Common Sense Security Tips
Be aware of your belongings and your surroundings, and exercise common sense!
A Caveat
None of the security information below is intended to freak you out, or even to suggest that travel is unsafe. The only intent is to make you aware of potential methods of ripping you off so that you can be more careful and observant. There are probably just as many thieves in your home town as there are in any domestic or foreign destination to which you might be traveling. The Boy Scout motto, “Be Prepared”, is always the best rule to follow.
Keep in mind that the most hazardous threat to Americans traveling abroad is from road accidents. Threat of death from possible terrorism: 1 in about 10 million; threat of death from driving a car: 1 in 18,800; The State Department figures reflect that about 200 Americans die each year from car accidents abroad, most as pedestrians! Be careful walking around, and look both ways!
Check In and Seat Assignment
Bringing along some reading material to occupy your time as you slowly snake your way through the security line is a boredom preventer When you check your luggage at the airline counter, or at the curbside check-in, look at the three letter code of the luggage tags that are affixed to your bags and confirm that it is the correct airport code. If you travel in coach with carry-on baggage only and think that you're going to be on a crowded flight, try to book a seat toward the rear of the plane so that you're one of the first to board. This gets your carry-on baggage up into the overhead compartments before the limited space runs out. If you don’t already have an assigned seat, which you should have already secured via the web or a phone call, don’t hesitate to request a good seat with the gate counter attendants (note: this is a perfect time to show how polite and respectful you can be. These folks suffer verbal abuse constantly, so they just might appreciate civility). Your request will have more impact if you actually know the seat and row number you prefer instead of just asking for “a good seat”.
Airport Security Screening Checkpoints
* Getting to the airport early is paramount, allowing you ample time to deal with potential security lines.
* If you can print your own boarding pass, or get it from a non-counter kiosk in the airport, do so.
* Have all of your travel documents easily-accessible and in plain sight: passport and/or ID, plane tickets, and boarding pass.
* The more forms of picture identification you carry with you, the better…especially if your name is similar to that of a bad guy’s on the Federal No-Fly List.
* Wear clothes while traveling that are easy for you to remove or open at the security check points. You’ll get better treatment all the way around if you dress casually but nicely. If you look grubby you won’t get preferential treatment when you might need or want it.
* Wear shoes that are easily slipped off and back on, and steel-toed or steel shank shoes or boots are a bad idea.
* You are often asked to remove belts, and huge belt buckles are probably guaranteed alarm-producers.
* Coats are now removed and placed on the conveyor, as are bulky sweaters or garments, so be careful with anything that might spill or fall out of your pockets.
* Remove any metal pens/pencils, cell phones, pagers, jewelry, loose change, etc. and place them in your carry-on or purse before getting to the front of the line.
* Jeans with button fly’s will set off the beepers…zippers are better.
* Remove all piercings, studs, rings, etc. that you might have, unless you want to have to expose that particular part of the body to the rest of the terminal.
* Have laptops open for inspection (occasionally they might ask you to turn them on for verification) and remove tapes from video cameras and music players.
* Film should not be placed in your checked bags, but should be in your carry-on.
* Don’t create a scene if you are pulled aside for further inspection…it will only slow down your egress to the gates, and might get you detained.
* Keep an eye on your property as it comes out of the x-ray screening machine, especially if you are also dealing with security people at the sametime….it’s relatively easy for a stranger to grab your things and disappear into the crowds.
* Leave all guns, knives, weapons, and jokes about terrorists, bombs, etc. at home. If you have to transport weapons of any kind, they need to be pre-approved and declared with the carrier, and then placed in your checked baggage.
"All types of lighters are banned from sterile areas beyond security checkpoints at airports and aboard all planes. That includes butane, absorbed fuel, electric powered and even novelty lighters. " Oddly enough, matches are still allowed.
Official guidelines for airport screening can be found at the
Airplane Flight Security
There is no statistical evidence that suggests that any section of an airplane is safer than another section. The smart thing to do is listen to the security briefing by the stewards and review the safety card, know how to put on and activate the oxygen mask, learn how to put on and inflate the life vest, and learn how to exit the plane using the slides. The smartest thing you can do is to sit close to an exit, and count (and then remember) the number of seat rows to the nearest exit. In the event of an emergency you can feel your way to the exit by counting seatbacks, even if smoke makes it impossible to see the exits. Always remember to drop down as low as possible (smoke and heat rise), see if you can follow the sequential exit lights on the floor, and breathe as little as possible if there is toxic smoke in the cabin.
