#touristscam

[takeoffwithme]

10 Most Common Tourist Scams in India & How to Avoid Them - Take Off With Me

Tourist scams happen everywhere, including India. Gain insight to safeguard yourself from the most common tourist scams in India.

[thespicehunt-blog]

Prague is an amazing holiday destination but, like any other place, it too has its fair share of scammers. Read about the top tourist scams in Prague, on our website www.thespicehunt.com #prague #pragueviews #praguetourism #touristscam #touristtrap #loveprague #visitprague #czechia #czechlove #visitczechrepublic #eurotrip #travelandlearn #thespicehunt (at Prague) https://www.instagram.com/p/B9EXjaGlwpT/?igshid=c68s2x8wz5id

[buyforeigncurrencyonlineini-blog]

Be aware of Tourist Scams While  Travelling Abroad

Everyone has different reasons for travelling abroad. Some travel to experience the vibe in a new place, some to explore new cities, some want to unravel unexplored locations and others simply want a change from their own location. While enjoying the hospitality in the host destination, it is important to be aware of our surroundings and belongings. It should be ensured that the travellers have safety throughout the trip.

 Caution needs to be exercised right from the beginning of the trip the same way as we do in our own cities. Some people are scammed due to their unfamiliarity with the surroundings, while the others happen due to lapse of concentration. While some scams, such as at unauthorised money exchanges, happen even before the trip. Some of the most common ways of deceiving tourists are:

 Counterfeit Notes

Unauthorized currency exchangers exposes to risks of such counterfeit notes. It is very easy to mistake counterfeit notes for authentic currency notes. This is especially a problem in countries which have a number of denominations such USA, Germany, and China. Unauthorised dealers usually take advantage of the situation and exchange currency for counterfeit notes. It is difficult for tourists to verify counterfeit notes themselves, and the fake notes are consequently accepted.

 Another point of falling victim is while making payments to vendors and taxi drivers, who provide change in counterfeit or fake notes. Tourists who are unaware of the denominations can easily fall prey to such scams. The best way to avoid such scams is to use currency cards, which eliminates the possibility of handling counterfeit notes.

High Exchange Rates

The only solution when a traveller runs out of Forex is to pay local vendors in Indian Rupees. Local vendors take advantage of the situation and only accept payments in Indian Rupees at high exchange rates. There is no choice but to agree with the terms of the vendor and make the payment at their currency exchange rate.

 This is a common problem faced when travellers don’t carry adequate forex for their trip. Having a Forex card in such a situation proves to be handy, as the forex card can be recharged online at the lowest exchange rates. Online currency exchange offers 24 X 7 service, with assistance at all times. Even after detailed planning, there is always a possibility to spend all the local currency, and it is better to have access to more currency than to be short of currency while at a foreign location.

 High Fees and Amounts for Tourists

Particularly in countries such as England, Thailand, and Malaysia street vendors charge high amounts to tourists, as they take advantage of the fact that their products do not have a listed price and then charge high amounts. Locals often demand amounts almost 2 – 3 times of the normal price.

 Some scammers even charge foreign tourists fees for entering malls and attractions, where entry is absolutely free. Famous bridges (such as the London Bridge, Golden Bridge, etc.), monuments (Dubai fountain, British Museum) and malls usually do not have any entry fee/charge, and without proper knowledge of such fees, tourists end up listening to the scammers who are usually very persuasive. The only way to surpass such situations is by finding out the costs and fees for entry at attractions before visiting it.

Lost Wallet Trick

This trick is common in New York, Washington, Texas and San Francisco. It might sound too movie like but many people find themselves stuck in a situation with a lost wallet. How it goes is that a by-stander will alert the tourist about a wallet fallen next to the tourist and will ask if it belongs to him/her. Out of sheer innocence, while the tourists takes a glance to see if the wallet is indeed his/her, another person appears from the background calling the tourist a thief as he/she holds the wallet in his/her hands. All of this happens very fast, without a second to realise what is actually happening.

