When using your phone at a crowded café, don't place it on the bar: Put it in your front pocket (then return it to a safer place before you leave). Never set down valuable items - such as a camera, phone, wallet, or rail pass - on a train seat or restaurant table, where they are easy to swipe. The point isn't to make your bag impenetrable, but harder to get into than the next guy's. Most zippers are lockable, and even a twist-tie, paper clip, or key ring is helpful to keep your bag zipped up tight. If you plan to sleep on a train (or anywhere in public), clip or fasten your pack or suitcase to the seat, luggage rack, or yourself. If you're sitting down to eat or rest, loop your daypack strap around your arm, leg, or chair leg. Thieves want to quickly separate you from your valuables, so even a minor obstacle can be an effective deterrent. Secure your bag, gadgets, and other valuables when you're out and about. You can also leave your room key at the front desk of many hotels while you're off exploring, so it's less likely to get lost or stolen. That said, don't tempt sticky-fingered staff by leaving a camera or tablet in plain view tuck your enticing things well out of sight. (Some travelers leave their passports secured in the room safe while out for the day.) Theft from hotel rooms happens, of course, but it's relatively rare - hoteliers are quick to squelch a pattern of theft. While hotels often have safes in the room (or at the front desk), I've never bothered to use one, though many find them a source of great comfort. Expensive gear, such as your laptop, is much safer in your room than with you in a day bag on the streets. I never travel without one - it's where I put anything I really, really don't want to lose. A money belt is a small, zippered fabric pouch on an elastic strap that fastens around your waist, under your pants or skirt.
#Shoulder of artful dodging how to#
If you don't know how to sync your stuff to the cloud, learn before your trip. While traveling, use the Wi-Fi at your hotel to back up your phone and its photos each night.
#Shoulder of artful dodging password#
It's smart to take extra precautions before your trip: Make sure you've got a "find my phone"-type app, back up your data, and enable password protection. If your phone disappears, you're not just out the cost of the device - but also the photos and personal data stored on it. They'll choose the most impressive suitcase in the pile - never mine. Consider getting theft insurance for expensive electronics. Make copies and/or take photos of key documents, and store them online. Before you go, take steps to minimize your potential loss. Here's some advice given to me by a thief who won the lotto.īe prepared. Don't travel fearfully - travel carefully. If you exercise adequate discretion, stay aware of your belongings, and avoid putting yourself into risky situations (such as unlit, deserted areas at night), your travels should be about as dangerous as hometown grocery shopping. Not one of my hotel rooms has ever been rifled through, and I simply don't let thoughts of petty crime - or the rare instance of it - spoil the fun of being abroad.
My various rental cars have been broken into a total of six times (broken locks, shattered windows, lots of nonessential stuff taken), and one car was hot-wired (and abandoned a few blocks away after the thief found nothing to take). (Don't look at me.) But in more than 4,000 days of travel, I've been pickpocketed just once (on the Paris Metro, on a rare day I wasn't wearing my money belt) and mugged a single time (in a part of London where only fools and thieves tread). One summer, four out of five of my traveling companions lost cameras in one way or another. If you're not constantly on guard, you'll have something stolen. If I were a European street thief, I'd specialize in Americans - my card would say "Yanks R Us." Loaded down with valuables, jetlagged, and bumbling around in a strange new environment, we stick out like jeweled thumbs.
We're the ones with all the good stuff in our bags and wallets. Thieves target vacationers - not because they're mean, but because they're smart. While Europe has little violent crime, it does have its share of petty purse snatching, pickpocketing, phone grabbing, and general ripping off of tourists - especially in places where tourists gather.
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