First of all, my brain is one of the best here.

Losing xp is by design. It's... not the best system.

First of all, my brain is one of the best here.

If you fail the pickpocket skill check or you roll a critical failure, your target may or may not see you depending on how much you failed the check by. If you failed the skill check by more than 50% of your pickpocket skill score, or if you rolled a critical failure, she spots you. Your target turns to face you (automatically) and they are sent a message informing them of your attempt. On a critical failure you are also knocked on your back for three rounds, and your helmet (if equipped) is unequipped for role-play purposes so that you may identify the person. You may also lose experience points if you fail a pickpocket attempt. This XP penalty is calculated as follows:

(Target’sLevel * How much you lost the skill check by)/ 10

In addition, if you rolled a critical failure, the XP penalty is doubled. The xp penalty can never be more than 500 XP, however.

Link. It's very silly, but that's how it is.

First of all, my brain is one of the best here.