Theft. No matter where you go on this globe, whether it’s a professional pick-pocketer in Rome, or a monkey in Thailand, there’s a chance things will get stolen. My phone was stolen Berlin, right in front of me, in a Starbucks of all places! However, that doesn’t mean living in fear. It simply means you have to take preventive measures. If you want to be prepared, then read on! If you’re that unlucky person reading this because something already got stolen, skip all this preventive stuff and skip to the bottom on what to do once it happens!
Nothing is stolen yet? Good news! You can minimize that possibility tremendously by taking a few precautions:
Have a money belt- You never think you need one until you do. Sure, it can be annoying having something extra on you under your clothes at all times, but it makes traveling, especially long-term, so much easier. Knowing that I never have to worry about someone stealing my passport, large sums of money, or my credit cards, makes me feel much more secure. Putting these items in your pockets or in purses makes them much more susceptible to theft. Nowadays there are a wide variety of styles too, from neck loops, to undershirts with zippers. My personal favorite is the spandex money belt from StashBandz. It’s perfectly secure, and not too bulky with four large pockets that I can fit my passport, phone, money, cards and more, and still have a little extra space.
Secure personal bag – It’s rather easy for thieves to slip wallets out of back pockets, phones out of unzipped purses. If it’s going to be a challenge for them to get to it, they’ll find easier targets elsewhere. Men, make sure your wallets are secure in a bag, or at very least in your front pocket. Women, I tend to bring extra secure purses with me when I travel. This one is my favorite. It has zipper pockets, and a latch, which makes it next to impossible for someone to get inside without me noticing. In general, it’s always good to have the strap across your body, that way no one can grab it and run. I make a habit to always keep one hand on my purse at all times, as an extra layer of security.
Don’t leave things out in the open – This seems obvious, but it’s easy to get lulled into a false sense of security. I was at a Starbucks, plenty of people had their laptops out and working. I had my phone next to my laptop on the table, falsely thinking I was in a safe environment. That bubble was popped very quickly once someone started talking to me, and distracted I didn’t notice someone taking my phone and running until a minute later. Make sure your purses are wrapped around your leg or on your lap, and please make sure if you’re not using your phone, it is tucked away somewhere safe.
Carry a small amount of cash separately – I learned this trick from a friend, and it’s such a simple, but extremely helpful tip. You have a cheap wallet where you put one day’s worth of money, and your coins in. This makes your money much more accessible, and it doesn’t look like you have hundreds of euros, or dollars on you. It allows you to keep your money belt concealed as well since you’re not reaching into it constantly. Worst case scenario, if you get robbed at knife-point or gun-point, and the robber demands your wallet, you can hand them the cheap one that has a minimal amount of money in it and they’ll never know otherwise. Small loss, and you’re safe.
It’s too late! What now?
If you’ve had something stolen, I’m sorry. Getting your personal belongings stolen is extremely infuriating. I know when I got my phone stolen in Berlin so many emotions welled up inside me. Anger, grief, confusion, fear, loss and panic swept over me wave after wave, leaving me frozen. My immediate reaction was to run outside and frantically see if I could find the thief. However, this is typically a complete waste of time as these professionals will be long gone, and will have already slipped your phone, wallet, purse or whatever valuables into another bag so they’re non-recognizable.
Don’t panic. I know this is way easier said than done, but instead of mourning the loss of your items and wasting your time, take action. First, make sure that your stolen property does not give them access to any other personal information. If the thief took your credit cards, cancel them immediately. If the thief took your phone, hopefully you’ll be able to use a friend’s to call your service provider and get your number frozen. If not, then go to the nearest hotel or hostel and use their phone, or if necessary, a pay phone. If for whatever reason you’re having difficulty making international calls, utilize Facebook to contact a family member or friend back home and (nicely) force them to make the calls for you. If you had banking apps on your phone with the username and passwords saved, change your passwords to ensure they do not have access. Insurance is your friend, luckily, I had insurance on my phone, so I was able to get a replacement. For most people, I would say to just get a phone once you’re back in your home country, but if you’re traveling long-term, it leaves you in a sticky situation of either buying a foreign phone abroad, getting a new data plan and then unlocking it once you get home, or having a phone from your home country shipped to you. I opted for the latter, thinking it would be much easier being able to maintain the same coverage and international plan. I got my replacement phone shipped to Prague (Thanks Mom!), so that I would be able to continue my travels and pick it up along the way. However, sometimes things don’t go according to plan, like when Prague customs seized my phone for two weeks. A eight hour detour from Munich to Prague to Vienna allowed me to finally get my phone, in the end it all worked out eventually.
If the thief took your passport, look up the closest embassy near you and get there as soon as you can so your emergency temporary passport can be processed. My boyfriend needed a new passport, and he was able to get his new one the same day. It helps to fill out the new passport forms beforehand (you can find them online), and to get passport photos taken before going to the embassy. The unknown is the scariest thing, but taking immediate action allows you to have a plan. It’s going to be stressful, but once everything is smoothed over, take a deep breath. These are all just material items, as long as you’re okay then that’s what matters. Don’t let this completely derail your trip, there’s still opportunity to enjoy the remainder of your vacation!
Stay safe!
Lexi
