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Exploring foreign territory is an extremely fulfilling and relaxing experience. But as much as we would like to drift into that easygoing mode and soak up our novel surroundings, we shouldn’t drop our guard. No one is immune to falling prey to a scheme, not even the most sophisticated and savvy travelers. Being unfamiliar with local people and their customs makes us liable to deception, and nothing ruins an adventure more than crooked opportunists robbing us of our money.

But the good news is that travel these days starts on the internet, so we can keep a sharp eye out for the usual gambits swindlers set at tourist destinations. And three users, Roh-Da-Pro, tenbatsu, justthatguyTy, decided to help us out in our mission and prepare us for our next trip. They asked members of the Ask Reddit community about the most common tourist scams that people should be aware of, and the answers kept flying in!

Below, we gathered some of the most practical and informative tips travelers should know before embarking on their summer vacation in another country. So continue scrolling, upvote the travel hoaxes you may not have known about, and be sure to share your own experiences with us in the comments!

This post may include affiliate links.

#1

I am from Nigeria, a common one is getting an email from an American Prince

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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

LOL this is so hilarious!!! I'm sure you've got it the other way around here

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#2

30 People Warn Tourists About Common Scams In Their Countries Iceland: Don't buy the bottled water, unless you just need the bottle to fill it up as often as you like with all the wonderfully cold, safe and free water running from the taps.

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René Studer
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Same can be said for every country that has clean tap water.

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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

UNLESS you are someplace like West Texas - most of the communities have safe tap water but it tastes like chalk and/or smells like skunks due to the mineral content and drilling. I mean, sure, it won’t kill you but it makes everything taste nasty. Seriously. Many people there avoid restaurants that don’t advertise the use of reverse osmosis water for cooking and making drinks. They have RO water kiosks (shaped like little windmills) selling the good stuff in every neighborhood.

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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Stayed in Dublin The River Liffey stank and the running tap water in the hotel tasted like it was piped straight from it!

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Kevin Casserly
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

can't drink the tap water in Naples, Italy....or flint Michigan,for that matter

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Bo Oster
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Of course, some fluoride guzzling morons are downvoting comments about America having contaminated tap water, which it does.

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Lyriqal
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In Zimbabwe, they pick the used bottles from anywhere, nobody cares if they been pissed in or what, then goes to their homes and fills it up for sale

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Paul Richards
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

this goes for everywhere, nobody should drink bottled water, and companies shouldn't be allowed to bottle up tap water to sell it.

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Kay Phillips
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Everywhere? Good luck trying to drink tap water in Thailand or China. Your comment is not only incorrect, it's dangerous.

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Guðmundur Friðjónsson
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7 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you want to throw your money away and add to the plastic pollution you buy bottled water in Iceland. Tab water there is the best - just let it run for a while to get it cold ! I live in Iceland and should know.

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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've lived in California. We routinely received notices from the city to boil our tap water before drinking or cooking with it. I can't. If the water is non potable, I will not drink it. That's when I began buying bottled water. Years later, living in Austin, that city sent notices to boil the water. I'm just going to buy clean, thanks.

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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Same can be said for Venice and Barcelona. :) Fountains and taps almost everywhere and the water is great.

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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Tap water🤮🤮🤮 Iceland is ok though but now countries below Greenlands most southern point.

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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was under the impression that not drinking the local water had more to do with your body not being familiar with different purification processes, not the actual safety of the water. I mean new foods can screw up your gut the first time you try them too, even when prepared perfectly

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cerdoamericano@hotmail.com
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Water purification is an industry in its own right. And, as with any other industry, processes tend to standardize, streamline, and follow cost-effective solutions. In many big cities, worldwide, that need big-scale solutions, processes tend to be the same. Fluoridation is the mainstream purifying agent, and they tend to abuse on it, cause it's cheaper to do that than to face something like a cholera outbreak. Perhaps in smaller cities other processes can be implemented. Regarding the features of local water can affect newcomers, but it's usually a secondary factor, and mostly in long-term scale. I live in Mexico City, the tap water here has the worst of all fames, but it's actually safe, if we speak of what comes out of the purification plants. Yet another thing is speaking about how much time will water spend on a tank or a cistern, how clean are those containers, etc.

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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Only if you like the bubbles.

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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh personally I hate when you ask for a bottle of water and they get you sparkled water. WATER has no bubbless

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#3

30 People Warn Tourists About Common Scams In Their Countries In the Netherlands homeless shelters are free nowadays. The homeless people who tell you they need 80 cents for a place to sleep are lying. It used to cost a total of 4 euro per night, but it doesn't anymore. Those who tell you they can't get welfare because they don't have a permanent address are lying as well: they get welfare via an ingenious system of P.O.boxes set up by the state and cities.
I honestly don't mind people asking me for money, but I hate it when they lie about the reasons for doing so.

