The summer travel season might be winding down, but that won’t stop thieves from trying to paw your precious valuables. Keep them at bay with the following eight tips…
- Carry On Valuables. Travel guru Peter Greenberg says there are two types of luggage: carry-on, and lost. Keep your valuables with you at all times.
- Don’t Need It? Don’t Bring It. Leave the nice diamond earrings and flashy bracelets at home.
- Pack Valuables In See-Through Bags. Put an extra layer between your valuables and crooked TSA wannabes so they don’t have a reason to directly handle your rubies.
- Make Your Bag Screener Friendly. Beyond the clear bag, deter opportunistic thieves and secondary screenings by packing in layers so your bag will image cleanly.
- Don’t Throw Loose Items Into Screening Bins. Stash your cellphone and keys in your bag before pushing it through the scanner.
- Don’t Leave Your Bags Unattended. Is that your checked bag at the other end of the carousel with the Care Bears tag? Don’t put down your carry-on to go look.
- Safes! Use safes wherever you go because they work.
- Trust Nobody. Don’t believe tour guides who say it’s safe to leave things unattended on a tour bus. It’s not.
10 tips to protect valuables from travel theft [Tripso]
(Photo: Getty)
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@bnpederson
I agree…reading all of these suggestions I have to ask…why even bother taking a trip at all?
There is a line that separates ‘careful’ with ‘paranoid’.
My parents were vacationing in Florida and the hotel they were staying at had its own enclosed parking garage (I think it was under the hotel, but I’m not sure) anyway, they parked the car after checking in and went up to their room. When they went back down to get the car to go to dinner, somebody had stolen the hubcaps right off of the rental car! The cool thing about it is this: the rental car company didn’t even notice it when they went to do the check in inspection before my parents came home!
Not bad advice. I’ve only had something stolen while traveling once and I really should have known better. Definitely a stupid move on my part. I had a wrist watch that I took with me to Aruba. While on the trip the clasp broke on me, and not wanting to deal with getting it repaired while abroad I stuck it in my luggage and forgot about it. When the day came to catch a flight home I didn’t transfer it from my luggage to my carry-on and of course it was gone when I got back home (didn’t notice it until then.) It was a lesson I learned the hard way and I’ll never make that mistake again.
@EtoilePB: I’ve had my license plate stolen before, but they put a different stolen plate on my car, so I didn’t notice for a while.
Now I have a license plate frame that has little covers over the screws. It’s not much security, but I figure it will encourage the thief to move on to an easier car.
@bnpederson: It’s not paranoia. As a young solo female traveler, it is always better to be cautious and fully aware of your surroundings so you can react accordingly. Having been followed several times in lots of different cities, I didn’t waste time yelling at anyone or finding out what they wanted since they weren’t cops. I had my local friends and could always turn to them for help, and I was friends with the bread lady and the vegetable lady and the bartender near my apartment back in Spain. It doesn’t hurt to be cautious, but it does hurt to be trusting and to make yourself vulnerable.
Thought of more advice too: Never admit you’re traveling alone. You’re there to visit a relative or have a boyfriend or any other thing, but you’re not alone as far as anyone needs to know.
@alysbrangwin: Are you my dreamgirl?
At those who wonder if these methods are paranoid or overkill: Please mention if you have spent a lot of time in crime-ridden countries and what your experiences were. In my experience, if you hang out in hostels in the poorer countries, you will constantly be running into people who have been robbed, and *everyone* has stories about people they know who were robbed or worse.
Taking steps to keep yourself from getting robbed/attacked is a way to experience different cultures up close without having to deal with the hassle of replacing a passport, getting stranded thousands of miles from home with no cash, etc. I would much rather add a little effort upfront than have to deal with the consequences afterward.
None of these methods are meant to be perfect. They just reduce risk significantly. If you would rather walk around with your wallet in your back pocket, your camera slung over your shoulder, and your unlocked backpack sitting in an unsecured dorm room while you hand your passport to anyone who asks for it, all because you think it’s too much of a pain to be cautious, feel free…
@alysbrangwin: @ADM: Amen. I did the backpack through the EU over ten years ago, and could have done with some of these tips then, and I was usually pretty careful anyway. I did screw up and fall asleep on the train, with my day bag with all my money and passports on my lap. Luckily the border guards found my bag in the bathroom, with only the money missing, and never carried much of that anyway. I will say that you shouldn’t be over-cautious about engaging with locals, just a bit more that you’d be in a big US city. The people in the cabin next to me on that train were so sweet and helpful that I still wonder if I’d have avoided being robbed at all if I’d sat with them instead of choosing to be alone.
