I have been to Mexico more than 70 times without a single problem - until now. Friday in Cabo San Lucas, an elderly woman with an iguana managed to get my iPhone from the pocket of my cross body bag. Luckily my passport and billfold are in a latched segment of the bag secured with two hooks. No not a serious crime, no one hurt but just a pain in the butt. In Mexico, phones can be "jail break" for resale. Luckily the iPhone is encrypted and will merely be a flip phone.

Thanks. Will be down there next month.

I don't understand, are you saying the iguana stole your phone?

Anything expensive like that in an outside pocket is vulnerable to pickpocketing, I wouldn't carry something like that in that manner.

Well bully for you, Christina. Most people carry their cell phones where they can reach them quickly. Do you have a smart phone? Because I find that people who don't have one, or have one they never use, have outdated ideas of how to carry and use them.

So sorry this happened and thanks for the reminder.

Especially that bump & grab distraction - with or without an iguana accomplice - in an area where tourists with money and poorer locals cross paths, not uncommon.

iPhones are an easy target.

I do not carry my passport around with me. It's locked up or at least tucked away at the place I am staying.

Yes in Mexico.

Phones are tricky. You want it close at hand, but they are also valuable and at risk for theft.

Also not a good idea to use your flashlight app at night. A sure signal you've a cell phone in hand. I use one of those cheap wind-up Chinese things. I think I got it on Ebay for 2 dollars.

A normal flashlight works just fine.

<A sure signal you've a cell phone in hand. >

You have to do what works for you, but it is a safe assumption that nearly everyone has a cell phone close at hand. I really don't think that a tourist can combat that.

But if worrying about losing your cell phone is going to spoil your vacation, then keep it somewhere safe, by all means.

<A normal flashlight works just fine>
true. I just tend to leave one in my travel gear and then don't worry about dead or corroded batteries. Whatever works.

<but it is a safe assumption that nearly everyone has a cell phone close at hand>

No I do not.

And if you do have a cell phone, pulling it out when it's so dark in an area that you need a flash light is really not a very smart idea.

When's the last time you were on a back street late at night in Mexico, NewbE?

If you don't have a cell phone, you are an exception, is my point. And I have been in more cities and towns in Mexico than you can even name, suze.

I very much doubt that.

I think that while most people do have smartphones and most people know that, if you have it out in the dark for the flashlight app, it's REALLY easy to steal. If it's in your pocket, it's not so easy to steal - harder to see, harder to know exactly where it is, harder to know what phone you have, etc.

The idea is to reduce risk by not making it easy for people to steal from you.

And it's a serious hassle to lose your phone, even more so while traveling.

Leave your phone in your bag or pocket. Use a little flashlight if you need one on a dark sidewalk at night. this ain't rocket science here

I own a smartphone in order to use its features. Hiding it is beside the point, not to mention that if you look around anywhere in the world, you will see scores of people with their phones in their hands, using them, locals and tourists alike.

Could it be snatched? Sure. So could your bag, your earrings, your watch, your wallet, heck, your car could be stolen.

I choose not to hassle with paper maps, flashlights, disposable cameras, and all the other stuff tourists haul around with them, YMMV. But you will make yourself more of a target that way than if you casually just use your phone.

Ever wonder how it is that in places like Rome, where pickpockets abound, locals walk around with their wallets in their front pockets, their handbags on their arms, and their phones in their hands?

<heck, your car could be stolen>

They cannot steal what you do not have.

Yes, suze, we ALL know VERY VERY WELL that you do not have a phone of any kind. Why not put it in your bio, so you don't have to keep pointing it out?

But not every thread and post is about you and your peculiar circumstances.

If you don't own a cell phone, what exactly do you now about keeping one safe? Or how best to use one, or when not to?

'an elderly woman with an iguana managed to get my iPhone from the pocket of my cross body bag'
'Leave your phone in your bag or pocket. this ain't rocket science here'
Apparently it is.