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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You might not mind, but other pople are just plain horrible and rude to beggars and homeless people. Guess this is why they lie, to get people sympathies to give and feel sorry for them

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For tourists, there are a lot of subtle ways to be tricked. They are often seen as gullible and naive, basically an easy target for crooks, pickpockets, and con artists. But it also makes regular folk determined they can help boost their cash flow. So it leads to thieves stealing card details with ATM skimmers, cab drivers increasing their fares, shop clerks suddenly changing prices, or restaurant waiters offering specials that end up costing travelers an arm and a leg.

Tourist scams seem to be a global issue, almost like an integral part of our traveling experience. It begins to feel that wherever we go, we need to be on the lookout for crooked opportunists trying to lure out our hard-earned money. So we have to remain cautious and not overly trusting to protect ourselves and be sure we know what we’re paying for before handing over cash. And always, always count your change. Because if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.

To learn more about travel traps and how to avoid our trusting vacationing selves from being taken advantage of, we reached out to the founders of a travel blog called Megan & Aram that’s all about visiting Scandinavia, the Eastern bloc, and beyond. The two friends, Megan Starr coming from Virginia, US, and Aram Vardanyan from Armenia, have a specific goal in mind — to share their passion for traveling through lesser-known destinations with like-minded enthusiasts.

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#4

In Switzerland we have this big scam called FIFA, where rich people pay each other money tax free. You support it by watching football.

Seriously though, I have never seen any scams in our major cities. If you wanna come visit, please excuse our uptightness and enjoy our country.

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Ivana Bašić
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How can I enjoy a country where I'm not allowed to shower or use the toilet after a certain hour? :D

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#5

30 People Warn Tourists About Common Scams In Their Countries I've lived in China for 9 months. A scam that I've heard about in larger cities like Beijing and Shanghai is that a student-aged person will come up to you and ask to practice their English. The supposed English practice will end up in a real tea/coffee house, where they will ask you to pay for said tea/coffee because they are a poor student. The tea/coffee is invariably ridiculously overpriced, which a tourist wouldn't know about. "Student" and shop get a nice payout.

Someone tried this with me while I was in Beijing last month. After telling them I'd lived in China for awhile. I knew what was going on and had some fun. Played along until getting to the tea shop and looking at the menu, then said (in Chinese) "this tea is too expensive!!!" and walked away giggling.

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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Similar scam in parts of Africa except they say they will be going to school in your country and have questions. On the way to the tea/coffee shop there will be a shortcut through a back street and you will be mugged. Had someone try it on me and fortunately I realized what was going on when the shortcut was mentioned. Keep your wits about you and do not wear anything showing where you are from.

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#6

30 People Warn Tourists About Common Scams In Their Countries Australia: everything you pay for might seem like a scam, it's not, everything here is just expensive.

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"We do think that tourist traps are a problem and they vary depending on where you go in the world," the duo told Bored Panda. "But, we also think there is a big difference between what is truly a 'tourist' trap and what is a place youʻre 'more likely to be scammed'."

Megan and Aram explained that we have become conditioned to think that any place that attracts people from all over the world is a 'tourist trap.' "That is definitely not true! There is a reason that many people are visiting the Acropolis or Colosseum... but many refer to them as a 'tourist trap' simply because they are always crowded and have lines," they added.
#7

I was studying abroad in Switzerland and a few of my roommates and I took a weekend trip to Milan. One of the street vendors put one of those braided bracelets on my wrist while I wasn't looking. They were slick. I barely even felt it and didn't turn to see it until it was already tied and it was on there tight so I couldn't just pull it off on the spot. Of course he wanted me to pay him for his goods and services. Cue my male, Scandinavian (I'm female and American) roommates absolutely screaming at the dude in my defense before I could even get a bearing on what was going on. They were normally so mild mannered that I was completely taken aback by their sudden aggression. Made a point to always travel with these guys from that point forward.

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#8

30 People Warn Tourists About Common Scams In Their Countries If you ever fly in Bucharest and want a cab, demand from the driver to actually start the timer and pay attention to it's growth. If he snaps it(resets the timer to 0 without confirming the fare) when you reach the destination - don't pay. If he doesn't start it at all - don't pay or demand to start the timer. They will ask for a lot of money if they see you're a foreigner. Up to 10x the actual fare price.

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Ivana Bašić
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Same in Croatia. They like to work only during the summer and live big all year, so be careful.

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#9

Thailand. They put water soluble paint on the bottom of the jet skis the tourists hire. It looks fine when you pick it up but then the paint comes off when your using it revealingly a bunch of scratches on the hull. When you return it they point to all the scratches, say you must have run over something, and keep your deposit.

The bottom gets painted again and they wait for the next pasty white sucker.

