jerseymike

It's not just abroad. It happens in New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, LA, and New Mexico and hundreds of other cities in the US.

Nancysc

I carry money, passport, and credit/atm cards in an inside, zippered pocket of a jacket or vest. When I leave the hotel room, I put any thing of value inside a suitcase and lock it. Thieves want to grab and leave, they don't want to spend time cutting open a suitcase. When I'm out sightseeing and taking pictures, I keep a hand on my camera which is on a thick strap around my neck or over a shoulder. You can't get so involved in shooting that you fail to monitor your surroundings. Ladies, don't ever leave your handbag hooked onto the back of your chair in a restaurant. Gents, don't put your wallet in your back hip pocket! Simple precautions. I have traveled in India, Kenya, Egypt, and Morocco, in addition to places in Europe. I lost $500 in cash b/c I failed to lock my suitcase. Had my bag snatched from my chair. Be warned. Thieves want cash more than anything else; more than cameras or credit cards.

jerseymike

"Thieves want cash more than anything else; more than cameras or credit cards."
That becomes cash when they steal and sell your camera and lens and use your cards to buy stuff they use or sell.

Cookie223 Loc: New Jersey

The biggest problem today, besides the criminal element, are people who are so self absorbed with texting, and not paying attention to their surroundings, that they attract the unwanted attention of those that prey on them.

I never carry a wallet, just some cash, my DL, and one credit card. Each in a separate pocket.

ltatko

Oh Boy!!

Breaking out in sweat as I read.

Makes me not want to travel!!

But, thanks for all the good ideas/tips/warnings!!

LenT

dave.m

On a package tour to Galapagos which included a stop in Columbia, 2 in our group were surrounded by a gang in broad daylight in the main public square and robbed of cameras, jewelry and wallets. No wired strap would prevent that type of threatening assault.

Best advice (after the event!) when in doubt keep clear, if you want to go there don't carry anything visibly ostentatious, carry enough cash in small denominations so they take it and run, carry an emergency credit card/cash in your sock (around your ankle.)

Make sure your insurance is up to date, and never fight back as virtually everything you carry can be replaced.

Picking up on a previous point, don't use ATMs in public places. We are experienced travelers and on a trip to Paris my wife and I got local cash from an ATM in Gard Du Nor station having just got of Eurostar from London. Got the cash, then went down an escalator to the underground. A gang of kids came running and yelling down the escalator so I stood behind my wife to protect her while they stormed past. Didn't feel anything but just glanced down and saw a pair of fingers lifting my wallet out of a velcro shut side pocket. Just in time - so grabbed the hand, and started calling for the police. So did he!! Neat trick. Try explaining to a police officer without speaking the local language, what has happened. When a number of French adults converged on us I let him go - for all I know he could be screaming I grabbed him!

I now only carry 1 pre-pay debit card, and some cash. No Jewelry except a cheap watch, sufficient camera equipment for the time I'm out. If I doubt the security of the location I take only a an EOS 100 camera which just about fits in a jacket large pocket. If threatened would just hand over the lot.

Again, picking up on another previous point, my wife and I have been fortunate to travel widely over the last 45 years, and have been directly or indirectly involved in just 2 incidents.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

The best defense, no matter where you are, is situational awareness. Learning to be aware of what is going on around you not only helps you see something coming, but actually helps to keep you from being a target. When you are aware of what is going on, you behave differently. Thieves are always aware and they will see that you are and move on to an easier target.

Stephan G

This points to a very serious consideration. It is knowing and accepting when to surrender the material goods. At this comes the How-to mitigate the losses. As always, one's life is the last thing to give up. It is the one commodity that cannot be replaced. This is a truth that is global.

Sometimes when people go outside their neighborhood, they forget to take the same steps for personal safety when in a different locale.

I feel sad for your friend and the family. There is no solace knowing that it can happen anywhere.

