Safe Travel – Anti-Theft Tips Day Bag
Everybody wants to travel safe!! Safe Travel is a must for a happy holiday! When travelling you don’t want to worry about thefts or other informalities. You want to enjoy the place where you are and that is why it is important to be prepared. Do you know how a potential thief sees you? In this blog I will give you some Anti-Theft tips for handling your Day Bag.
Do you know what their lead might be to go and try to steal something from you? Do you know where you give room and space for them to get something out of your bag or take your whole bag? Are you aware of those moments? Do you see, what the thiefs or pickpockets, see?
You do know that potential thiefs are looking at other things then you are, you look at that great spot and think about how to take the best picture with everything in the frame… And in the meantime your bag is on your back. Maybe even with an open zipper because you just got your camera out of the bag.
Are you aware of what is going on in your surroundings?
And because you don’t always want to be aware of that you need to prepare yourself. You want to enjoy your surroundings to the fullest!!
Safe Travel – Anti-Theft Tips Day Bag
So my question is: Do you have your bag under your control for 100% or are there moments that you are not in physical contact with your bag. And where is that moment of not being in physical contact with your bag? How many people are there also… And more.. What kind of people are that? Those are the moments that you need to know if you closed your bag.. who can get to it?
And would I see or notice that?
The questions above I’ll answer later on in this blog and I’ll give you anti-theft tips on how to adjust to the different situations and surroundings you are in at that moment while traveling this beautiful world.
Are you aware of those moments?
Ask yourself: do you notice these moments?
Do you know how another person looks at you?
Let’s start with saying that it is always a good idea to have your bag in sight. The bag that holds your wallet, maybe your passport and other important things. You don’t want to loose them and you can’t miss them on your trip!
Anti-Theft Tips Day Bag
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Do you have your bag in sight?
It is not always good to carry your bag on your back. It does walk good because it is in balance and you don’t have it hanging on your hips or legs. But walking in a city you never know who’s behind you. You never know who saw you paying for your last buy and maybe saw you putting away your wallet in your bag. Such person can easily, especially when it is a trained pickpocket, get your wallet out of your bag.
Read these 5 Tips for recognizing a picketpocket
You always need to close your bag ofcourse. Do close it with the zipper! And also use that extra zipper inside the bag.. It is there for anti-theft reasons. I use that one to hide my wallet. Don’t leave those open to make it easier for a pickpocket. Even though it is the second zipper.. Don’t make it easier..
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Do you always close your bag
As I said before, you don’t want to make it easier. They are trained to get into your bag quickly and easy. If they have to open another, second, anti-theft zipper to get to your wallet and / or it is situated to not get it out easy, you do good. More chance that you will feel that something is going on in your bag.
Most bags do come with an extra pocket (anti-theft) inside the bag for your wallet or other valuables. Do use them!! Or even better, look for those when searching for a new day bag! If the bag doesn’t have hidden anti-theft pockets or extra zippers inside I don’t want it. I always want a good place for my wallet, keys and when needed my passport, in my bag.
How do you carry your bag? With a shoulderbag you can carry it in front of you, on the hip or even on your backside.
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How do you carry you bag with you?
If you carry your bag on the front side you have it in your sight. You feel it constantly because an arm or a hand is on it. Same is for carrying it on your hip. Downside to that is that one side tends to be on your backside and so out of your periphery. But does the zipper start there or ends there? Is the hook to open it in that area make sure to turn it the other way around.
Keep in notice that the hook of your zipper is in your sight.
There are ofcourse other ways to open a zipper, for instance sticking a pen in it and opening it. This will make your bag moves around a bit so if one does this and your bag is in good contact with your body you will notice this. This is mostly a thing with suitcases and big bags in storage rooms. Think about airports or busterminals etc.
Do also read How to travel safely by bus or train
- Do you have your bag on the safe side?
Make sure that you have your bag placed in a spot that is not on the isle and not easy to acces by people just passing by. If you are sitting on a terrace you don’t want it on the streetside or isle side. If public is passing by every second it is hard to take it into notice if someone stays there just a bit too long or even takes it in a split second. Make sure to keep your bag is with you, in your immediate surroudings. Are you in a bus or train keep it on your rights side and not on the isle seat but at the window seat for instance.
The best thing is to keep in contact with your bag. Hang it over your knee, make sure the handle is around you or put something else in there like a leg of a chair
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Are you always in contact with your bag?
If you are in constant contact with your bag you have the most chance of feeling any abnormalities. You will feel if anyone tries to get in your bag in any way. You can be in contact with your day bag in many ways ofcourse. Keep the handle of your day bag over your knee or make sure there is still a bodypart (arm or leg) through the handle. Or how about putting the day bag in the seat you are sitting and stay in full contact with the bag in your back or just keep it in your lap.
Try to make this kind of things a habit so you don’t need to think about it anymore. It will make your travelling a bit more worry free if you don’t need to think of ways to make your travelling safe or safer. You don’t need to remember if you had it in your sight all the time and if everything still is in there … in case you left it unattended for a while because these moments will not happen anymore.
As a last reminder I would like to emphasize this. I think it is the most important one. Make sure to put all your important items away behind that anti-theft zipper!
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Important items behind the anti-theft zipper
You can never be prepared for a good trained pickpocket. But we don’t want to make it easy for them, right? So make sure that they can not get something out of your bag in one action. Make sure that the pocket in which you have your wallet and other important items is on your body so you feel if it’s moved by someone else.
What do I think about a
Moneybelt?
It is a good idea to hide some extra money or to hide things that are extra important to you and keep it on your body. But I don’t want to make it hard for myself and maybe thinking about that too much while travelling. I don’t have much money on me while travelling but I do have the habit to tuck away some money in my big backpack. Somewhere will be a small envelope or small wallet with some money… I have never lost it.. It has never been found or got out by some one, even though this bag sometimes is in a hotel for hours or even days unattended.
The fact that I need to go deep in my backpack to get it out says enough.. And then I know where to find it. Same for the thief…he/she won’t get it out easily. For that extra safety I don’t feel I need a moneybelt.
I sometimes see travellers on the street searching in their ‘secret’ moneybelt… It has to be a secret for everyone.. Keep it hidden! But not being prepared for your daily expenses can get you in this situation. If you are the one doing these things you can better just carry your money in your regular wallet and make sure to keep it behing that extra anti-theft zipper in your bag. If you carry an extra moneybelt and show it you let pickpockets think that you carry an extra load of money.. Because of that you get a lot of unwanted attention. They will make the extra effort to get it…
If you just carry your money in a spot easy to reach for you, only one action, you don’t want more attention then necessary. This way nobody gets suspicious about you having lots of money or hiding anything else somewhere in your bag. You don’t have to search, not getting things out of your bag and showing them unwillingly in sight of that pickpocket that might be looking with you.
Be structured in handling these items!!
Safe Travel
Anti-Theft Tips Day Bag
Do you have any experience with pickpockets or criminal activities like these?
Tell me how it happened!
What went wrong? Could you have done things differently?
Want to read more about Safe Travel?
Safe on Safari : What are the Rules?
How to Prevent Altitude Sickness
Trekkingpoles: Totall Workout and more Safety
And then this one… The safety instructions at the start of your journey!!
I hope you love this world as much as I do!
Jacomijn is een politieagent uit Nederland die jou graag laat zien hoe je veilig, actief en gezond de wereld kan over reizen. Safe and Healthy travel is a MUST
