What is a sacrificial wallet?

• a sacrificial wallet or dummy wallet is a fake wallet that you don’t mind losing to a thief
• it’s not something you carry like a moron to trigger a theft, but it’s your most conspicuous valuable to a thief or pickpocket

What do you carry in a dummy wallet?

• it should be realistic enough to be convincing
• maybe keep 20 bucks in this wallet so you can even use it in local markets or for small purchases – this just adds to the credibility if a thief is watching you
• perhaps pictures of fake pet/girlfriend/relative, expired ID or bank card
• business cards and coupons from local attractions
• useless receipts
• denominations of foreign currency of low value are also good items for the decoy wallet, Turkish lira etc.

What to do if confronted by a mugger?

• if you are the victim of a pickpocket, no big deal – 20 bucks max loss and a bunch of junk with no potential for identity theft. Find another crap wallet and start all over again
• if you are confronted by a thief who wants your wallet – gladly give it to them – maybe ask to keep the picture of mom. Don’t hesitate – don’t think you can overpower the thief – they are often working in teams.
• Give a fake 4 digit PIN if asked – don’t hold out on any request – don’t go with them to a cash machine, tell them your friends are meeting you momentarily
• Never let people know if you are traveling alone

Additional tips

• for all the cards in your “real” wallet, put them on a photocopier and make copies of the front and back – make sure you have the numbers to report lost or stolen cards on that page. Fold that page  and hide it in a Ziploc bag somewhere safe.
• Another good idea is a scan or digital photo of everything and put on a USB stick that you carry in a safe place, like a money belt. Don’ put all that info on your phone or digital camera since that stuff is often the target of thieves. (If you do travel with a PDA/iPhone/Blackberry, make sure you use keyboard lock with a password which renders them useless if stolen)
• If you carry a laptop, carry it inside a piece-of-junk case. Those DELL, Mac Book cases are screaming “come steal me”
• Leave the sacrificial wallet  in a “believably conspicuous” place if you are staying somewhere. A smash & grab robber will usually take this low hanging fruit and be gone.

Some of the top items targeted by thieves/pickpockets/muggers:

• Wallet
• ipod/mp3 player
• cell phones/i Phone/Blackberry
• laptops
• jewelery

Closing comments:

Backpackers want to travel light so anything extra is a pain in the ass. A dummy wallet is a snap to put together, not much extra burden to carry, and useful for carrying small amounts of money for load transactions strongly recommended.

For a great “tongue and cheek” method to deal with muggers

We welcome your suggestions and feedback.