And, even using every kind of tip on here, I have a good “war wound,” a bad shoulder that acts up, caused by its being yanked by a couple jerks in Barcelona trying to steal my day bag. I’d misread the train schedule and couldn’t catch the train to Paris that I’d planned on, so I had to return to my hostel in Barcelona and had not paid attention to how I’d gotten to the station and had packed my map. I still don’t get how no one could give me directions to Las Ramblas, as I knew how to get back from there, but I ended up having to get my map out. I kept my back to a wall, in a well-lit church square full of people, and had my senses on high as I dropped my pack and got my map. It was in the 30 seconds that I was as helpless as a flipped turtle hiking my pack back that the guys decided to grab my day pack. I’d learned, so there was no money or documents in it, just my camera, with pictures I refused to give up. Yanking back and forth, I finally got across by snarling that I wasn’t letting go and they took off. I got applause from one couple, and I think the old lady who yelled at me in Catalan was bemoaning the fact that no one helped me.
Even with those experiences, I wouldn’t trade that time for anything. Plus, “I fought off muggers in Barcelona” is a much better reason for an painful old injury than “my foot fell asleep.” Wish I could attribute the bum ankle to the former rather than the latter.
Don’t travel to dirtbag nations full of savages.
@lingum: Please do us all a favor and stay in the U.S. where such comments pass for intelligence in certain circles. You’re equally as likely to be robbed in the U.S. as you are anywhere else in the world.
@bnpederson: Agree.
The whole point of traveling is to experience something different, besides all those preconceptions and paranoias are way too heavy to carry around all day.
Be very wary of hotels that hold your luggage in a secure room after you check out. I left my luggage at a Travel Lodge in Montreal a few years ago because I had several hours before my flight. When I returned home I noticed several items were missing from my luggage. I still make use of the “secure” luggage rooms at hotels but always take a quick inventory before leaving the hotel.
-Wallet: When I’m in anyplace with a danger of pickpockets or muggers, I carry a fake wallet. This is a wallet full of expired cards and a couple of single dollar bills. My real wallet will be in an unobvious place.
-License plates: After having mine stolen once, I now attach them with extra long screws that take a long time to remove.
-Laptop: I never carry my main computer when traveling. I use an old obsolete computer for trips.
-Camera: Again, if I just want snapshots, and not art, I carry an old camera I don’t care much about.
At my hotel in Egypt (I was twenty-two, female and there alone) the safe in my room CONSTANTLY malfunctioned, meaning I had to invite Security Guard du Jour into my room and have him re-open it for me, allowing him to see everything that was in the safe (and see me, alone in the room). I asked for a new safe and they wouldn’t give me one. So, while safes OFTEN work, they don’t ALWAYS work!
I took a can of neon orange spray paint and sprayed the back side of all my suitcases with random wavy lines. With a billion black suitcases coming along the carousel, the orange paint makes it easy to know which one is mine. But please choose a different color if you do this, as orange is MY color!
@Jetgirly: LOL, I hate to say this but I stopped using orange because every time I travel there are tons of black bags with orange lines, orange X’s, etc… I’ve since switched to light purple as I’ve never seen another black bag with a purple X =)
@alysbrangwin: Terrific list. And THANK YOU for pointing out that women traveling alone have to think about these things. Drives me nuts when websites etc. run “[Country X] on 20 Euros a day!”-type features which only work if you’re willing to hitchhike everywhere.
To the posters suggesting these things are too much trouble, etc.–obviously, traveling wouldn’t be much fun if all you did was speed through whole countries with your head down at all times. The point, though, is that if you learn to make habits of a lot of these things, they’ll become second nature, so you stay safe without needing to spend all day thinking about safety. (Also, everyone’s going to have a different set of precautions that makes sense for them. Rather than a strict “no eye contact, ever” policy, for instance, I’d say the more important thing is to think about context. Making bold eye contact with strangers if you’re a solo female traveler in a very conservative country, for instance = probably a bad idea. Casual eye contact walking around central London? Not such a problem.)
I do agree 100 percent with alysbrangwin’s point about avoiding looking lost. I’d add that you’re best off trying to blend in with the locals as much as possible anyway, though of course you might naturally be limited by race, gender, and other factors beyond your control (e.g., I’m Chinese–it was much easier for me to blend in in Thailand than it was for my white, very Midwestern then-boyfriend)… Be aware of your appearance and behavior and how they might be perceived. A few years back, some friends and I visited the same city (at different times). Afterwards, my friends couldn’t stop talking about how rude all the locals had been; I, meanwhile, had invariably been treated courteously. Then it hit me that the fact that I wasn’t walking around in a pack of obviously American tourists, squawking loudly in English, might well have had something to do with that.