 At this stage the by-stander and the owner of the wallet collectively start framing the tourist as a thief. The scammers then threaten to hand over the tourist to the police, unless they are given a bribe. The scammers will make the situation very unsafe and uncomfortable, and out of fear anyone is bound to pay money for their own safety to get out of the situation.

 In another version of this scam, the by-stander might offer to split the cash from the unidentified wallet. As soon as the money is split, a few people will emerge on the scene and demand full recovery of the money in the wallet from the tourist. Once again, out of fear the tourist is likely to make the payments for their own safety.

 The best way to avoid this situation is to move around in groups. It becomes difficult for the scamsters to handle large number of people or to fool someone in the presence of others.

 Surveillance of Belongings

In cities such as Prague, Bogotá, Sao Pãulo and Mexico where the streets are narrow and full of performers, there are numerous people who want to snatch money or belongings from tourists and run away. There are many versions of this scam where locals distract the tourist and take away with their belongings.

 Most common versions of these scams take place when a scammer spills coffee or drops ketchup on the clothes of the tourists. The tourist is bound to try and remove the stains, and the scamster will offer his/her “act of kindness” in the form of assistance to look after the belongings as the tourist removes the stains. At this point another scamster or the same scamster will abscond with the belongings, leaving the tourist with dirty clothes behind.

 Once again it is best to move in groups so that even if there is any distraction, there is always someone paying attention to the belongings. Another solution is to leave the belongings in a safe place, so that you do not require to continuously look after it.

 Road side tricks

 Sometimes scammers try to engage tourists on the roadside, such as in London, Mexico, and Cancun. They will try to lure you into simple gambling tricks where they will first let you win the smaller bets. Once you have gained some confidence, they will trick you as you bet higher amounts. The best way to avoid these scams is to leave when you’re winning. Or even better, visit a place which has a casino, so that the gambling and your winnings are both authentic.

 Such information should not discourage traveling, as this scam can happen to people in their own cities as well. But while going abroad, we should always remain safe and self-aware and at times even selfish. We shouldn’t let any incident ruin the experience of the trip. The best way to avoid any scam is to purchase forex online and use a forex card. Buying foreign currency online removes possibility of being cheated or tricked. And even if the card is stolen, the money remains safe.

 Tourists should be careful and not flaunt their money or their belongings to avoid being in situations involving a scamster. A great way to avoid any unwanted attention is by blending in with the local crowd and appearing as a local. Scamsters are attracted to tourists more than to locals, and anyone appearing to be a local is less likely to be scammed.

 While moving around, it is best to carry only the amount of money that is required. If the itinerary for the day includes 3 meals outside, then it is better to leave the excess money safely in the room or in the card and carry only the currency notes for the 3 meals and local transportation. This eliminates the need to handle extra money. Valuables such as jewellery are always at a risk of being lost or stolen, and they should be kept away safely.

 Moving around in big numbers or groups makes it difficult for scammers to trick anyone. So scammers will not be able to make the tourist pick up a lost wallet, or to let go of their own bag. Groups also ensure that at every point there is sufficient attention on the belongings and the scammers are not able to get their hands on someone else’s bag.

 However, in the interest of safety, one must always carry the details of their stay (hotel, hostel, guest house, etc.) so that if they are lost then can get assistance to return to the hotel. Usually local vendors know the whereabouts of famous locations and can guide the tourist back to the hotel. While visiting a foreign country, the Indian embassy should be informed about the visit and preferably the stay. In case of any emergency, the Indian embassy will be extremely helpful for safety.

 In the end, staying safe while you travel abroad isn’t so different from avoiding crime in our very own neighbourhood. Taking precautions will help enjoy the trip without any disturbance or trouble from an outsider.

