Take the Target off your Back: Protecting Yourself from Pickpockets

October 7th, 2014  |  Insurance

When travelling to unfamiliar areas, one of the first pieces of advice you will read about is to quickly familiarize yourself with your surroundings. Reducing risk when travelling is an essential way to stay safe and ensure you trip goes smoothly. 

One of the great things about the internet is that you can learn so much more about anywhere in the world before you even step foot in another country. The more you know, the better you will be able to assimilate and blend into the crowd. And, the more you blend into the crowd, the less likely you will be a target for pickpockets and thieves looking to take advantage of unsuspecting travellers and tourists.

Rule Number 1 - Don’t make yourself an obvious target

Don’t be that person wearing the Canada t-shirt, looking at a map, with their wallet sticking out of their back pocket. You are just asking to be a target for thieves – and they are looking for you! 

While most assume that pickpockets are confined to specific countries or regions, they are everywhere – even here is Canada and they can strike anytime. 

Therefore, protecting yourself from pickpockets is applicable to everyone, and not just people planning to travel to new tourist destinations. 

3 critical things that you need to protect 

There are three main things that you need to protect:

1. your personal safety
2. your identification
3. money and credit cards

Your safety when travelling is always the most important. However, losing your personal identification such as your driver’s license and passport, as well as your money, can put you in a very compromising situation as well. 

10 Tips for Protecting yourself from Pickpockets

The key to protecting yourself from pickpockets and thieves when traveling is knowing what they are looking for and reducing the odds of you becoming a target. 

Here are a number of important tips to protect yourself from pickpockets:

1. Leave the Rolex at home – Pickpockets are always looking for people wearing expensive jewelry
2. Always be conscious of your surroundings
3. Use you common sense and avoid drawing attention to yourself
4. Keep in mind that you can be a victim almost anywhere – airports, taxis, resorts, shopping centers, and anywhere else you visit
5. Only carry what you need with you – leave your passport and other unnecessary items in the lock box in your hotel room. 
6. Ignore people that try to approach you on the street – You never know what their intentions may be
7. Avoid travelling in high risk areas, especially at night or when alone
8. Keep all bags, luggage, and purses zipped up at all times
9. Avoid taking any item with you that you are not prepared to lose
10. Read up about common scams thieves use in the areas where you will be travelling

Always err on the side of caution when travelling. This will help to make you less of a target for thieves and it ensures that your trip will go off without a hitch. 

Learn More:6 Exotic Travel Safety Tips To Keep You Safe When Travelling Abroad