Meme Inspired by Italian Woman Goes Viral

An Italian woman who is fed up with petty theft has stolen the internet’s heart.

A member of the Venice-based group Cittadini Non Distratti (whose name means “Citizens Not Distracted”) has been posting videos on TikTok in which she publicly calls out pickpockets who target travelers in Italy’s popular tourist areas. In the clips, the woman can’t be seen — but she can definitely be heard.

“Attenzione pickpocket!” she shouts in each video published on her accounts. The phrase means “attention pickpocket!” and she yells it to warn people to watch their belongings.

In some videos, she even seems to catch pickpockets in the act.

The woman, who told Newsweek that her name is Monica, said that she’s been providing this public service for 30 years and does it along with 40 other volunteers.

Cittadini Non Distratti originally shared its videos on Facebook, but it has found a new audience thanks to TikTok — where its efforts have gone viral.

“We decided to make our videos go viral to inform tourists to be careful,” Monica told Newsweek. “There is a lack of prevention and information about what is happening in the city and we are all happy that these videos are letting people see the problem in Venice and throughout Italian cities.”

The group originally had the TikTok handle @cittadininondistratti, but it got suspended for unclear reasons, according to the London Evening Standard. In June, however, the group began sharing videos under the handle @cittadininondistratti2, and the clips really took off — so much so that Monica’s catchphrase has inspired a very funny meme.

Some people just love the way she yells “attenzione pickpocket!” and have turned it into a summer jam.

But the best interpretations of the meme use the phrase for clever reasons. To check out the funniest responses to the trend, just scroll down. And, Monica, we’d just like to say: Brava!