mobile phone safety when using it on the streets

What you describe was reputedly true 20 years ago but is no longer true today.  Of course you should take care of your possessions and robbery can happen but not at nearly the rate that people describe from the 90's.  Keeping your wallet and phone in your front pockets is a good idea no matter where you travel. 

I have even handed my phone to strangers to have them take photos of myself and my wife.  Just look first and be sure that their phone is nicer than yours.   

THIGV wrote:

What you describe was reputedly true 20 years ago but is no longer true today.  Of course you should take care of your possessions and robbery can happen but not at nearly the rate that people describe from the 90's.  Keeping your wallet and phone in your front pockets is a good idea no matter where you travel. 

I have even handed my phone to strangers to have them take photos of myself and my wife.  Just look first and be sure that their phone is nicer than yours.   

Actually, it's a big issue in the major cities, there are numerous articles about it in the local news. Only the ones that get reported make the news.

OP, don't stand close to kerb using your phone, they are easy pickings for local thugs.

Re: nice cell phone (crummy phones do not count):  Be more conscious with it than when you're in Western (aka richer) countries.  Don't stand at the curbside with the phone on extended arms/hands to take a photo, or showing a stranger the map in your phone when asking about a location.  Don't walk around with the phone as if it's an extension of your appendage.  Don't have your ear attached to the phone, your eyes glued on its screen. Don't leave it unattended in public places.

That's just about it.

It should be fine, just be mindful that it can get snatched and that should be enough for you to be careful about it

radiktus3 wrote:

Im moving to vietnam this sunday for my work, probably for a long period of time.
And i am so excited about a new country, i bought a new smartphone and blogging gear (i make travel videos).
Then  I read somewhere that "you should keep your bags,wallets and phones in front of you to avoid snatchers and pickpockets"

fear started to monger in me.

right now im scared as balls.
thinking my phone maybe snatched right out of my hand as im taking a video or a photo.
it may sound like a millenial thing but im losing sleep over the thought of losing gadgets.

anyone can give me any insight into this?

Maybe try this just one time:

Lock your phone in your Western hotel safe.

Ask your hotel concierge for a paper map of the local area.

Go forth and attempt to experience life here without having to Instagram it or Google it or review it or share it.

I know you'll possibly have a panic attack, but it's worth the risk to actually immerse yourself in the world around you.

Yes, it definitely sounds like a millennial thing, but don't let that stop you from experiencing the thrill of traversing the tightrope of life in an unknown land without an electronic gadget safety net.

Good luck!

Good idea OceanBeach92107.  My kid brother who teaches at a fairly prestigious art school in NYC told me that when he sends students out on photo assignments, he makes them go without cameras the first time out.

THIGV wrote:

Good idea OceanBeach92107.  My kid brother who teaches at a fairly prestigious art school in NYC told me that when he sends students out on photo assignments, he makes them go without cameras the first time out.

I like the way he thinks! 

I had my phone snatched in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It was in a bag hanging around my neck. I had even been warned by a friend to be careful in the Riverside area, a tourist zone. If only I had tucked the bag inside my shirt. Anyway, what they really wanted was the bag because sometimes people carry their passports, credit cards and/or money in little bags hanging around their neck.

I saw them coming, two guys on a motorbike going down the street the wrong way (totally normal in this part of the world, by the way) but at that point I had to walk in the road. Just as I was about to step up onto the sidewalk they passed by. My first thought was "Hey, what happened to the music?!" then, I realized my bag was gone along with my 2-year-old basic model Samsung,

I thought, "Oh, I guess my friend wasn't kidding," and turned to see the guy on the back reeling in my earphones. Then, I remembered that there was a market area about a block away, so I went there to buy a secondhand phone as a cheap replacement. One shop sold me a really old leftover Samsung running Gingerbread but still in the box, I think for $50. Anyway, I used that for the rest of my trip. Stayed in PP a few more days and then flew to Vientiane, Laos. Bought a new phone when I got back to Vietnam. They sell them here so if something does happen, you can do the same. Just buy a new one,

So, paranoia can be a good thing but don't go overboard. Wait til you get here before you start worrying.

Although it hasn't happened to me in Vietnam, it can. Here are some recent phone snatching stories in the local English news. Looks like you're moving to Ha Noi though? All of these stories are from HCMC.

Apparently, most of the perpetrators are young guys with black hair on motorbikes.

Alert police catch Saigon phone snatcher
https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/alert … 94040.html

Saigon police nab phone-snatcher in backpacker hub
https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/saigo … 90683.html

Saigon crossdresser grabs crotch, steals phone from Chinese tourist
https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/saigo … 85934.html

Two men disguised as women rob Canadian tourist in HCMC, caught by police
https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/two-m … 55349.html

Phone snatcher nabbed in Saigon
https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/phone … 89590.html

Teen phone snatchers nabbed in Saigon’s backpacker district
https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/teen- … 63951.html

And two other interesting phone related articles:

Vietnamese travelers most annoyed by peers’ mobile phone addiction
https://e.vnexpress.net/news/travel/pla … 86988.html

​‘Vintage’ phones a rising trend among consumers in Ho Chi Minh City
https://tuoitrenews.vn/news/business/20 … 46053.html

johnross23 wrote:

Apparently, most of the perpetrators are young guys with black hair on motorbikes.

