Many hands, light fingers

Travellers are leaving nothing to chance in a bid to outwit thieves and scammers. But at what cost, asks Nick Galvin.

Unwary travellers have been falling victim to scams and swindles from light-fingered locals ever since Moses conducted tour groups around the Middle East. Strangers in a strange land are always liable to attract the wrong kind of attention - they're out of their comfort zone, probably don't speak the local language and are quite possibly lost.

There are thousands of ruses (many of them variations on just a few classics) designed to part you from your valuables before you even realise it. Almost everyone who has travelled overseas has a "rip-off" story to tell.

Often the scam involves distracting your attention while an accomplice lightens your pocket. Perhaps you will be splashed with a soft drink or worse and the "concerned" stranger helps you clean up; or maybe someone will stop suddenly in front of you in a crowded street; or you may be surrounded by young kids shouting at you and brandishing newspapers to hide the hands in your pocket.

Then there's the widely reported railway scam. You've just plonked your bags in the carriage and sat down when someone beckons you urgently to the window. As you are distracted, an accomplice makes off with your belongings.

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australians last year reported 892 stolen passports (more than a third of those were in Spain).

Underpants with zippered pockets are claimed to be "100 per cent pickpocket proof".

So how do you avoid becoming a victim? It makes sense not to flash your cash when travelling and to keep your valuables as close to you (and inaccessible to others) as possible.

David Lowson, the product manager at outdoor and travel store Paddy Pallin, says classic items such as money belts and neck wallets still sell steadily but increasingly, customers are also going for more sophisticated "theft-proof" items.