Originally Posted by
hardiwv
Very good advice. As I said, what was described in the post could have occurred anywhere, even in AMS. As a frequent visitor to Rio, I can tell you that you just need to be cautious, a normal precaution you are supposed to take when visiting any major city in the world. Rio is an international city, a major tourist gateway, and therefore it is normal that certain types of crimes could happen with higher incidence. This should by no means deter you from visiting this extraordinary city.
Rgs,
Not to beat this thing to death, but I can't stress enough always being visually aware of who is in front of you and to your sides. The thieves do not look like tourists, they are easy to spot, not to mention smell (talk about some bad hygiene). If you see someone shady, particularly a group, try to cross the street, turnaround, go to a more crowded area (like stopping at one of the many small catinas on the beach) or just slow down your walk towards them. To be quite honest, I don't like taking even friends from Manhattan with me to Rio because they very quickly become unaware of their surrondings.
Now the OP may have still done all of the right things. A suggestion would be to carry a $R10 or $R20 in your pocket and just hand it to them if you are approached. Normally, they just want cash and will gladly take that money and run.