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Comment by throwaway81523 | Hacker News Reader

> A while ago, my friend's bag got stolen at a coffee shop.

Traveller tip: loop the bag's shoulder strap around your leg when sitting down at a table in places like that. Extra credit: reinforce the strap with a steel cable so it's harder to cut. I do #1 but not #2. Definite benefit of #1 is that it's saved me from forgetting to take the bag with me.

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Man so depressing wherever you are that you need to do this. Another reason why I love living in Japan; I just leave my laptop out unattended at cafes when I use the restroom and it’s never stolen. Just wish we weren’t so powerless to affect culture to change these things elsewhere.

I freaked out a bit the first time I went to a Starbucks in Tokyo. I was told by the staff to save a seat by leaving my bag where I wanted to sit and come back to order after, and much of seats were on another floor.

Oh, and never ever do #2 if you're visiting a country where drive-by purse snatching is a thing.

When two dudes drive by you on a scooter and one grabs your purse, you kinda want the strap to snap or you'll have a bad time.

Replace the steel cable with one of those extendable pet leashes

I'd not recommend this in general, no matter where. A friend of mine got robbed in Zurich, Switzerland (with crime rate way below most US cities). Because she wore her bag diagonally across shoulder they beat her up till they could grab it and she ended up in the hospital :(.

Health > belongings, always.

Police in the UK recommend leaving your car keys somewhere obvious downstairs in your house for similar reasons.

I once met a fellow traveller with a huge scrape going down her shoulder and arm. What you describe had happened to her in Malaysia and she'd been dragged along the floor a way.

How strange that this comment is attracting downvotes.

Pacsafe is a company who actually makes bags with the steel cables built in for this purpose

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