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I get asked for the time many times, but it's generally not by people of whom I'd normally be suspicious. If they are suspicious, I will tend not to give a specific answer, just a "I think it's about three." I do have a cheapo, under $20, flip phone that I keep in my pocket to tell time without the need to open it, and also for a relay from a specific email account if I have an urgent email, so I do not have to pull out the more expensive phones or computer. I never pull up my sleeve to look at my watch or FitBit to get the time, and don't whip out a smart phone, either.
On more than one occasion, I have had an expensive camera or phone thrust at me by tourists who ask "Will you take our picture, please?" in different places. I asked one who handed me a $2k Nikon D750 body, not to mention the cost of the lens, why they would just hand their camera to me and they said "Oh, you clearly belong in this area and you have a kind face." I was mid-park just steps off Fifth at the time, and was walking with the dog. I was happy to take their picture, and suggested a couple of different shots while the poor pup just laid down on the grass and waited, as if he was completely bored. They were tourists, and had just bought the camera at B&H a couple of days before, and said that they wouldn't hand it to just anyone. I have noticed that when I am running around with my own cameras and bag, I tend to get asked to take many more pictures for people who have similar equipment. I don't mind, but some people clearly don't understand how easy it would be for someone with bad intentions to make off with their equipment, and that one still has to be vigilant, even with NYC's safer streets.
Someone gave me her iPhone in the subway and asked me to take a picture of her so she could post it to her Facebook to show the friends back home that she was actually in Manhattan, which I did, but again asked her why she picked me. She told me that because I had on nice shoes and a nice tie that she knew I was not going to swipe her phone. At least she was observant when seeking someone to take the picture for her, but still, someone could have snatched the phone from me while I was positioning it to take her picture.
I was in The Bronx the other day, in Kingsbridge, actually, as I had a couple of things to get at the hardware store for my aunt's house, and saw a "No Radio, No Coins" sign in the window of a parked car. I haven't seen one of those in many years, not since I was a boy, actually. I am not sure if that is a harbinger of increased property crime in that area, or if it was an older resident's vehicle who put the sign in the window as a matter of habit, since it was on an older Buick. With most car radios coded to the car, it's pointless to steal many of them, which is why I was puzzled because it is not like the Volkswagen radios that were so easy to steal in the 1980s.
The number one thing that I tell people who visit from other areas and are not familiar is to be aware of their surroundings. Eye contact with a glance that acknowledges that someone is there with the attitude that you are not to be messed with is far different than a fearful glance, or avoiding eye contact in general, so it's best to project confidence that you are not a victim, but if you feel ill at ease, turn around.
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All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
I get asked for the time many times, but it's generally not by people of whom I'd normally be suspicious. If they are suspicious, I will tend not to give a specific answer, just a "I think it's about three." I do have a cheapo, under $20, flip phone that I keep in my pocket to tell time without the need to open it, and also for a relay from a specific email account if I have an urgent email, so I do not have to pull out the more expensive phones or computer. I never pull up my sleeve to look at my watch or FitBit to get the time, and don't whip out a smart phone, either.
On more than one occasion, I have had an expensive camera or phone thrust at me by tourists who ask "Will you take our picture, please?" in different places. I asked one who handed me a $2k Nikon D750 body, not to mention the cost of the lens, why they would just hand their camera to me and they said "Oh, you clearly belong in this area and you have a kind face." I was mid-park just steps off Fifth at the time, and was walking with the dog. I was happy to take their picture, and suggested a couple of different shots while the poor pup just laid down on the grass and waited, as if he was completely bored. They were tourists, and had just bought the camera at B&H a couple of days before, and said that they wouldn't hand it to just anyone. I have noticed that when I am running around with my own cameras and bag, I tend to get asked to take many more pictures for people who have similar equipment. I don't mind, but some people clearly don't understand how easy it would be for someone with bad intentions to make off with their equipment, and that one still has to be vigilant, even with NYC's safer streets.
