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BODY LANGUAGE How you carry yourself may deter potential thieves from choosing you as their next target. Criminals rarely target individuals who carry themselves with confidence and purpose. They generally target the people who appear meek, lost, frightened, or who generally exude a lack of confidence. Although you may not feel confident at every given moment, use these body language postures and fake it if you have to. Remember your carriage is another form of communication, so think about what message you are transmitting to potential thieves and other people around you. Confident Body Posture
Victim Body Posture
Areas To Avoid Around The City Every large city around the globe has areas in which more crime and illegal activity takes place. Just think of your own city. Are there areas you would not advise a visiting friend from Italy to wander? For the traveler who is new and visiting the city, these areas will be unknown. Ask a person at your accommodation, a police officer, an attendant at the train station, or a shop owner what areas in the city you are visiting you should avoid. Highlight these areas on your city map. Often travel guides will advise which places to skirt in the cities. Times and areas change quickly, and guidebooks are not able to update their books at the same pace, so double-check with a local individual or proprietor. Avoiding more impoverished and troubled neighborhoods in any destination will considerably cut down your chances of becoming a victim of crime. When You Get Lost, Don't Panic Everyone gets lost and turned around at some time when they are cruising through a new city. I've been turned around quite a number of times all over the globe. If you get lost, remember you will find you way so don't panic. Remain calm and keep thinking. Ask a woman walking by to assist you. Walk into a shop or place of business and ask the owner to please help you find where you are on the map and point you in the direction you want to go. Have a clear understanding of where you are and where you want to go before going on. Avoid standing on a street corner alone, pulling out a map and looking completely distressed. This is not the type of message you want to send out to those around you (the potential thieves). Even if you are lost, try not to "look" lost. If you cannot find assistance in a shop or from a passing woman, try to hail a cab and have them take you where you want to go or back to your rooms. There are many options to employ when you are lost. Remember to stay calm, keep thinking (not panicking), act, and find out where you are. THEFT OF MONEY Credit cards and travelers checks may be canceled and reissued, but stolen cash is gone. It’s almost one hundred percent guaranteed that, if your cash is stolen, you will not be able to recover one cent of it. Be smart about carrying cash. Carry small amounts of money at any given time. Do not open a loaded wallet so that the merchant or people around you can see the amount of money you are carrying. If you must carry a large amount temporarily, then divide the cash and carry the money in different places on your body. For example, carry a portion of the cash in your money belt, boot, or a deep pocket of your slacks. GYPSIES Gypsies have roamed the European and Asian continent for centuries. They are fascinating people and have a culture imbued with mystery. Gypsies are a nomadic people orginally from India. In children's storybooks and literature, the Gypsies have been portrayed as a people of trickery and deception. My own experience of the Gypsy culture has been a blend of fascination and anger. The anger stems from watching the Gypsy women and children beg and steal from unsuspecting or naive people. Being surrounded myself by a group of Gypsy women who tried to steal my bag, and anything else they could pry away from me, definitely angered me. The life and wandering ways of the Gypsy intrigues me. They live in bands and travel from city to city throughout Europe. I've seen small children, four or five years old, stealing and begging from tourists and locals as well. The psychological tactics these children employ is intense and relentless. Gypsy children kissing the feet of tourists as they begged for change, was a shocking sight. Children do not intuitively know how to use these tactics, they are taught very young and throughout their lives how to be thieves. On two occasions I came head to head with a few Gypsy women. Luckily, I was forewarned to avoid these women and not become disoriented by their strategic confusing tactics. Where Do Gypsies Hang Out Typically Gypsies will be where there are a lot of street traffic and people. Tourist sights, train stations, subway stations, and bus stations are all places one may encounter Gypsies. Common Gypsy Tactics Of Stealing
Gypsies In Rome After touring the Coliseum and the Catacombs outside of Rome, my friends and I hopped the metro in the late afternoon and headed back to our hotel in downtown Rome. Exiting the metro platform and heading for the stairwell, I turned the corner and began to climb the exit stairs to the street. As I looked up the staircase, I saw four Gypsy women with their small children and babies, smoking cigarettes, reading the Rome daily newspaper, and hanging out. Our eyes made contact and they quickly extinguished their cigarettes, threw their papers down, and grabbed their children. I had heard about how aggressive the Gypsies were in Rome and felt a little panicked now because I was walking right into what felt like a trap. Instinctively, I shoved my Nikon camera, which was dangling from my neck, under my shirt. My friends still trailing along behind me, I edged over and sidled up next to a well-built Roman man. I felt a bit intrusive, but I reasoned he probably has dealt with this before and I was the rookie today. As we approached the top of the staircase, one Gypsy woman began grabbing at my hair and making the comparison to her child's hair, the same color. She began pushing her baby into my body. Feeling incredibly intruded upon and fearing I would be robbed, I pushed the woman and child back from my body