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Ellie McGrath
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember seeing this on a show about the tourist police in Bali who help foreigners. They tried this scam on some British military boys. The MPs and their commanding officer soon sorted it out

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While tourist swindles occur all over the world, in any country, to every kind of traveler, some places are more notorious for con artists to get their hands on our valuables. When asked about the vacation destinations where travelers should really try to have eyes in the back of their heads, the duo could name a few straight away.

"You will always find a lot of scams around popular tourist attractions (not necessarily tourist traps)," Megan said, adding that The Eiffel Tower, Taj Mahal, and Milan Cathedral were a few where she was bombarded with what felt like scams. "I also had a man try to pickpocket me around the metro at the Eiffel Tower — so it is not only scams to beware of, but these types of things too!"
#10

Don't mistake this for racism, please. In Japan, if you go to the Roppongi area of Tokyo then don't shake hands with the black guys who stand around trying to talk to people. Japan's society is so homogeneous (roughly 90% Japanese, 5% Chinese, 3% Korean) so you'll see them easily and almost every single black man who puts his hand out for you to shake is trying to get you to go to his really cool secret club that he knows about. The thing is, once you shake his hand he will not let go. He will grip you tightly and forcibly pull you into a bar while smiling and making nice so it doesn't draw any attention. Once you get in, you'll see a menu of affordable drinks and pay a not-too-bad "seating charge" which you'll think is the hidden charge. But no. The actual hidden charge is the "leaving fee". If you want to leave the club you'll need to hand over an extortionate amount of money, or they'll call the police who are not kind to foreigners in that particular area.

TL;DR beware of black men (usually Nigerian) in Roppongi, Tokyo. Also noracist.

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#11

30 People Warn Tourists About Common Scams In Their Countries Full moon parties in Thailand. Watch out for dealers who work with cops. They come up try and sell you stuff, cop comes out of nowhere. Asks for bribe or will arrest you. They then split money with dealer

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#12

Not a local type scam, but a traveling scam. I was in San Francisco, and checked in at a hotell, the front desk called and said there was a problem with my card, they just needed some info, asked for name and card number, then they asked for the three digits on the back. Noped and went down to the front desk, they had not called about the card.

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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Happens all over. I used to work in a hotel in England and this happened at the hotel next door. A person will call asking to speak to room number XX and the reception puts them through. Then they pretend to be the front desk. So if anyone called our hotel, I would ask for the name on the booking as well. Scammers would make up a name or hang up. None of our guests got scammed. Ask the front desk when checking in, that all phone calls to your room confirm your name before they put the call through

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Scammers and pickpockets may be watching your every move while you’re strolling around an unknown city. Larceny-theft cases are soaring in many different parts of the world, so it could seem that for the crooks, lifting phones and wallets with their sleight of hand movements is only getting easier. That’s why we need to stay on alert to prevent finding ourselves in situations that would leave a dark bruise on our holiday and our confidence.

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When it comes to pickpocketing, Megan revealed a few precautions she takes when traveling. "I just swing my bag around front and am super diligent," she said. "And if someone comes up for a chat randomly, I just remain skeptical (which sucks but this seems to be how it often happens)!"
#13

30 People Warn Tourists About Common Scams In Their Countries I don't know if this is exclusive to America, but I get calls all the time from "Microsoft" saying that they have detected a problem with your PC, and if you sign on for them they can help fix it. Don't know what they get from it because I've never given them control.

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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I love those calls.I play along all the time..."Omg omg what happened? you must help me!! My boss will fire me if he finds out I visit porn-sites" One time they got sick of me and hang up after 20 minutes.

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#14

30 People Warn Tourists About Common Scams In Their Countries These are mostly for tourist areas, but:

In France, if someone asks you about signing a petition (especially in English!), mind your purse, don't make eye contact, don't respond, keep walking. Even just by signing your name, they could be pick pocketing you when you're not looking, or they can make a big scene saying you've pledged to make a donation, and yell at you till you give them money.

In the U.S., don't take f*****g pictures with fake mascots. They will freak out if you don't give them money after, even if you give them money and they don't think it's enough. Seriously. I have seen these people smack around children. Plus their costumes are terrible.

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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Don't accept a "free" rap CD from some rando on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He'll ask for a donation in return and his large homies will suddenly appear to encourage you.

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#15

30 People Warn Tourists About Common Scams In Their Countries Egypt. If you visit the pyramids, prepare to meet a ton of souvenir sellers who will charge you 10x the price that they will demand from an Egyptian. The best idea is to go to an established souvenir shop (there are many big ones) instead of those guys near the tourist attractions.

Also, they can tell where you are from and will charge you accordingly. If you are White, you'll attract a ton of attention from them. Asians are usually completely ignored unless they approach the vendors.

