The 12 Best Ways To Avoid Getting Pickpocketed In Popular Night Markets

No matter which corner of the globe you're exploring, one of the best ways to get a taste of the local culture is to immerse yourself in a night market. But whether you're night market shopping in Mexico's storybook mountain town Tapalpa or taste-testing the street food scenes in global destinations like Vietnam, India, Thailand, and Malaysia, tourists make tempting targets for local pickpockets. And if you're traveling abroad, the last thing you need is to get stranded without your money and identification just so someone with sticky fingers can catch an easy payday.

The internet's travel forums are filled with tales of rueful travelers who learned this the hard way. For example, a Tripadvisor user recounted how their husband had his wallet and £200 snatched at a Hanoi night market on their first night in town. And it's not just the sneaky sleight of hand: Some night market thieves get their loot by cutting bags right off of tourists' bodies.

Fortunately, many of those folks have channeled their misfortunes into helpful advice for other night market travelers. To save you from the same fate, we've gathered their best tips for dodging all of the slippery pickpockets and thieves in night markets so you can focus on more important things like finding the best street food vendors and local merchants.

In a Tripadvisor thread devoted to avoiding pickpockets in Hanoi's Old Quarter Night Market, one experienced traveler advised, "If a bag must be taken it should be slung over the front of the body and guarded with one arm, never hung over one shoulder or slung towards the back — that really is asking for trouble." A backpack with its zipper or opening sitting out of your line of sight is like a freebie for pickpockets — you're practically doing all of the work for them. On the other hand, a cross-body bag or a fanny pack worn shoulder-to-hip across your chest is a tried-and-true strategy. Be sure to pull your bag tight across your chest so that it's close to your body. Bonus points if you keep it under a jacket or shirt so it's out of sight and out of mind.

To thwart the thieves who roll up next to the curb on a scooter or bike and cut bags right off of tourists' arms, invest in an anti-theft bag with a slash-resistant strap. Or if you prefer not to travel with a backpack, a money belt is also a good option that can easily be kept out of sight and tucked away behind your clothing. And no matter what you do, never take your bag off in a public space. 

As long as you're not traveling to a place with prohibitively hot weather, a jacket with plenty of space inside roomy interior pockets that zip closed can be an excellent alternative to traveling with a bag. While there's no guarantee someone won't make a play for your wallet if it's inside a zipper pocket, every obstacle you can place between yourself and the culprit who sees you as a hapless mark increases your chances of catching on before they can make off with the goods.

Jackets from companies like the North Face and Patagonia are common sights in the Hanoi night market, but if you want to get more mileage out of your pockets consider shelling out for a travel vest like the ScottEVest or a quality Amazon knock-off. Some of these vests are absolutely loaded with zipping interior pockets with plenty of room for important travel documents, a wallet, a phone, and even your camera and a full-sized tablet. Or if you're looking for something a little less bulky and heavy, quite a few Redditors recommend the Duluth Trading Gardening Vest for travel. It comes in at a cheaper price point in a wider range of sizes and boasts an interior pocket. While there's a chance it might flag you as a tourist, throw a light jacket over it and the world will be none the wiser.

To an experienced pickpocket, a visible zipper is just a suggestion, and frankly, serves as more of a simple challenge than an actual barrier. Just take it from the many night market tourists who have caught thieves going straight for their zippers as if there was a welcome sign on their bag. Put a zipper lock on your bag, though, and they're getting nowhere fast. In fact, there's a good chance you'll catch them in the act, like the Redditor who shared with r/ThailandTourism, "I felt a tug at my bag and turned to see my bag half opened. Lucky my valuables are all in the inner zip of the bag with a lock."

If you invest in an anti-theft bag like those available from LocTote or PacSafe, you'll most likely have at least one pocket with a zipper lock on it. But if you don't, there are many forms of zipper locks and anti-theft clips available online — many for less than $10. In a pinch, a large safety pin, a carabiner, or anything else that can securely fasten your zippers in place is better than nothing. Above all, remember: Night market pickpockets are looking for fast, easy targets. Anything you can do to make their job harder will reduce your chance of becoming a victim, and making your zipper harder to access than a bottle of childproof medicine fits that bill.

