Has the travel bug bitten you? Are you geared up to go to exotic locations? Whether you are going to travel alone, or planning for an all-girls trip, you will need some secure travel tips while going from one place to another. Pickpocketing and thefts are quite common among travellers, and some safety precautions are required to avoid them. If you wish to know more about some travel tips to avoid pickpocketing, continue reading this blog.
Pickpocket Prevention
You might be travelling within India or somewhere abroad. Whatever place you choose to travel, there will be people around you. And if you are in a popular tourist location, there will be crowds, where pickpocketing can easily ruin your trip. So, it is always advisable to equip yourself with safe tourist practices to prevent pickpocketing and similar types of theft. Therefore, read on to find out some safety measures for crowded travel spots.
Anti-pickpocketing Ventures
Make use of the following travel security tips to protect your belongings.
1. Don’t Display Your Valuables in Front of Others
While travelling by train or bus, avoid taking your valuables like jewelry or other expensive items out of your bag. Don’t boast about these valuables or talk to people around you about them. If you do, it might encourage strangers to pickpocket those things from you.
2. Avoid Using Your Back Pockets to Keep Valuables
If you wear pants and keep stuff such as cash or debit/credit cards in your back pockets, they might easily get pickpocketed from you. So, refrain from using your back pockets as far as possible. Keep all your expensive objects in a purse or use your pants’ front pockets for carrying such things. This is one of the ways of protecting your belongings while travelling.
3. Refrain from Using Handbags with Thin Straps
If you use handbags with thin straps while you travel, thieves can easily cut those straps. This is one of the common pickpocket tricks people use in many places. So, make sure you wear a handbag with thick straps on your shoulder.
4. Make Use of Hidden Pockets
Find a way to sew some hidden pockets on the inside of your pants, churidar, or whatever you plan to wear while travelling. These pockets will be invisible and serve as the perfect place to keep your belongings safe from prying eyes. Using hidden pockets is surely one of the best travel safety tips that you can follow quite easily.
5. Refrain from Carrying Gold in Any Form
Taking gold jewellery or coins while travelling is a no-no. Even if you want to get dressed up for special occasions, carry some imitation ornaments with you. So, even if they get stolen, you will not be losing expensive things. Moreover, avoid talking about your money or belongings with strangers. This can help in travel theft prevention.
6. Don’t Wear Your Handbag at the Back
In case you are always carrying your handbag over your shoulder, don’t let it hang behind. But clutch it in the front. Always keep a watchful eye on your handbag and other valuables and ensure that they are never out of your sight. Avoid entrusting any kind of valuables to a stranger in unknown places. Even if you are spending time in the water at a beach resort, keep all your belongings in one safe place.
7. It’s Okay to Store Things in Your Bra/Blouse
You might have noticed some women keeping their expensive things inside their bras or blouses. If you feel uncomfortable doing it, it’s totally fine, and you can avoid using your inner garments to hold things. However, bras and blouses can act as some of the best anti-pickpocket gear for travelers!
8. Be Extra Cautious in High-Traffic Areas
Areas with high traffic are the perfect places for pickpocketers to operate. In such areas, you can easily get jostled about and there will be lots of distractions. Also, be extremely careful when you are taking selfies in high-traffic regions and other crowded places. While you are happily clicking away photos, anybody can steal your bag or wallet away from you! All your senses need to be alert at all times while you travel because it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
9. Beware at the ATM
ATMs are, of course, excellent places to get some fast cash, but they are also some of the favourite locations for robbers. Credit card skimming is getting more popular by the day and lots of people are losing their hard-earned money because of this con. It falls under “e-pickpocketing,” which has become rampant these days. Don’t encourage anyone who says that they will offer help by operating an ATM machine using your card. Only a very few people are genuine these days. So, avoid trusting anyone even if their intentions might be good. And, use this as one of your travel safety precautions against theft!
10. Don’t Appear Expensive!
You might be wondering what this means! By wearing branded clothes and accessories, or by flaunting outfits that look highly elegant, you may “appear” expensive to others. If you stand out from the local crowd, you become easy pickpocketing targets. We don’t mean that you shouldn’t dress well or enjoy wearing your favourite outfits, but try not to be too flashy or unique in a crowd. Pickpocketers always keep their eyes open for such easy targets, and you don’t want to appear as one of them! Blending in with the crowd goes a long way in not becoming the main target of thieves and pickpocketers.
How to Spot Pickpockets in Tourist Areas?
Spotting pickpocketers in tourist areas might be challenging. But try to look out for people who act suspiciously. You can see that pickpocketers generally watch people and their activities closely. They will study people and their behaviours. When you spot such people, move as far away from them as possible. If required, leave the area immediately.
And, there are also certain methods thieves use to distract tourists. If a stranger starts a casual conversation with you, get alert. They might be distracting you, while their accomplice might be trying some ways to steal things from you! And, don’t reveal your phone number to a person you don’t know much about because the hidden threats of exposing your phone number are many.
We have now seen some common pickpocket tricks and how to avoid them.
Travelling can be fun, but it’s imperative that you follow some safety measures wherever you go. Even the loss of a tiny object or a favourite thing of yours while travelling can spoil your holiday. We hope you find our travel tips to avoid pickpocketing useful. Utilize them the next time you travel and have fun with your all girls’ group. Travel safe and have loads of fun!!!
