Malda Police District

Just in case, despite all the tips below, you still fall prey to a pickpocket make sure that you have:

a) Copies of your travel tickets, passport, visa, Plastic money cards and bank information on you, with a friend at home and in the cloud.

b) Have insurance against theft should it be your phone or other item that goes missing.

c) Take a photo of your expensive gear before you leave in case you need to make a claim.

Stash your cash in multiple places. Make sure that you carry your money in multiple safe places on your person.

Beware of crowded places. Markets, train stations, large public events… these are the types of places that pickpockets love. Your purse should have a flap and a zipper. If you carry a daypack, wear it on your front rather than your back in these places. If you insist on carrying a wallet in your pocket, it should be a front pocket not in the back.

Be careful around warning signs about pickpockets. If you see a sign in a public place warning you about pickpockets DO NOT touch your pocket to check on your valuables. Pickpockets hang out in such places waiting for innocent people to point out where their wallet is.

Always look back. Whenever you've paused for a coffee, in a restaurant, on a park bench… always look back at where you were seated before moving on. This can save you a lot of worry and backtracking looking for forgotten items.

Anchor your purse or pack. Many tourists have lost a pack or purse off the back of a restaurant chair. Loop a strap through the leg of the chair, keep it on your lap or squeezed between you and a companion, whatever will keep it safe.

Wear pickpocket-proof clothing. Pants with zippered pockets inside of pockets, bras with stash pockets for credit cards, jackets with inside pockets are all great places to keep cash.

Keep spare cash where no one would suspect to find it. Improvise some unique idea before you move out. One could be-- roll a few currency notes and put them in an almost empty medicine tablet bottles so that the bottle still makes a noise when shaken. If anyone ever rifles through your things, they won't think that you have money there.