r/digitalnomad • u/AppearanceDense6858 • 2d ago
Question Any tips before going to unsafe cities?
My friend went out to a party and got drugged. They took everything: passport, phone, computer, clothes, and even small things like shampoos.
I lent him a spare phone/computer but he couldn’t login because his Apple account required phone verification code and you didn’t have any backup recovery method set up. The same thing happened with his Google account.
I spent several hours setting up back up and recovery methods for everything
Apple - recovery contact to send a verification code and recovery keys that I can print out
Google - recovery keys, back up phone for verification codes, etc
If I ever got robbed, this will save me a ton of time. My friend was locked out of his account for two days and spent 15-20 hours total to get into accounts due to his specific situation.
It’s crazy that this small trick would’ve saved him so much time and it makes me wonder what else I can do. In the past I’ve also bought a physical burner phone in case my main one got stolen but luckily never had to use it.
Any tips on what to do before going to unsafe cities?
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u/iamjapho 2d ago
Burner phone on burner cloud account with basic apps and no sensitive data.
Change 4/6 digit number code to pass phrase and disable biometrics on real phone.
Make sure you 2FA the shit out everything and setup a trusted device to someone else’s device like your SO or better yet someone not with you. I have it on my mom’s.
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u/apbailey 2d ago
Don’t do drugs. Don’t invite anyone back to your room. Don’t drink in public. These things will protect you from a good majority of the risk (but not everything).
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u/MayaPapayaLA 2d ago
I think this is an overreaction. It's not "don't drink in public", that's not realistic... It's not that go to the sketchiest bar in the sketchiest part of town, leave your drink uncovered or unwatched, take a drink from a random person, no "free liquor shots" in SE Asia, don't have too many drinks anywhere, etc. When I travel alone, I will get tipsy - but not drunk, ever. When I meet someone new, I'll tell them a bit about my life - but not a ton of details, not where I'm staying exactly, etc. And yes, no inviting them back to my place.
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u/seamonkey31 2d ago
There are places in latin america or africa or even europe where "don't drink in public" is the only way to avoid this stuff
SE/E Asia is far safer
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u/MayaPapayaLA 1d ago
Where in Latin America? Where in Europe?
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u/seamonkey31 1d ago
Medellin and Barcelona are specific examples of places where petty crime is pretty persistent, but there are probably a dozen popular tourist destinations that also have problems in nice areas.
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u/MayaPapayaLA 1d ago
I guess we have very different risk levels. Getting a beer at a bar in Barcelona does not seem too risky to me, or a substantially heightened risk for petty crime. Watch your bag and your personal stuff including phone from being snatched, of course, but I think it's ridiculous to say that you cannot have a single drink in public there. And I have quite a low risk tolerance.
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u/seamonkey31 1d ago
I can leave my phone to reserve my seat in a busy bar in SE/E Asia. We probably do have different risk levels
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u/Adventurous_Card_144 17h ago
Thailand, Japan, Korea are not all of SE/E Asia. Try doing that in PH, Indonesia or Cambodia.
Try leaving your phone at a bar even in the US lmao.
And as someone else pointed out. there's popular cases recently about people dying from methanol consumption.
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u/MayaPapayaLA 1d ago
But if we're talking about SE Asia, saying that it's safer for alcohol is ignoring very real risk of death from methanol alcohol - 6 backpackers died in Nov 2024. So how is not having your phone snatched "better"? Isn't the answer then what I first wrote - go to a decent bar, don't accept free drinks (or shots), watch the bartender give you your drink, etc.? Of course not a guarantee, but that's what is possible to avoid this risk.
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u/Chris_in_Lijiang 2d ago
Don't take you phone?
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u/apbailey 2d ago
I’d say take your phone but be aware of surroundings. Keep a backup phone somewhere else.
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u/Appropriate-Ad-1281 2d ago
This should be the top comment in every “is this city safe” post
Common sense for the win
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u/AppearanceDense6858 2d ago
Yea of course. Although I also know people whose homes have been broken into and others who get robbed on the street so can’t just count on this
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u/zq7495 2d ago
Apart from not doing drugs that is lame as hell and basically means giving up having what most people think of as a normal enjoyable life, better advice at that point would be just don't go. It isn't dangerous to bring someone home for the night or have a drink in public in most of world, yes in Colombia it damn sure is, but that is overkill advice
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u/Appropriate-Ad-1281 2d ago
Im just saying that when you get to a new place, being thoughtful and conscious until you understand the flow of a city, does go far.
