There is nothing worse than having problems occur when you are on vacation, especially in a foreign land where many things are unfamiliar. This often means that the memories of the holiday are tainted as sometimes the local people are blamed for something which could have been prevented. In serious cases, you may not even want to leave your hotel room or have to spend time sorting out the problem at the local Police station. If you want to travel safely then you need to start employing a little of that (an old concept) common sense that will keep you out of trouble.
Whatever it is you are doing or wherever you are, when you get that feeling that something doesn’t feel right, that is your instinct; learn to listen to it. Always be careful about traveling with all your documents and money if you are just going to town to see the sights or have a meal. Just take what you need for the time you will be away and place anything that is valuable in the hotel safe. One tip that has saved many travelers hassle is placing money in various locations so it makes it harder for thieves and pickpockets to get it all at once.
As an added measure when using travel safely methods, carry credit cards from different accounts; should one be lost or stolen there is a second to fall back on. Some people just make it easy for snatch thieves who specialize in grabbing bags and cameras from unsuspecting tourists who have them hanging from their shoulder; to prevent this make sure the strap is over the head as well. Some of the easiest crimes involve snatch thieves that may actually work in teams; they locate unsuspecting victims who have a bag on their shoulder for instance that can be easily grabbed by a passing cycle or scooter. Everyone has heard the stories of different confidence tricks that have happened to vacationers because they are relaxed and let their guard down but the truth is these people do this sort of thing for a living.
This complacency can cause problems because these people make their living doing this sort of thing but just a little extra vigilance can make it much harder for them to take what does not belong to them. One way to stop some of the pick pocketing is to place a padlock on your backpack as any delay means they will usually try someone else.