Travel Scams to Avoid on Your Next Trip
We’ve all done it before to keep our valuables safe: sporting a hideous fanny pack, wearing uncomfortable under-the-clothes passport purses, or shoving bills into your bra. You want the things that allow you to travel—money, passport, visas—to stay as close and as secure as possible. However, the human element is usually what makes tourists slip up: an old lady needs help down some stairs, a baby gets handed off to you, or a street musician is offering you a free CD. Scams like these tie tourist’s hands and make themselves easy bait for pickpockets and thieves. Not to make you a paranoid tourist, but it’s important to be aware of what you’re up against when you travel somewhere new. Here are some of the most common ways travelers are taken advantage of in foreign destinations.
Travel Scams to Avoid on Your Next Trip
By Hayo Magazine
With some help from our friend Rick Steves, here are some scams you'll want to watch out for on your next trip.
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Your Ticket To Nowhere
By Hayo Magazine
As you wait patiently and good-willed in line at the train station, an official will approach you with a higher priced ticket that can skip the line. And is a total fake. Found in: Paris and London.
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Their Dropped Wallet
By Hayo Magazine
You see a wallet on the sidewalk near you and you pat your pockets to ensure it's not yours. Meanwhile, pickpockets wait nearby to see where you store your wallet. Found in: Kiev and Paris.
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Your New Best Friend
By Hayo Magazine
The bracelet will be tied onto your wrist faster then you know + you'll end up paying 9€ for a bunch of string. Found in: Paris (especially at the Sacre Couer) and Rome (at the Spanish Steps)
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Not Your Kind Of Crowd
By Hayo Magazine
Crowd situations make anyone vulnerable to thieves. Watch out for things being thrown on you, at you, or any other distractions that take your attention away from your valuables. Found: everywhere.
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Their Broken Camera
By Hayo Magazine
You're handed a camera and someone asks you to take a picture of them. As you give their camera back, it's conveniently dropped and broken. You'll be demanded to pay for the repairs. Found in: Europe.
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Your Squeaky Clean Shoes
By Hayo Magazine
A shoe shining brush drops in front of you. You pick it up, hand it to the inquisitive shoe shiner, and they thank you with a "free" shoe shining that turns out to be quite costly. Found in: Istanbul
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Your New Gold Ring
By Hayo Magazine
If someone "finds" a gold ring on the ground and offers it to you, just say no. They'll try to prove that it's real gold, but just keep walking before you pay a fortune for a rip-off. Found in: Paris
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Slow Counting
By Hayo Magazine
Your cashier will pause, count your change, pause, look around, count again slowly—all to wear down your patience and hope you leave without your proper change. Found in: Europe
Have we missed any scams that you’ve experienced first-hand? Tell us about it in the comments section!
