Wallet Trick To PROTECT Against Pickpockets And Muggers!

An old travel trick comes in handy.

Music by:
AGST
Aiyo
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[roberthalverson]

Great tips. I've been to 110 countries and have never been mugged because I follow these additional tips: The important thing wherever you go (whether when it's traveling or near your home) is 1. keep your head up and ears open to be aware of your surroundings, to avoid danger. Walking with your head down looking at your smartphone or with ear buds in make you a perfect target. Keep your head on a swivel and make note of odd people. 2. If you are on public transportation and someone suspicious gets on, get off even if it's not your stop. You may have to wait 20 minutes for the next train or bus, but your life is worth it. 3. wear money belt inside your pants to put cash and ID into. 4. I wear cargo pants or shorts all the time (I don't care about fashion trends). I carry my phone and wallet in the leg pockets, so I can keep my hands over them in crowded areas. I also put my wallet in a zippered pocket and make sure I put my hand over that pocket first. I also wear a money belt when I travel and have to have back-up cash. I carry a photocopy of my passport in my wallet. I carry a second credit card, my passport, and extra cash in the hotel room safe. I have a photocopy of all my ID and credit cards (front and back) and the phone number of the credit card company in the safe too, in case I have to report anything stolen. Plan ahead, think what you would need if you would ever have to report something stolen, and what you need on hand to do that. Lastly, at an ATM try to go to one inside a building where there are lots of people around. Don't use one outside at night. Look around at who's around you. If you are with someone, have them watch what's behind you, as you use the ATM. Thieves are usually deterred by being seen and someone focusing on them. Put your cash into a money belt inside your pants as soon as possible, and then put what you don't immediately need into your hotel safe.

[bfred]

While in Paris we had to walk around two men who were standing halfway up the stairway at a Metro stop. As we passed them, I felt a tap on my back pocket but I assumed it was just my swinging backpack strap hitting me as it often did. Found out later my wallet was gone. But they had taken my dummy wallet with blank paper in it and not my real wallet which was still zipped up in a front pocket.

Someone had suggested the dummy wallet thing to me with the theory that give them something easy to take and they won't go any further. Didn't think it would actually happen.

[randyrainbow]

When my step father travelled in Italy, he always wore a set of Tilly pants which my mother had tricked out by sewing the outer opening on one side closed and made that pocket accessible from the inside only. That is where he kept his money and credit cards. She use to joke that if thieves ever got his money, she would want to know why he was not wearing his pants at the time of the robbery. HaHaHa!!!! He carried a decoy wallet in the other pocket so if it was necessary to give up something, the thieves got nothing of value.
These are all great tips for travelers. Thanks for posting this.

[thehun]

I have been using my front pockets ever since I started travelling over 60 years ago. Never been successfully pickpocketed, but in Paris they tried it twice. The first time they tried my back pocket and the only thing they found was some dirty tissues. The second time a gipsy girl blatantly tried to put her hand into my front pocket on the metro. By then I "modified" my travelling pants, put some velcro strips on all the pockets. This way I have to force it open to access it and it is much harder for a pickpocket to slide her hand into it.

[generator]

We spent five weeks in Europe and never lost a Euro!
I had a money belt. I had a stout nylon pouch on my belt with a strong rubber band around it. I had money under my insoles.
Never flash money in public.
Sit quietly in a street restaurant or rest area and WATCH the street. Watch people. The pickpockets stick out like sore thumbs!
Use your head. Common sense always.

[fxfyftx]

Be Alert. This has saved my life several times. I am a middle aged white female. When I went by myself to a Miami restaurant for a late dinner, I noticed a thin young man who looked at me briefly and stepped behind a thick column on the sidewalk. After dinner, waited a few minutes, looking out the window. Sure enough, I saw a shadow move behind the post. So I explained the situation to the manager and asked him to accompany me to my car. He said, "you go out the door, I will be ten steps behind you." As soon as I stepped outside, the young man made his move to follow. The manager and two employees tackled him and kept him on the ground until police arrived. I travel a lot, but this happened in my town, Miami.

[Cindymeetsworld]

When in Madrid, two women followed me from the ATM. I kept feeling that they were in my space, too close. One had an open map which she was “looking at” over my backpack and the other had unzipped the pack. Lucky I felt the tug and turned around. They took off running, empty handed, but we gave chase and cornered them in the middle of the street yelling “thieves.” A crowd circled them all yelling “thieves.” They were on their knees scared and caught. Satisfying.

[kevinquinn]

For guys who are used to carrying a wallet in their back pocket on their home turf, simply carrying it in the front pocket doesn't work so well because of three factors:

1: When you actually do use your wallet, you are likely to slip it into your back pocket without thinking by force of habit.

2: You will inevitably have that reflexive "Where's my wallet!" panic that occurs when you suddenly realize your wallet is not in your back pocket. (You are probably going to experience this multiple times if you are used to keeping it there.)

3. In a pickpocket-rich environment, (such as in many European cities, ) thieves are hip to this trick, and you are vulnerable to losing your wallet anyway. The absence of one in your back pocket will not convince them that you don't have one, and they are PRACTICED at grabbing them from the front OR back pocket while their buddy is bumping into you, then handing it off to a third person who disappears in the crowd.

My solution is to carry a throwaway wallet in my back pocket with enough money in small bills to be believable as my real wallet. I even pull it out and use it to pay for most purchases. (It can be replenished from your main store of cash as needed. You can think of its contents as a per diem.)
In short, an amount you can afford to lose in exchange for the security of your main stash of money, etc.) It also contains a used up Walmart gift card or two and a reloadable FedEx Kinko's card to make it present like an actually used wallet.

