Safety in busy tourist places - any tips?

[MabelMarple]

I admit I'm a bit of a country bumpkin and not used to watching out for thieves in every day life. I haven't been to London in 30 years so I'm not used to worrying about someone snatching my phone or bag.
However I'm not entirely stupid and do travel a bit. I've been to places like Barcelona and Paris where you are alert for security but mostly it's just holiday resorts.
DH had his wallet stolen last year in Mallorca. It was in a zipped pocket and we were at a festival. He realised quickly and was able to cancel his cards within 20 minutes. Nothing was taken from them but the €50 cash was lost of course.
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A friend has just been robbed in Lanzarote. Broad daylight, took her purse out of a bag.
It's so depressing to have to be on guard when on holiday.

DH has now got a body belt / bag and I've got a cross body bag with clips on the zips. I will only take a bit of cash at a time out with me and a card if planning a bigger purchase or a meal.

My main tip would be to not use a backpack. I usually take one of those small Uniqlo cross body bags.

I never said I was going to London, don't imagine I ever will.

Just regular beach holidays. I don't think I'm overthinking because we were robbed last September in a family resort.

Even more reason to not be so paranoid!

Getting a wallet out of a zipped pocket is pretty nimble. Was he drunk or pushed up against people in a crowd? I wonder if it wasn’t zipped at all?

I've a travelon bag I use for some of my city breaks. It has zips with clips making it hard to open and I can fasten it to chairs and tables. It also has some sort of anti slash material and rfid blocking stuff. Also if I'm using my phone to navigate I shove it in my bra with the volume down a bit and listen to the directions.

I always wear a wrist strap on my phone if using it for navigation etc.

Not drunk but in a crush in a big crowd at a fiesta, obviously not a good idea.

@justwantthispaintostop Not paranoid just politely asking for handy tips. I've had some very helpful suggestions though I won't be following your idea of carrying a £1500 camera on display.

I’ve been to London many times and never once worried about phone snatching.

@justwantthispaintostop my stepdaughter who lives in London has had two phones snatched, dh and I have both witnessed phones being snatched - we aren’t in London all the time or we’d probably see more.
On the Chelsea & Fulham London Nextdoor app every day there are posts about robberies, car thefts, phone thefts, burglaries.

Op when I’m in London I have my phone on a diagonal body rope as phone snatchers don’t want to pull someone over and cause an accident - they just want to grab and go. I know you’re not going to London but I guess thieves in all places feel the same.

Unfortunately phone snatching is a thing. I saw a woman get her phone taken by someone on a bike a month or so. She was at a bus stop, I was on the top deck of a bus

Out of the millions of people living there and visiting there, there are something like 60k phone thefts a year. Nobody’s going to post “I’ve been to London and not had my phone stolen” are they?

Don't walk on the outside of the pavement with a bag over your shoulder.

I was in Lanzarote and was aware of a guy on a motorbike going very slowly behind us. He drew level then zoomed off. If my bag had been on my shoulder he'd have been off with it.

I got a small crossbody bag which is slash proof and has clips over the zips- the reason is that I am disabled, and I wanted the extra reassurance because I cannot pretend to look like I confidently know where I'm going in a foreign country, because everything takes 10x extra effort for me lol, there's no way of looking confident and cool :-)

I also put my phone on a lanyard round my neck.

Well no, but if you do have your phone out facing the road on a very busy tourist thoroughfare then the odds are probably increased. So sensible not to do that

When I was backpacking I used to wear my passport and cards in a body wallet around my waist under my clothes. These days generally just use a cross body bag, have my phone down the bottom with tissues, hand sanitizer, guide book whatever on top of it and I only take a small wallet with cash and one bank card out with me, leave my main wallet at home in the UK. Also split any cash we have across myself and my husband, so neither of us have much to lose. I am genuinely a bit surprised how many people have been targeted though in benign tourist places, as we've been all over all the world and the only time we've been pickpocketed was on the metro in Naples. Also worth noting pick pockets like to create a distraction, they usually work in groups, one distracts you somehow and the other goes for your belongings.

