In creating a "fake wallet" for a Pan American trip, I’ve run into a minor stumbling block. I have no expired credit cards, nor will any of mine expire prior to my trip.

I have an old passport, can create a laminated drivers license, and have plenty of membership cards to sacrifice. But, I am at a loss for a useless credit card or two.

How important do you think it is to have a credit card in a fake wallet?

Any thoughts on how to obtain one?

Thanks!

I can't imagine any thief is going to be looking that hard. They've lifted the wallet when you weren't looking, or they've got you at knife/gunpoint. They're going to look inside, find a little cash and see some cards, and take off as fast as they can.

I would throw in some old library card, expired drivers licence, Costco membership card, whatever. The thieves are almost certainly not going to be looking at specific details at the time of robbery.

When I travel, I keep my credit/ATM cards, drivers licence, passport, and any large amounts of cash in a hidden money belt. A small amount of money ($50?) for the day plus unimportant cards go in the 'throwaway' wallet. I've only lost the wallet once - someone broke into the room where I was staying (while I was sleeping!) and found the wallet where I stupidly left it on the kitchen table. The money belt was hidden away and at least I didn't lose anything important.

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Bruce Clarke - 2020 Yamaha XV250

Those are some very good questions. Here's the thing. If you are in good status with your Card company then if thieves use the cards you will NOT have to pay.

Just report them stolen ASAP and make a LOCAL police report, get a copy and forward this info to your card company.

Yes, a PITA, but for sure you will not be responsible for charges to those stolen cards.

Another way to create invalid cards is to call your CC company and say you "lost" your card. They will have another in the mail same day. Hang onto original card BUT know that it is now INVALID and if you attempt to use it ... may trigger an alert of some kind. Perfect for dummy wallet duty.

I ended up with dead cards from changing banks. Lots of banks charge
bogus "foreign transaction fees". This is substantial as every time you use an
ATM or use CC ... they assess a hefty charge.

Good news is some banks DO NOT do this. Most of my cards now do not
charge fees foreign fees so those are the ones I go with.

I also save old foreign money to add into the money in fake wallet. I have some 10,000 something bills from Ethiopia or somewhere, very impressive ...worth Zero. All this lends credibility to your fake wallet.

When travelling in foreign parts the thieves won't recognise the library cards as being from a library .. health care cards the same. In fact any cards you have can be used, store loyalty cards for example. Just use any old ones you have.

They are not going to take long looking in the wallet - they want to get away.

Choosing banks/cards is part of the trip, I'd still keep your old bank going .. I'd also try to have at least 2 banks with there cards .. if one fails the other one may work. And the cards should include one Mastercard and one Visacard - they can be on different systems and you want to be able to use either system.

Good luck. Don't make it too complex.

You can have any number of current pre-paid cards but no need to load them with any money, if you lose or have another card stolen you can go on-line and load one up and have a usable card.

That’s an EXCELLENT suggestion!! I suppose you could keep a pre-paid card with zero balance in the fake wallet too. Seems like near-zero risk.

Exactly.

My advice is going to be a bit contrary.

Throw out your fake wallet, and throw out your laminated license.

The thinking is this. Pickpockets & thieves frequently watch the person before robbing them. They'll see you using the "real" wallet. Even if you're not in that situation managing two wallets sucks.

Corrupt cops are going to take your license and try and use it as leverage. In our case, shortly after crossing into Nicaragua they threatened to take our license and send it to Managua unless we paid them. They're smart enough to get a job as a cop. They're not so stupid as to think you're laminated license is real.


So, here's what you do.

First you call the DMV and tell them you lost your license. Then you call next month and tell them you lost your license. Then you call them the next month and tell them you lost your license. You will now have 3 very real licenses for a relatively small fee.

Stick one of those in your real wallet. When you hand it to a cop they will believe it, because it is real. When a cop takes it and threatens to not give it back you, you smile and say "ok."

Get some prepaid credit cards, or Visa gift cards that look like credit cards at first glance. You don't put any money on them, or if you have to, you put it on and use it up immediately.

You take your real debit card and you hide it. Every time you need money you stick it in your real wallet, go to the ATM and withdraw the maximum amount (you'll spend less on fees overall) then go back to somewhere people can't see you, like your hotel, and put ONLY the money you'll need for the day in your real wallet. You hide the rest somewhere no-one can quickly / easily get to it, including yourself. You hide the debit card too. Each morning you refill your real wallet with enough cash for that day only.

You then pay cash for everything. If someone is watching you you will be using the wallet they will steal and you will only be out up to one day's cash.

You do NOT want to deal with having to call your credit card company and cancel the cards because how are you going to get a new one? For example FedEx may claim they'll deliver to many many places in Colombia, but i can assure you, it's a lie. We had to drive 300 miles back to Bogota, when my license plate fell off on some back dirt road (never to be seen again).

You don't want to deal with cards anyway because frequently the shops are too small to have credit card readers anyway. Outside of the major cities, everything south of the US border runs on cash.

So: real wallet, real license, fake credit cards, hidden debit card that you _don't_ use to pay for anything, and only enough cash for the day. If you wallet gets stolen you don't care. Go somewhere out of sight, stick some hidden cash in your pocket, and get a new wallet from the next seller you encounter.

Also, if you're not juggling fake and real wallets you'll not be constantly thinking about "is someone watching?" "Am i going to get robbed?" You'll be like everyone else, just enjoying your day and paying for things like a normal person. The mental benefits of this strategy are pretty good.

Best of luck on your journey.

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-Dachary & Kay
http://www.CorporateRunaways.com

All the above is good advice - but I would also add don't get paranoid. Despite what the world's news services want you to believe you are not at instant (or increased) risk of being robbed as soon as you leave your home town. Take sensible precaution of not having all your money and documents in one place, then enjoy your travels and stop writing too much. The chances are you'll be fine and have a much more enjoyable time.

Sent from my Moto G (5S) Plus using Tapatalk

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Martin

finally back on the road again


http://awayonmybike.blogspot.com/