How Safe is England? What Travelers Need to Know

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Traveling to England? Find out how to stay safe from crime, pickpockets, scammers and more with these tips from our travel safety expert.

England’s capital city of London is pretty safe for travelers, just watch out for these common scams in and around the rest of England.

Pickpockets in England

Most pickpockets work in crowded areas where a crime can go unnoticed, such as tranport hubs, tourist hotspots and crowded shopping areas.

In pubs, clubs, cafes and restaurants, don’t leave your bag hanging the back of your chair, instead keep it on your lap, or between your feet on the floor. Don’t carry your phone in your pockets or in the easily accessed zip compartments of your backpack.

If you have had something stolen, you can report it to transport police or the nearest police station, also remember to get your travel insurance before you depart to the UK.

Safety in England’s cities

Manchester in England’s northwest is highly regarded for its football team heritage, its culture is vibrantly lite by those blue and red scarves. But even as a Metropolitan rainbow Manchester was once known as "gunchester." Albeit, by the late "two thousands" gun crime had decreased dramatically due to tighter sentancing.

A Birmingham resident reports that the Manchester city center is mostly a nice place to visit, though gang violence has been creeping in and thieves are in full swing. At the weekends the city is thriving with a buzzing nightlife which can lead to anti-social behaviour.

Locals also warn against the following areas: Tottenaham, Blackpool, Sheffield, Leeds, Rotherham, Middlesbrough, Birmingham and Bradford.

Common scams in England

In addition to pickpocketing and other thieving tactics, there are some scams that occur throughout England.

Car burglary

Thieves won’t be shy about helping themselves if they see valuable items on display in your vehicle. If you have items such as laptops, hand bags, expensive clothing, lock them away in the boot. It takes seconds to smash a window, leaving you with a heafty bill to repair your car and your disposed of valuables.

ATMs scams

"Cash points", "cash machines" or "hole in the wall" are some of the names used for ATMs in England. The universal scam here, is the art of distraction.

Thieves may be so bold as to come right up to you while you’re using an ATM. This goes against the common courtesy of standing a respectable distance behind the person completing a transaction.

Other times, a group of perpetrators will wait until you’ve entered your PIN and try and record it, then distract you with conversation and take your bank card and cash. If someone walks up to you mid-transaction, hit cancel immediately.

Ticket scams

Ticket touts will often practice illicit behaviour as a means to sell tickets outside the backdoor of venues at inflated prices. Some will try to sell on second-hand tickets that if purchased may not allow you entry to the event.

Ticket touts will often snap up tickets for big gigs as soon as they are on sale and flog them on secondary sites. Rules have been introduced by the British government to regulate this practice to protect consumers. Be careful when buying tickets from secondary ticketing sites that aren’t legit. Many people have been ripped off after paying above face value prices for fake tickets or ones that just don’t arrive.

Scams while living abroad in England

Bank scams

If you will be residing in the UK for a while and plan on getting a British bank account, beware of bank scam emails. They usually state that there is something wrong with your account or that your information needs updating. DO NOT click on them or click through to any links associated with it. If you want to check that everything is fine with your account, then call or visit your bank.

Job scams

Yes this does happen! Any company advertising on Gumtree is a suspect. As you relentlessly apply for that dream job, your personal details are exposed everytime you post your CV. You will eventually get a call from a beguiling ‘recruiter’ claiming they want to interview you or that you have been successful for the role. Many will ask you to transfer money to cover training costs or facilate accommodation. DO NOT be a victim, if this does happen, use the force and hang up the phone, do not give your bank details out either.

If you do become a victim of fraud, you can report it to the Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud and cyber crime reporting centre.

International student scams in England

Criminal masterminds have a fresh appetite for international students. You may receive a telephone call or a phishing email from someone pretending to be from a genuine establishment such as the UK Home Office. They will claim something is wrong with your visa and will want you to disclose personal information such as your bank details. Please note that legitimate officers will never contact your for money, these are fraudulent actions.

Another trick to be weary of is website masquerading. These are created to look like legitimate ones. There are a number of bogus colleges and universities that fraudsters have designed to invite aspiring students overseas to study in the UK and also sell faux degrees and qualifications. If you are thinking of studying in the UK, avoid the plight and contact the educational provider directly to check that they are offical.

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