So Far, Ive been fine in London and other large cities.
I travel to London frequently, today as well.
I always keep my bag zipped, with any side pockets facing towards me.
I usually keep my mobile in one of the zipped pockets.
Some people use a wrist 'lanyard' type thing, to make it harder for someone to steal.
Make sure you have 'situational awareness'; only use your phone when you are in a 'safe' situation, with maybe your back to a wall, so you can see if anyone is coming towards you.
Crowded underground trains when everyone is standing, can often present a cover for pickpockets, so heep your bag zipped etc. An extra protection is to use a safety pin on the zip, maing it harder for someone to slide it open.
But that said, I have not had any problems.

It has a square piece of fabric which you pop inside your phone case & the small loop pokes out of the hole in the case where you plug in your charger. The strap then clips onto that.

I couldn't recommend enough really - handy also for leaving your phone on a table but it still being attached to you or for taking pictures & avoiding dropping your phone.

Thank you. I did a bit of googling and saw how it worked. I will be ordering one.

I bought this for Rome, which has an awful pickpocket problem. It's big enough for phone, cash. passport etc and it can be tucked invisibly under clothes.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/sundee-Blocking-Passport-Adjustable-Documents/dp/B0C8YKXDX7/ref=sxbs_pa_sp_phone_search_thematic_btf_sspa?content-id=amzn1.sym.0977869a-fb46-4ec9-bf23-d1bbc1f41b8d%3Aamzn1.sym.0977869a-fb46-4ec9-bf23-d1bbc1f41b8d&crid=32TISFIZC6T1N&cv_ct_cx=passport+holder+travel+wallet&keywords=passport+holder+travel+wallet&pd_rd_i=B0C8YKXDX7&pd_rd_r=1ebb0913-5c49-409f-8faf-ae07056feb37&pd_rd_w=063jF&pd_rd_wg=r2OEu&pf_rd_p=0977869a-fb46-4ec9-bf23-d1bbc1f41b8d&pf_rd_r=AERW7TGTH5MXB9NEM0KV&qid=1772025046&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sprefix=pass%2Caps%2C280&sr=1-1-39aae669-81ac-4634-b3bb-cd94d6532c6c-spons&aref=ktQpTKIUwF&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfdGhlbWF0aWNfYnRm&psc=1

Mine was on the tram in Lisbon.

They got my phone, passport, bank cards, everything.

My mistake was to walk out of the shop then put my wallet away so they could see where it was. If you're in a shop or at the atm, put your money and wallet away so they can't see where you put it. Then leave.

You're really bizarrely worrying about this. Do you drive each day, I assume so, that is far far more dangerous that having your purse stolen on holiday. I've travelled all over the world, mostly alone, and had zero issues.

Uniqlo-style bum bag close to your body. Attach a carabiner clip to the zip and the other end to the bag strap to lock your bag:

I've been holidaying abroad (city breaks etc) for 40 years and never suffered any pick-pocketing, until Rome! I thought I was careful, purses/wallets/phone in either internal zipped pockets or an across the front body kind of shoulder bag/rucksack etc - again, in a zipped pocket within a zipped bag. I knew Rome had a reputation! I thought I was being careful. But in the underground, I ended up in a sardine-packed underground train with people squashed together - there was a "dodgy looking" guy to my right who I kept at beady eye on, but he never made any kind of move - I could see his hands. When we finally got off the train, and I came to look in my internal zipped pockets, my wallet and phone were gone (different pockets). Heaven knows how they did it, but obviously the "dodgy" guy was the decay who took my attention whilst a more normal looking "holidaymaker" type on the other side of my was doing her thing!!

You can get travel clothes specifically designed for this kind of thing. Zipped pockets that are concealed etc

When I travel into London. I always put my card. Or train ticket, in my bra.... I never get my phone out in the street. Or in the stations.

When I travel into London. I always put my bank card, travel ticket. In my bra.. I never get my phone out, in the street. Or in stations or tube.