'Putpocketing' puts money in visitors' pockets in London

London visitors are being putpocketed, and it's not as bad as it sounds.

As a way to brighten the economic crisis for some people, a broadband provider is funding a putpocketing program in which 20 former pickpockets are surreptitiously putting money back into unsuspecting people's pockets at London's tourist sites, according to a Reuters story.

Notes from 5 pounds ($8) to 20 pounds are being slipped into unguarded pockets or open handbags in Trafalgar Square, Covent Garden and other busy spots, according to the story.

Tourists should take extra precautions to avoid pickpockets, but this program almost makes you want to leave your wallet in an unbuttoned pocket.

"It feels good to give something back for a change -- and Britons certainly need it in the current economic climate," said Chris Fitch, a former pickpocket who heads the putpocketing initiative by TalkTalk.

"Every time I put money back in someone's pocket, I feel less guilty about the fact I spent many years taking it out," he told Reuters.

The program runs through August in London before being rolled out across the country. Buy your plane tickets to London soon before the 100,000 pounds are given away.