How to Avoid Theft

Random, violent crime rates, although increasing, are still much lower in Europe than in the United States. Murder is rare. On the whole, Europe’s big cities are safer than U.S. cities. Therefore, the two biggest things you need to worry about are pickpockets and the crazy traffic.

Stay safe by sticking to populated streets after dark, and know the locations of bad neighborhoods.

Usually, if your wallet is missing and you didn’t leave it in a restaurant or hotel, it’s gone for good. If you keep all your important stuff in your money belt, all you’ve lost is a day’s spending money (and a wallet).

Make two copies each of your itinerary, your plane tickets, and your vital information, including the information page of your passport, your driver’s license, and your student or teacher’s identity card. Also, include your traveler’s check numbers, your credit-card numbers (write the numbers backward to “code” them), and the phone numbers for the issuers of your bank cards, credit cards, and traveler’s checks. (If you lose any of these items on the road, call those numbers collect to report your loss immediately.) Leave one copy of each of these items with a friend at home and carry the second copy with you in a safe place (separate from the originals) while you travel.

Example #1: The scam artist

Each con artist uses his own specific tactics to rip you off. What follows are some of the most common swindles:

- In countries that count pocket change in increments of hundreds (not so much of a concern since the introduction of the euro), watch out for dishonest types who confuse new arrivals with all those zeros. For example, some people will give you change for 1,000,000 Turkish lire when you paid with a 10,000,000 bill, unless you catch them. Until you’re used to the money system, examine each bill carefully before you hand it over and make sure you show the receiver that you know what you’re doing.

- Waiters sometimes add unordered items to your tab, “double” the tax (allocating 15 percent for the state and 15 percent for the waiter), or simply shortchange you.

- A stranger may offer to help you exchange money, befriend you, and walk off with your wallet after hugging you good-bye. Decline any stranger’s offer for assistance and continue on your way.

- Hotels may sneak in minibar, phone, or other charges. So, if your bill is any higher than the rate (plus tax) you agreed upon times the nights that you stayed, ask a manager to explain your bill.

- Hotels charge obscenely high telephone rates, with markups anywhere from 150 to 400 percent — especially on long-distance calls, and their scam is perfectly legal. In fact, hotels often charge you for the free local call to your calling-card company! Do your wallet a favor and pretend that the hotel phone doesn’t exist. Use pay phones or the post office instead.

- If your escort on a guided bus tour recommends a shop for buying local crafts or souvenirs, she may be getting a kickback from that store. In return, the store charges heavily inflated prices for items. (In defense of tour guides, however, this kickback system is one of the only ways they can make a living, because they’re notoriously underpaid — in part because companies unofficially expect them to take advantage of this option as an unlisted perk.

Example #2: The pickpocket

Pickpockets target tourists, especially Americans. Pickpockets know that the United States is a wealthy country and that American tourists often carry lots of money and decent cameras. Make sure you’re especially careful in crowded areas (buses, subways, train stations, and street markets) as well as most touristy areas (the Eiffel Tower, the Colosseum, and so on). Don’t tempt thieves. Leave your jewelry at home and don’t flaunt your wallet or valuables. Follow these tips to theft-proof yourself:

- Keep all valuables (plane tickets, rail passes, traveler’s checks, passport, credit cards, driver’s license, and so on) in your money belt and wear it at all times. Keep only a day’s spending money in your wallet.

- Carry your wallet in a secure place, such as a back pocket that buttons or in the front pocket of your jeans. When riding buses, casually keep one hand in your front pocket with your wallet.

- Don’t hang your purse strap off one shoulder where a thief can easily grab it. Instead, hang your purse across your chest. If your purse has a flap, keep the flap and latch side against your body, not facing out where nimble fingers have easy access. When on the sidewalk, walk against the wall instead of close to the curb, and keep your purse toward the wall. Also, beware of thieves who zip up on their scooters and snatch away purses.

- Don’t leave your camera bouncing around on your belly when you aren’t using it. Instead, stow your camera in a plain bag (a camera bag announces “steal my camera” to thieves).

- Travel in a trench coat (good for warmth, rain, a makeshift blanket, and fitting into European crowds). You can fit all your valuables inside your coat or pants pockets, and with the trench coat wrapped around you, you can feel pickpocket-proof. Remember: Always button up your coat before stepping on a bus, metro, or train.