Robbery is extremely rare when traveling. Phone theft? That's pretty common

I say this as someone who started traveling back before everyone had their faces stuck in their smartphones all the time because they didn't exist back then. Mobile phones did of course, but the only thing you could really do with them would be to make phone calls and that was sometimes a fruitless effort seeing as how the person on the other end of the line stood a better than average chance of not being able to understand you or you them.

We had to just figure stuff out back then and this was a major part of the adventure to be honest - even if you did arrive at your destination a sweaty mess from all the walking in the sun with a giant backpack on your back.

I have been traveling to almost all of the continents for over 2 decades and I have never been violently robbed, nor have I even met anyone who had been robbed. Of course you hear a story or two every now and then but I have not been able to confirm any of these and they might just be hearsay. Phone theft on the other hand, is very common and you need to be vigilant in order to prevent it.

src

The thieves even have a term for people like this and they are called "phone zombies." People who are walking down the street paying no attention to their surrounding and they have their phones right there in front of them completely oblivious to the fact that a duo on a motorbike is heading towards them. Often they don't even slow down but simply snatch the phone out of your hand and take off. You are no going to catch them nor will your "find my phone app" save you. These guys work with shops that will reformat your phone in minutes and the opportunity that you will have to track your phone in this time-frame is very small. Even if you did find out their location the police in these countries would be very slow to react if they bother at all. They will simply give you a police report so you can submit it for your insurance. They either don't care of do not have the resources to help you. I don't know which it is but both are just as likely.

src

This isn't just a developing country issue. I'm not trying to suggest that. Nor do these criminals necessarily target tourists. They target "phone zombies" regardless of who they are. If anything, the tourist areas that I have been to around the world seem to have a much heavier police presence than non-tourist areas because the country and the cities in question have a vested interest in keeping these areas as safe as possible so that people wont be afraid to come there.

Another common way in which phone are stolen is when people sit at outdoor cafes and just leave their phones sitting on the table. This is remarkably stupid because again, the thieves work in teams and a guy will just reach over and grab a phone and run to a corner where a motorbike is waiting for him - it could be a her, but mostly these people are men.

There is a very easy way to prevent this from happening to you: Don't be a phone zombie and keep your phone in your pocket when you are at outdoor cafes. I'm not saying that this is going to protect you 100% but it has been my experience that thieves generally look for the path of least resistance when committing petty theft and if they see that you are guarding your phone, they will likely move on to an easier mark.

It's not rocket science guys and girls! A stolen phone might be worth a couple of hundred dollars on the black market and this is a very easy score for criminals. Just exercise a bit of caution and you'll be fine.