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6 Ways to Avoid Becoming a Pickpocket Victim

By Mikey Rox

Imagine you’re on vacation — in a foreign country, no less — and you’ve been the victim of a pickpocket. Cash, credit cards, passport — all gone. What do you do? It’s a nightmare scenario nobody wants to go through. Thankfully, you can lessen the risk of becoming a pickpocket victim by implementing one or more preventative measures. Here are six of the most effective ones:

Sharpen your situational awareness

In laymen’s terms, keep a keen eye on what’s happening while you’re traveling.

“Criminals work in groups, and a typical way for criminals to pickpocket tourists is by distracting their attention while their accomplice takes what they can,” says safety expert Carrie Pasquarello, executive director of Global Secure Resources. “Victims often don’t even know their valuables have been taken until they stop to purchase something. You can sharpen your situational awareness skills by knowing who is around you and by paying attention to what’s happening around you.”

One popular scam common in Europe, according to Justin Lavelle, chief communications office at BeenVerified.com, is when a criminal “accidentally” spills something on you, or bumps you from behind.

“This is a mere distraction to keep your focus on the spill and not on personal belongings,” he explains. “While helping clean up the mess, the culprit will pick purses or pockets. You can avoid this scam by declining help; instead, go to the nearest bathroom and clean the stain yourself.”

Wear a money belt

According to Pasquarello, “Back pockets, backpacks, purses are easy to pickpocket. So keep your wallet in your front pocket — but skilled pickpockets have been known to take wallets from the front pocket too.”

A money belt offers better protection. She recommends StashBandz, which stores everything from makeup and medication to passports and smartphones — all of which are hidden in pockets within the secure belt underneath your clothing.

Sure, a money belt probably isn’t the most fashionable statement you want to make on vacation, but is it more important to look good or not be robbed blind?

Beware of fake police officers

Lavelle details another scam to which tourists often fall prey, and it’s a pretty good one: fake cops.

“In this scenario, a person will approach a tourist and request illicit substances like drugs,” he says. “During the discourse, a person dressed in uniform will approach and flash a fake police badge. This ploy is designed to get tourists to turn over their IDs and passports. To avoid this scam, request the officer show his ID and call the police department to confirm their identity. Refuse to hand over your passports citing they’re locked in the hotel room. If they refuse, simply walk away.”

Leave your jewelry at home

If you’re traveling with all your flashy baubles hanging from your body, you’re basically asking for someone to snatch ’em up. It sucks … but that’s reality. Leave the bling at home if you know what’s good for you.

Stay vigilant on public transportation

As a visitor to a new city, you’re likely to be distracted on a bus or subway because you don’t want to miss your stop. On top of that, they may be jam-packed depending on where and what time of day you’re traveling. This is how thieves work their way toward you; using the crowd to blend in and move quickly but subtly.

“At this point, they’ll use any distraction they can to steal your wallet or anything else in your pockets,” says personal finance blogger J.R. Duren.” All it takes is one bump on the track or a flood of people trying to get off at one stop.”

Adds Lavelle, “Metro lines that terminate at an airport are pretty much the worst because there are huge crowds trying to jam into the cars and, when you’ve got dozens of people trying to cram through a single door, all of that body-to-body contact is like Christmas for pickpockets. Be insanely aware when you’re boarding the metro at the airport. Keep your things close to you and never set anything down, even for a second.”

Keep your hands in your pockets

Thieves can’t pick your pockets if your hands are inside them. Keep everything important in your front pockets while you’re out in public, and keep your hands in them as your travel to your destination. It’s a simple solution — and perhaps the most effective one of them all.

Photo Credit: matiasjajaja

12 Comments June 21, 2022

Comments

  1. 1

    scratch games says

    In my country pickpocketing is very popular…i don’t know WHAT THE POLICE DO???

    Reply
    • 2

      Len Penzo says

      Well … “popular” is not a word I would use. But I get your drift.

      Reply
  2. 3

    Karen Kinnane says

    A safety pin at the top of your pocket which holds your money keeps your cash safe. You also have to take a minute to decide whether it is worth the effort to pin and unpin your stash before buying. Maybe the safety pin helps control impulse purchases a bit!

    Reply
    • 4

      Mikey Rox says

      Great tip. Thanks, Karen.

      Reply
  3. 5

    Peter says

    These are great ideas, especially the one in the comment about the safety pin. It makes you buy less and prevents being scammed. Great!

    Reply
  4. 6

    Paul S says

    6 more reasons to stay home and find local places to visit and satisfying things to do. Mind you, I spent lots of time working away and in isolation and now relish staying local plus live in a place that others want to visit. We don’t even lock our doors or my shop….anything like that.

    Reply
    • 7

      Len Penzo says

      I’m with you, Paul. I prefer staying close to home.

      Reply
  5. 8

    Frank says

    Do report a theft to the police. My wallet was stolen, later found an returned to me. Typically they only want the cash. I switched to using a chest wallet. Also, keep a digital copy of everything on the cloud.

    Reply
    • 9

      Len Penzo says

      It makes life so much easier when your wallet is returned with your driver’s license and other cards. Still, I would think it might be prudent to request new credit cards anyway, in case the thieves wrote the info down and tried to use the cards later online?

      Reply
  6. 10

    bill says

    In 1992, I was in Brazil. The men were advised to not use a back pocket. Women were told to use the shoulder strap, and hold their purse close. Thieves with sharp blades would slash your back pocket, and be gone in a flash with your wallet. They’d do the same to purse straps.

    In Scotland, someone stole my wallet. They were found unconscious around the corner. When they opened my wallet, the moths knocked them out. 😉

    Actually, I carry a front pocket wallet. The pockets are extremely deep. I’d immediately know what they were up too.

    Reply
    • 11

      Len Penzo says

      I keep my wallet in my front pocket too, Bill. Always have.

      Reply

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