Last tip (don’t think anyone’s pointed this out yet)–learn about the place before you get there!! Besides helping you get more out of your trip, this will clue you in as to the level of familiarity to expect from total strangers; it will also help you avoid “Ugly American” syndrome. Things we wouldn’t even notice at home are considered insults in some places (pointing the sole of your foot at someone, for instance). Remember you’re a guest in the country you’re visiting, and behave accordingly. You don’t have to buy pricey guidebooks, either–public libraries often have very strong guidebook stocks, as do used-book shops, and of course there’s the web.
Just bring a taser…they’ll have to let you bring one on board and kill the assholes that take your precious porn collection in your carry-on.
@Trai_Dep: Recalculating…Recalculating…
For pickpockets, just put your wallet in your FRONT pocket.
Don’t worry about wiping off the round mark off your windshield – use the “bean bag” GPS stand that sits on the dash instead. Hide it under the seat when you’re done.
But be sure to hide the GPS in a body cavity, too.
Don’t just take if off and take it with you and wipe the off the round mark on your windshield. Then hide it in a body cavity before going to sleep and lock yourself in a safe, forgetting the combination. Then bury the safe far away from where you’re staying, digging an extra 10′ deep to lay a foundation of rebar-ed concrete over it. I would also highly recommend getting a pit bull and putting it in the same body cavity as the GPS for good measure, you can never be too careful.
when walking around, im a firm believer in “act like you know”. even if you arent totally sure where you are, walk with confidence to the nearest safe area. even a little bit of hesitation will raise red flags. just dont walk into a dark alley.
A lot of people have made too many great suggestions, so I won’t repeat them all.
One thing I always do is know my destination. Always. There’s the internet. Learn the flow, learn the good and bad places, learn transportation. You should always be able to trace a route to a “safe” place no matter where you are. It doesn’t need to be efficient, just reliable. If there is a good, reasonably safe public transport system, find a major hub and a line that goes near your hotel – you only need to go to the hub and from there to your place.
It’s not perfect, but it can help you be either self-sufficient or look as an unappealing mark if you have to ask directions.
@alysbrangwin: The last point (don’t look lost) is right on the money.
I’ve had the (dis)pleasure to walk through some really, really crummy areas all over the world. A straight face and a steady step have helped me more than anything else.
Blending in is the best option, always. It will save you from more trouble than anything else.
I’ve traveled a fair amount and try to balance safety with convenience. If you spend your whole trip terrified of getting your stuff stolen a or ripped off, that amounts to a terrible trip. Having said that, I do try to observe the following rules.
1. Money Belt: essential for passport, credit card, and spare cash. These are the only things you cannot lose.
2. Wallet: Always in front pocket.
3. Laptop: Unless you are traveling for business, why are you bringing it? There are internet cafes everywhere, and it’s just one more thing to lug around and worry about. If you are traveling for business, they should put you up in a hotel where it’s safe to leave it.
4. Backpack: An older worn-out backpack is less likely to get stolen. Regarding backpack locks, a pocket knife will cut through luggage just as fast as a zipper, but if it makes you feel better, go ahead and put one in.
5: Leaving stuff: don’t leave anything you can’t stand to lose at the hotel/hostel unless you’re sure it’s secure. In other words, take your digital camera and ipod with you when you go out for the day.
6: You’ll get scammed: it’s ok. You lose a few dollars. Chalk it up to experience, now you have a story for your friends back home.
7: Pack Light: If you really need something, you’ll be able to get it where you’re going. My longest lasting pair of underwear I bought at a street vendor in India for $2. Plus trying to locate ordinary stuff in other cities is a fun thing to do and a break from the tourist trap.
Happy Travels.
1. Be 6’3″ Tall and 220lbs
2. Act no different than you do at home.
If at all possible, NEVER use ATMs in unsecured public places. It’s too easy for someone to distract you, pull a bait-and-switch, and grab your money, your card, or both. Plan ahead, and only use ATMs in bank lobbies.
@QuiteSpunky: “Pack Light: If you really need something, you’ll be able to get it where you’re going. My longest lasting pair of underwear I bought at a street vendor in India for $2. Plus trying to locate ordinary stuff in other cities is a fun thing to do and a break from the tourist trap.”
One of my favorite humor books “Bad Girl’s Guide to the Open Road” suggests leaving on a trip with just the clothes on your back. Stop and buy new ones at thrift stores along the way, and discard the dirties in interesting locations. Saves hauling luggage and doing laundry!
@TheRealAbsurdist: I dunno, I’m finding these stories pretty eyebrow-raising. I’ve been to Detroit and Chicago and no one ever tried to rob me, but it sounds like you can’t set foot in Europe without being a target.
@Orv: Tourists are always targets. I.E. Times Square in NYC is a hotspot.