentary-style content. The YouTuber, originally from the United States, began his activity on the platform in 2014 and, at present, has a repertoire of more than 520 videos published. Over these years he has traveled to different countries with the aim of showing realities that are not talked about much.

How a pickpocket acts when committing a theft

The Californian YouTuber has traveled to the Ciudad Condal to document some of the situations that generate that feeling of insecurity among tourists and visitors. In the recording, approximately 30 minutes long, it is observed how Oliveira accompanies a group of ‘pickpocket hunters’ who go through the most crowded areas of Barcelona to analyze behaviors that, according to them, could be related to thefts and pickpocketing in public spaces. In short, his mission is to show his followers how pickpockets act when committing a theft.

As the video progresses, the ‘pickpocket hunters’ walk through the most touristic streets of the city, paying maximum attention to the movements that certain individuals make and that, according to them, they consider possible signs of an attempted theft. In fact, in some moments direct confrontations occur, since both the YouTuber and the group he collaborates with approach people they point to as possible responsible parties for an attempted theft, which leads to discussions and tense situations. Oliveira records at all times these episodes of insults, pushes, and scuffles, hence the title of the video. In addition, they take the opportunity to warn possible victims and offer practical advice to protect their belongings.