Strategies That Help Thwart Crime on the Road : Crime: It pays to keep a low profile and stay alert when you travel. Pickpockets and other thieves thrive on distracting their victims in busy places.

Extraction follows distraction.

Remember those words and you might save yourself a lot of grief at crowded travel sites such as airports, sightseeing attractions, hotel lobbies and department stores.

Thieves around the world are using a variety of “distraction-extraction” techniques to make off with travelers’ suitcases, briefcases, wallets, purses and other possessions. Often disarmingly simple, these techniques are still quite effective.

“Thieves take advantage of existing confusion or create their own confusion,” said Capt. Bernard Wilson of the Los Angeles Airport Police. “When your attention is diverted, they make off with your items.”

One example is when someone drops coins on the floor. While people watch the coins roll, stop them with their feet or even bend down to pick them up, a thief is busy separating the victim from the desired items.

Similarly, someone can purposefully let a suitcase flop open, then quickly feign a flustered look and start gathering up the items. Helping someone pick things up can prove costly for the good Samaritan, who is victimized during his good deed.

Another dodge is to drop a $1 or $5 bill, or a pen, on the floor and ask someone if it belongs to them. While the person is responding, he or she may be victimized.

Spilling something on a traveler, such as soda or coffee, is another popular technique of thieves. While you’re cleaning up--and the person who did the spilling even attempts to help out--someone else is removing your goods.

Being asked directions sounds innocuous enough, but it can be a way to draw attention. The same holds true when someone asks to borrow a pen or asks for change for a dollar. Being bumped is frequently a means to separate you from your wallet.

Watching people argue, or engage in related commotions, also can be diverting. But the “disturbance” can easily be staged, and the thieves are at work while you’re taking in the “performance.”

In each scenario, the traveler runs the risk of being ripped off while they’re reacting to the situation. You can be particularly vulnerable any time you have to put things down--such as briefcases and carry-on bags--or while making phone calls, eating, drinking or checking tickets.

Glancing at magazines and other reading material in airport gift shops can pose a problem, if you put your bags on the floor while you read. Your possessions are out of your grip, and you’ve provided your own distraction. The longer you read, the greater the risk.

“The more things you have to watch, and the more things you have to take care of, the more vulnerable you are,” Wilson said.

“Try to travel with less items, and get into the airport’s secure area as soon as you can. There’s less chance of a problem after you pass through screening.”

Thieves--particularly those that work airports and terminals--act in groups. One thief takes the item, then passes it to a second person, who may slip it into a shopping bag, coat, newspaper or their own larger briefcase.

One good rule to help counteract thieves is to never leave your items unattended, even for a brief moment. The longer something is left unwatched or out of sight, the stronger the chances are of it disappearing.

To protect yourself against pickpockets, put your wallet or billfold in an inside coat or side trouser pocket, not in rear pockets (called the “sucker pocket” by thieves). Even when buttoned, rear pockets are a bad place to keep wallets. You’re much more likely to feel a pickpocket attempt when your wallet is in a front pocket.

Placing rubber bands around a wallet can create the feeling of friction if someone tries to slip it out of your pocket. Just putting your wallet in a coat or suit jacket may not be good enough, especially if you don’t regularly carry your wallet there.

“You may not be sensitive to the sensation of less weight when it’s slipped out by a pickpocket,” Wilson said.

Make sure that pocketbooks are always kept shut. Women should make sure that they put wallets all the way back into their bags after making a purchase instead of leaving them at the top. Put the straps of the bags around your hands, and keep both bags and pocketbooks tucked close to your body.

Women should also consider carrying money in secure pockets in their clothing rather than in bags and purses. Velcro pieces and zippers can be sewn into garments.

Any time you’re jostled or bumped, immediately turn quickly to break possible contact with a pickpocket, then check to see if you’ve lost anything. If you are the victim of a pickpocket and know who did it, call out quickly for help.

“Yell out what’s being stolen and identify it as much as possible, such as: ‘He took my red suitcase or my blue purse,’ ” Wilson advised. “This makes it easier to spot a stolen item.”

Try to keep an eye on the suspected pickpocket until you can get the attention of the airport police or other security personnel. Avoid direct confrontation, and remember that the thieves often pass items to accomplices, which can make apprehension and regaining your possessions difficult.

When using an airport cart designed to be pulled behind you rather than pushed in front of you, secure smaller items by putting them under larger units or connecting them to bigger pieces.

If you do have many pieces to be concerned about, consider the use of a cable-bicycle lock. “Locking various items together means a thief has to take everything,” Wilson said. “The lock also tells thieves that you’re alert to the danger of being robbed.”

Overall, following three basic rules of security provides the most effective defense against travel misadventures of this type:

--Know your adversary. This means realizing that thieves are likely to be found in any crowded and hectic area, that they often work in groups, and that you are pitted against professionals who know how to distract and quickly rob you.

--Keep a low profile. Thieves select victims who look like they have something worth taking and who appear vulnerable. Don’t present yourself as a suitable target by wearing expensive clothing and accessories, toting pricey-looking briefcases and baggage, and flaunting a good deal of cash or credit cards.

Try to minimize the amount of cash and credit cards you take on a trip. Carrying traveler’s checks, which can be replaced if stolen or lost, instead of cash is also a good idea. When more than one adult is traveling together, split the money--both cash and credit cards--and other items of value between them.

--Stay alert, which isn’t always easy when you’re concerned about making your plane, you’re tired after a long flight, or you’re engrossed with any of the many details of traveling. Thieves, of course, thrive on the vulnerability such situations create.