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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I found in a similar setting that also the outfit can make a huge difference. I was at a Tunesian bazaar on a hot day, and because I wanted to visit a museum and a nice restaurant later, I had donned a simple white dress shirt and light suit trousers instead of a Tee. The street vendors all but ignored me unless I spoke to them myself, and the waiter in a cafe kept topping off my tea. I made some small talk, and he finally explained to me that, of course, they had me tagged as European immediately, but due to my lack of sandals or t-shirt, he took me for some kind of tourism worker or travel guide. Made this experience in multiple places since.

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"I experienced the most forward of scams in India and Southeast Asia, to be honest," she revealed. "It was the typical tuk-tuk driver taking me around to shops to buy stuff without my consent. I was prepared for this as it is quite common and it didnʻt bother me. I knew people were just trying to make an extra buck." However, Megan stressed how important it is to be on guard when traveling, although she has actually experienced more hoaxes at home than on the road. You never know when you can fall prey to dishonest types, so try to be polite but stay careful.

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#16

30 People Warn Tourists About Common Scams In Their Countries I live in France. Paris is a very touristic place, so if you plan to visit the city, you should be aware of the scams ! First of all, don't buy souvenirs from people in the street : they often sell key rings (such as Eiffel Towers), little gadgets, sunglasses, bracelets... On a carpet on the floor. Ignore them. If you seem interested they will insist until you buy something. It may be cheaper than the items in the shops, but in fact those are poor quality garbage. Plus, the money is given to some mafia. Also, there are many thiefs. Don't act as a tourist and keep your things close to you, especially on the subway or in very touristic places (Montmartre, le Trocadéro...). Don't let your phone on the table of a café, if you are outside. Even if you stay right there. When you go to the Eiffel Tower, you may encounter young girls who practilly don't speak french, claiming they are tourists and asking for water : don't even talk to them, they often distract you meanwhile another person steals your wallet, cellphone, etc... They are very good at it. Same as "lost" children in the subway, who don't know where to go and don't really speak french. If you're not sure about it, report it to the persons working there (RATP, or the Police Ferroviaire).

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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Also watch were you are walking, there is dog poo everywhere.

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#17

30 People Warn Tourists About Common Scams In Their Countries Hollywood, CA. On Hollywood blvd. in front of the Chinese theater, the main tourist drag, there are guys who will hand you a cd (some will actually put it in your hand). Dont take them, they arent free. Once you accept them they tell you that you owe them $20. When you say no thanks and try to hand them back they wont take them and they demand their money and will get aggressive. You try to give it back and they put their hands up saying its yours now, pay me. If they put it in your hand dont close your hand, just let it drop and walk away. They will yell that you broke their cd and demand money but if you ignore them and keep moving they cant do much. If you do take one and they wont take it back place it on the ground at their feet and get out of there. They will sometimes cuss at you but so what, just go.

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Paul Richards
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

B******t, not a legal transaction and they can go f**k themselves.

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#18

30 People Warn Tourists About Common Scams In Their Countries We got approached in Paris for the “gold ring” scam. There are a few variations of it, but the general idea is that the scammer approaches a person with a “gold” ring they found. When you tell them it’s not yours, they ask if you want to buy it.

It’s obviously a worthless fake ring, so even giving them 5 Euro to go away is a “win” for them.

In our case, the woman approached us with a men’s gold wedding band. She asked if it was mine. It wasn’t (wasn’t married at the time).

She was insistent that she wanted me to keep it for “good luck”, so after like the fifth time, I said “OK”, took it and kept walking.

That was my mistake.

She flipped her s**t and caused a big scene...I didn’t give a f**k though, we knew about the scam. I wasn’t giving anyone any money for it.

Only there are usually more than one person involved in the scam. So we found ourselves surrounded by four or five people claiming we had stolen her ring.

I didn’t care. I told them we could all go to the police and sort it out, I wasn’t paying them s**t for “stealing” anything.

A French couple approached us and went off on the group of them - in French - and the group dispersed fairly quickly. I did give the ring back, I was going to throw it into the water, but the guy that intervened shook his head “no”, so I just gave it back to the woman and told her to f**k off.

The couple that chased them off never stopped afterward, so I don’t know what was said...or if they even spoke English.

I felt like an idiot though for that happening to us. Especially since we knew about it in the first place.

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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Happened to me, the guy tried it Place Vendôme...where are the most jewelry shops :-)

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Megan and Aram agreed that sharing information about tourist hoaxes online helps people protect themselves and their cherished treasures, and it allows travelers to prepare for their upcoming trips. "But we also need to ensure it does not scare people away or discriminate against the local people and traditions," they added.

"We think there is a large difference between someone trying a widely accepted scam (like the tuk-tuk drivers throwing in a souvenir shop for commission) to make a little extra money versus someone pickpocketing or screwing people out of thousands of dollars," the bloggers noted.

