Avoiding pickpockets

Avoiding pickpockets while you are traveling abroad can keep you on your toes. Here are some ways to help thwart this thievery.

• Travel light. Don’t carry valuables with you that you don’t really need. If you don’t need it for identification, payment, or personal care, consider not bringing it.

• Don’t flash your cash. Do not unnecessarily let others know what you are carrying or where you are carrying it. A deep front pants pocket is usually safer than a back pocket.

• Use hidden wallets and money belts. I have used a home-sewn wallet with loops that attached to my belt. The loops were long enough and the wallet flat enough to flip inside my loose-fitting pants. Make sure such a wallet is large enough to fit your passport.

• Beware of crowds. Crowds are the easiest place for a pickpocket to work. Pickpockets often work as a team. While on a crowded bus in a foreign country, a relative of mine noticed he was being unusually pressed between several other riders. Remembering that pickpockets will use this as a sensory distraction so you don’t feel a deft hand working your wallet, he quickly put his hand down to his front pants pocket (a better place than the back pockets), but his wallet was already gone. Although he knew someone standing around him had his wallet, he could do nothing. Another relative was in a similar situation – except that when he felt for his wallet, he was in time to also feel someone’s hand still in his pocket.

• Beware of red herrings. Anything that distracts your attention may be used as an opportunity to lift something from your person. The happy street clown that pops a balloon might be just enough to distract you from your purse for a critical moment.

• Be attached and alert. Keep your packs and purses closed/locked and attached to your body at all times. And don’t let them out of your sight.