Everyone has travel advice. You can’t leave for a trip without someone, at the very minimum, telling you to “stay safe.”
Part of staying safe is avoiding the thievery which stalks unsuspecting travelers; as we all know, certain areas are rife with unsavory characters anxious to make you wish you had listened to the advice to stay clear of such trouble.
For example, a popular trick to part travelers from their money is “The Unexpected Tailor” scam in which a tourist is approached in the subway by a tailor who begins measuring their pants. The tailor tells his target that he can have the pants hemmed by the afternoon and then talks the tourist into taking off his pants and handing them over–hopefully with wallet absently left within.
One can learn about this horrific tragedy, and other scams very similar, in an entertaining article by Jason Roeder in the New Yorker. Take a moment to read it through thoroughly; the pants you save may be your own.