Phone on the table

A strangely trusting society

Apr 24, 2025

For a country with rampant petty crime, Vietnam is strangely trusting.

Every café I go to, I see at least one person—usually a local—leave their phone on the table, sometimes next to their wallet and motorbike key, when they visit the bathroom or step out for a smoke.

And I don’t know whether to commend their faith or deride their carelessness.

A country of crime

I’ve lived in Ho Chi Minh City for four years, and all observations indicate this otherwise amazing city a cradle of opportunistic theft.

Stories abound of pedestrians who get their phone snatched while consulting Google Maps too close to the road’s edge (preventable), tourists scammed by taxi drivers (understandable), apartments burgled via an open window (really…).

Thankfully, I haven’t (yet) been a victim of crime. But I suspect that’s because I am aware of how rampant opportunistic theft is and am excruciatingly careful.

I never hold my phone so far from my body that a thieving motorcyclist can grab it. I use a small, zipped bag with a sturdy side strap. And despite living on a high floor, we keep our balcony doors locked at all times.

And I never leave my valuables unattended.

A trusting society

Yet in every café I frequent, I see abandoned laptops, phones, wallets, keys, backpacks, shopping—there for the taking.

This baffles me. That most people who do this are Vietnamese suggests they know something we expats don’t, a secret code designating unattended valuables in cafés off limits.

Or maybe the locals are simply too careless, too trusting? But surely, if opportunistic theft is as rampant as hearsay would have it, then enough people would have their valuables nicked that they would stop doing this, and over time there would be fewer unattended items, not more?

I could have sworn that when I arrived four years ago, I didn’t witness this curious phenomenon as often. Now it’s everywhere. To the point where I’m having to fight not to be lulled into a (false?) sense of security and start leaving my laptop and belongings at my table when I go to the bathroom.

I’d love for Ho Chi Minh City to be a place, like Seoul, where valuables are safe in the open. But I really don’t think we’re there. Or are we?

Do the phone leavers know something I don’t?

What do you think?

Would you leave your phone on the table?

Do you feel your city sufficiently safe to leave valuables unattended? Or is this folly everywhere? Please hit “reply” or leave a comment—I read every response and I’d love to hear from you. If you want, share this post with someone who leaves their phone unattended—I’m dying to know why.