The number one rule about being safe in another country is to be aware of your surroundings.  Just because a country is considered safe (like Australia ) does not mean it is safe everywhere (like the King’s Cross area in Sydney as an example).

The second rule is to try to blend with other people in the country.  Don’t wear a baseball cap in Rome or a Hawaiian shirt in Paris .  You will stick out like a sore thumb and will be targeted.  This should be obvious to most people, but it amazes me every time I travel how badly American tourists stick out overseas.  Look how the local people dress and try to dress appropriately.  You don’t have to duplicate what the locals are wearing, just don’t be so different as to paint a sign on your head saying “Rob Me!”.  American flags on tee shirts are a dead giveaway as well as hats with the Nike swoosh.

Muggings or other violence is not nearly as common overseas as pick pocketers or people who try to trick you out of your money.  Here is some advice:

DON’T keep anything in your back pockets.  European pickpockets are particularly vicious and will remove items without you noticing.  Keep your money, passport, and credit cards in a pouch under your shirt or in your front pockets. 

SLEEP with your valuables under your clothes at night.  This is especially true on trains that have sleeping compartments (called couchettes) but this also applies to hostel rooms as well. I have heard stories of whole groups of people who have woken up in the morning to find everyone’s bags were searched and their wallets taken. Again, a money pouch under your shirt can be very useful here.

DON’T be tricked out of your money.  Scam artists are frequent in cities and their methods vary.  Here are a couple scams that have been tried on me:

A man on the Paris subway approached me holding a wallet in his hand and in English asked me if this wallet was mine because he had found it on the ground.  Most travelers at that point will then say “No, my wallet is right here” and then pull out their own wallet to make sure they still have it.  At this point the scammer will snatch your wallet out of your hand and run away. Fortunately I had heard of this trick beforehand so I did not fall for it.

Another time in Rome a woman (she looked like a gypsy) with a baby approached me and started to paw at me while begging for money.  She would not leave me alone even after I walked a block and trying to push her away.  After that an Italian man yelled at her and she stopped.  Later, I looked down at my hip sack and I noticed it had been unzipped and my wallet sticking out.  While she had been pawing at me with one hand and distracting me, she was using the other hand (which held her child) to try to pickpocket me.  She came very close.

The general lesson here is always be suspicious of people who randomly approach you on the street and are asking for something strange or offering you something for “free”.  The best method is to ignore them and keep going.

Also be aware of small businesses in highly touristy areas not giving you the right change back for a purchase, especially where you are an obvious tourist or don’t speak the language.  In Italy I bought a slice of pizza but only had a large denomination bill (worth about US$30) to pay for it. He accepted the bill but then gave me back only change worth about a US$1.  Being careful I noticed this immediately and started to complain, but he played dumb and pretended not to understand me since I did not speak Italian. I finally got my money back after I refused to leave and I made a big scene.

Women have special safety concerns and should be aware that in many Mediterranean countries (Spain, Italy, Turkey, etc) men are very forward with foreign women and may often grab a girl’s chest or buttocks without warning.  These men think of it as ‘flirting’ and nothing else happens but this action is (rightly so) very upsetting to women. Just be prepared for it and know how you would react.

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