Second in an occasional series

Water show, Bellagio hotel-casino, Las Vegas

We’ve already talked about the need to be alert and aware to stave off pickpockets. Here are some other things you can and should do:

* To minimize your exposure to pickpockets, think not only about where you travel, but when. If you can, consider saving high-threat tourist destinations for off-peak or shoulder seasons. Crowds are much smaller then, a disadvantage to pickpockets. The weather may not be as good, but for security, that’s also in your favor. Most criminals really hate to be cold or get wet.

* Do your best to blend in. Whenever possible, dress down, not up. Leave the bling at home. And ditch that fanny pack. What a red cape is to a bull, a fanny pack is to a pickpocket.

* If your hotel room has a safe, learn how to work it, and use it.

* Scatter your cash and cards among more than one location, and try NEVER to carry all of it with you when you’re on the street. I have sometimes carried a little cash in one pocket, the ATM card in a second and the wallet in a third. The pickpocket who goes for my wallet, even if he gets it, won’t get much beyond a nasty note. Which he may not understand, anyway.

* On the street, carry yourself with confidence, with purpose. In this case, it is better to look fearless than to be fearless. If you look like someone who could give a petty crook a hard time, he’s more likely to look for a softer target.

* Consider carrying a dummy wallet, with little or nothing of value in it. Look for bags or packs that offer locking zippers and/or straps woven with steel cables to thwart the cut-and-run types.

* To crooks overseas, passports are as valuable as cash. Keep yours well secured, as close to your body, under your clothing, as possible, and don’t take it out unless required.

* Listen to your instincts and use your good sense. If an area looks “dodgy” to you, leave. Better yet, don’t go in it, especially if you get good local advice from residents or other travelers on places to avoid.

* Keep yourself refreshed and relaxed. It’s a vacation, not boot camp. Take little breaks throughout the day. Fatigue is the enemy of alertness, which makes it the pickpocket’s best friend.

* If you’re being hit by pickpockets, or petty thieves in general, don’t go down quietly. Make noise, kick, scream and raise Hell generally, whatever it takes to call attention to yourself — and to the crooks.

* Make a copy of the first page of your passport and keep it in your luggage, or scan a copy of it and keep it on a thumb drive, or even email a copy of it to yourself. If you ever do need to replace your passport overseas for some reason, having that info handy will greatly speed up the process of getting it replaced.

* Bring with you a list of your credit card info, especially phone numbers and/or email for contacting the bank back home, just in case you do get hit. You can keep it on that thumb drive along with your passport info.

Back in the day, most pickpockets would just take the cash and dump your cards along with your wallet — but in this era of identify theft, you can’t count on that anymore. Those magnetic strips on the back of your card, which contain so much info about you and your finances, are utterly vulnerable to the tech-savvy thief, abroad or at home. You’ll feel a lot better if you can notify your bank fast — and so will your bank.

None of this is guaranteed to make you impervious to pickpockets, but it will improve your chances, by a lot.

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