Few things will cause your travel plans to go awry than having your passport finessed right out of your pocket by a smooth criminal. Writing on r/taiwan, one Redditor reported their own experience helping someone who had their passport taken in Shilin Night Market. "My SO witnessed a Japanese person getting their wallet and passport stolen a few years ago and by the time she understood what was going on and told me, the guy was already gone." Acting as Good Samaritans, the couple accompanied the woman to the police station where they learned just how common an occurrence this is in the popular Taipei night market.

To avoid having to contact the local police and the U.S. State Department — not to mention all of the other various drama associated with passport replacement that could be standing between you and all of those sweet night market souvenir deals — many night market regulars recommend not taking it with you. Depending on where you're traveling, there's always a chance you'll be required to show your ID to purchase alcohol or use a credit card, but many vendors will accept a laminated copy of your passport or ID so you can leave the original safely tucked away back in your hotel room safe. One notable exception is China, where travelers are expected to keep their passports on them and are even required to access many public spaces.

It's kind of a no-brainer that if you've got less worth stealing on you, then there's less you could end up feeling the sting of losing. Of course, it makes sense to carry at least some cash with you for small purchases or vendors who don't accept cards. But don't overdo it with stacks upon stacks because you can always hit up an ATM when you need one. Be strategic about how you stash the cash you do keep on hand, placing enough for small purchases in a convenient location and putting the rest in a separate location that's much harder for would-be thieves to access.

You don't need a royal flush of credit cards when you're strolling through a night market. These days, even many small vendors will accept contactless pay options that users set up through their phones like Google Pay and Apple Pay. One helpful Reddit user advised in r/Taiwan, "Other smaller shops, cafes and night markets will often take LINE Pay, which is a local QR based payment system in the LINE messaging app. It allows payment via credit card."

That's not to say you shouldn't bring a card or two just in case you need them. If you want to play it extra safe, go with a preloaded debit card that is not connected to your bank account. Keep your backup card in a secondary location like your zippered interior pocket. That way if you do get pickpocketed, you can easily hop onto your phone and shut off the other card and you'll still have money available.

If you're planning to document your night market adventures with a camera instead of just relying on your phone, keep it securely attached to your body with a high-quality camera strap. While it's true that a camera necklace is a pretty stereotypical tourist look, this isn't going to matter much if you're taking plenty of precautions to keep your property safe while you're shopping. As one Redditor put it on r/travel, "[L]ots of other things will mark you out as a tourist, such as the fact that you're speaking English and going to tourist sites. I wouldn't worry about it."

The same thing goes for your phone. There's a fair chance you'll be using it nonstop while you're touring through a night market between snapping pics, making contactless purchases, posting your adventures to social media, and getting directions on Google Maps. A phone strap for your wrist makes it easy to hang onto your phone while you're preoccupied thinking about other things. As a bonus, this reduces the chance of catastrophic screen damage due to a phone drop while you're taking a selfie in a packed place like a bustling market. Even better, pick up an anti-theft phone leash that attaches to your clothing and features a steel cable phone tether.

If you need to keep your phone handy but find the idea of navigating a phone leash or wrist strap a little too confining, you should still not stash it in your back pocket. Instead, keep it handy in the front pocket of your vest, jacket, or jeans with the caveat that your hand should pretty much always be on it at all times. "I wear pants with tighter pockets and always keep phone in front pockets," shared one Reddit user.

Writing on Tripadvisor, many tourists with experience in Hanoi's night market scene advised against keeping anything important in your back pocket given how common pickpocketing is there. One Hanoi night market forum poster who reported keeping their phone in a front pants pocket observed their phone would be "[i]mpossible to slide out, it's hard enough for me to get out." Wear a long untucked shirt over your jeans and pickpockets will be even less likely to go for your phone.

Whether you're keeping your phone on a lanyard securely around your neck or tucked away inside your jacket or front pants pocket, there's a good chance you'll have it out at some point. When you do, don't let your extra security measures cause you to start slacking and forget that your phone could potentially give thieves access to all of your personal data and even the address to your hotel room — all the more reason to follow Rick Steves' sage advice on protecting your phone info before heading out of town. It is all too easy to lose track of your phone when you're waving it around snapping selfies, not to mention getting targeted by thieves.

