Songdoc

I?m leaving for my first trip to Rome in two days. Here are the precautions I?m planning.

My partner and I will carry different credit cards. We will each wear a money belt under our pants. A small amount of cash (enough for the day) and a credit card will be kept in our front pants pockets ? which will be safety pinned shut. Our camera straps will be wrapped around our wrists and the cameras will be held in our hands.

But I can?t promise not to be ?distracted.? We?ll be busy looking at the sights ? not just staring at every person as a potential thief. Do you have any other suggestions?

PS. I?ve done extensive traveling and have never had a problem ? but all the posts have made me very concerned.

Travelnut

Take your precautions, have a backup/safety net (ie. copies of your passport information, phone numbers to call if card is lost/stolen - get one with the area code, not 800) and then go have fun!

Bob_C

Don't sit around and worry, you have done some wise things and that is all you can do. For example you can't spend you vacation worrying about something happening to you home while you are gone. You are doing just what my wife and I do, so relax and just remember to the aware of the people around you anytime you are in a crowd and you will be fine.

elaine

Hi
I can relate. I've traveled some myself AND I live in New York City, and yet prior to my first trip to Rome I was very concerned about robberies and pick pockets. My record of not ever being a crime victim remained and still is intact. Statistically, most people live in and visit Rome and are NOT crime victims. That's not to take away from the awful experience of being one, but the probabilities plus the precautions you are taking reduce your odds of being robbed to much lower than they would be for most people experiencing any robbery anywhere in the world.

I think the key anywhere is to take whatever precautions you are comfortable with, be especially wary in crowded situations, don't get careless even in restaurants (no hanging cameras over a chair in an outdoor terrace)and then sit back and enjoy yourself.

I'll add, that I've learned to take with me information on how to contact credit card companies or banks--toll free customer service numbers in the US won't work when dialed from abroad.
Either keep this info in your suitcase, or better yet, leave it with someone at home that you could contact if you had to. Also be aware that sometimes replacement credit cards or atm cards will only be mailed by the issuer to the card holder's HOME address.

enjoy your trip

Surfergirl

I agree with the others -- don't sweat the small stuff -- you have done all you can do, so just enjoy the city.

I guess I would only add two points to what you have already done. First, one of the cards should be an American Express card, since their office is right by the Spanish steps, so it's easy to cancel it and get another one (after a trip to the local police station, an adventure in itself). As for the other credit card, do call the company before-hand and get the telephone number for the card calling from overseas (not the 800 number) in case it gets stolen and notify you're going to Italy. They usually have telephone numbers to call from specific countries. Keep that number, as well as your credit card numbers in your suitcase, just in case you need it. Chances are, you won't, but you never know.

I was pickpocketed years ago in Rome on the infamous bus 64, I think it was, but I was carrying a purse, diaper bag and stroller at the time -- way too much for me to be cautious. Back again this summer, and we walked and took the metro everywhere without problems or concerns.

ira

Hi song,

You could also carry a small air horn (available at any boat supply hoouse). They can be heard for a mile and get the attention of everyone within a few hundred feet.

Where is your passport?

lesliec1

Before our recent trip, we saw (somewhere) an excellent suggestion that we followed: instead of just carrying around important, but sensitive, back-up info such as credit card numbers, travelers check numbers, emergency contact numbers, etc., you can e-Mail this information to yourself before you leave on vacation. Then, in the event of an emergency, you can access it in your email inbox from any internet point in the world. I also had a "paper" backup system but I worried about someone maybe ripping off our backpacks and finding critical information, so that meant dividing the info so it wasn't all in one place--a pain. The internet method was better, and if you're really paranoid, you can email half the info, such as half of each credit card #, to yourself in one email, and half in a second email, just in case one of your emails goes astray. And of course, if you do check these emails from a foreign computer, be SURE to log out and close the browser when you are done!

ira

Good advice from leslie.

We change the numbers so that if they are accessed, they won't work.

mcgeezer

You don't really need your credit card number if you lose it. What you need is the phone number for the company. Then when you call to replace a lost or stolen credit card all you need is your SSN # (memorize if you haven't already) and your mother's maiden name.
BTW- I never use my mother's maiden name since it is much too easy for someone to obtain.

capo

<i>We will each wear a money belt under our pants.</i>

Good idea.

<i>A small amount of cash (enough for the day) and a credit card will be kept in our front pants pockets, which will be safety pinned shut.</i>

Bad idea. Anything in your pockets is vulnerable. That's why pickPOCKETS are called that. You could probably leave the small amount of cash in your pocket but I'd put the credit card in your money belt.

<i>Our camera straps will be wrapped around our wrists and the cameras will be held in our hands.</i>

That's about the best you can do for cameras.

Kate_W

A few more suggestions:

1) Be careful where, and how, you withdraw cash from bank machines. I tend to rely on cash in high risk areas, and leave my credit cards in the hotel safe. This means I withdraw cash fairly frequently. I try to use machines located inside banks where possible (not just kiosks on exterior walls) - but this isn't an option in some cities. I try to make withdrawals in daylight on streets that have some people, but aren't overcrowded and don't have people loitering nearby, and when I'm with a friend, I have my friend stand back to back with me (ie facing the street while I face the machine) so that they can watch the surroundings.

2) Think about where you pull out your purse, wallet, and moneybelt. You're better off ducking inside a not too crowded shop than doing it on the street. Same thing with your map. Not that you care about your map being stolen but standing on the street with a large map open is an invitation to theft - you look like a tourist, and you look distracted. Duck into a more sheltered place, or do your map and guidebook review at a cafe.

3) Think carefully about the people to whom you give your credit card. Someone could make a copy of the imprint and back of card number, and then copy the card or use it to make purchases over the internet or telephone. In stores, keep an eye on the teller (don't let them take the card away to process it). You can't do this in restaurants, but you can limit the number of times you pay with a credit card (and then check your statements very carefully for a month or so when you get home).

The only place I've ever had a problem (and I've travelled to a lot of large cities in Europe, Asia and North America with bad reputations for theft etc) is London - where a salesclerk or restaurant worker got my credit card number and charged several thousand dollars worth of plane tickets to it.

kakalena

I'm very sorry for all of you who have sustained pickpocket losses. It must have been very unnerving for you.

Before we went to Rome last year we were told pickpocket horror stories by three different friends/relatives - all occuring near the Vatican. Someone's backpack had been slit open and wallet removed as he walked along. Another guy's cash for his honeymoon ($1000s)had been stolen from his pocket on the first day. Another elderly guy's wallet was removed from a front pocket by children.

The stories sounded sort of like &quot;urban myths&quot; to me and I didn't even remember them until I started reading the stories on this board after I got back.

Noone ever approached us threateningly anywhere in Rome and we made no special preparations whatsover. I agree it is an odds game. So many tourists, so little time. A pickpockets work is never done.
; D)))))

It sounds like you are using a safe in your hotel room. That seems to be the way to go. Are you really that worried about losing a small amount of cash and one credit card? Leave the credit card at the hotel if you'll be worried about it all day and resign yourself to the thievery of the bit of cash you bring along. If you aren't robbed,you'll be way ahead of the game! Take a cheap disposable camera (or only one camera - why do you need two?)just for Rome! Do the best you can to protect yourself and then relax. Otherwise, how can you enjoy your vacation?
: D ))))

All the best!

kakalena