Christmas robberies..All over!!!
 

Hang on to your valuables and bags.. Distribute your docs in various places. Daughter (mature student in Salamanca) was on her way to a ski trip out of Geneva...Salamanca is so-o-o safe she may have been lulled into this mishap but she is not at all careless. Big bag was ok...backpack, touching her leg, evaporated almost before her eyes as she reached to store her bag.. Passport, credit cards, student/resident visa/ bank cards, laptop, perscriptions and glasses all gone. Fortunately I have all duplicates here at home and emailed them as soon as I heard..Genevans were most helpful but the police did say this is rampant in Europe right now as the poor economy breeds more robberies and train stations are very much favored by the baddies..All will be ok but a pain in the neck. the US consulate was not available but the Canadian (dual cit.) was open, super and swift...Weekend misery, spoiled trip, much running around but thank heavens for good people who make themselves available to those in need..

I've also felt in Italy that the Christmas season seems to bring an increase in shady characters eyeing handbags.

it is really very logical for thieves to believe that Christmas is an money-making opportunity for them. In the US, there is usually an up-tick in home break-ins. For travelers, it is likely that thieves believe any woman's purse has lots of cash and credit cards inside, more than usual.

amer_can.

Sorry to hear of the spoiled vacation, but glad to know others still help.

That was yesterday..Problems are being ironed out and on to the holidays and new year.
Thanks to the afore mentioned folks who were so generouse with help..Genevans, staff of Train and Ibis Airport Hotel. Canadian consulate,Facebook, emails and those left are home!!! Merry Christmas ro you all!!!

Good to hear she got plenty of help and that the robbery wasn't a total disaster.

Same issues in the States.

Where there is a lot of loot, there are a lot of crooks. Add a dash of conviviality and anticipation so you forget the rules, and there goes your stuff.

money belt ricksteves.com critical for me worn to the
front under clothing anything of value goes in there.
Advising to "distribute" documents in different places
simply makes them more likely to be stolen.big shoulder bags
expensive electronics always a theft magnet leave at
home and/or insuremytrip.com Lastly room safes are not
safe manager has a general combo leave noting of value
there. travel.state.gov details all this and travel alerts.

Caveat Emptor!

Distributimg items in different places did not mean obvious places,,Credit cards under the clothes in money belt. Any $ also. If you must carry items in pockets not only a zippered one but also safety pin the opening shut. Credit cards in small card folder in bra..Get creative and hoefully a holiday won't be spoiled..

amer_can,

Thanks for posting your warnings and suggestions. Even experienced travelers need a reminder that Christmas poses a special set of circumstances.

I've never had a bad experience with room safes, and thing qwo vadis is off-the-wall and should be taken with a pound of salt at ALL TIMES.

I've found that the extra layer of clothes most often needed in Europe during winter means that you have many place to tuck your most precious valuables -- passport, credit cards, house keys -- other than in a purse or luggage.

I also agree that distributing important items means less chance of getting "wiped out". It is good to make copies of all your important documents and card numbers and bury in the bottom of your suitcase and leave them with a good friend or relative back home who can fax them to your hotel if need be.

I always use a moneybelt for everything valuable. Thieves are going for the easy mark - - not for digging their hands into your trousers. Jacket pockets, pants pockets, handbags (which can be slit across the bottom as you are even sitting in a bus) are the easy mark. Wear a moneybelt, put the valuables there, and they will look elsewhere. Pickpocketing is both a crude event (like being pushed into a turnstile at the Metro and having a bag ripped away) and a fabulously well-practiced art (like generations of thieves who practice lifting wallets on plastic dummies, or who contrive sophisticated hand-off systems for passing stolen wallets from person to person within seconds, and who are humiliated if they are even RECOGNIZED as being potentially part of a hustle - - it can be an honor thing). The simple answer: put the valuables in a moneybelt.