Losing a wallet at home is a bad afternoon. Losing one in a city where you don’t speak the language, with a hotel bill due and a flight to catch, is a different kind of problem. The cards are replaceable, but the stretch of time without any way to pay is what really hurts.
Most of the damage can be prevented with habits you set up before you leave and a few small routines once you’re on the ground. The rules below come from police data, card network guidance and fraud warnings published over the past couple of years.
Know Where Wallets Actually Disappear
Theft tends to cluster around landmarks and transit. Barcelona recorded 100,944 pickpocketing incidents in 2023, and theft made up 48.1% of all crime in the city, according to the city council’s own statistics.[1] Rome saw pickpocketing climb to 33,455 cases in 2024.[2]
Paris is the other name that comes up constantly. A late 2025 review study found the French capital generated a higher share of theft focused comments than any other city surveyed, accounting for more than one in six.[3] There’s useful perspective too, though. Prague, with roughly 1.2 million international visitors in 2025, reported 45 serious crimes against tourists,[4] so serious trouble stays rare even where petty theft is common.
Carry Less, and Split What You Carry
The simplest rule is also the most effective: don’t bring your whole financial life out for a walk. Carry only what you need for the day and leave unnecessary valuables in your hotel safe.[5] One card, a second card kept elsewhere, and a modest amount of cash is plenty for most days.
How you carry it matters as well. Avoid single strap shoulder bags and easily reached pockets.[5] Pickpockets often work in teams, with one person creating a distraction while another takes the item,[5] so a sudden bump or a stranger who seems oddly helpful is worth treating with suspicion.
Understand What Emergency Replacement Really Offers
Card networks run round the clock help lines for this exact situation. Visa lets you cancel a card, order a replacement delivered physically or digitally, or request emergency cash.[8] Physical replacements are available across 197 countries and territories, typically arriving within one to three days of approval, while digital replacements arrive in minutes.[8]
There are limits worth knowing about. A replacement still normally needs approval from the bank that issued your card.[6] The service also doesn’t apply in certain sanctioned countries, including Cuba, Syria, Sudan, Iran and North Korea,[9] so it pays to check your destination and ask your bank whether it can deliver to wherever you’re staying.
Freeze First, Then Decide
When a card goes missing, speed counts. If your banking app offers a freeze or lock, use it first, which buys you time to search without cancelling the card for good.[6] Then look through recent transactions. Any payment or withdrawal you don’t recognize is a reason to contact the bank right away.[6]
If the card doesn’t turn up, report it. Once cancelled, the old card normally can’t be used again, even if you find it later.[6] Alerts help you catch problems sooner, since turning on transaction alerts lets you track spending in real time and spot fraud early.[7] Most major credit cards also offer zero liability for fraudulent charges,[10] which is a good reason to lean on credit rather than debit while traveling.
Treat Foreign ATMs With Suspicion
Cash machines in tourist districts are a favorite target for skimmers. The FBI specifically urges extra alertness for skimming devices in tourist areas, since they are popular targets.[11] It estimates skimming costs financial institutions and consumers more than one billion dollars a year.[12]
Choose your machine carefully. ATMs inside financial institutions, near security cameras, or close to a drive up window are harder targets for criminals.[13] Before inserting a card, pull at the edges of the keypad, then cover it as fully as possible while typing your PIN to block cameras.[11] Those cameras can be as small as the tip of a ballpoint pen,[13] so a quick look won’t always catch them.
Prefer Chip and Tap Over Swiping
How you pay matters almost as much as where you pay. Chip cards are safer because fewer devices steal chip data than magnetic stripe data, although the stripe on the back is still vulnerable.[11] The Secret Service advises using tap to pay whenever possible, or cards with chip technology.[14]
Card readers can be tampered with too. Criminals build plastic overlays that sit on payment terminals and can capture keypad entries, including PINs.[13] Look for anything loose, crooked, damaged or scratched, and skip any reader that seems off.[14] Phones and digital wallets sidestep much of this risk, since they avoid handing over the physical card at all.
Skip the RFID Wallet Hype
Many travelers spend money on blocking wallets to stop wireless card theft. The evidence for that threat is thin. Reports show contactless related fraud almost always happens because a card was physically stolen.[15] Contactless cards also usually cap individual purchases, and larger ones require chip and PIN verification.[16]
That doesn’t make contactless risk free, only differently shaped. Money is better spent on a secure bag or a card you can freeze from your phone. Card fraud is real, but RFID wallet marketing often points attention in the wrong direction.[12]
Keep Copies and Contact Numbers Apart From Your Cards
If your wallet and bag go together, you still need a way to reach your bank. Keep photocopies of your passport and IDs stored separately.[5] Save your issuer’s international phone numbers in your phone and also write them down somewhere other than the wallet.
Phone access can be a problem abroad. If your cell phone doesn’t work internationally, you may need to use internet based calling services.[10] Visa cardholders can call a network of collect call numbers to request emergency services,[9] which is helpful when you have no local coins or SIM card.
A Departure Day Checklist
Carry two cards from different issuers and store them apart. Add a small cash reserve and load at least one card into a phone wallet. Save your bank’s international numbers and turn on transaction alerts.
Leave spare valuables in the room safe and keep passport copies in a separate place. Use ATMs inside bank branches, cover your PIN, and choose chip or tap over swiping. If a card vanishes, freeze it in the app, check your transactions, report it, and request an emergency replacement.
