Thieves & Beggers, Ho Chi Minh City

We were told to beware of pickpockets. I kept my valuables hanging around my neck, inside my shirt, where they were totally invisible.
Only once did I feel a hand in my pocket and that was when surrounded by kids.

Do not get too drunk with the bar girls. Most of them only want to take you home and do their business but many are happy to pick your pocket while at the bar. My brother had is wallet lifted but he bumped her and she dropped it...that's when we jumped on her grabbed the wallet and bolted.
These girls may act very innocent and tell you they just came to Saigon from the family farm in the last week or so, but its all a line and some of them will use it to get your wallet.

Crime is supposed to be limited to motorcycle hoodlums grabbing things from unaware tourists: cameras, handbags, glasses, watches etc. Your guide should warn you not to make it easy for them to do so. Handbags should be clutched securely away from traffic etc. It is also important to remember that when you ride in the open-air cyclo-taxis, you are very vulnerable to the motorcyclists.

I've heard of people (mostly women) having bags, sunglasses and other items stolen from them while riding in a cyclo (Vietnamese rickshaw). Normally, the perpetrators ride by on a motorcycle, and grab the item that is laying loosely on the tourists lap. Make sure when riding in a cyclo, you secure your valuables.

The biggest problem our group (of 4) had was with snatch thieves. While crossing the street, a motorcyclist tried to snatch a camera bag, and we also encountered little kids who would crowd around us trying to sell us postcards while also trying to unzip our backpacks.