[reflectionsuponthyself]

Adventures in Italy Part 5: Precarious Train Stations and the places they'll take you

(or rather, don't take you)

Part 2: Precarious Train Adventures: My Bologna has a first name, it's W-R-O-N-G-W-A-Y.

Milan -> Bologna -> Milan -> Turin (in 5 hours)

If you haven't read the 4th part of my Adventures in Italy series - you can read it here (this is technically a second part to the 4th installment!)

http://reflectionsuponthyself.tumblr.com/post/109978316495/adventures-in-italy-part-4-precarious-train

Truthfully, I was in denial the entire time. Even as all the signs kept pointing to this exact scenario! But I had really been holding out some hope, that we were just naïve and confused and everything would be fine.We explained the situation, including that one of the Italo attendants at the Garibaldi station had basically put us on this train, even after we’d told him we thought we had missed our train. The attendant told us to wait while shelooked for some unoccupied seats we could use. She managed to find some that were together, and we moved down the line of cars into our seats. She then asked us for our ticket again and said she was going to talk to her colleagues and see what we would need to do. 

The ride to Bologna was about the same length of time that it would have taken us to arrive in Turin from Milan. The attendants were all mostly helpful on the train, telling us we would need to find the Italo office at the Bologna Centrale station to get a ticket to go back to Milano Garibaldi, and then get on a train from there to Turin. Luckily, there was another train later that evening from Milan to Turin, that she was confident we’d have time to make.

At the Bologna train station, we got off the train and tried as best we could to follow the directions the attendant had given us. But because we’d departed the train below ground level, we would need to take the elevator up one floor, and then find the stairs to go up two more levels, and then find another set of stairs that would take us to one floor above ground level, where the Italo office was located. As you might imagine, my mom and I were both exhausted, frustrated, and upset about this whole situation. On top of that, I was worried we wouldn’t make it to our hostel in Turin before the receptionist left for the night – because they didn’t have a 24/7 receptionist at our hostel in Turin.

As we got off the elevator, we had no idea which way to go. So we picked one set of stairs and were two women with a mission! As I’m looking around at the signs, trying to remember the little Italian I knew, a man makes eye contact with me and asks me something in Italian that I didn’t catch at first. He was a large man, probably a good 6’ and had a rounded face. He repeated his question and I realized he was asking if we were headed to the exit. I said no, we are heading to the Italo office. Now in Italian – the word for ‘the office’ is ‘L’ufficio’ and the word for ‘the exit’ is ‘L’uscita’ so they are both rather similar (at least to a beginner in Italian like myself!). Eventually the man understood what I was telling him, after I showed him the Italo ticket and repeated ‘L’uscita’ a few more times. He says to us, “I take you!” And grabs my suitcase and my mom’s, and leads us up the stairs we were headed for. He carried our bags up three sets of stairs, and to the Italo office. We were very grateful for his help, as we may not have found the office without him; there were a lot of corners and stairs! We thanked him and went to talk to the people in the Italo office.

After explaining our story for what felt like the tenth time, they told us that we would be able to get a ticket back to Milan, but we would have to pay for the ticket. But they weren’t going to make us pay for the seats from Milan to Bologna, and they would let us re-use the ticket for the train we had missed to Turin. But it was still 60 euros that we had not planned on needing to use for a train. On top of that, the train we would be taking back to Milan, as running behind. We had about an hour before it was estimated to arrive (back down another 3 flights of stairs, mind you). So we left the air-conditioned office, back into the humidity of the semi-open train station. (The train station has a large enclosed part, but there aren’t doors that separate the station from the open platforms outside).

