It’s no secret that pickpockets and thieves are drawn to busy areas where they can prey on unsuspecting victims. If you’re not careful, they can easily snatch your wallet and run off with your money. In this blog post, we will discuss some tips for protecting your wallet and keeping your money safe!
Protect Yourself by Not Tempting Thieves
If you keep your purse or wallet in plain sight, you’re putting yourself at risk of having it stolen. The key isn’t to protect your wallet; rather, the best method to safeguard your money from being stolen is to hide it so that robbers aren’t tempted to take what isn’t theirs.
Don’t Leave Your Wallet Strewn About The Place
The majority of people who steal from you are likely to be your friends and family, but not everyone is a thief. According to Money Management International, two out of every five instances of identity theft are carried out by someone the victim knows.
Your child may be tempted to steal a few dollars or use your credit card to purchase that item they’ve been wanting if you leave your wallet out in the open at home. Your cleaning lady, nanny, or handyman could take advantage of a nutritious tip from you. Even if you’re not a sports enthusiast yourself, your buddy sitting next to you may decide they need some extra cash for their next six-pack.
Keep your wallet on you at all times. Keep it in your pajamas or a locked safe that only you know the combination to when you’re sleeping.
The same rules apply in the workplace. When you go to the restroom or leave your wallet on your desk, don’t forget to keep it safe. You never know when someone may make a horrible decision, even if you’ve worked with the same individuals for years or have a tiny team.
People are more vulnerable to enticement if they are experiencing financial difficulties, unhappy with their earnings, or have a history of drug addiction. If you know someone who has these difficulties, be especially cautious of your money when they are around.
Don’t Show Your Bulge
The next stage is to keep your wallet hidden when you wear it on you. A wallet has a noticeable bulge in the back pockets. If you’re wearing skinny jeans, the same may be said for the front pocket. The goal should be to keep your wallet as inconspicuous as possible while still maintaining a safe and secure storage spot.
Keep your wallet away from your back pocket. Your wallet may be plucked out of your back pocket by a skilled thief, and you’ll never see it coming. Front pockets and jacket pockets are preferable locations. You could conceal your wallet in a secret compartment within your shirt or trousers.
To reduce your protrusion, we recommend carrying as little as possible in a bifold money clip wallet or a men’s credit card wallet. Wearing looser-fit jeans for front-pocket wallets is also an option. Your wallet should be thin enough that no one can tell where it is. If a criminal can’t figure out which pocket to look in, they’ll go after someone else who is more simple to dupe.
Don’t Count or Sort in Plainview
Even when you have your genuine leather wallet in hand, be cautious about what you do with it. Don’t pull out your wallet in front of someone else or in a crowd and start counting or separating your money. Don’t move your cards around. If you do, you’re broadcasting what you have to anybody who might be looking. When sorting is necessary, do it in solitude at home, at the office, in a bathroom or car first making sure no one is watching you.
Keep Your Contents Hidden when Paying
When you pay for something, don’t pull your wallet out of your pocket. When you’re alone, you may withdraw a card or enough cash from your wallet before entering a store. For example, if you keep your wallet in the back pocket of your sweatpants (or other less-than-pristine locations) while paying for items, it’ll be much more difficult to show the cashier or other customers how much money you have.
Avoid paying street sellers or giving to beggars from your real leather wallets. Such individuals frequently have others observe and follow those approaching them. They’ll observe where you store your wallet, eager to accept your cash and even happier if they notice the chance. Tempt them to take advantage of you by don’t doing anything that might entice them. Do not display your wallet or how much money you have.
Use Zippers and Hidden Pockets
If you don’t want to take out your cash or bills before going into a store, consider getting a wallet with zippers or secret compartments. When you need to open one zipper or pocket to retrieve money or cards, the rest of your stuff stays hidden. Because no one can see everything in your wallet, the overall package will be less of a temptation.
Accompany the Wait Staff
Waiters and waitresses serve you. They also bring your credit card to the table so that you may pay. Each waitperson manages hundreds of credit cards each week, out of their owners’ sight. That doesn’t appear to be a very safe approach to us. What if one of those waiters or waitresses photocopied or took a photo of your card?
Instead of putting yourself at risk of identity theft, politely inform the wait staff that you don’t want your credit card to leave your sight. You can’t follow them to the kitchen when they pick up your food, but you can follow them to the register or kiosk when they take your payment. Make conversation with them while they’re processing your card. You’ll save them from the urge to steal your identity by not giving it to them.
Protect Yourself by Keeping Your Wallet Secure
You can also defend yourself if a robber caves to temptation and attempts to take your wallet. Here’s how.
Attach Chains and Clips to Your Wallet
A wallet chain clipped or strung through your wallet and belt loop can be broken, but it will take some work. If you prefer the look of wallet chains and want them to drape down a bit, go long. Alternatively, if you want them to clip onto your nearest belt loop, get on short enough to do so. Pickpockets will notice the chain and realize that stealing your take is more difficult. And even if an opponent tries to steal your wallet, you’ll feel the chain pulling as soon as they grab it, giving you extra time to defend yourself.
