Reducing Risk While Nomading (Digital Nomad Safety Guide 2026)

Reducing Risk While Nomading: 14 Years and 50+ Countries of Hard Lessons

“I’ve been all over the world, we can walk the 15 minutes to the restaurant”

“No you can’t. Small Street is no joke.”

This is the conversation I had with a friend before getting mugged on Small Street in Johannesburg, South Africa.

I believed a short 15 minute walk would be fine. I had a checklist I went through around the world and it had served me until then

When in less safe areas

• Don’t be drunk
• Make sure it’s daylight
• Don’t pull out your phone or look lost – know where you’re going
• Be confident but not cocky

While this step by step process had worked for me until then in the words of one Uber Driver 

“Joburg (Johannesburg) is a city for real men”

Johannesburg humbled me

A couple times to be honest

If you want to learn more about the mugging in Joburg, check out the video!

Since my time in South Africa, I’ve had to amend my rules to stay safe.

This guide outlines my learnings from traveling since 2011

This guide breaks down the real risks — physical, digital, financial, health, mental, and relational — and how to manage them intelligently.

Not the Instagram version.

The real one.

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The 6 Real Risk Categories of Digital Nomading

Most safety articles focus on theft and scams.

But long-term nomads struggle because of:

• Physical security
• Financial instability
• Health (physical + mental)
• Relationships

Ignore one, and it compounds into the others.

Working 12-hour days to “be safe financially” while burning out and isolating yourself?

That’s not a good idea

If you want the honest trade-offs of this lifestyle, read:
👉Is the Digital Nomad Lifestyle Right for You? 10 Pros and Cons for 2025

Reducing risk as a digital nomad requires a holistic approach.

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1. Physical Security: The Practical Reality

The only time I’ve been held up by gunpoint was in Denver, Colorado. 

One of the most boring, safest cities in the US.

The biggest threat isn’t violent crime — it’s complacency.

I was walking drunk down the middle of a road at 2 am with other friends, chatting, laughing and not thinking at all about our surroundings.

In 14 years, I’ve rarely felt physically unsafe.

But I’ve dealt with:

• Theft
• Pickpocketing
• Aggressive sexual advances
• Stuff stolen out of hotel / house
• Sketchy neighborhoods where I was yelled at to leave
• Etc.

What Actually Works

Pick safe places

• I’m writing this from Chiang Mai, Thailand – I can leave my very expensive road bike outside a store here for 30 minutes without worrying about it
• While I love Africa and South America – honestly, the easiest way to avoid risk is to pick places that aren’t super risky
  • Pretty much all of Eastern Asia for example
  • Western Europe – honestly isn’t as safe as you’d think, but if you’re an American it’s likely safer than where you’re from

But if you’re in areas where it’s less safe here’s the game plan to mitigate risk (never eliminate)

Do Your Research

• Take time to understand the culture a bit
• What to expect from the locals, and when people act otherwise be aware
• Figure out what are the crimes people do against tourists / foreigners.

For example, if you’re a man in Medellin – don’t go on Tinder

• A decent % of those women are there to drug and rob you
• Get some confidence together and meet women at events or the grocery store or something
• Or find a trusted brothel and buy a prostitute – Tinder isn’t worth it in Medellin, man

If you’re in China and strangers walk up to you and start chatting

• It may be a scam
• Or in my case in Cheng Du, a spy 😂 (no joke)

And for the final, opposite situation

• Jamaica’s got a bad reputation, and justifiably so it can be dangerous
• But Jamaican’s are incredibly friendly, so if someone talks to you and is real outgoing it doesn’t mean that they are scamming or want anything from you. Some of them may, but not all
• Check out my digital nomad guide to Jamaica here.

Diversify valuables

• Keep your main wallet separate from backup cards.
• Hide an emergency card somewhere where you’re only likely to have it
• If you’re in a real sketchy area carry a “dummy wallet” on you with an old credit card that doesn’t work and a couple bucks. If you get mugged give them that
• Have some emergency cash
  Store digital copies of documents in Google Drive, or somewhere you can access them even if everything gets taken

No Dar Papaya

• This is a saying in Colombia – it means “Don’t Give Papaya”
• If you put your papaya all cut up and out on the roadside people are going to steal it
• DON’T PULL YOUR PHONE OUT UNLESS YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED TO (this will be repeated)
• Don’t pull out any more money than exactly what you need to pay for what you’re paying for.
  • Counting money, or fiddling through a bunch of cash is like throwing blood in shark-infested waters.

Be Aware Of Your Surroundings

• This goes along with the No Dar Papaya
• Most criminals want fast, easy targets
• If you are consciously (not fearfully) surveying your surroundings, that may be enough for them to wait for the next drunk tourist staring at their phone
• If drive by robberies are a thing – Walk on the opposite side of the road
  • You can see them driving toward you and the element of surprise is gone.