As we left the office, the same man who had helped us came over to us and asked which platform we needed to go to. We told him the platform, but tried to explain that it wasn’t due to depart for another hour and that we were just going to sit on some benches a little ways away. He said okay and we went and sat down. A little while later, he came back over and we had a nice chat with him. His name was Guermo, and he wasn’t Italian, but Polish or something. With my little bit Italian, I gathered he came to Italy in the summers for work, and he said he’d been doing it for a while. We told him we were from Alaska and we talked about snow and cold and other words that I knew in Italian (still limited!). We told him the different places we would be visiting and I was quite proud of myself when he asked if we were on vacation, and I said in Italian, “Si! Siamo in Italia, in vacanza.” Which is perfect Italian for: “Yes, we are in Italy on vacation.” 

So when it got a bit closer to our estimated departure, we got up to start heading down to the platform, and Guermo took both of our suitcases again, and with his longer legs, speed walked (well – it felt like it for my mom and I, with our shorter legs!) us down three flights of stairs to our platform.

As we arrived to our platform, a service man was walking on the opposite platform with a broom, he yelled something towards us that I didn’t understand, and Guermo waves his hand at him as if to shrug off whatever he had said. Besides the service man, there were only a handful of people waiting for the train. Guermo walked us down the platform quite a ways, and as we thanked him very graciously, my mom went to give him 30 euros for his generosity in helping us. When she handed him the 30 euros, he says to her in a soft, teasing voice, “50”, then pointing at both our bags, as if to say he had carried both of them. My mom looks at him, and then at me, and says, “No. That’s 30 euros” He becomes very insistent, “50 euros”. She looks at me, not sure how to respond, and I didn’t know what to say! So we said nothing for a long drawn out 20 seconds or so, and he says it again, “50”. His voice more insistent and with a hard expression across his face now. He obviously wasn’t budging. So my mom digs out another 20 euros, and gives it to him, reluctantly.

As he takes the 20 euros, he looks at me and then my mom and says, “No, 50 each”. We look at each other in utter disbelief, stunned, and not sure what to do. We were out of complete earshot of everyone and besides the few people on our platform, there was no one else in the entire underground row of platforms. My mom finally says, “I don’t have a 50.” I didn’t catch on right away, but she was trying to convince him we didn’t have the 50 euros that he wanted. He said something in broken English that seemed to insinuate that if we didn’t have the 50 euro, he would need something else to compensate that value. He also went on to express that he had carried both bags, not once but twice. Not wanting this man who was twice my size, to run off with our luggage, I pull out a 50 euro bill and give it to him. He thanks us, with a big sloppy grin and strolls back up the stairs.

My mom and I stood there, in complete silence, not knowing exactly what the hell just happened. To be clear, he never went beyond the ‘friendly, joking’ manner that he had portrayed throughout our time with him. He became insistent, and stubborn, and did have a very hard facial expression, but we didn’t feel threatened by him, except for his insinuation that he expected something of value if we didn’t have 50 euro. But even that insinuation as done in a fake, light hearted manner. His cunning lay in his ability to seem like a kind, genuine man who wanted to help some people out, and while we had all ready guessed he expected some compensation, we never expected him to ‘set the rate’. We were completely taken off guard.

The man who had yelled at us earlier, appeared a little while later and asked us how much we gave him. We told him “100 euro” and he looks at us in disbelief and starts speaking angrily in Italian, telling us we should call the police. We shrugged our shoulders in defeat and he walked off. He later came back, letting us know he had called the police, but insinuating (I think) that they couldn’t do anything.

After our day of hell, we were still shaken and just wanted to double check we were indeed, at the right platform and would be getting on the right train, this time. So in my broken Italian, I asked a woman and she looked at our ticket and confirmed we were on the right platform and that it was running late. The service man later came up and explained in Italian what the situation was with Guermo, and the woman and her husband were very upset by it. Though I couldn’t understand much of her Italian, she seemed to say that people like him were not Italian and didn’t in any way, represent people of Italy. I think she felt personally attacked by such an act happening so close to her home (she was from Milan). She told us that her and her companion would be getting off at the same stop as us – and so all we needed to do was get off with them once we were on the train. They were both very nice and we chatted some – though I used ‘non capisco’ quite a bit throughout that conversation! We finally made it to Turin, around 8 pm – which was 4 hours later than we were supposed to have arrived.

