Regardless of whether it is a business trip, an expedition to the Amazon jungle or a weekend getaway with the family - you should always remember about safety. Today we will deal with how not to become a victim of pickpockets, what to do in the event of a street attack, and how to protect your credit card in the easiest way.
1. Try not to stand out
As far as possible, try not to stand out from the crowd. It doesn't always work - if you travel outside Europe, especially in the south, it will be hard for you to blend in with the crowd. Then you have to choose a different strategy: try not to look like a tourist, choosing a professional image - a shoulder bag instead of a backpack, a tactical kidney, long pants or a skirt, sunglasses. Do not overdo it the other way - military clothing, forest camouflage or heavy boots unnecessarily attract attention. Look like an expat who has lived in the area for a long time. Although it will be easy to pick you out of the crowd, you will not be the main target of thieves - they prefer tourists who will return home in a few days, and with their testimony to the police.
2. Get some decent luggage
If you must have a colorful backpack and you are out of your way with gray camouflage, invest in luggage with an anti-theft system.
3. Hide the wallet
Keep your wallet hidden - this will make the work of pickpockets a lot more difficult. In the case of street robberies, the victim is usually the main luggage: a handbag or a backpack - the attacker does not have time to search the person thoroughly and look for hidden money. There are many ways, from hiding your own ideas to professional anti-theft bags.
4. Wear a fake wallet
This idea is incredibly simple - take an old wallet, the more damaged the better. Stuff it with outdated credit cards, and insert a few bills of different currencies, preferably those whose value is difficult to determine. Throw in a boarding pass, and a few business cards and that's it - here's your fake wallet. If you ever fall victim to an assault where your attacker demands money - give him your wallet. No street thief spends more than two seconds quickly evaluating the contents of a wallet, and in that time he will fail to conclude that it is completely worthless.
5. Scratch CVV from your credit card
The CVV code is those three digits on the back of the card. Write it down in a safe place, stick it in your head by heart, and then scratch it off with a knife. Of course, you will immediately hear the opinion that this is not your property, but the bank's, that you damage the card in this way and you will not be able to pay with it, but do not worry about it. The card is indeed owned by the bank, but I don't think they have the slightest interest in whether you have the CVV on the card or not. It is also not true that you will have payment problems. Why is CVV scratching so important? Well, ignorance of this code severely limits the use of a credit card on the Internet. While some transactions are possible without CVV, most purchases require you to know it. And capturing credit card details is very easy - just take a photo of the front and back of the card. This is favored by the fact that in some countries the culture of using payment cards is different than in Poland or Great Britain. For example, in the USA, we very often encounter a situation where we give a card to a service representative, for example, a waiter, when paying for a meal. The waiter takes the card and makes the payment at the terminal, which is often located at the bar. During this time, we are not able to control what the waiter does with the card - intercepting the numbers for a skilled person takes only a few seconds. A few weeks later, it turns out that someone is making microtransactions on our account that do not arouse suspicion of the bank ... This way thousands of frauds are made a day and scratching the CVV is a simple and effective way to avoid this kind of problem. There is only one condition - save and remember the code!
The above advice is taken straight from real life. I do not even mention credit cards, which, despite better and better bank security, are invariably the prey of fraudsters. Therefore, it is worth taking this advice to heart and keeping your eyes peeled. And above all, always try to blend in with the crowd - that's the best camouflage that a real street rat can adapt.
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