Pickpocket Repellent Ingredient #9 - Batten down the hatches

This simple ingredient is often ignored ‘for just a minute,’ while trying to get from point A to B with hands full to overflowing. Unfortunately, this ‘minute’ is all it takes to label oneself with a great big invitation on your bag or pocket … Pick Me! Pick Me!

Consider:

Step 1, buy a nice security bag to protect your valuables while traveling.

Step 2, keep the bag open so you can easily access your travel guide, phone, mobile device … convenience, after all. (Or buy a bunch of bulky stuff and put it in the bag so you can’t close it.)

Step 3, have your valuables snatched from your open bag while you’re looking over the Paris skyline.

Who hasn’t heard the little voice in their head declare, when contemplating the hassle of zipping and buttoning and battening? “I’ll need this again in just a few minutes anywayI” The translation, in pickpocketese: “Look in here for a free dinner … and a show!”

Here is the correct sequence, the little voice and convenience notwithstanding. We cheerfully acknowledge that this sequence contains little if any ingenuity or creativity on our part.

Step 1, buy the bag to keep your valuables secure.

Step 2, close every zipper and button on your security satchel except when you actively need to access its contents. (Too much stuff? Use The Den. It folds up to the size of a pickle, and can be easily pulled out to carry your food and souvenirs.)

Step 3, enjoy, without really noticing, that your valuables remain in your securely sealed bag while you’re looking over the Paris skyline, and throughout the rest of your vacation.