The White Women Test

• This only works if you’re in areas with white women
• But I started doing this in South Africa
• If I saw white women walking alone who didn’t appear to be sex workers or on drugs then the neighborhood was probably fine.
• Nobody is more acutely aware of every possible threat around them than white women

You’re Never New To The Area

As an 18 year old I wanted to travel, but had no money and neither did my parents. 

So I started hitchhiking around the United States.

Those hitchhiking trips taught me a lot, one huge one.

Here’s the scariest story from my hitchhiking trips.

I always lied and said that I had been in that area for a while, this makes people less confident in taking advantage of you, and even scamming you in general.

Trust Your Instincts

While on our RV trip through Europe I was awoken in the middle of the night to three people yelling at each other

We were on the side of a country road in the middle of nowhere Bosnia

I could’ve swore I heard a muffled voice amongst the group

I got up and slowly sneaked to the front of the RV to peak out of the curtains and see what was going on.

When I finally got there they got in the car and left.

I started up the car and left right away. 

Yes it was 2am, yes my heart was pounding through my chest, and yes my girlfriend thought I was completely overreacting. 

And maybe I was

But dammit, something didn’t feel right, and it’s better to trust that voice than ignore it.

To be fair I don’t always follow this rule. My girlfriend also got this same feeling a few weeks later outside of Lubjlana, Slovenia, but she didn’t know how to drive the RV, and I felt fine with where we were at, so we stayed 😂

My Checklist from the introduction

• Don’t be drunk – Pretty self explanatory this one
• Make sure it’s daylight – Night time does not help

• Don’t pull out your phone or look lost – know where you’re going, or fake it until you’re in a safe spot to check
  • When you pull your phone out, make sure your back is to a wall so no one can walk up behind you
  • Put one hand on your phone (like normal) and one above the phone so people can’t cruise by and grab it.
• Be confident, but not cocky
  • Learned this one getting dropped off in rough neighborhoods in Eastern and Southern US
  • If you look like a victim you will be treated like one
  • If you walk around like a Lion in a neighborhood where people don’t know you, then you may find a young kid that wants to prove you’re not the alpha

✔ Pay for slightly better accommodation
$10–15 more per night often means:

• Better locks
• Residential neighborhood
• Owner who knows your face

If you’re choosing safer neighborhoods and filtering properly, I usually compare options first on Booking because their map + review filters help a lot:
👉 Booking 

For a deeper strategy on choosing stays smartly:
👉 How to Find Digital Nomad Accommodation | Expert Tips 

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If someone gains access to your email, they can:

• Reset your passwords
• Drain accounts
• Impersonate you to clients

Your digital life is your business.

Here are the core digital nomad tools I actually use to stay protected:
👉20 Essential Tools and Apps for Digital Nomads in 2025: Boost Productivity

My Non-Negotiables

✔ VPN on every network
✔ Password manager (unique passwords for everything)
✔ 2FA (Authenticator app, not SMS)
✔ Automatic multi-cloud backups
✔ Separate business & personal accounts

✔ NEVER click on links from emails unless you’re 100% sure of the sender – just got screwed on this one last month

You don’t need to be “important” to be targeted.

You just need to be accessible.

Internet Reliability = Income Protection

If your income depends on stable internet, read:
👉 Rural Internet 4 Digital Nomads – What Really Works in 2026 

For remote areas, Starlink has become a serious backup option:
👉 SOLIS 

👉STARLINK 

I also break down real-world tests here:
👉 Starlink Mini review after using it in 10 countries
👉 Starlink Mini speeds (real test results)

If you prefer portable hotspot options, compare:
👉Best WiFi Hotspot for Travel in 2025: Solis vs GlocalMe vs TEP

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1) Is nomading actually dangerous — or just fear-mongering?

It depends where you’re traveling. Stuff can happen anywhere, but some places have a higher chance of things going sideways. That said, the most common risks aren’t dramatic — they’re burnout, financial instability, and slow stress build-up.

2) What’s the fastest way to make the digital nomad lifestyle feel safer?

Build financial runway + backups (money, internet, files). Test your setup before you go all in.

3) What’s the #1 mistake nomads make?

Complacency. The moment you feel “I’m fine here” is usually when you stop paying attention to your valuables.

4) What should I prioritize if I struggle with anxiety?

Routine. Slow travel. Community. Move less. Stabilize more.

5) What boring system saves the most pain?

Backups. Password manager + 2FA + automatic cloud sync. If your laptop disappears tomorrow, you should still be operational within 24 hours.

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Want to stay fit & eat healthy while traveling? Check out my guide to diet fitness while traveling here!

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About Me

The Creator Of Digital Nomad Lifestyle

Hi! My name is Loren Ross, after establishing my own business while traveling the world I decided to create this blog for existing and aspiring digital nomads.

See My Full Journey To Being A Digital Nomad Here

Anything you want that you’re not seeing? Please reach out to me on one of the social media channels below, I’d love to see if I can help out. Check out my digital marketing business.

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