Dossile

Rick Steve’s, the travel guru, has an excellent site dedicated to avoiding scams and keeping yourself and your gear safe. I still read it yearly. However, Rick Steve’s, the master himself, got careless last year for a moment and got pick pocketed for the first time. Slowing down and maintaining simple precautions is the best protection. This is especially true when jet leg plays into the equation. Going from the airport to the hotel by public transportation is my most vulnerable time.

In the US I worry about bad neighborhoods, grab and go, and armed robbery. In Europe and Asia, I worry about pick pockets, grab and go, and diversionary scams. In both, I worry about a parked car with gear.

After decades of foreign and domestic travel, I have my own precautions. First, we travel light and only take carry on luggage and a pack. I split my valuables up. I use a neck wallet, front pocket wallet and a money clip. Both wallets are RFID: everything has a chip now and small card readers are the best pickpockets. The RFID neck wallet contains our passports, extra cash, an extra Visa credit card and an extra debit card for an ATM. It goes in a safe, preferably at the front desk of the hotel, when I hit a destination. Hotel room safes are no match for a good thief. On my person, I carry a drivers license, a debit card, a business Visa credit card, a personal AMEX and Visa card, all in a small RFID credit card wallet in a zippered front pocket. I carry around $100 or equivalent currency in a magnetic money clip in my other front pocket. If they are going to steal something, let it be the cash. If I am in a third world country without a safe, the neck wallet stays on me and my camera always travels with me, even to nice restaurants. Everything else, especially chargers and cords, gets locked in the suitcase or a Pacsafe travel safe with a padlock.

The goal in travel is to make the thief look elsewhere for a victim. My camera has various homes depending on the type of travel. I leave my DSLR home and take my Panasonic 4/3 gear more often to Europe now in a Pacsafe bag and Pacsafe strap. I carry gear cross body. Quickly stealing my gear with Pacsafe products in play is unlikely and I count on thieves looking elsewhere. I use a Lowepro pack when I do take my DSLR. It has a cover flap so a thief would have to open two compartments to get the camera. I also put a carabiner from the inside of the bag to the camera strap so that if someone slashed or got the pack open they still can’t grab the camera. Maybe that one is silly. I also have an Osprey 32 L pack that has two compartments, upper and lower. I put in an insert for the camera in the upper compartment. A thief can’t slash the bottom and grab because the camera is in the upper compartment and can’t fall down. When I buy gear for travel, I buy it with thieves in mind. Despite the precautions, getting out the gear quickly for photo opportunities is pretty easy.

I haven’t lost or had anything of value stolen yet after years of travel. It will happen. When it does, hopefully no one will get hurt. The gear, money, credit cards, passports, and phones can all be replaced. We will still be in a great location doing fun things, so hopefully I won’t let the hassle factor of replacing things weigh me down too much.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

I went on a Danube River cruise in August 2017 and also did almost three weeks in Italy, Greece, Croatia and a few others in 2006. Absolutely no issues that were even remotely threatening. I do understand others may have had less favorable experiences. As a matter of fact, I accidently left my iPhone in a restaurant. I returned hours later. My phone had been picked up by a customer and handed to the staff. If I had serious doubts for my safety or the safety of my equipment, I would elect to not go on the trip. All my equipment is insured. That gives me comfort about impending doom.
Mark

Stephan G

Thank you for sharing. Good tips.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Fear is only as deep as the mind allows.

47greyfox Loc: on the edge of the Colorado front range

Not a surprise, since Canon never made a D5.

Jimmy T Loc: Virginia

While situational awareness is the best tip overall tip, remember to take only a small amount of (local) cash with you for each day leaving the rest in a safe because your credit card with a chip is "mostly safe" and welcome throughout Europe as it is here in the US.
Something REALLY Important is to ALWAYS take enough small (local) change to use for restroom breaks!
Smile,
JimmyT Sends

Stephan G

Very good advice. Can even be applied to defensive driving.