Barcelona safety · After a theft
What to do if you get pickpocketed in Barcelona: the checklist I wish I’d had
If you are pickpocketed in Barcelona, lock your phone and block your cards first, then report the theft to the Mossos d’Esquadra, whose police stations are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Call 112 if anyone is hurt or threatened. The online report is now reserved for shops, according to the current Mossos d’Esquadra page, so as a visitor you either walk into a station or book an appointment online. Near La Rambla, the Ciutat Vella station is at Carrer Nou de la Rambla 76–78, and the Guàrdia Urbana tourist service at La Rambla 43 helps visitors file reports. Bring ID and your phone’s IMEI. If your passport was taken, report it and contact your consulate. Then check the city’s lost property office, which has moved to Carrer de la Ciutat 2.
The first ten minutes after a theft are a strange experience. The last time it happened to me, I spent them patting the same three pockets over and over, as if my phone might have moved itself somewhere more interesting.
It hadn’t. What I needed was a list, in order, that someone calmer had written in advance. This is that list. I have checked every address and phone number against the official pages, because a lot of advice online is out of date, including the bit about reporting online.
If you are reading this before your trip, good. Bookmark it, then read the guide to avoiding pickpockets in Barcelona so you never need it.
What should you do right after being pickpocketed in Barcelona?
Right after a theft in Barcelona, make sure you are safe, then protect your accounts before you do anything else. Call 112 if anyone was hurt or threatened; it is the single emergency number (Ajuntament de Barcelona). Don’t chase anyone. Pickpockets often work in teams, and the person you are chasing probably no longer has your phone.
- Lock your phone. On an iPhone, mark it as lost in Find My or at icloud.com/find. Apple’s advice is to keep the device in Find My even after erasing it, because removing it turns off Activation Lock and makes the phone easier to resell (Apple Support).
- Block the SIM and the IMEI. Call your mobile operator. The Mossos d’Esquadra recommend saving your IMEI in advance by dialling *#06#, and keeping it somewhere other than the phone (Mossos).
- Freeze your cards in your banking app, or call your bank.
Can you file a police report online in Barcelona?
No, not as a tourist any more. The current Catalan version of the Mossos d’Esquadra reporting page says the online report system is reserved only and exclusively for commercial establishments: “reservat únicament i exclusivament per als establiments comercials” (Mossos d’Esquadra, Catalan).
The English version of the same page still describes the older rules, where anyone could report petty theft online and sign it at a station within 72 hours (Mossos d’Esquadra, English). Many travel blogs repeat that older advice. Go by the Catalan page: as a visitor, you report in person, either by walking in or by booking an appointment.
Where do you report a theft in Barcelona?
You report a theft in Barcelona at any Mossos d’Esquadra station, and they are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year (Mossos). The options closest to the tourist centre:
- Mossos Ciutat Vella station: Carrer Nou de la Rambla 76–78, in El Raval, about a minute from La Rambla. Open 24 hours. Switchboard 93 306 23 00 (GuiaBCN).
- Guàrdia Urbana Tourist Assistance Service: La Rambla 43, tel. 93 256 24 31. It offers an interpretation service, helps victims file reports, advises on cancelling cards and contacts consulates, airlines and hotels (Guàrdia Urbana). Its page gives the hours as “24 hours a day, Monday to Friday”, so at weekends go straight to the Mossos.
- Joint Mossos and Guàrdia Urbana office in Eixample: Carrer de Pau Claris 158, since May 2023 (Generalitat de Catalunya).
To skip the queue, book a cita prèvia (appointment). It is optional, booked online, and covers theft, violent robbery, fraud and lost documents (Mossos). The direct booking page in English is here.
What do you need to bring to report a theft in Barcelona?
To report a theft in Barcelona, bring photo ID and the most precise list you can make of what was taken. The Mossos ask for serial numbers, models, invoices or photos of the items, your phone’s IMEI and the phone numbers of any witnesses. They also say to report as soon as possible, even if hours or days have passed (Mossos).
Ask for a copy of the report (còpia de la denúncia). Your insurer will want it, and quickly: one UK policy explained by Admiral requires a police report within 24 hours of discovering the theft. Rules vary by insurer, so check yours. I once spent the evening before a report scrolling through old emails for a phone receipt. Do that part on the hotel wifi, not at the station desk.
What should you do if your passport is stolen in Barcelona?
If your passport is stolen in Barcelona, report it to the police first. In Spain, negligently failing to report the theft or loss of a required identity document is a minor offence under Organic Law 4/2015, article 37.10, and minor offences carry fines of €100 to €600 (BOE).
Then contact your consulate. A police report is not a travel document. The UK government says plainly that you cannot use a police report to leave Spain, so British nationals need an Emergency Travel Document (GOV.UK).
- British Consulate General Barcelona: Avinguda Diagonal 477, 13th floor, tel. +34 93 366 6200, by appointment (GOV.UK).
- US Consulate General Barcelona: emergencies +34 93 280 2227 in business hours, +34 91 587 2200 after hours; public hours Monday to Friday 9:00 to 12:30, with no passport services in the evening or at weekends (US Embassy in Spain).
Is there a lost and found office in Barcelona?
Yes. Barcelona’s city lost property office, the Oficina de Troballes, is now at Carrer de la Ciutat 2 in the Gothic Quarter, open Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 14:00, with an appointment recommended. Many guides still give its old address. Call 010, or +34 931 537 010 from outside the area (GuiaBCN).
Items with an ID number, such as a passport, card or phone, can be searched online. The office receives about 20,000 items a year, returns about 30% and keeps them for six months (Barcelona International Welcome). With almost a third of items going back to their owners, it is worth a call.
For phones, the Mossos also run a recovered stolen phones page where you enter your 15-digit IMEI. They opened it after seizing more than 1,000 phones in 2025 (betevé).
How do you avoid scams after your phone is stolen in Barcelona?
After a phone theft in Barcelona, treat every “we found your phone” message with suspicion. A network in El Raval sent victims fake recovery messages to harvest their bank credentials, according to COPE. Phones that could be unlocked were driven to Morocco and blocked ones sent to China.
Never enter your Apple ID or Google password through a link in a text message. Go to the official site yourself. And keep the phone in Find My: the thief wants you to remove it. The guide to phone theft on Barcelona terraces explains where stolen phones end up.
Final thoughts
The order matters: lock, block, report, then search. Accounts first, because a thief with an unlocked phone can do more damage than a thief with a phone. Paperwork second, because insurers and consulates need it. Hope last, because sometimes a wallet really does turn up at Carrer de la Ciutat.
Once you are home and less annoyed, the guide to Barcelona pickpocket tricks will show you how it probably happened. It helps. A bit.