Tourist scams

I'm currently in Rome and after reading a bit about various cons at work, I'm spotting them everywhere.
I was on a train and speaking to this couple who had been traveeling for 40 hours, the guy was obese and looked like he hadn't seen a shower this side of 2000, his wife wasn't much better but I was bored so I dragged her to the toilet whilst the guy was playing on his nintendo DS and she blew me. Later on as the train pulled up to the station. I later saw the guy give his bags to gypsys who then intimidated money out of him infront of his woman.

>Betas, when will they learn.

>>865884
ebin XDD upboat

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>>865884
Could have been funny but the execution was fucking abysmal.

Fell for the weirdest scam while in Cholula. Went up to the pyramid site and out walked this middle aged latina women. She told me she was from Columbia studying in Cholula and that her friend had come with her to the site but left. Asked if she could come along with me through the tunnels because she wanted someone to take pictures of her. Went through the site and the church and everything seemed fine. Told me about her family, about her kids, about her time in Central Mexico. Then after she suggests we go get lunch. I was a bit hungry so thought why not. Get lunch and at that point I'm feeling sketched. Thought it might just be travel nerves plus my own social anxiety. Come check time, it turns out her debit card mysteriously doesn't work even though she had used it earlier. She says she'll go to the bank because it might just be the machine they use not recognizing her Columbia bank system.

Maximum sketch at this point. We try two banks and of course her card doesn't work. I'm just irritated at this point and don't want to be scammed any further. Curtly just say it's fine and ignore her offering to wire me money or to come back the next day. Give her fake contact info when she asks for an e-mail address so she can send me pictures she took of me at the site and at the church. She takes me down to the bus stop to Puebla and weirdly enough pays for my fare. She gets off at her stop and gives me a shit eating kiss on the cheek. I end up $12 USD poorer.

The whole thing was like 2 hours of scam time so she either was baiting me for a larger catch or was looking for a tourist sugar daddy (she was kind of flirty and even suggested we should go out for drinks that night before I left Puebla).

Really don't know how I could have escaped that one without being super paranoid prior to getting lunch or causing a scene at the restaurant. Good scam on her part. Didn't even finish the fucking steak she got though. Said it was too tough.

Gypsies are the worst. I avoid Paris like the pest because of them.

>>865983
I know this is a crazy thought, but is it possible that she was telling the truth and that you're just a paranoid asshole?

>>865983
This is pretty clever if it's the satire i think it is

>>866010
Very possible that I'm a paranoid asshole but better to be paranoid and still with money/life then too. She didn't seem very concerned or surprised that her only method of finance wasn't working and took the whole thing very nonchalantly. Don't know if it's a cultural thing, but I feel like someone would react a little different if they just made a stranger pay for their lunch rather than basically ask them to buy them drinks later that day.

It seemed like a performance really. When the check was about to come she said that she wasn't sure her card would work. Told her to try it and she seemed off-put by that and of course it didn't work. She was a very forward, stern person with shop owners and such that we interacted with, seemed a little artificial towards me. My guess is she was just a manipulative person, who's background might be true.

I'm just weary because I tend to attract the weirdest locals (and people in my non-travel life). Week before this happened I was given a small tour by some random padre/lawyer I met in Coyoacan who I'm fairly certain was hitting on me throughout it. Kept telling me that my legs were big and strong and asked me if I worked out.

>>866027
And I was friendly to neutral throughout my interaction with her. So paranoid yes, asshole no.

So this thread makes me wonder. It's easy enough to avoid the obvious scams. Crooked taxis, peddlers, guides, people who are straight to the scam point you know. But how do you deal with less overt scammers and other skeezy types? People who are friendly with you for ulterior motives that are harmful or don't directly ask for money. What's the middle ground between going around everywhere in a pope mobile and pretending to be deaf whenever you're outside and being gullible/naive?

Are scams just a fact of travel life?

>>866040
It is tricky, inevitably you'll either have times where you ignore someone whose intention are genuine, or you end up getting swindled somewhat.

In these less obvious cases, I think it's good to heard people out, and give them a chance, but don't make too much of a commitment to doing anything. A few general tips I can think of:
Be more wary of people who approach you on the street than those who you meet by chance (e.g. on a bus, at a restaurant etc.).
Be cautious if they suggest you go to a restaurant/bar. If the place is in the open with plenty of customers you're probably fine, if it's the kind of place you can't see into from outside I'd be very hesitant to go inside.
Never get involved with any sort of gambling.
Don't accept food or drinks if you can't see it opened in front of you.
Generally be open, but don't overcommit.

