Q – In a few months we’ll be off to Europe for the first time, visiting primarily Italy with some France. As we walk around, we were wondering if we should buy one of those hidden money belts or a fanny pack for our valuables?
A – The money belts and fanny packs are not as impervious to a pickpocket with a sharp knife as one would imagine. Fanny packs are the worst place to store your money and credit cards. They also identify you as a tourist who will soon be leaving town. The safest technique seems to be the passport size zippered case that you wear around your neck and tuck inside your shirt. If someone wants to cut the cord they will have to remove your entire head and in Europe they seem to feel that is somewhat extreme. It isn’t hard to know exactly where pickpockets work the crowds. The like to work right where the tour buses let off their passengers. There is one gang that works Rome’s Trevi Fountain exclusively.