If flying worries you, consider these statistics: In 1998, for example, there were about 14 million commercial airline flights carrying some 615 million passengers, with zero crashes and zero fatalities. In 1999 and 2000 there were less than five crashes in each year. According to the research organization STATS, "your odds of dying in a plane crash (based on recent experience from the 1990s) and based on flying 100,000 miles a year on large commercial jets, are about 1 in 500,000… if you fly just 2,000 miles a year, your odds of dying in a plane crash are roughly equivalent to your odds of being hit on the head by a plane falling on you.” Commercial flying is the safest means of transportation man has ever devised, and it’s thousands of times safer than the car that got you to the airport.
Travel Security
The biggest guideline here is to use common sense and street smarts to avoid any problems. Keep money and valuables securely stashed on your body, preferably in a neck or waist pouch worn under a layer of clothing. Different destinations will pose different problems, but rest assured that most places you go (including your own city or anywhere in the States) there will be thieves or one sort or another hoping to part you from your money if you make it easy enough for them to do so. Rule number one: when you leave somewhere (checking out of the hotel room, leaving a restaurant, shop, exiting a cab, etc.) make sure that you have everything with you that you arrived with.
Listed here are some potential problem situations as examples:
* avoid crowds of children that sidle up to you in a group, especially if they are carrying newspapers (which they might not be able to read, but use to conceal)
* never handle large amounts of cash in plain sight
* do not carry a wallet or money clip where a pickpocket can access it
* watch for the new breed of razor-toting strap-cutting snatch-and-go bandits
* at night stay on well-lit streets with plenty of other people about
* make sure your bags are well at hand if riding in an open air conveyance, such as a streetcar, cyclo, pedicab, samblor, or tuk tuk
* watch for snatch-and-go artists on motor scooters or motorcycles and when walking down a sidewalk hang the purse, backpack on the shoulder away from street traffic
* do not hang a purse, camera bag, backpack on the back of a chair when you are sitting at a bar or restaurant
* carry a purse or shoulder bag that has a zipper or hook and loop closing device and keep it secured
* in very crowded markets carry your backpack backwards (hooked over you shoulders with the pack covering your chest) or looped over one shoulder with the bag cradled under one arm
* watch every credit card transaction carefully, and make sure it occurs in plain sight with no extra copies run off (and carefully monitor your credit card bills for several months after your return)
* don’t get inebriated by yourself and stumble back to your room alone…do so only in a group or take a reliable-looking cab
* if you think you are being suspiciously followed get immediately to a well-lit spot with others around
* remember firmly the rule that if something appears to be too good, then it more than likely is (especially if you are approached by strangers needing financial help or pitching a great financial opportunity)
* …and try to recall everything that your Mother and Scoutmaster taught you.
Document Photocopies
It is a wise practice to make at least two sets of photocopies of all of your important documents: passport (all pages, especially the page with the immigration entry stamp of the current country), driver’s license, front and back of your ATM and credit cards (the backs of the cards will have the lost or stolen 1-800 number that you hopefully won’t need to know), insurance card, travel insurance documents, return airplane tickets, etc. For the copies of the credit cards, obscure the expiration date and the last three digits of the number…then pencil in a hint or clue that will remind you of the numbers, or keep just those numbers on a separate piece of paper with no notation that would allow a thief to connect the dots. Keep one of these sets of documents secure in a place where no one but you can access it. Leave the other set with a trustworthy friend, relative, or office mate back home so that you can get the information and numbers with a phone call if necessary.
Strip your wallet of all extraneous cards and non-essential information before you leave, taking along only the credit cards that you plan on using for that particular trip. Note that some airlines require you to use the same credit card that you made the reservations with. Of course you would also have your medical and travel insurance cards or documents, as well as your driver’s license.
It’s good to have several photocopies of your passport in case you are at a destination where they want to keep your passport to insure payment of a bill, for example. Always try to give anyone that requests your passport a copy of the front pages instead…even the police. Tell them that the original is being held by your hotel. Always try to retrieve any copies that you give to someone after they are no longer needed…having photocopies of your passport floating around in these times is a very bad idea.
