Sadly pick pockets operate in almost all of our towns and cities, no matter where you stay you are at risk of someone stealing the possessions you worked hard to get. These people highlight the negatives to carrying a wallet on your person. As soon as they know where on your body its located it doesn’t take long for them to get a hold of it, and without you noticing. When they have it, they have everything, any money you are carrying, your credit or bank cards, even your Social or National Security card and driving license.

There are ways to minimize the risk of this happening though, such as having your debit card wallet attached to your person via a chain or lanyard. You might automatically think of those kids with their skateboards that have chains hanging out their trousers. Clearly for most people its not going to look like that, it would simply be a chain attached to your belt or belt loop on your trousers. This is going to certainly slow down any would be pickpocket. And if they grab at the chain you’re going to be aware of their presence and either stop them in time or identify them before they get away.

Those of us who rarely carry any cash on our person maybe best off here (if you can call it best off). True if someone does steal you credit card wallet and all its contents then its going to be a real pain to sort out and get everything back to normal. But a quick phone call to your card providers and your collection of credit cards become useless to who ever has a hold them and your mind is put somewhat, to ease.

Generally we go on holiday to get away from everything and relax, but this is when we may be most at risk from pick pockets and muggers. They will be on the look out for anyone who isn’t too sure about their surroundings and that person will become the number one target for them. Thankfully we have a little list of things you can do to lower the risk or damage caused.

• Before leaving for your holiday check through your wallet or purse and remove anything that isn’t going be needed on holiday, National or Social Security cards, and any extra high limit credit cards for example.
• Don’t keep anything valuable on your person that you aren’t using, if you have an expensive ring or necklace, leave it in your hotel safe.
• Make copies of your Driving License and Passport, keep them separate from the originals. If the originals get stolen at least you have something that lets the authorities know who you are.
• Don’t carry more money than you require for the day ahead. The less you have the less that gets stolen.

Another thing that you might want to consider before you leave is to invest in a money belt or a pouch that you can hang from your neck. These are hard for any would be criminals to notice and ever harder for them steal without you knowing and without causing a scene in the process. Some are big enough to store your passports and anything else you may need to carry. So everything is safe.

It might all seem like doom and gloom, yes there are people out there looking for easy money but there are ways for us to protect ourselves. Take care and think about how you carry your belongings.