:( This is my least favourite thing of Venezuela. I've gotten my phone stolen three times and I haven't even bought one in a year and a half because I got sick of getting mugged all the time for it.

The problem is now I can't even talk through Whatsapp with my family abroads, which is most of my family, and that's sad.

I had used all my savings, 300 USD, in order to buy a nice phone to spoil myself a little, since I had been depressed for a while, and it really worked for the little two months that it lasted. Then I got robbed and didn't have enough money to buy a new one.

Now I do have money but it's hard-earned money and I don't feel like getting a phone and probably getting it stolen from me again is going to make me feel better, so I just choose to save and maybe get a new phone if ever I leave Venezuela.

Some tips from here, since people have to deal with getting their phones stolen all the time, is to get little phones, what we call "pote" or "perol". You carry that around and use it when you're out, and leave your big phone at home if it's too precious to lose while you're hanging out at dangerous places.

My friend also used to carry around a big smartphone that was damaged, it had exploded in his face, lol, but it looked OK from the outside. A thief once came to rob him and he just handed him the damaged one while the normal one was in his backpack.

Other little tips to avoid getting mugged for your phone are not putting it anywhere visible anytime, not taking it out while on the street or in public places where people could follow you out and rob you later, not looking foreign (oops), not looking weak or lost or walking alone...

I'm still very hurt from when I got my phone stolen last year. I still only have about 400 USD from savings and I have a few debts to pay off before being able to buy a new phone, so it's stings deep in my heart that someone would be so inconsiderate as to take my only little bit of happiness away in order to sell it for maybe 40 USD at some random black market.