Responding to a Reddit post asking about Cape Town, South Africa, night markets, one Redditor warned, "A friend of mine who lives near city centre has had two phones stolen just this year, most recently at knife-point." To avoid meeting the same misfortune, don't just walk around with your phone in your hands. No matter how comfortable you are, never set your phone down on a table when you're eating. And don't make the mistake of walking around texting or looking up information on your phone while you're walking around a crowded market. Not only does this telegraph that you're holding a fancy phone to thieves, but it effectively blinds you to what's going on around you, making it even more likely that you'll get hit by a pickpocket or someone even more aggressive.

If you normally travel with a thick wallet that has room for everything you could possibly want, those beefy trifolds can be a beacon to the pesky pickpockets hanging around a night market. And if you're only traveling with a couple of cards and a small amount of cash, you won't need one of those big guys. Instead, pick up a clean and simple minimalist wallet that's just big enough for what you need — not to mention slim enough to slide into your jacket pocket or easily hide in a locked and zippered pocket of your over-the-shoulder bag.

Reddit's travel forums are full of pickpocket-deterrent wallet recommendations, many from night market veterans. A popular favorite is one of Chums' lightweight and durable waterproof beach wallets. Available in a wide range of colors at a ridiculously low price of around $11 to $20, these wallets are zippered, compact, and include an external keyring so they can easily be attached to your clothing or bag. Likewise, Montbell makes a lightweight trail wallet that comes highly recommended. Or for a more premium lightweight, check out Zpacks' Tri-Fold Minimalist Wallet.

It makes sense that pickpockets would target night market tourists specifically. They're distracted, they've typically got a good amount of cash on them, and they can be fairly easy to spot. Thieves targeting tourists is a major problem in night markets like Johor Bahru's Century Garden Night Market in Malaysia where locals say tourists stick out like sore thumbs. Speaking to Yahoo Malaysia, Aminah Ramlan observed, "You can easily spot a tourist based on how they talk and act. This makes it easier for pickpockets to target them."

While it's true that locals are most likely going to spot you as a tourist, the key here is not to stand out too much in a crowd. You don't have to think too hard about how to dress — just dress to blend in and wear what you would back home when you're not trying to draw too much attention to yourself. Don't wear anything too expensive or flashy, especially in terms of jewelry or high-dollar shoes. And don't walk around waving your guidebook. Instead, stop what you're doing and find a place to sit down and look up what you need to find on your phone.

One way to reduce your chance of becoming a pickpocket's target on your night market excursion is to understand how pickpockets work. And the first thing to know is that these guys want to clear as much income as possible without having to work too hard for it. They don't want to draw attention to themselves or have to fight for their money — certainly not when they can just take it from some poor hapless sucker who doesn't see them coming. But they can also be very slick, which is why learning their tricks can help you know what to look for and avoid so you don't make yourself an easy target.

One of the most common schemes is a one- or two-man job in which someone touches, shoves, or somehow distracts the mark, who loses some or all of their property in the process. Writing on r/travel, one victim recalled getting shoved from behind. Although they had their hand in their pocket at the time, the disruption forced them to take it out to regain their balance. In the short time they were distracted, someone had gone all the way into their pocket to grab their phone. An r/ThailandTourism user reported getting pickpocketed in a night market when one thief tapped them on the shoulder, creating a window for their partner to swipe the victim's wallet. 

If someone seems overly helpful, proceed with extreme caution. One scam involves someone squirting mustard on a victim and then running away, leaving a "helpful" and "empathetic" local with a handkerchief to rush to the victim's aid — conveniently helping themself to the victim's wallet at the same time. One Redditor even reported getting hit by a car only to have their "rescuer" pickpocket them while helping them up.

When you're visiting a night market, maintaining situational awareness at all times is essential for protecting your property and staying safe. If you're drinking, be careful not to overdo it. Better yet, make sure someone in your party remains relatively sober and alert enough to remember your hacks for avoiding pickpockets.

Stay alert when you're in a crowd where pickpockets tend to thrive. At the same time, avoid straying off the beaten path into areas where you could potentially get mugged. "Don't look distracted. Don't look lost. Always be aware of your surroundings and don't let people get close to you," advised one Redditor on r/travel.

At the same time, don't let the fear of pickpockets and thieves keep you from having a good time. As with any travel plans, expecting the best but planning for the worst can save you a heap of trouble in the long run. Purchase some travel insurance and keep a little extra cash hidden in your shoe so if you get pickpocketed, it doesn't ruin your time. And if you do get pickpocketed, don't put up a fight — nothing in your wallet or bag is worth risking your life and health over.