Passport, credit cards and such can be carried under the clothing in a money belt or similar device as mentioned in the video, along with your main supply of traveling cash.

I keep my main supply of traveling cash divided up in two separate places, (so that means three places in all.)

Also keep your driver's license and a photocopy of your passport in a separate place from where you keep your passport.

None of these things should be in your throwaway wallet, just expendable cash.

Once you have made these provisions, enjoy your trip and don't worry about it. You don't have to overthink it once you have taken precautions.

I have been in pickpocket prone areas in Europe and have been aware of being sized up many times, but have never been pickpocketed.

If you present as street-wise and self-confident, they will see you as a hard target, and will look for easier pickings most of the time.

Worth saying though that a great degree of that self-confidence comes from knowing that I have already taken countermeasures against them.

Hope this helps, Y'all!
Happy Travels Everyone!

[prairiemakeup]

My Dad always wrapped an elastic band around his wallet, that way he’d feel it if it was being stolen. The elastic band would tug at the fabric of his pocket.

[inquisitvem]

I always have Kleenex in my back pocket with some snot in it for the pick pocketers.

[kpgbhsq]

I'll never forget my parents took us to Disneyland a long time ago, this mother had her child reach into my dads back pocket to steal his wallet. My dad took the childs hand while turning and the mother apologized, saying her child is special needs🤷🏻‍♀️

[lilitheden]

I sew an extra pocket with zipper on the inside of my jeans and skirts and that's where extra money and cards go. Only problem is I have to go to the bathroom somewhere if I need those things.

[alyssapowell]

Expired/used gift cards are a great thing to put in a decoy wallet. They don't include any credit card numbers or names, but can look like they have value. I also use my decoy wallet when I'm in a city with high risk of pick pockets and put a small amount of cash in there to pay for something small like a coffee, soda or a bus ticket. That way my real wallet stays secure and I'm not pulling it out for a small purchase.

[simonledoux]

Most of these tips I have heard of but one new take away was the separating your bills to avoid taking out a wad of cash, is a new one. Actually, there is another; designating which pocket you place your valuables. This way you avoid panicking and fumbling for whatever you are looking for. You know exactly it's where it should be. Admittedly, I just put whatever in either front pocket, never the back. I have two pairs of pickpocket-proof pants with secret pockets. The brand is Clothing arts. They are a bit pricey but worth this.

[johnclark]

Do not trust hotel safes - rather use hard shell lockable luggage as your safe. I carry a sling bag w zippered compartments across my chest for easy access yet secure location that can be carried under a buttoned shirt or jacket for concealment. Also a decoy wallet w a small amount of money and expired cards. The small bills can still be used for small purchases w/o exposing your main wallet. If not kept in a sling bag, I keep valuables in a waterproof waist pouch under my pants waste. Also keep several copies of important ph numbers, DL, itineraries, tickets on paper in separate locations and pockets. Redundancy is a safeguard.

[jd]

As for keeping wallet ONLY in a front pocket, I can say that my wallet in my FRONT POCKET was stolen twice in Paris and once in Milan. In each case, I would have been protected against the theft if I had followed my own advice of keeping either a wadded up plastic bag or a water bottle in the pocket on top of my wallet. Nobody's hand is going to be able to get beyond a water bottle or plastic bag to dig out a wallet.

[PaulaZF]

Learn to stay calm. I just do that naturally. But you can learn to meditate. If you are someone who freaks out at the smallest thing practice not freaking out. What’s the worst that can happen? Practice thinking what are the worse things that can happen, logically. Think of scenarios ahead of time.
When you become a parent, most people realize they are not the most important person in the room. They start planning for situations-baby’s diaper could leak, need new set of clothes and extra diapers. That’s how to be when traveling.
If you are the person who always loses things or leaves stuff behind, get organized. Plan what you’re going to take with you. Take things that can do double duty. Instead of a lipstick and a chapstick, take a colored moisturizer.
Narrow it down to those things and make a list. Always take those things with you and take them when you leave to come back. Take the list too. Do the same with the things you carry.
Always be prepared. Get there on time. Make a schedule. Instead of standing right in front of a crowd, stand to the side so you can watch people. Keep your eyes open. Don’t be paranoid, it’s just good practice.
Be nice to everyone. You never know when that person will help you out!
Have fun!

[achevres]

Good tips. For things like the passport and main credit card I think the easiest is to have a money belt or similar item hidden inside your clothes. Trying to remember which pocket may be hard in the moment, even with practice.

[StrBidness]

When I travel to more sketchy places I have a "Throw down" wallet that's got fake money, cards and even an ID of a guy who looks like me in it. I have a little cash in it but the bulk of my cash is in a hida belt, on my waist. If I need more money, I just go to the bathroom and take out what I need for the upcoming transaction and put it in the throw down wallet. I had about a hundred dollars worth of Pesos one time in Mexico and got robbed by the local police. Yes you read that right. I got robbed by the local police. I gave them the pesos and told them I had no more. They then released me with the nearly 600 dollars cash in my hida belt.

[jeffrey]

I'm not too concerned about being pickpocketed where I live and I'm fairly cautious about what's going on around me at all times. I'm surprised more people don't know about keeping your wallet in the front pocket. Not only is it safer you can injure your back by sitting on your wallet for a prolonged period of time. But I've been a little concerned about pulling out cash and the idea of folding the cash into smaller stacks is brilliant. I didn't think I would learn anything from this video, but I sure did so thank you!