If there is the possibility that you might be going to a third country from your original destination you should carry a supply of extra passport photos with you…often several extra copies are needed to obtain a visa for that second destination. If you are traveling with your spouse a copy of your marriage certificate can occasionally come in handy if you have to deal with the government, hospitals, police, etc. as a couple, and they require marital confirmation (especially if there is a child with you…children’s birth certificates are always a good idea if you have kids in tow, as some countries have concerns with one parent absconding with disputed kiddos during custody battles).
Luggage & Bags
Keep your luggage locked at all times whenever you are away from your hotel room, and keep any and all valuables locked away in the hotel room safe or the front desk safe. Unless you are a hip-hop or movie star and you just can’t be without your “bling-bling”, you have no business toting jewelry or valuables on international or domestic travels anyway.
When in transit, always keep your luggage in front of you and don’t allow yourself to get distracted or fall asleep in the airport terminal. Don’t put your luggage on a rental cart in an airport and pull it behind you…always push it in front of you, within sight. When checking in your luggage at the airport, especially at curbside, make sure that the luggage makes it onto the conveyor and into the system. Don’t allow the porters to place it on a cart and leave it there. When you get into (and out of) a cab, double check that all of your bags make it in (and out) of the vehicle. Be leery of bellhops that place your bags on a cart and want to leave it sitting in the lobby of the hotel when the front desk is busy…if in doubt, take the bags to the room yourself. Always get a receipt for any left luggage should you leave it with the hotel temporarily while on a side trip. Keep a copy of your identification tags or a business card affixed to the inside of each bag as well as the outside, just in case the exterior tags get knocked off in transit. Use your business address on all exterior luggage tags, rather than your home address.
Fanny packs are a bad idea unless you have the newer type that has a steel cable placed inside of the belt and a secure zipper or hook and loop closing system. Conventional fanny packs can easily have the straps cut in crowds, and thieves can often open them and extract contents while bumping into you in crowds.
Women should always carry a purse slung over the shoulder on the side away from the traffic when strolling down a sidewalk. Thieves on mopeds or motorcycles can zip by and grab the bag from the street before you have any idea what has happened.
“… locks that are accepted and recognized by
In theory this all sounds fine and dandy, but in practice, it’s a myth. The failure of
You should also be concerned that the number of complaints from travelers regarding mishandled baggage and theft from baggage are on the rise. The wise traveler will take an extra set of locks with them, and
Touts
When approached by anyone that tells you that a restaurant that you seek is closed, the destination you want to go to is full, the temples aren’t open because it’s the monk’s lunch time, etc. ad infinitum, and they are suggesting an alternate course of action, you should be wary…not so much of being assaulted or robbed, but of being simply diverted from your planned course and wasting some time. These people are touts that are being paid a commission to get you to go someplace you don’t want to go. If in doubt, try to ask a shopkeeper close by to confirm suspicious stories.
Crowds
Be especially wary in places where there are crowds and in waiting areas of airports, subways, or train stations. These are magnets for thieves. In public restrooms don’t hang your bag on the hook on the back of the door unless the door is high enough to prohibit someone from reaching over the top…chasing someone with your pants around your ankles doesn’t work. Avoid areas where large groups of tourists hang out. These areas can be targets for terrorists. In foreign destinations don’t wear clothing or carry a bag that overtly advertises that you are an American (although these days you’ll see American logo tee shirts worn in even the most remote locations).
Watch for pairs of strangers that engage you in conversations of a personal nature, try to distract you, or try to get information from you about where you might be staying, etc. Don’t leave valuables or bags in plain sight when they are locked in a rental car…always place them in the trunk (boot). Never leave your drink unattended in a bar or dance venue. If a friend is watching your drink have them place a bar napkin or coaster over the top of the glass until your return.
Animals
Be careful around animals of any kind, unless they are cooked and on your plate. Animal vaccination programs are basically non-existent in many third world countries, and packs of dogs can be a common sight. Don’t pet them no matter how cute they look. Non-domesticated animals that routinely beg for food, such as monkeys, can get very agitated when they are teased or denied expected offerings of food, and they have rather large fangs. Monkeys (and certain birds) are also attracted to shiny objects, such as cameras, watches, pens, glasses, jewelry, etc., and have been known to grab them while zipping past. No amount of coaxing will get them to return the objects. Be aware, be practical, and be smart.