and yelled at her to get back. I tried to stay next to the Italian Stallion. The Gypsy woman persisted two more times and again I pushed her away, yelled again, and kept walking. Turning the corner and out of the Gypsies’ range, I spotted my friends trying to dodge the other Gypsies. I shouted to them, they spotted me, and ran over to my location. Thanking the Italian Stallion for being my bodyguard, we laughed, and chatted a bit about the situation as he checked his back pocket for his wallet. Although this situation may sound intimidating and frightening, it is a potential occurrence for every traveler. Remember to have a plan and don't stop thinking when you are in the middle of an event. Don't be afraid to push someone back, yell at them, or run away. MUGGED FOR POSSESSIONS Your Wallet Or Your Well-Being Nothing you carry in your backpack, daypack, or money belt is as valuable as your life, not your camera, money, passport, airline tickets, or rail pass. Almost everything can be replaced, but not your well-being or your life. Now I didn't say they would easily and readily be replaced, however, all the bureaucratic hassle you will encounter and long-distance telephone calls you will incur are nothing compared to the ramifications of being physically, psychologically, or emotionally traumatized or injured. Jewelry Leave all jewelry at home in your jewelry box or safe deposit box. One of the quickest ways to become a victim of crime is to wear flashy gold and diamond rings, necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and/or watches. You will radiate the message, "Mug Me, I've got something you want." Thieves do not know at first glance the difference between gold-plated metal and Cubic Zirconia's to 14K gold and real diamond jewelry. Leave it home and avoid being ripped off. Sentimental Items Choosing to bring sentimental items on your trip is not wise. Do not wear and bring the antique gold locket your great-grandfather gave your great grandmother when they became engaged. Such an item may be worth a whole year’s work for some struggling people in less-developed countries. Irreplaceable items are just that: irreplaceable. Only bring items that have little or no personal value. PHOTOGRAPHY EQUIPMENT A staple for most any traveler, whether they go to the Grand Canyon or the Taj Mahal, will be a camera. You may be an avid photography buff or simply a woman who wants some memorable photographs of sights, people, and points of interest along your journey. Photographs from a trip will be a lifelong visual memory of the grand adventure you took. Carry Camera And Film Separately Small and compact, cameras are easily stolen. They are usually missed later when you go for your camera to take a shot and it's gone. Camera and camera equipment is a common item stolen from travelers. They are not only expensive and almost every traveler carries one, but they are also easy to pawn and resell. Many tourists carry small 35mm point-and-shoot cameras around their neck dangling from a strap as thin as a shoestring. Other travelers carry large strapping well-equipped camera bags full of very expensive lenses and camera accessories. Unfortunately, many travelers are not in the habit of carrying these safely and protectively. If one is not usually carrying a camera, it is easy to forget it at a restaurant on a table or leave a camera bag on the train seat. Stick to your camera like Velcro. Thieves see cold hard cash when they spot a tourist with a large bulging camera bag. Bags are convenient in the sense you have a place for your camera, film, and exposed film. However, if by chance, you have the unfortunate luck of being robbed of it, your camera and film are both gone. I carry film separately from my camera just in case of theft. Carrying My Camera Around The Globe Carrying a camera bag may be okay in some countries and a red flag in others. Just carrying one tells those around you that you have a good piece of equipment on you. When I began traveling, I carried a camera bag diagonally across my body and my exposed film in my backpack. Wearing the case strap diagonally across my body, I felt assured no one could motor by and easily swipe it off my shoulder. Through India, I carried that same little black camera case with confidence. After five weeks traveling I became lazy about carrying my camera bag. I would walk through the markets and streets dangling my camera bag off my shoulder as if it were a sack of potatoes I had just purchased. An Englishwoman I befriended brought this lax manner to my attention. One morning over breakfast, she said she was amazed what confidence I had walking through the markets with my camera bag gently hanging from my shoulder. I felt like a lightning bolt had ripped through me as I quickly assessed my lack of precautionary behavior. She went on to inform me that carrying a camera bag at all made me a large target for theft. I listened intently, embarrassed by my behavior, and relieved that I still had my camera. After our meal and informative chat, I dashed into one of the first little shops I knew of and purchased a traditional patterned Rajasthani cloth purse with a strap long enough to lay diagonally across my body. My camera bag was placed in my backpack and my camera had a new home. I wore that cloth purse for the duration of my travels through India and South east Asia with no worries. My new friend's helpful advice and the immediate action I took to rectify the potentially-difficult situation may have saved me some grief and, ultimately, my camera. Few More Pieces Of Advice Engrave or scratch your name on the bottom plate of your camera and other more costly items. If there is a chance to reclaim any stolen merchandise (which is slight) the authorities will more readily release an item to you if your name is on it. Watch Your Backpack And Bags While waiting for trains to arrive at the station and standing in airline ticket lines, remember to always keep an eye on your own bags. Never leave your bags unattended or under the eye of someone you do not know or trust. Absolutely Do Not!!!
Avoid Wearing The Following Items
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