> high-value banknote in my back pocket [... to] have some money on me
Nah, pickpockets usually attack the back pockets first, they are mostly unprotected. Best place to hide some cab money is inside your shoes/socks. Have a reasonable amount of money in a wallet and carry it in your front pocket.
Pickpockets would have a harder time and if robbed the mugger would be happy with the amount inside the wallet and won't check you further.
I don't know how well this works, but this is how I was told to deal with robbery.
If you have anything substantial to lose, carry two wallets, one in an unconventional place. Put about $100 (with a few ones, so it seems like a real wallet) and some expired or fake credit cards in one as a dummy wallet.
Most robbers just want to get some quick cash, usually for drugs. So they get what they want and slink away, and you only lose $100. If you're traveling in dangerous parts of the world, the police are usually corrupt and you expect such random losses in the form of shakedowns/bribes.
I remember a pickpocket trying to pick my front pocket on the NYC subway in the late '80s. The subway car was packed since it was after the July 4th fireworks. What amazed me is that he realized were my cash was. Not in my wallet, but in my front left pocket.
I caught the pickpocket and wrapped my fingers over his and looked in his eyes. I didn't say anything since I knew thieves can roam in packs and my parents were not too far away. I was going to warn them (in a different language) when someone else caught the same pickpocket and started yelling at him and he finally left the train.
We were taught to wrap a rubber band around our wallets since it would create friction if someone tried to remove your wallets. Ah, the '80s.
I can confirm this first hand. Two pickpockets tried to get my stuff in Barcelona. One had his hand in my left pocket with my cell phone, the other one in the right pocket with my wallet and passport.
Sorry, folks, but my jeans pockets are like monkey traps. If you grab anything in there you won't be able to get your hand out. They pickpockets figured that out quickly and ran off without any loot. Tight jeans saved my vacation.
Quite right; I've heard that same warning before, and nowadays if I feel the urge to check my pockets, I check all of them in no particular order.
I've traveled extensively and never had my pocket picked -- a little planning goes a long way.
I don't flash valuables or any large amount of cash, I keep money separated into "using in the next few hours" in an accessible-but-somewhat-safe location (like deep in a front jeans pocket) vs. "needs to last until we find another ATM" someplace that's hard to access even for me, but I can still keep an eye on (e.g., not a backpack on my back: I imagine someone just slipping a blade down the side of a backpack, then just watching to see what falls out...).
Related: choose traveling companions who keep their wits about them, and who will keep an eye out for you (as you watch out for them).
It also probably helps that I'm tall and athletic -- I suspect many pickpockets would generally avoid people who might successfully chase them down after a bungled attempt.
> ALWAYS carry and travel with cash, no matter what.
Funny, that's the exact opposite of the advice I hear to only travel with only petty-cash and rely on cards instead, so if you're mugged/robbed or simply misplace your wallet you won't be SOL far from home.
Put things in your front pockets. If you're in a really suspicious area (like traveling through tourist traps abroad) use a hidden body wallet / money belt (they're like a small fanny pack that ties around your stomach under your clothes).
In my family it's common to carry a wallet, and then a hanging pouch with your valuables (serious money and stuff you don't need everyday, though I don't keep my passport there) when traveling.
So even if you're robbed, you have something left (not as good as your advice, but it sounds like it works).
Decoy wallet or a few bills in a separate pocket "guys, here's $20, it's all I have on me". Unless they're drunk or crazy, they'll take it. But they'll also want your phone these days.
A good way to always have cash while travelling is to get a belt wallet. You will get mugged for your phone and your bag and what they presume to be your actual wallet, but they aren't going to ask for your belt or even whatever you might have shoved into your sock.
Do people keep wallets in their back pockets outside of cartoons and 20th century pickpocket victims in films? I prefer it separate to my phone, but always front pocket, I don't want to sit (lop-sided?!) on it.
I carry 3 thigns: keys, phone, wallet. Each in a different pocket. I tap both front pockets using both hands at the same time, then repeat for back pockets.
So essentially I've told a pickpocket: I keep things in my pockets. Not sure what new information I've armed him with.
London has some pretty effective pickpockets (try Covent Garden on a busy weekend in Summer). Prague petty criminals prefer the accidental bumping into you approach, especially in the main tourist area outside Tyn cathedral/Astronomical Clock in the old town square.
I must admit that I relax a little when I enter an academic environment.
I have one of those wallets that have little straps that hook over your belt, and then you put the wallet inside your trousers. Works for me.
> high-value banknote in my back pocket [... to] have some money on me
Nah, pickpockets usually attack the back pockets first, they are mostly unprotected. Best place to hide some cab money is inside your shoes/socks. Have a reasonable amount of money in a wallet and carry it in your front pocket.
Pickpockets would have a harder time and if robbed the mugger would be happy with the amount inside the wallet and won't check you further.
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