"Donʻt let the threat of scams scare you away from traveling! We have scams every day in our own societies... we just accept them as the norm!"
#19

30 People Warn Tourists About Common Scams In Their Countries I'm from New York City.

Taxi drivers here are HUGE con artists. HUGE.

They will deliberately take the longest and most complicated route to get to the location. They will deliberately drive into the worst traffic and worst road construction in the city. The longer the ride, the more they get paid.

My advice: Look at a map before you get into the cab. Figure out how to get there. Know the shortest route. As soon as you get in, tell him EXACTLY how you want to get there. If he tells you "Oh, this other way is faster", don't believe him. He is probably a big fat liar. Give him exact directions and don't let him give you any "suggestions."

If he drives you into traffic, immediately get out and find another taxi, if possible.

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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

NYC cabs don't deliberately seek out heavy traffic to run up fares, they'll make more dropping you off faster and picking up a new passenger. If you've seen how furious they get sitting in prolonged traffic you'll know they don't want to be stuck in that mess any more than you do.

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#20

30 People Warn Tourists About Common Scams In Their Countries America here, specifically North Carolina, but I've seen it in Texas, too.

People will come up to you in the parking lot of a grocery store with a sob story about running out of gas on their way back home to a town >50 miles away and ask for money. They may also have a wife and kids who are very hungry. For some reason, they get upset if you ask to see their driver's license so you can see if their permanent address is actually in that town.

I've only witnessed this one once, a dude was trying to trade a gift card to the grocery store we were in for it's cash value, even offering to let me check online/over the phone that the card was valid. Not sure what the end-game is, maybe hoping people won't actually check?

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SelkieBlackfysh
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Dealt with so many of these ones. Always a wife or gf in car with a baby. Everyone is hungry baby needs diapers. They never show me ID and they're never even willing to show me the wife and kids. Even when I say "Show me your girl and kid and I'll give you two crisp 100$ bills, no joke." Hate people who prey upon sympathy. If I were religious I'd hope they have a special place and punishment in hell lol

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#21

30 People Warn Tourists About Common Scams In Their Countries UK. If you ever visit London via heathrow, don't take the "heathrow express". It's a massive rip off: the normal tube (underground), which also runs to the airport is about 1/10th of the price, and only a couple minutes slower. In fact, it's faster if you're going to central / east London.

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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Heathrow Express, expensive, yes, but travelling to central London is 15 mins. Normal Underground, super cheap but travelling to Central London is 45 mins to 1 hour.

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#22

30 People Warn Tourists About Common Scams In Their Countries If you visit Chicago, beware of the scammers on the CTA trains that go around collecting money for their basketball team. Actual youth sports teams raise money through fundraisers like selling chocolates, not walking around the trains with a flyer. Plus most of the "kids" look like they are 20 and are never able to give believable information when asked about their team.

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#23

Not my country, but if you go to Shanghai be careful about "Tea Scams". Basically, if you're in an tourist area like The Bund overlooking Pudong, a group of friendly looking people might come up to you and start engaging in polite conversation. They'll say they're from rural China or a different city, that they're tourists as well and they'll invite you for tea.

Once they get you into the tea shop they work for, they'll sit you in the back room and have some burly, Triads-looking m**o block the door. Next they'll get you to sample a bunch of expensive teas and won't let you leave until you buy at least one bag. On the bright side, the tea itself is good and you can get away with only spending $10-20 or so, it's just the being lied to and trapped part that sucks.

Now you see why the noun Shanghai is also a verb.

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Ivana Bašić
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For that price, I will take a package, I don't need to be forced. :D

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#24

30 People Warn Tourists About Common Scams In Their Countries In restaurants in Prague, Czech Republic if you speak English and require an English menu, be prepared to pay at least double the normal amount.

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Ivana Bašić
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Same for Croatia, mostly the coast. Always check the original menus. Also pay attention to pricing, some things have a tiny asterisk next to the name or the price, always check what it means - sometimes the fine print on the bottom says that the price is per 100g, meaning their serving will cost 3-5 times more than you expected to pay.

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#25

US: If you're in a major city, stay away from street performers and people with instruments who are selling their cd's, some will be very pushy and aggressive.



Edit: the best way to avoid scams like this is to walk like you are late to something and look pissed off. Don't even acknowledge them.

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GoGoPDX
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is not true for every city. I live in Portland, OR and there are numerous street performers. I have never seen them be aggressive in my 22 years living here. A lot of them are super talented and the set up, put something out to collect tips, and do their thing, Some even have minor local celebrity status. Look up the Unipiper, you will not be disappointed!

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#26

In Mexico they can arrest you for no reason and then demand money to be let go. They will ask you to call relatives and have them wire money for your freedom...

