Safety
Travel in Holland is fairly safe. Travellers should however
always exercise caution in empty streets at night and be aware of
pickpockets, particularly in central Amsterdam and at Central
Station. There have been several incidents on trains from Schiphol
Airport where heavily laden passengers have been targeted by
thieves. There is a risk of indiscriminate terrorist attacks and
visitors should be vigilant in public places and tourist sites,
particularly since extra security measures have been set up around
the country in response to concerns about a possible terrorist
attack. Police in Amsterdam are warning travellers of a new scam
whereby tourists will be approached by 'plain clothes policemen'
who claim to be investigating credit card fraud and counterfeit
currency. Tourists are shown fake identification in the form of
badges (Dutch police do not carry badges and plain clothes police
will rarely conduct such an 'investigation'), and asked to hand
over credit cards and money. This will be returned but with some
money/cards missing. If approached, travellers are advised to ask
for proper identification or to accompany them to the nearest
police station. There is also an increase in the number of spiked
drinks occurring in Europe.