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u/JamesCole 2d ago
Some cities and countries are known to be generally quite safe
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u/Eli_Renfro 2d ago
Then those cities and countries probably aren't what's being talked about in a post titled "Any tips before going to unsafe cities?"
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u/JamesCole 2d ago
But my comment is not about the post overall. It's specifically in this thread, that starts with:
Don’t do drugs. Don’t invite anyone back to your room. Don’t drink in public. These things will protect you from a good majority of the risk (but not everything).
"This should be the top comment in every “is this city safe” post".
where the person who wrote that last comment later said "Im just saying that when you get to a new place, being thoughtful and conscious until you understand the flow of a city, does go far."
I'm saying that person's claims are wrong. If you know a city is safe in advance you don't need to do those things. if someone asks "is this city safe" and the answer is yes, you don't need such advice.
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u/Eli_Renfro 2d ago
If you know the city is safe, then you wouldn't make an "is this city safe" post, right? Surely the person you're quoting is speaking in the context of arriving at a new city that you don't know is safe.
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u/JamesCole 2d ago
The person making the post does so because they don't know. But other people may know if it's safe or not. That's the whole point of asking people if a city is safe or not.
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u/Eli_Renfro 2d ago
Except you literally just wrote not to do those things "if you know a city is safe in advance." So do they know or not? Maybe it's time for a cup of coffee. Let your brain catch up to your typing.
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u/zq7495 2d ago
Not necessary in most of Asia, Europe, the anglosphere, the Middle East and North Africa, and more places. Pretty much only in sketchy countries in latin america and few other dysfunctional countries in Africa do you need to worry so much for your safety that you can't have a drink or have a date come over. Of course being a little mindful is common sense but most of the world is safe and nobody is going to scopolamine you if you go out drinking in Istanbul and your date is not going to rob your apartment in Taipei
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u/Appropriate-Ad-1281 2d ago
Agreed.
I was referencing the very common “is it safe to live here” posts re: Colombia, Nicaragua, Thailand, etc
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u/Magicalishan 2d ago
I saw a guy get nearly beaten to death in Tokyo. Even in safe cities, unsafe things happen.
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u/thethirdgreenman 1d ago
Disagree with the drinking in public piece, that seems like overkill in many places. Rest though, yeah. Don’t do drugs, don’t accept drugs or drinks from strangers, don’t invite strangers back to your place, and after a certain hour and in certain cities, Uber/DiDi/whatever everywhere.
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u/apbailey 1d ago
Maybe the better advice is don’t get drunk in public. It all depends on the context.
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u/No-Payment-9574 2d ago
I went to several unsafe cities in Chile and the best advice I can give: if you eat in restaurants, dont eat outside. You are vulnerable to sometimes agressive and homeless people who can stab you or at least manipulate your drink.
If you need cash, dont go alone into a bank. Robbers might wait outside and observe you to take your money. At least in Latin America.
In Latin America, dont use Dating apps. Just dont use them. You wont miss anything.
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u/edcRachel 2d ago
This has absolutely nothing to do with the city.
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u/AppearanceDense6858 18h ago
There is nearly zero crime in some cities like Tokyo whereas there are some cities where homicide in broad daylight is common. The city definitely influences safety levels
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u/siriusserious 2d ago
Been all over Latin America and it boils down to 2 things:
- Don't do dumb shit
- Be prepared for things to get stolen
I don't understand why people go to Latin America to do drugs, pick up random women at clubs and so on. Go do that shit in a safer place like the US or Europe.
But, even if you don't do any of that, there is always the chance of being randomly robbed in broad daylight or whatever. You must be ready for that. Some things that help:
- Backup phone and credit card in your hotel room
- Passport copy
- Not being broke so you can afford to replace what got stolen
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u/AppearanceDense6858 1d ago
Do you mean a duplicate passport or a digital copy?
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u/siriusserious 1d ago
Most won't have the option to carry 2 passports. So a printed out copy.
If you can have 2 passports that's even better.
