My wallet was pickpocketed on 8 May in a tram going to the terminal at Kabatas. the 3 gang members got on at Silecki and although the tram was packed they squashed me up even more and leapt of the tram at the next stop Tophane. They were only in the tram for about a minute. I immediately realised that my wallet had gone including cash and cards. The first time I have had anything stolen whilst travelling (and I am 58). My wife was with me and we managed to cancel all my cards within 30 minutes of the theft by phoning Australia (15 minutes of that was holding on time to get the call answered at one bank's customer service centre) but they still managed to get into 1 card and buy $5,000 worth of "building materials". So these gangs are very well organised and have the facilities to speedily access your cards.
My tips are: Be especially careful in packed public transport; If you have to stand and hold the rail above your head, do not have anything valuable in your pockets; carry only what you really need for the day leave the rest in the hotel room safe; enter all card call centre numbers with overseas prefix in your mobile phone so that if necessary you can phone to cancel extra quickly; where possible ensure your partner has different card numbers so that even if yours are stolen you can still continue your holiday.
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on May 28, 2008
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