One way to avoid one star popping is to buy a horse instead of a camel. Since most poppers are a lot higher than you, they probably buy slow animals like fire bulls or something so that their transports don't die so easily to hunters. Thieves usually spawn behind the trade animal, and horse walks 33% faster than them, so speed is your advantage. if they're coming up behind you with a slow animal, you should keep moving anyway, but it should be relatively safe. If they are coming your way, turn around and run. I recall being popped very often on many 1 star trades that I did with a camel instead of a horse. The extra 1 meter per second makes a world of difference, even though it doesn't sound like much. When I finally began using horses instead of camels, the thieves would chase after me for a while but my horse would outrun their fire bulls and they would quit following me. Just my 2 cents