That'll narrow down to about 19 million people of the same profile, not too difficult to avoid.

johnross23 wrote:

Apparently, most of the perpetrators are young guys with black hair on motorbikes.

It's those 70 year olds with jet black hair that I am suspicious of  but for other reasons.

radiktus3 wrote:

Im moving to vietnam this sunday for my work, probably for a long period of time.
And i am so excited about a new country, i bought a new smartphone and blogging gear (i make travel videos).
Then  I read somewhere that "you should keep your bags,wallets and phones in front of you to avoid snatchers and pickpockets"

fear started to monger in me.

right now im scared as balls.
thinking my phone maybe snatched right out of my hand as im taking a video or a photo.
it may sound like a millenial thing but im losing sleep over the thought of losing gadgets.

anyone can give me any insight into this?

You’re more likely to be scammed than mugged in Hanoi. Vice versa in Saigon.

radiktus3 wrote:

fear started to monger in me.
right now im scared as balls.
... I'm losing sleep over the thought of losing gadgets.

anyone can give me any insight into this?

I am happy to give you insight into your mental health.
We all strive for Financial Independence: Freedom from limitations, to do as we wish.

One aspect of financial independence is not to be owned by our things. When we have things ("gadgets") that are a financial burden to replace, they demand special attention and care. A precious relationship forms, like being an ever-vigilant servant to a lord. It is not a level relationship. You are low, thing is high. "I must be a responsible person, take care of my things."

It sounds like you are not yet at the point where, if you were to lose/break/have stolen your $999 iPhone, it would just be an annoyance. You know, having to deal with travel and shopping and restoring data to a new one.

Next time you buy a gadget, stay within a throw-away budget, for better sleep. 

Example 1: I love how Casey Neistat tosses his equipment around. He is constantly ruining and replacing cameras etc. Commenters yell at him! Is he a bad person, financially irresponsible? Nah. He is not burdened. He is free.

Example 2: My wife grew up poor. She still has a poor mindset. I can't even tell you the things she saves and doesn't think about replacing. The good news is that she is improving, and is excited about buying a new double door refrigerator, and it won't be a Sanyo.

As a foreigner, you are a potential target in VN. It’s just a fact. My wife and I were waiting to take a sleep bus to her hometown for Tet last year. The bus station was packed with Viets and I was the only foreigner there. Of course I was not put off by all the staring as I was used to it, but they also saw my wife, sister in-law and my mother in law with me. Knowing my surroundings and how to act, I didn’t have any trouble and also because maybe I’m a much larger guy in height and frame, maybe trying to pick pocket me would not be wise. So here is a long story short...when was time to go on the bus, we walked to our limo bus and about 6 older VN ladies swarmed us and there was separation between my wife and I of about 5 of these women. As the bus attandent was checking tickets, one of the older women was arguing with the bus attendant apparently because he was telling her she was at the wrong bus..this continued for about 5 minutes and then all of a sudden all 6 ladies got out of line. When we got on the bus my wife panicked and said her phone was stolen. What happened was one of the old ladies opened my wife’s purse during the commotion and took my wife’s new Samsung phone I had just bought for her. They were smart to target her because they knew she was with me. We were really surprised how elaborate they pulled this off and being old women like in their 60s or 70s so it won’t be some guy necessarily on a motorbike that can pick pocket you. I wore a travelers belt and kept it under my shirt and never had any problem

@Texan71 where did you board the bus?

Hometowns (i assume countryside) are a lot different... safer. People have known each other for generations.  When I go to my parents home town, i left before my first birthday so I don’t class it as my home town but walking down the streets there people will  call me by my first and tell me they remember me when I was just a baby. Safest place I’ve probably ever felt walking around at night other than Tokyo.

If my sisters or my mum were walking around late at night, which they do in their home town, I wouldn’t ever worry about them getting mugged. So rural and everyone knows everyone. Safer than them walking any street at any time in UK.

phikachu wrote:

@Texan71 where did you board the bus?

Hometowns (i assume countryside) are a lot different... safer. People have known each other for generations.  When I go to my parents home town, i left before my first birthday so I don’t class it as my home town but walking down the streets there people will  call me by my first and tell me they remember me when I was just a baby. Safest place I’ve probably ever felt walking around at night other than Tokyo.

If my sisters or my mum were walking around late at night, which they do in their home town, I wouldn’t ever worry about them getting mugged. So rural and everyone knows everyone. Safer than them walking any street at any time in UK.

We boarded a Vu Linh bus at the Mien Tay terminal in the Binh Tan district. It was a few days before Tet 2019. We were headed to her hometown Ca Mau but this happened before we boarded the bus. It’s Saigon and while probably is many people’s hometowns such as my son, Saigon is a big city with lots of opportunists and they come in all ages, genders etc. I can testify firsthand how it happened and we still talk about it in my family how slick these ladies were.

By the way, we weren’t mugged and this didn’t happen in Tokyo or the UK..were talking about getting phones snatched and my point is it isn’t necessarily a drive by motorbike situation, which more times than not it is.