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#27

30 People Warn Tourists About Common Scams In Their Countries In the US, could be more, there is malware that can get put onto iPhones. It puts a message on safari whenever you try and access the internet that says "iOS has crashed, call this number" where they want to charge you $60 to "fix" your phone. Just clear out your safari history and you are solid.

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#28

We don't have many beggars in Finland, but for last few years we've had a lot of ~~Romanians~~ Romanian gypsies show up begging for money, and most of that goes to Romanian mafia.

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#29

India has kids hanging around tourist sites who want to sell you carved sandalwood or 10 postcards in an envelope. You will get a piece of pine or an envelope with 2 battered old postcards inside, and the knowledge that a small Indian child can outwit an adult tourist.

Edit: I thank the Hindu pantheon that nobody sold me black henna.

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#30

30 People Warn Tourists About Common Scams In Their Countries America. Fast food places usually ask if you want a large or super size drink. They also have free refills. Just get the regular size.

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Al Caholic
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's not a scam, though. People often take their drinks to-go, especially from fast food places.

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#31

30 People Warn Tourists About Common Scams In Their Countries There's that famous one where people ask you the time, and use that as a distraction to rob you. Fell for it in Barcelona, luckily nothing was taken and nobody was after me.



In Paris at the Arc De Triomphe, me and my girlfriend taking a photo, man asks if we'll take a photo for him if he takes a photo for us. I nearly said yes then remembered, it'd be so easy for him to run off with my phone. So I said no, he didn't take too nicely to it. We'd agreed beforehand that unless a waiter or attraction worker offered to take a photo for us we'd refuse.

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Theo Blackwood
Theo Blackwood
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Aw man, that sucks that it’s a scam because I always genuinely ask people if they need help taking a picture when I see it.

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#32

I'm American, but not from New Orleans. There is a scam where someone bets you they know where you got your shoes. If you agree, they will tell you "You got em on your feet". It's my favorite scam I've seen.

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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yup, wherever someone asks that, you don't even slow down, just point to your feet and say "I got 'em right here" and keep waking. If you walk the same areas enough they start to recognize you as local and leave you alone.

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#33

if people arent asking for help in NYC ie. giving you something , mixtape, (one time a guy was like ill sell you this gift card outside a store in times square) basically ignore them,

also I wouldnt give my phone if someone asks to borrow your phone - its 2019

dont forget to ask for directions or give directions though, many ppl are quite helpful

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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It was Andrew Zimmerman who pointed out that even the Siberian nomads all had cell phones. That was around 10 years ago. I guess I might let a stranger use my phone on speaker as long as I got to hold it. It's always possible they broke theirs, or their battery ran out

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#34

30 People Warn Tourists About Common Scams In Their Countries I'm from the UK. For god's sake make sure you understand how the currency conversion from your country to ours works. I knew a guy who visited here and paid £90 for a short taxi ride all because the taxi driver took advantage of his ignorance in said situation. I can see this being similar across many countries but there are people out there who'll bet on you lacking knowledge in the money department; do your research, don't let them.

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Lyn Moffett
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Also certain parts of London,ie: Crouch End ,, has it painted on roadsides to be careful with your phone as bikers or motorists snatch them out if your hand

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#35

Not from Italy, but many restaurants will charge you for bread unless you explicitly decline it and wave it away. I had no idea this was common until our table ate 4 or 5 pieces of bread between us while waiting for meals and got charged like $12.

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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm guessing you are talking about "coperto"? That is actually mentioned on the menu, and it is not a scam, nor something you can just decline. It is essentially a flat, fixed cover charge for the service. And of course, if you eat the bread in the basket and then ask for more, you will pay more bread. And you will still pay the "coperto".

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#36

30 People Warn Tourists About Common Scams In Their Countries Portugal: The price that you will pay for the taxi right after you leave the airport will be really really high.

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#37

Denmark. All our "tourist attractions". They're not really that impressive.

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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

but this is the most danish post I have seen in a while. "Oh you can come to Denmark, it's ok." Janteloven

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#38

There is a fairly big problem in Vietnam (where I live, but not where I am from) with scooter or motorbike drivers snatching handbags, cameras, phones, etc) from people walking along the sidewalks or pavements.

In my first week living in the country I was going out for dinner and had a lovely golden colored handbag with my passport, wallet, and first months rent inside. It was a small bag and I just had it on my shoulder while we walked. The mistake I made (because NO ONE had told me) was that I had it on the road side shoulder. Some biker just swerved onto the sidewalk, ripped it off me, and swerved back onto the road - before I had a chance to say a thing. The people that were walking with me didn't even notice until after. It hurt my shoulder, and I lost my money, passport and the lovely bag, which matched my sandals. Bastard.

