How do you guard against pickpocketing in crowded places?

[Winston]

I have a question and concern.

Suppose you are in a crowded place in a foreign country where lots of people are near you in public, such as a subway or elevator. At that point, it becomes easy for pickpocketers to snatch your wallet or cell phone out of your front pocket, if they are skilled enough and get close enough to you, or if you are distracted by all the pushing and shoving.

I'd hate to have something expensive like a smart phone in my front pocket that can be snatched during the pushing and shoving on a subway or elevator. I'm sure pickpocketers lurk in those areas to find distracted vulnerable targets.

How do you guard against that?

Any suggestions or tips?

How do people in China guard against that?

[davewe]

I have a question and concern.

Suppose you are in a crowded place in a foreign country where lots of people are near you in public, such as a subway or elevator. At that point, it becomes easy for pickpocketers to snatch your wallet or cell phone out of your front pocket, if they are skilled enough and get close enough to you, or if you are distracted by all the pushing and shoving.

I'd hate to have something expensive like a smart phone in my front pocket that can be snatched during the pushing and shoving on a subway or elevator. I'm sure pickpocketers lurk in those areas to find distracted vulnerable targets.

How do you guard against that?

Any suggestions or tips?

How do people in China guard against that?

When I travel, I use a Pacsafe travel wallet. It has a chain but not too intrusive. It's a nice tri fold wallet for a decent price. I dont use it at home but I probably should.

[Falcon]

(1) Put your hands in your pocket(s) where you have your wallet and phone.
(2) Use a money belt

[Andrewww]

If they don't see your smartphone they won't try to steal it. I only use it when it's safe like a restaurant or cafe.

[Winston]

Hey that Pacsafe travel wallet is a great idea. I didn't know such a thing existed. Wow. That would be great for traveling in third world countries.

[davewe]

Hey that Pacsafe travel wallet is a great idea. I didn't know such a thing existed. Wow. That would be great for traveling in third world countries.

Yeah, I've taken mine a bunch of places. I also have a money belt and stuff some money in there just in case. IOW, I split my money/credit/debit cards into two or sometimes three places. That way in case I am robbed I am not completely out of luck.

I've never had a problem but all it takes is one time to ruin a trip, so I try to be prepared. Better that than to walk around like like a victim.

[colibri]

XD

-i wear a baggy hoddie ,and never showup my phone,wallet ovaluable items (at least wheni travel in the metro) y dont travel with purse .

-i never put my whole money in one place, i rather saving it separtly in pockets , shirt pockets etc .

[Winston]

If they don't see your smartphone they won't try to steal it. I only use it when it's safe like a restaurant or cafe.

Well if they see a rectangle shape in your front pocket, they will assume that it's a smart phone, esp if you're a foreigner. Come on now. They aren't that stupid. These pickpocketers are very calculating.

[Winston]

Question: Couldn't a pickpocket simply take out this chained wallet, open it and remove the contents while it's still attached to the chain, unnoticed?

I found some cheaper ones on Ebay by entering "chained wallet".

[C.J.]

How would locals protect against pickpockets?

They either DON'T show off their valuables in public with trouser bulges, leave their stuff in a safe place like at home if they don't really need it, or they simply avoid areas where pickpockets lurk.

[Voice of Reason]

I wear baggy pants, and inside one of the pockets is a zip pocket. I put most of my money and my credit card inside the zipped pocket, and have my wallet with only a little bit of money in the normal pocket. So if someone picks my pocket, all the get is the wallet. It serves as a "dummy wallet".

I never carried a phone.

But the main thing is to be VIGILANT. Whenever you are around a large group, put your hands over the top of your pockets so they can't be picked.

[davewe]

Question: Couldn't a pickpocket simply take out this chained wallet, open it and remove the contents while it's still attached to the chain, unnoticed?

I found some cheaper ones on Ebay by entering "chained wallet".

Well anything's possible - hell they could cut the chain with a chain cutter - but it would be hard. The Pacsafe is a velcroed tryfold, so the thief would have to be David Copperfield or something to get to your stuff.

And yes there are definitely cheaper wallets out there than the Pacsafe but that one was pretty well reviewed for its purpose so the extra few bucks is worth it to me.

[Winston]

I just got a Pacsafe wallet on Ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... _500wt_922

[Winston]

Here's a great and secure travel shoulder bag I found on Ebay that has several layers of protection and straps to guard against pickpocketing. It also has inner pockets for credit cards, passports and cell phones, as you can see in the image below, which will help free up your pockets as well.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Military-Travel ... 0753849571

[kai1275]

Looks like a murse for a tough guy.....