Replace Your Wallet in a Different Pocket
If you pull your wallet out to pay for something, make sure you put it back in the same pocket. Change pockets once more after leaving the store or walking away from the vendor. Changing the position of your genuine leather trifold wallet is like playing the cup game. Change enough pockets and thieves will have a hard time keeping track of which pocket your wallet is in.
Use a Decoy Wallet
Some people have even suggested building a decoy wallet. You keep your real wallet hidden while making it obvious with an empty wallet. Allow it to stick out of your pocket or display a prominent bulge. Don’t chain it or check it. Allow it to be taken as freely as possible. If they’re after your decoy wallet, they aren’t aiming for your actual one.
Protect Yourself when Your Wallet is Lost or Stolen
You may reduce your losses and the inconvenience of recovering or replacing its contents if you lose your wallet.
Digitize and Reduce
First and foremost, never carry more things than you need. Our brief guide on How to Reduce the Contents of Your Wallet might help. It will show you how to digitize many of your cards and offer suggestions on what should be removed from your wallet.
When you have less, thieves have less to steal and need less of your property to replace. Carrying less makes it simpler to conceal a slim wallet so that the bulge of your wallet does not show through your clothing.
Hide a Locator Chip in Your Wallet
A wallet card is a piece of plastic that you can insert into the lining or one of the pockets on your phone. It’s likely that your phone has one. You may put it in your dog’s collar. Why not include one in your wallet? One of the compartments might be used, or the inside could be sewn with a locator chip. If your wallet is lost or stolen, you can use the locator app on your phone to find it. When you lose your wallet, activate the locate remote and try to find it. Depending on the type, the chip will send or respond to a signal.
If you believe your wallet has been stolen, it’s always a good idea to notify the police and allow them to use the locator to locate it. You could never know if someone is carrying a weapon or how another person would react when confronted.
Use Compassion to Recover Your Wallet
Do you have a photograph of your kid? Is it possible to take a photo of a baby? According to a recent study, 88% of lost wallets with a baby picture inside were returned to their owners. People who don’t mind stealing from you are still more inclined to care for your children. They may believe that they are depriving infants of food or shelter if they take your money. If you are using a money clip, consider stashing it inside your wallet. If someone else discovers your wallet and thinks they are assisting in the raising of a young kid, they will put out more effort to locate you and return it if they believe it is contributing to that goal.
So, use the cutest baby photo you can find to your advantage. Place that picture in the most visible pocket and watch your wallet return to you. Don’t tell the person who’s returning it that you don’t have a baby.
Protect Yourself from Non-Contact Identity Theft
Did you know that you can hand someone your credit cards and passcards without ever touching them? You don’t have to give it to them. You don’t even need to pull out your card from your wallet or pocket.
Radiofrequency is used in today’s smart cards. When someone scans your card or when you wave a key card in front of a card reader, radio signals are bounced off the card and read the encoded data. A remote scanner may be used to broadcast radio signals into a crowd of individuals and acquire all the data they need to fabricate a counterfeit credit card or make an internet purchase. They can also obtain the encryption required to access your hotel room, workplace, or apartment that uses key cards using this device.
You may prevent your cards from being read using three distinct strategies.
Microwave Your Card
This isn’t the finest answer, but it will suffice. Microwaving a credit card for 3 seconds destroys the chip that emits radio waves. You can still make payments using the magnetic stripe on the back and the card number and CVV verification code on the back to make internet purchases. However, unauthorized scanners will not be able to decode your data.
Purchase a Wallet with RFID Lining
Some wallets include a metallic mesh lining that prevents RFID readers from scanning your cards. The metallic mesh disrupts radio transmissions, preventing someone from reading your cards using a scanner. Every wallet we review is tested for RFID protection in our tests.
You can select a wallet that protects both credit cards and key cards, credit cards only or just one of the two. You might want to secure all of your cards for privacy purposes or keep some passcards exposed so you can use them without removing them from your wallet. If you’re going to allow remote scanners access to any part of your wallet, make sure to identify which compartments are secure and which aren’t.
RFID Sleeves
You may also obtain RFID blocking sleeves for each card you wish to safeguard. The RFID material is sandwiched between the layers of each sleeve rather than being placed inside the pocket or wallet. Sleeves are not ideal since they increase the thickness of cards in your pocket, making it impossible to fit as many into your wallet. If you want to use them, you must also remove the cards from their pocket and the additional sleeve.
Conclusion
To keep your wallet from becoming a temptation, you may secure the contents and your wallet itself. Keep your wallet on you at all times. Keep it hidden away. Allow no one but yourself to process your cards. Secure your wallet with a chain. A decoy wallet or change that you hide might deter thieves. Locate your wallet or raise awareness of your disappearance by using concealed locator chips and baby pictures strategically placed. Don’t be a mug and give up more money than you have to by cutting corners where it counts. Finally, as an added layer of protection, use a wallet with radio-frequency identification (RFID) protection to prevent remote scans. Using the tips above will help you avoid losing money and time from being taken advantage of.
Because I carry my wallet in my front pocket, thieves don’t try to steal my wallet.