Someone gave me her iPhone in the subway and asked me to take a picture of her so she could post it to her Facebook to show the friends back home that she was actually in Manhattan, which I did, but again asked her why she picked me. She told me that because I had on nice shoes and a nice tie that she knew I was not going to swipe her phone. At least she was observant when seeking someone to take the picture for her, but still, someone could have snatched the phone from me while I was positioning it to take her picture.
I was in The Bronx the other day, in Kingsbridge, actually, as I had a couple of things to get at the hardware store for my aunt's house, and saw a "No Radio, No Coins" sign in the window of a parked car. I haven't seen one of those in many years, not since I was a boy, actually. I am not sure if that is a harbinger of increased property crime in that area, or if it was an older resident's vehicle who put the sign in the window as a matter of habit, since it was on an older Buick. With most car radios coded to the car, it's pointless to steal many of them, which is why I was puzzled because it is not like the Volkswagen radios that were so easy to steal in the 1980s.
The number one thing that I tell people who visit from other areas and are not familiar is to be aware of their surroundings. Eye contact with a glance that acknowledges that someone is there with the attitude that you are not to be messed with is far different than a fearful glance, or avoiding eye contact in general, so it's best to project confidence that you are not a victim, but if you feel ill at ease, turn around.
bmwguydc; I have to give props to your post, agree 1000%.
Another thing to be aware of is where you put your purse. A family friend who only moved here a few weeks ago was in a restaurant in a corner table. She had her purse resting on her feet, so that she could feel the weight of it. She felt the weight change, and caught a guy heading for the door with her bag! She managed to snatch it back from him, but it goes to show that even putting it on the floor, on a chair next to you or especially on the back of the chair is not a smart idea. As annoying as it may be, the best thing is to keep it on your lap, or if you must put it on your feet or floor, make sure you put the loop of the strap around your foot.
One thing I learned while taking krav maga is part of the awareness you can use is checking who is behind you by looking at reflections in car windows and storefront windows.
Another tactic I've heard to utilize is if you suspect someone following you, to turn around, face them in the eye, put your hand up and yell "Stop!". Granted, this might make you look paranoid, but an attacker is less likely to go after someone who has seen their face.
1) Don't cross the street staring at your phone or otherwise completely distracted. Always look at the drivers face and make sure they see you before you step in front of their car. Seriously this is advice I'd give my 3 year old but some adults still don't follow it. Not just cars but also bicycles, people are getting killed sometimes by idiot bikers flying down the street.
Not much you can do about that, but it's true, you CAN be careful crossing the street. Even when I have a walk light, I try to make sure I know which cars might be turning left or right crossing into the crosswalk while I am there. Texting while crossing is really not smart at all.
3. If you are parking a car on the street, make sure that the glove compartment is empty and open. I also like to clear all the maps, coats, clutter and put them in the trunk 5 miles (or more) before I park. If you are going to put something under a seat, make sure it can't be seen at all, and do so 5 miles before you park the car, not as you are getting out the car and walking away.
Who the hell does that? I have never seen that in my life.
I move crap in and out of my trunk all of the time as I park my car. I'm still waiting for someone to break into my trunk and steal my pushcart and paper towels. Your posts make you sound super paranoid. Or maybe you just live somewhere sketchy.
My common sense advice would be to stop holding up your iPhone while you're standing by the door, with your headphones on and oblivious to the world---you're just asking for a grab and run.
This is just a general safety tip: install a 4-digit password on your cellphone. It seems clumsy at first to click through it every time, but it'll soon become second-nature and fast for you.
Then, if you lose the phone in public somehow, the person who finds your phone next can't use it, or access important information stored on it.
Mine is locked by fingerprint. So good luck with that one.
However hubby and I were watching a special on Drugs Inc. They showed how phones are in demand in South America and that they can easily erase the phones, unlock them for use outside of the USA and bam, you're screwed. On the plus side, the authorities are finding ways of delving deep into these stolen phones and finding some remnants of the original users info. However recovered phones are far and few between the ones that are stolen.
Another tip: If confronted, act crazy. This worked for my brother years ago. No one wants to mess with someone who is insane in the membrane.
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