After that I just remembered to always carry my bag on the inside.

I made another mistake more recently without such a bad ending. I had out my iPad mini on the pavement, looking up a number. I just wasn't thinking. A guy drove up to me and tried to snatch it. I literally was hanging onto a small swatch of elastic where you put then pen on the case.

There is a small window the snatcher has to get it and leave again before people notice and th en there will be problems. I held on long enough, he got worried and gave up and drove off. I was totally stunned. (The whole thing was like 20 seconds tops).

Afterwards, in my head, I fantasized about drop kicking him of his scooter.

Moral... when you visit Vietnam - keep your bags on the inside shoulder, and don't take out phones, wallets, iPads, cameras etc in plain view without be very guarded and aware!

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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's not a scam, that's plain robbery. You can (at least try to avoid) being scammed. Not being robbed. But yeah, not cool...

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#39

30 People Warn Tourists About Common Scams In Their Countries Tl;DR at the end. Sorry for bad english, written at work.

Flew from Europe to New Delhi to travel for a while. Arrived late night around 3am and struggled a bit to find a taxi without internet on my phone. Kind stanger greets me and offers me a relatively cheap ride into the city. I hop in and listen to funky Bollywood tunes while excited indians tell me how excited they are for me to travel India. They ask me to call my hostel to ask for directions, but since i had no internet access, they offered their phone and they would put in the number. So im calling my hostel and they tell me that there had been a terrorist attack in the city (taxi driver mentioned that earlier and even showed me videos on youtube), he wants me to go to a tourist office of a friend of his, so he can send someone to pick me up. Thats when things became weird. The guy in the tourist office tried selling me a trip to the north with a bus leaving in the morning, but at that point all i really wanted was a bed to sleep in, even asked to sleep on the office floor, but they guy insists it wouldnt be save... Fast forward i agree on a taxi drive to another town i wanted to go anyways, cant get money out of atms for some reason and finally run off to take a TukTuk to my hostel. Tuktuk driver tells me its not save and brings me to a 'save goverment office'. I tell my story and they confirm the story the other guys alreasy told me. Again they tell me the only option is a taxi to another town, so i take the deal, pay approx 250$ and fall asleep in a taxi on a ï hour drive to rishikesh. In rishikesh its boiling hot and i struggle to find a hostel. Asking around, nobody is able to help. Find kind foreigners that advise me to a close by guest house. I collapse in the room and sleep 5h. Wake up, turn on wifi, tell gf and family im ok and what happened. Check mails and read a mail from my hostel in delhi giving me heads up for possible scams in delhi. They explain the whole scam that happened to me and i start crying over how dumb i was to fall for that. During the night i had contact to around 10 different indians that all knew the exact same story and even though they didnt talk to each other were all on the same scam scheme.

Tl;DR: Got scammed in Delhi over 250$ with fake terrorist attack and took a taxi to the next town.

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AsexualShrimp
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2 years ago

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Sounds fake actually.. Delhi hasn’t had a terrorist attack or invasion since 1526.. can someone fact-check this?

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#40

USA. You can't buy cheap Disney World tickets at any gift shop, gas station, or visitor's center.

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#41

America. Evidently some d******d sells hotdogs for $30 a pop at 1 World Trade. You can get a dirty water dog for $1 anywhere else. Eff that guy.

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#42

When i got off cruise ship somewhere on island near Greece. There were rickshaws lined up. So obviously i was like "cool i can get one and i don't have to walk around and i will support local economy". So i asked one how much it will cost, he told me some low price..like 5euros or something. So i pay, hop in, ready to see some sights...guy goes for like 100 meters out of harbor, stop there a goes like "sir go now". Apparently there was sign that said this about rickshaws somewhere near them which i did not understood because it was in Greek.

TLDR: Got ripped off by rickshaws on Greek island.

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#43

Azerbaijan - well they are 2 scams one more known and one less known the more known scam is young azeri boys pray on older women from western europe and america and tend to form a fake relationship with them in order to get money but it is not on the scale of turkey. And the second one which is a lesser known one is people setting up fake stalls in baku selling goods for ludicrous amounts like the equivalent of $17 for a kit kat bar

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#44

In Germany mostly in cities people who dont speak german will try to get some kind of flower into your hands and then demand about 8 bucks for it. i got s**t on by my friends for not buying a sh***y rose for my then girlfriend. i went to the next flower store thingy and bought her 3 for the price of the one on the streets.

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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I always decline the flowers so that the man I'm with doesn't get harassed.

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#45

Paris. The bracelet scam and the subway scam.

Former to my sister, latter to my father. We traveled as a family, so I was there when it happened. Being Filipino, we're cheapass***t so we certainly refused to pay them a single cent, we wouldn't be able to afford going abroad if we weren't strict with our money.

