Personal Security when on Holiday in Europe.

I am sure we all think about the security of our belongings such as cash and cards whilst away. However I had a nasty wake up call on our recent holiday to Italy when I had my wallet stolen. It was a classic scam with people pushing by as I tried to board a Metro train. Perhaps I have been lucky for the previous 25 years that I have caravanned in Europe. Obviously at the time it was an all consuming incident but it has got me thinking and I just thought I would share those thoughts with the group to see if people agree or have other suggestions.

My starting point for security is that I have always considered the caravan as the possible weak link if we are out for the day and as a result have tended to carry everything with us, perhaps our first mistake. I suppose I was lucky that I had slightly less than €250 in my wallet but at times that could have been more. I carried both photo card and paper license in my wallet so ended up with no proof of my ability to drive. ( I should add the DVLA were excellent and even faxed a copy of my license to the campsite hours before they closed for the 4 day Jubilee weekend!) We have always tended to be second card holders for each others debit and credit cards although we rarely, if ever use them. Trouble is that if one card is stolen both cards are often stopped. This varies a bit by issuer.  I am sure many of you already do this but it is wise to consider what you actually need to carry around with you and try and cut it to a minimum. I have now installed a small safe in the caravan to put spare cards and cash in. I appreciate that it could still be vunerable but it would take more than an opportunist. We will no longer take second card holder cards with us in future. Just a tip and one I am not sure is politically correct but if you ever find yourself in the same circumstances. If a second card is stolen withdraw some money using the main card before reporting it stolen to avoid being left with no money!

David