Once upon a travel, I had the fun of meeting a friend at the train station. She came from Italy to visit me in Austria. We had met almost a year and a half ago, and at that time, we joked about visiting one another in our European countries. Who knew it would actually happen!
Our quick friendship hinged on our love of travel and living far from home (she’s from Australia while I’m from the USA).
I stood on the train platform, waiting impatiently for her arrival. Finally, it blew into the station, and in a crazy flurry of activity, passengers exited. Luggage with wheels. Luggage without. Backpacks. Duffles. Bright colors. Blacks. Browns. I had a hard time deciphering the humans from their possessions.
And then a figure that had to be her! But as I drew closer to her, I saw she wasn’t smiling. Actually, she looked worried.
“Hi. I don’t have my wallet!” She hugged me quickly. “Can you watch my bags? I need to go look in my compartment again.”
Off she went. I stood like a sentinel near her small island of two bags. Hoping. Praying. That she’d find her wallet. Mostly for selfish reasons honestly. A lost or stolen wallet meant hassle for the both of us.
She didn’t find it. She had no money nor her credit or debit cards. Thankfully, her passport had been stored in another pocket. The next few hours were spent visiting all the offices: info, train, lost & found, and police.
My friend is a seasoned traveler so this can happen to anyone; however, there are a couple of ways to prepare better.
Keep Your Wallet From Being Stolen
- Ensure your wallet is in a secure location with some type of closure. If that’s a purse that zips closed or a pocket that buttons closed.
- Carry money in a couple of different locations whether on your person or in your bags. It was good that I met my friend at the train station and that she was visiting a friend because it would have been a pretty scary experience to be in a new city without friends or money.
- If you’re on a night train, it doesn’t hurt to use your purse or backpack that houses your wallet as a pillow or something to hug as you nod off.
- Keep a hand on your purse, backpack, or location of your wallet as you’re jostled through a crowd of passengers. Sure, this may tell a potential thief where your wallet is, but if your hand is always there, it will be more difficult for them to steal.
If Your Wallet Is Stolen or Lost
- Notify the Lost & Found office
- File a police report at the local police station. My friend and I found out that the information desk and the train station office were not helpful except to get directions to these two places.
- Cancel your credit and debit cards.
Most of those tips are no brainers, so there’s a chance that you’re kind of disappointed that my advice is so normal. But sometimes these routine things are forgotten out of laziness or blissful thinking of that-wouldn’t-happen-to-me. When you travel, you need to be alert.
The good news of my story is that my friend’s wallet was found with all the cards and paperwork (like her Italian visa) at a nearby train station. The cash was gone. The thought is that the thief lifted her wallet as they all exited the train.
These things happen. So be alert and keep traveling!
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