My motorcycle, an old BMW F650GS (2001) was stolen in the border town of Uzhhorod in Western Ukraine. First, the keys were gone, then the bike. Next day I was called by someone to my Ukrainian pre-paid mobile phone number and was offered to ransom my bike for 15000 UAH.

Interestingly, the said phone number was effectively anonymous, known only to the landlord of my apartment, which I booked through Booking.com. And to the police, of course, after reporting the theft. 



And here’s the most interesting part: according to my landlord, on the third day (!) of the police investigation, no police officer has contacted her, despite her willingness to cooperate, and a couple of reminders on my part.



The cornerstone of my anti-theft policy has been so far that a motorcycle should be unattractively cheap. It worked for my West African trip (Germany - France - Spain - Morocco - West Sahara - Mauritania - Senegal and back). Yes, even in Mauritania, the last country in the world to abolish slavery (1981) nobody has stolen my bike. However, in an EU-aspiring country in the middle of Europe it was an obvious miscalculation.



Things are stolen everywhere, I’ve got no illusions in this regard. However, the fact that at the very least my personal data was used for distortion either by a landlord, operating through booking.com, or by the police itself, is alarming.

The advice would be, either protect your bike against theft and take it seriously, or avoid the trip altogether.

You live, you learn.