November 29th, 2009 | 
Author: Whenever you travel on commercial air flights, or by trains and buses, you have to go through either an airport, train station, or bus station. This can present problems for unsuspecting travelers who are on vacations or holidays, because these are the places where pickpockets and thieves love to operate. There are many things that you can do to avoid becoming a victim when traveling on vacation and holiday, most of which are common sense. Here are some travel tips that can help.
Do not wear jewelry or an expensive looking watch as that is just an invitation to be robbed.
Wear a money belt under you shirt or blouse to help foil pickpockets or robbers. It is a good idea to put your things in a Ziploc bag and then put the bag in your money belt. The reason for this is that the money belt and the items in it will get soaked from your perspiration, especially in hot climates, and this will keep them dry. Do not open up your money belt in public to take out cash, traveler’s checks, or credit cards.
Before leaving on a vacation or holiday, it may be worth it to sew a few pockets on the inside of your slacks, skirts, or underclothing where you can hide some spare cash when you are out and about for the day. If you are carrying traveler’s checks, cash, or credit cards on your person, divide them up and put them in different pockets. That way if any pickpocket is successful, he or she won’t get everything. It also makes sense to use a safety pin to make each pocket opening smaller so that a pickpocket will have difficulty pulling anything out of your pockets without you feeling it.
When you notice a number of children gathering around you in the street and causing a commotion, you are likely being targeted by pickpockets who are using children to distract you. If a few of the locals start a shoving and yelling match near you, they might be a diversion for a pickpocket. Another distraction is to have someone fall down in front of you. When you stoop over to help them, the pickpocket goes to work. A variation involves a couple of thieves working together, one dropping some ice cream, ketchup or mustard on one of your shoulders and then distracting you by pointing to the mess and helping you to wipe it off. The other pickpocket then goes into action.
Pickpockets prefer to target men with their wallets temptingly exposed in their back pockets, as well as obese people because they are less likely to feel their pockets being picked. You must be especially vigilant in airports, bus and railroad stations and watch your luggage, camera, and laptop like a hawk as they can disappear in second. Keep in mind that pickpockets love tourists, especially when they are in large crowds.
Always be alert when you wear a backpack. A thief could slash the bottom of it, spilling the contents all over the street where he and his partners quickly grab your possessions and run away in different directions.
Usually most muggings occur at night and not in a busy, bustling area of the city. If you are held up by an armed robber, do not argue or resist. Just give them what they want and be thankful that you don’t get hurt. Whatever they take can be replaced and is not worth risking your life over.
After reading Bob Arno’s book on how people can avoid thefts, cons, and street scams, we felt that it would be a valuable book for anyone who goes on vacation, or travels for business, to also read. It is full of information and photos that show you how many scams work. There is no limit as to what criminals can think of to steal and rip-off from unsuspecting tourists.
Bob is one of the world’s foremost authorities on street crime, scams, and identity theft. If you are interested in learning more on how to protect yourself and your loved ones when on vacations and holidays as well as in your own city or town, you may want to read his book, “Travel Advisory! How to Avoid Thefts, Cons, and Street Scams While Traveling”. It may be available at your local library.
He has been interviewed on MSNBC, CNN, ABC’s 20/20, The Travel Channel, The Learning Channel, Discovery Channel, and has articles written about him in The New York Times, USA Today, National Geographic Traveler, Fortune Magazine, and Time Magazine.
His book is full of humor, true stories, as well as many photos of street scam artists and pickpockets in action. In our opinion, his book is great resource, and a must-read for anyone who would like to know how to protect themselves and their family when traveling, as well as in their own home town.
To quickly grab cheap flights and luxury cruises at really great discounts, whenever you want to enjoy a
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