[stijnvanbrakel-blog]

Not my cup of tea

In the King's Joy hostel - in Beijing - my sharp eyes noticed a warning sign, which immediately caught my attention although it was still early morning. The night before I had my first evening walk in the streets of Beijing. 'Be carefull when people invite you for a tea, there is a chance they want to poisin you.' - The following events take place in the year 2012, September 16, in People's Park, Shanghai. - Today on the bucket list are visiting People's Park, People's Square, Yu Yuan Garden and the famous Huxinting Tea House. All very close to each other, so one day must suffice to visit just these few beautifull spots Shanghai has to offer. It's around 10.30 in the morning and I walk upstairs from the underground subway, taking the exit which leads me directly into People's Park. It's already quite busy here, more tourist centralized on one spot wasn't seen by me before during my 12 days in China. On Sunday they have the Marriage Market in People's Park. Parents are placing their - still single - children in the offer by hanging a paper, which describes why their child protudes above the thousands others on the dozens wall. If you are not into online dating, than this huge dating site might be something you want to try out. My eyes did not yet recover fully from the change of light - from underground subway dusk to bright sunlight - or two girls - one Chinese, the other Korean - jumping in front of me and ask in quite understandable English if I they can have a picture with me. Already used to this kind of celebrety life I am living here in China - even straight 40 year old men are getting overexcited and almost start dancing around when I pass by and ask me for a picture. It looks a bit as if a 13 year old superfan spots Justin Bieber completely unexpected - so I agree and let them capture this unique moment for life. Polite as I am I participate in the small talk conversation they try to set up following to the photoshoot with obvious questions such as: Where are you from? What do you do in China? What are your plans today? They probably think my day sounds boring and invite me for some tea tasting. That suddenly rings a bell in my head and I remember the warning sign from my first hostel in Beijing and I feel that my heartbeat starts pomping extra blood through my body. Time to spice up this day a bit. I always wanted to know how this tea tasting scam works and this is my chance. Because I've heard the most crazy stories I check what my chances are in case something goes wrong. In my advantage: - running shoes - shorts - original Belgian jersey, thanks to my friends for that - no pain in bad knee, no pain in good knee So I can run the hell out of there if necessary. In my desadvantage: - passport and money on me - camera and Go Pro in backpack So if they rob me, it's not gonna be a fun day after all. I decide to go for a cup of tea with the girls. We walk out of People's Park into a mall nearby. This is not the place where I expected they would take me. The original scam takes place close by Peoples Square - in the open - where loads of people and tourist pass by. We take an elevator to the second floor and walk through a narrow alley. I only notice on guy in front of a door, a big guy, the type of guys you see in front of clubs and check you out before you enter. This one is not checking me at all when we pass him into a more narrow alley. The atmosphere is not the same as a few minutes before. No more small talking with the girls, I just keep on following them and try to trackback my escaping route. We step into a small room. I see a candles and the smell of incense fills the room. A small table with some tea in the middle and the girls take place. All elements for a relaxed afternoon tasting are present, but it doesn't touch me at all. With their magic spell - Come, come, take place at the table and drink some tea with us - they try to decoy me. I still didn't enter the room and suddenly a bigger woman assists me. I take my camera but the big woman starts shouting some Chinese words. Apparently it is forbidden to take pictures because they are a minority group. Seriously, I am surrounded by locals and they are the minority? Even before entering the room and drinking one sip of tea, I leave the place and walk back to People Square. To make a long story short...after People's Park I went to the Yu Yuan garden. Walking towards the garden, again two girls want to have a picture with me. Same old, same old. Close to Ya Yuan you have the famous Huxinting Tea House. You pay to much for tea but at least you get some good fingerfood and no annoying people who try to scam you. I enjoy me tea with a beautifull view on Yu Yuan.