Common Tourist Scams in Friedrichshain, Berlin (and How to Avoid Them)

By The Kakapo Editorial Team · Last updated 2026-05-29 · Part of the Friedrichshain, Berlin safety guide

Warschauer Straße — the pickpocket knot

• The station: U1/U3 line and S-Bahn S3/S5/S7/S9 interchange, plus trams M10, M13. Heavy 24-hour foot traffic between clubs, residents, and tourists on the Oberbaumbrücke crossing to Kreuzberg.
• The Warschauer Brücke: the bridge above the railway, connecting U-Bahn to S-Bahn. Famously crowded, famously good for pickpockets.
• The pattern: distraction in the platform crush; phones taken from back pockets in the stairwell; bag-zip pickpocketing during the bottleneck.
• Defence: phone in front pocket, bag in front of you, hands on your zips during the crowd-crush, avoid headphones-in/looking-at-phone during platform changes.
• The Oberbaumbrücke crossing: the iconic red-brick bridge to Kreuzberg — safe at any hour, foot traffic continuous, no documented mugging pattern.

Live Friedrichshain, Berlin safety score (updates daily) →

Sources

• Polizei Berlin — annual crime statistics
• BVG — Berlin transit
• UK FCDO — Germany travel advice
• Bezirksamt Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg