As per a recent survey by American Society of Tourism in January 2020, over 18% of Americans traveling abroad have reported criminal activity against them. Currently, the world is on a stand still due to the virus outbreak, but we will rise again. Once we are back to our daily business, we must follow the tips below in order to avoid inviting trouble while we travel to a different country.
Going abroad takes the breath of most people who are leaving their country for the first time. Although this sounds great, the traveler has to be careful not to fall prey to international swindlers who are con artists. To protect themselves from such individuals, they have to be vigilant in following advisories provided by their country’s foreign affairs.
It is not wise to hand over your portfolio or purse to someone you do not know. In fact, there are some instances where people involved in a scam approaches tourist in government uniforms asking to check personal belongings in order to search for money intended for drugs.
Because of this, tourist or business travelers are advised to confirm the identifications of these people posing as government officials searching for identification cards or cash.
Do not be fooled by people who are dressed as photographers. They would take your pictures even without your consent and offer these pictures to you at a price. After taking your money, these people would just disappear in the crowd without returning to you for the developed pictures for your remembrance. Beware of these people.
Stay away from crowds. Tourists who choose to attend popular affairs or ceremonies face the risk of getting their wallets stolen. This is done systematically by a group of people. Some of them would try to get the tourist’s attention, while the other steals the tourist’s wallet, purse or anything of value.
Be cautious of how and where you safely keep valuable items. Ladies should not leave their bags anywhere, but to keep it close to one’s hand to be able to easily notice any person trying to put their hand on it and stash it away.
Watch out for swindling taxi cab drivers. Though not all taxi cab drivers are bad, there are some who would grab the opportunity to deceive ignorant tourist by demanding for an outrageous fare for the trip before starting the cab. To avoid such, one should ask around first about the average fare to reach the destination. Once the cab starts to move, check the meter once in a while to see if it runs fair.
These are just some things to consider before going on a safe travel. Try your best to keep all of these things in mind, even if some of them seem to be overly cautious. Other countries of the world operate different from yours, and as an outside visitor, you won’t be familiar with the nuances that dictate some of them.
