This is PeterTaradash a/k/a Grandpa. The other advice here is all good. I will add a few things.
I have been robbed & burgled maybe half-a-dozen times in my life, but not in the past 10 years.
No 100% guaranty this will work for you, but here are some of the things I do to avoid theft problems.
This season I'm in Manila. Not the safest place on Earth.
I have lived in
Panama,
Mexico, NYC, and many other places where crime is rampant, but . . .
1) I always try to live or rent in an upmarket, safe well patrolled & guarded neighborhood, in a condo where I can leave my apartment for 6 months & come back to find everything intact. A home in a gated subdivision is good, but not as good as in a high rise with limited access like the Manila Serendra Buildings (with armed guards checking every visitor) in Manila's ultra-safe & super modern BGC (Bonifacio Global City).I had a special extra heavy door with top& side bolts that lock with a special registered 4 sided key.
2) I posted stickers that say "Guarded by video surveillance on all my exterior doors & balcony windows." Before that I made little signs that said (with a skull and crossbones) "Do not open- Danger of Death from Nerve Gas- have antidote atropine ready in case of accidental inhalation" The latter sign even kept the cops out once when they had a search warrant. Valuables like
gold coins? Keep in a bank safe deposit box, not a storage facility --. Preferably in Switzerland.
3) A hidden safe in your home is OK, but I would not rely on it for anything really important or valuable.
4) When going out I try to look like a poor slob with tattered shirt , beat up baseball cap "Jesus Loves You" logo, cargo pants, sandals, no jewelry. Never use expensive luggage like Louis Vuitton stuff. That would make you a target. A beat up backpack is best for shopping.
5) I never never would use a cell phone on the street or anywhere that guys in motorbikes could make a quick snatch. Maybe I'd use an i-phone inside an upmarket restaurant or dept. store. But in general I wouldn't even take it outside.
6) Appearance? I keep a decoy wallet with fake ID cards and a few pesos in my back pocket, and my "real" wallet with credit cards, etc. inside a velcro zippered, or well buttoned up cargo short-pants leg pocket. My watches are those $10 black plastic totally valueless Casio's with the same calculator buttons worn by the hero Walter "Heisenberg" in Breaking Bad. To avloid p;ick pockets and snatchers, keep any serious money well hidden on your person in a zip up concealed money belt. My walk is as confident as an 86 year old can manage. Don't dawdle and look around with goo goo eyes like a dumb tourist. In cars, ALWAYS keep the windows up and doors locked. Maybe I will do a blog on this topic this week. I have been robbed half a dozen times in my life, but not in the last ten years, probably because I took the above precautions.
Online Scams?
1) Don’t ever open attachments from unknown to you persons even if the titles are tempting clickbait like
“Naked Girls in your neighborhood who want your body badly.”
2) Don’t ever give out your
credit card or
bank account #, or other personal info.
3) Stay off “social media” No pictures or info about yourself-unless needed to promote your products or services.
4) Be aware that fake messages from banks or package delivery services may just be to facilitate burglaries or robberies.