Sometimes you just have to go with your gut. For example, when girls at Tiananmen square approached me asking to practice English at a nearby teashop I could tell immediately it was a scam, whereas when I was on Mandalay hill I spent the afternnon with a few local girls who really did just want to practice their English.

>>866040
If the scam isn't costing you much, just don't worry about it. I was cheated out of change a few times on my travels, I should have been more careful really but you know how it is in stores, you just want to get something and get the fuck out. So in total on all the travels I might have been cheated out of $20. That's less than what I make per hour of work. Yeah it's annoying buy who cares really.

It's the big scams that you need to be careful with. I always read up on what the potential scams might be in the regions I travel to. The big ones are always written about online somewhere because scammers aren't creative enough to come up with new scams all the time.

Regarding scams, be careful in Budapest.

Since this city has a pretty wild nightlife from May-October, there are lots of ways local scammers can empty your wallet.
One of the most expensive scam you can fall for is when you're out at night time and happen to be greeted by one/two really decent and outgoing local girls.
They will act as if they are interested in what you have to say, maybe even tell a story or two to you. Sometimes they will pretend to be tourists as well.
In any case, they will suggest to take a few drinks somewhere and then head off to some nightclub. Point here is, you will not leave the pub or w/e they drag you.
They will note that they know a pretty cool place that is just nearby and would want you to come with them, as the booze is cheap.
While you are having drinks with them, the menu you will be given at first is the cheap pricing. As you're there, getting drunk and getting to know the girls, the next menu that will be given to you looks 99% identical, aside from the pricing, which is in really little letters.

You can easily rack up 500-900 euro bill in a matter of an hour.
And when it comes to paying for this shit, there will be two rough guys waiting for you. They will escort you to the nearest ATM so you can withdraw the money - OR take everything you've got and beat the shit out of you.

Didn't happen to me, but did happen to a friends friend.

>>866159
That's a fairly common one all over Europe from what I've heard.

>>866159
>>866187
That seems like it would be of extremely questionable legality. I don't know the laws, but changing pricing on the fly is pretty damn shady.

>>865859
I'm quite aware of the scams, and frequently check embassy sites to be aware of the specific 1 or 2 restaurants, taxi and police scams, or neighborhoods tourists are most targeted. Budapest for instance, has a lot of detailed information as does Prague. Mexico has a lot of info by region and town, as well.

I've never been a victim, but I'm pretty seasoned. I have been followed by people intending to target me in Prague. Lost some huge bulky russian guy who literally fake window shopped everytime I entered a store and stopped, through several, right and left turn streets for about three hours. I finally lost him with an hour and a half thai massage stop.

I've had randoms trying to give "Free hugs" in europe, which is obviously a pickpocket scam.

I've had a video cameras picked up without my noticing at Teotihuacan, when I was younger/stupider. I've had locals tell me to "watch out for my bag" at a cafe in Dublin, pointing to someone who was watching me, when I had a bag literally under a table locked between my feet. I'm very careful when flying in the cabin, never been a victim there.

>>866271

>being chased by imaginary scary Russian for 3 hours

Could you be more paranoid? What did you imagine he wanted from you?


In Europe 99% of all scams can easily be avoided by following 2 rules:

2: Don't trust anyone who comes up to you.
1: Dont trust any fucking gypsy, ever. Don't allow these subhumans within 3 feet of your body.

>>866215
>caring about legality

it's a scam m8. Though I agree it seems kind of strange, especially since I assume police would shut that place down at the first account of a scam reported by tourists

Watch a lithuanian version of cops about back packers being robbed by girl and her dudes. From 4th minute

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwRGj2uZte0

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>>865859

I had just arrived in Paris on the bus with 5 friends at about 06:30 and wanted to get into the metro to drop our stuff off at the hostel. So we go to the ticket machine and are trying to figure out whether to get single, day or multi-day passes etc etc. Anyway a nice guy with a name tag comes up to us and asks if we need help, says he's information, 4-day ticket will be the best choice (something like €22 each, can't remember exactly). We talk about it a bit and decide just to get single day passes (€7 if I remember correctly), then try to pay. Monsieur Information informs us that that machine is broken and doesn't take notes, so leads us over to the other machine. Sacre bleu this one's broken too, he suggests we give him the cash and he pays on his card.
>ok x6
Basically while he was putting in his PIN and we weren't looking, he changed our 6x day passes to 6x single passes and kept the difference, gave us our tickets and disappeared before we had realised what happened. Luckily we didn't choose to go with the multi-day pass.
Afterwards we tried to justify it to ourselves by saying we were tired because of the long and shitty bus ride but pretty much we were just gullible.
Still don't get how none of it occurred to us as odd, because it really was strange. I guess he was just confident and sly but yeah that was a shitty welcome to Paris.
Enjoyed the rest of the trip with my friends but hated the city.
Pic related; fucking filthy.

