Preventing theft and pickpocketing

Before you go, do four things. Photograph your passport ID page, your bank cards and your insurance policy, and email them to yourself so you can open them from any device. Note your card issuers' 24-hour lost-card numbers somewhere offline, because your phone may be the thing that is stolen. Set a PIN or biometric lock on your phone and turn on find-my-device. And decide your split: two cards, two cash stashes, one backup card left in the hotel safe.

On the street, the rule is simple: nothing valuable in an open outer pocket, and no backpack on your back in a crowd. A crossbody bag worn with the strap across your chest and the bag on your front hip is harder to reach than a shoulder bag. On a busy train or bus, stand with your back to a wall or a door, not in the middle of a crush. At an ATM, use one inside a bank branch or a mall where possible, cover the keypad, and put the cash away before you walk off. If someone bumps you, spills something on you, or crowds you with a question, step back and check your pockets before you engage.

At your accommodation, use the safe for the passport and the backup card, and lock the door even when you are inside. In a dorm, use the locker and bring your own padlock, because the ones sold at reception are often the cheapest available. Do not leave a laptop or phone visible through a ground-floor window. If the room has no safe and you do not trust the door, carry the passport with you rather than leaving it.

If something is taken, act in this order: report the cards to your bank or freeze them in the app, file a police report (you will need it for insurance and for a passport replacement), then contact your embassy or consulate if the passport is gone. Whether fraudulent card charges are refunded depends on your issuer and the rules that apply to your card, so report them promptly and keep the reference number. Replacement-card timing varies by issuer and by where you are; ask yours when you report the loss. An emergency passport or travel document usually takes a working day or more, and you will need the police report and often a photo and a fee.

Prevention costs almost nothing. A money belt or a zipped crossbody bag is a one-off purchase, a hostel padlock is a few dollars, and a hotel safe is usually free. The real cost is the time you spend on the habits: a few seconds at each transition, a minute to split your cash before you leave, and the discipline not to count money in public.

If theft happens, the costs are mostly time and paperwork. A police report is free but can take an hour or more in a busy station. Card replacement terms and timing vary by issuer and by where you are when you lose the card; ask when you report it. A replacement passport or emergency travel document involves a fee that varies by country, a photo, and at least a working day, sometimes longer if the embassy is far or it is a weekend. Travel insurance may cover the cash, the phone and the extra nights, depending on your policy and excess.

Some destinations carry a specific, documented risk that changes what you should do. Government advisories flag certain cities for violent robbery, express kidnapping or carjacking, where the answer is not a money belt but avoiding the area, not walking at night, and using a radio taxi or a hotel-arranged driver. In those places, follow the advisory rather than the general advice on this page.

Some situations make you a target regardless of what you carry. Wearing obvious jewellery, filming with a large camera, or walking alone and drunk at night all raise your profile. Political protests and large events concentrate crowds and police attention, and both pickpockets and opportunists use them. Natural disasters and evacuations create chaos where normal precautions break down; if you are in one, keep your documents on your body and stay with people you trust.

There are also places where the local advice is the opposite of the global default. In some countries the police will not take a report for a small loss, or will ask for a payment; in others, reporting is quick and efficient. Ask your accommodation or your embassy what the local practice is before you need it.

There is no single best place; there is a best place for each item and each moment. The table below is the practical default for a city day. The logic is that anything you will not need in the next few hours should not be on your body at all, and anything you will need should be somewhere you can feel it.

The questions below cover the short answer, who this applies to, and the cost and time involved.

This page is built from official government travel advice and general safety guidance. It is general information, not legal or insurance advice, and it does not replace the advisory for your specific destination.