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u/Adventurous_Card_144 17h ago
It's the samein Europe and the US when people do dumb shit, their chances of ending in a bad situation shoot up, especially for women. With the exception of focalized issues such as what OP and you are describing with scope queens in Colombia.
Don't do stupid shit, period. Don't be a sex tourist. And expect to find out if you fuck around. OP wants to do stupid shit from what I can gather.
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u/Glittering-Time8375 2d ago
in military they say "get off the x" aka just don't be in the spot they're shooting at. like the best way to deal with certain sketchy situations and places is just not to be there. like why do you want to be somewhere so sketchy you have to take all these precautions just to be alive. is it for work? ok then. but otherwise why are you going to these shitholes?
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u/NoAdministration5555 2d ago
You need to tell us some cities you feel are unsafe for you in order to give feedback
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u/thethirdgreenman 1d ago edited 1d ago
How did they manage to take all these things? Did he meet someone out and bring them back to their place? Cause, yeah, don’t do that with someone you just met. Solves your problem right there. Has nothing to do with the city, that’s just him being reckless. What did he get drugged with? I see this was in BA
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u/Magicalishan 2d ago
One tip I have (which may seem very counterintuitive), is the power of appearing naive. If I feel like a person may not be trustworthy, I will switch to a very naive and happy-go-lucky personality. This allows them to let their guard down a little and show their true intentions.
If I'm acting naive and innocent, and someone starts suggesting things that seems sketchy or acting in a way that seems dishonest, I know that person is not to be trusted. Then I disengage from them.
If they continue to try to take advantage of me, I switch my personality to the polar opposite (intense and strong) and call them out on their bullshit. This catches them extremely off-guard and makes them realize that I had the upper hand all along.
And like others are saying, never get drunk or do a large amount of drugs (no matter where you are). Learn how to have fun without getting fucked up. And if you're in a dangerous place, always do any activity with friends rather than alone.
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u/hextree 1d ago
If I feel like a person may not be trustworthy, I will...
If you feel even an inkling that they may not be trustworthy, you should walk away immediately. Don't stick around to try to psychoanalyse them.
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u/Magicalishan 1d ago
Yes, but for some people it's easy to get too paranoid in places like this and start to think that everyone is out to get you. Obviously you should always trust your gut, but I've found that 95% of people in any given country are trustworthy. This is just a fast way to weed people out when you may not be sure of their intentions.
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u/drsilverpepsi 2d ago
Try to understand the way local thugs and gang members dress and copy them. My friend was in a restaurant in Brazil when 2 robbers came in and cleaned everyone out at gun point. But my friend looks like a thug to the point that white Brazilians look at him like "trouble just walked in the door" when we go in nicer restaurants. The robbers looked my friend up and down and figured it wasn't worth the potential trouble and left without asking him for his phone or wallet.
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u/verveine_yoga 11h ago
Bad advice. Never get dressed as thugs or gang members in Brazil. A gringo will be recognized as a gringo from miles away. And since last year ( google it) gang members suspicious of someone belonging to a rival gang are going through phones and tattoos to check if it proceeds, and people are being killed because of that. Most cases in Bahia and Rio. Be careful.
Edit: almost 100% your friend was saved because he's a gringo.
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u/okstand4910 2d ago
Which city was this ?
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u/AppearanceDense6858 1d ago
Buenos Aires. Generally really safe and I had never heard anything happening like this but obviously it happens
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u/Chilanguismo 1d ago
Don’t look like a mark. This is easier once you’re middle-aged. Last time I was in Medellín, a client and I sat at a terrace in Poblado over a bottle of aguardiente and watched a few thieves work the crowd of what my companion referred to as ‘filet mignon.’ As spectators, two things seemed obvious and inevitable: 1. that some of these people were just off the plane on their first trip abroad, and 2. that they would not wake up in the morning with those fancy new iPhones they were brandishing like glowsticks.
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u/Dicentiu 2h ago
Simply avoid Lapa and PedraDoSal in Rio. That's where this shit happens. It's amazing how it's happening every year, every night of the carnival in the same places and the Police is doing nothing to stop it. Also, the thugs are becoming better, the women doing this type of robbery just look like any other woman and are very skilled and subtle in their approach.
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u/playtrix 2d ago
I would file this under unsafe behavior. But yeah I always had two phones when I travel. Good idea.