Anyway, the subway scam was this - being tourists, we knew nothing about the metro and how quickly those doors shut. My sister was going through and got her bag stuck by the metal gate. SUDDENLY, some man came swooping in out of nowhere, uses his whole body to open the f**king metal door like some bionic man, and gets my sister's bag out of there. For a second, I thought it was a superhero gesture - but damn. He wanted cash. And he would not stop asking for cash, followed us down, harassing us. And the "police" were of no help. But, their presence was enough to get the guy to leave us alone. Then, comes the train. We get on it, shaken of course. THEN, THEN, just as the door closes, the man steps in and throws some yellow liquid at my father. It was beer (we're guessing, another guess was piss). Welcome to Paris, tourist. Never, never will I return to Paris.

I hate Paris. Honestly, if it had been me who received that foul liquid, I would have probably just laughed it off now. But, the fact he did it to my father just really gets to me. As someone coming from a Third World country, I'd expect a First World county to be a more civilized, welcoming place. What a joke.

For context, this is what the metro gates look like: https://kevin20cents.wordpress.com/2015/02/08/musings-along-the-metro-gates-and-jumpers/

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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Luckily it was just beer (or even pee) and not acid. People can be horribly cruel.

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#46

Anything Sasquatch related up in the northwest parts of US. Just don't. Beautiful area but they abuse that s**t for tourist money.

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#47

I had a cab at LIN airport in Milan to take me downtown. I've done this like 20 times and no its around 50 euro. Driver decides to take me around town in circles to various hookers and start screaming at them when I didn't want to buy their services. Ended up costing like 90 euro, then tried to be like "night fee extra 50 %". Told him to give me a receipt since I billed the taxi ride to the state owned oil company..... which made him upset. I got my money back and my receipt had a crude drawing of a stripper with comical boobs and said "Titty Titty Bang Bang" on it

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#48

Went to Mexico with my grandmother, mother and sister.

We decided to take one day to show down 5th Ave, a large shopping street. After getting out of the taxi, we were trying to figure out which way to go. We were overwhelmed by how visibly long the shopping area was.

Then a gentleman came up to us asking if we recognized him. He said "I work at the (the hotel we were staying at). I remember you! Come, I'll show you my brothers shop and I can get you a discount."

Even though we didn't really know him, we couldn't confirm we didnt know him so we went along with it. The shop had a lot of really pretty jewelry with a pretty big price attached.

My grandmother is allergic to nickel so she was trying to find something that was gold.

We tried convincing her not to do it but its vacation and how could we take away from an awesome souvenir from her. She paid something like $250 for the bracelet.

About a half hour from walking from that store we get a different guy with the same story trying to get us to go to their store.

And that's when it hit me... they "know" us and know where our resort is because we were wearing the entrance bracelets with the hotel name in bright ass colors on it.

A couple months after leaving, my grandmother had the bracelet looked at and they told her that the bracelet was only plated gold...

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#49

Ive been told about people giving tourists advice on what places to visit on the street and then demanding a tip, even though you didn’t ask for their advice

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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That happened to us in Marrakech. A group of around ten kids approached us, and the "leader" offered to help us find our hotel. When we reached the hotel, he demanded a euro for each kid, even though the other kids hadn't said a word to help. We refused and only gave the main kid money. He and his friends then spent two days harassing the hotel owner saying we owed them money. I was too scared to leave. I mean, sure, they're just kids, but a gang of kids with little or nothing to lose and who might have weapons is scary.

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#50

There was a desk set up in the lobby of the Las Vegas hotel we were staying in, where you can organise tours and get tickets to attractions. The guy chats to us about what we'd like to do, and puts together a package for us. We looked more closely at what we were buying, and discovered that there was this "tour" of one of the other hotels that went from 9am-2pm or something - after a lot of questions it turns out this was going to be a sales pitch for a timeshare arrangement, and it was mandatory for us to attend it (they knew what rooms we were staying in, and would be charged a fee if we didn't attend). The package was only a discount if you believed that this tour was "valued at $120".

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#51

In my country, in Asia, this kind of scam is not entirely about visiting America, but my people are hype and crazy when Americans hitting them up on Facebook so the bad guy takes advantage on that. Dunno if other countries experienced it as well.

They used fake names, random hot guy profile picture, then hit you up, saying you're cute. These dirty folks have so much patience, they talk with you for months until you actually believe they want to be with you.

Then, they told you they were coming to your country, to see or even to live forever with you, but they didn't have enough money at the time to get the plane ticket, and so they ask you to transfer you your money to them, and they disappear.

Some case I've heard even scammed people to meet them at America, no one showed up obviously.

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censor
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Same happens vice versa on all dating apps and facebook, it's called Catfishing. Very common. Here's the rule: if it looks too good to be true.

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