>>866289
Apparently that's a pretty common one all over Europe too.
Another favorite in Paris seems to the the "lost gold ring" scam. One I've encountered only in Rome is the lost Gucci manager.
While walking back from the Roman Forum I noticed a an older couple being shown something by a guy with a moustache in a car on the side of the road as we walked by. 5 minutes later the same guy was talking to another couple on the side of the road.
When I got back to my apartment I looked up car related scams in rome. Apparently the guy will pull up asking for directions to the bank or something. He'll claim to be a manager for Versace or Gucci and offer you a jacket (conveniently in your size) or bag for your help. He'll then ask for some fuel money as he's almost empty. Once you give him the money he drives off and an accomplice on a scooter rides up, snatches the items out of your hand and rides off to use them on the next mark.

>>866306

Interesting, never heard of that one. What's stopping you from pretending to get scammed but not letting them take the jacket back? Would make more sense if they simply used counterfeit products, much like the gold ring scam.

>>866307
The jacket is counterfeit. There's no way they'd be pulling it with a legit $1000 jacket. I wish they'd have tried it on me. I've started taking a perverse pleasure in fucking up their plays.

>>866187
>>866306
>all over Europe
Yes, because all of Europe is homogeneous and the same things happen in every country and city.

Paris has the gypsies, but other than that France generally doesn't have a huge problem with it. Similar with other southern countries. Some eastern European countries have the bar tab scam. And then you have countries where tourist scams are unheard of or rare (i.e. anywhere in northern Europe, Germanic countries).

Avoid airport taxis whenever possible.

>>865859
>in Amsterdam
>trying to score coke
>my friend does the deal
>I stay back with friend of dealer
>dealers friend starts bumping me and pretending to play soccer with me
>he gets in close
>too close
>being a criminal myself I know he's trying something
>slow thought process because I'm blazed up sky high
>feel hand on thigh
>find his hand in my pocket
>grab his wrist
>the pickpocket immediately surrenders and apologizes
>super high so I shrug it off

In his defense what else are you supposed to do when you see a drunk tourist searching for drugs?

>>865983
Sure you looked like dumb and beta tourist. It is very usual to people to say sad strories in order to get pity money and more. Also never trust someone that you dont know dude. Puebla and surrondings are full of thiefs and the low tier people.

>>866027
She was a scammer. How is it possible that she did nit have money with her? Also, she should have also a credit card and nit inly debit. Anon, you were scammed. Puebla is full of rats.

>>866463
True. Only lost $12. Sure it was a hook for more though. I can avoid scams that most tourists get but the friendly person at tourist site threw me off, especially since I'm not a person that can easily tell people to fuck off. Definitely gotta be fucking stern whenever money starts to he involved

>>866187
Asia too, it's pretty much the Tea Scam

>>866414
The opposite can be true in some situations. I've been to cities where airport taxis have a fixed rate for areas, so you know exactly what you're paying when you step in, and then on the way back to the airport you're paying sometimes double what you paid over because the taxi you got from the street is scamming you.

I've luckily never been scammed or pickpocketed other than taxi scams (which sometimes you don't even realize unless you compare prices with people). Had gypsies try and guilt me into giving them money before but I never do.

I know two Swedish friends did this massive backpacking trip through Russia into Asia and somewhere in China the more innocent of the two met a local Chinese girl who 'wanted to show them traditional tea' and took them to a teahouse, the other girl wanted to leave but the gullible one was entranced and by the end of the tea they were charged something like 200 Euros and the Chinese girl had slipped away.

>>866306
the gold ring scam is really common in paris

another popular one is someone asking you to sign a petition or somesuch, and if you decide write your name the scammer goes through your pockets meanwhile

I got minorly scammed in China.

>large family trip to China
>want to go on a boat ride
>decide to buy some laser pointers from vendors near the boat
>night time, given russian money as change
>didn't realize this until on boat
>i realized though, so i managed to not get scammed
>bragged about it
>realised i got a marker instead of a laser

fuck

These scammers and the stories about them really made me paranoid.

I've been in Italy lately and wanted to get from rome airport to city center by train. It's pretty foolproof since there are like 2 train lines at all.

But oddly enough you have like 9 different "tourist info" and "ticket office" shacks right next to the tracks all selling train tickets, additionall to ticket machines. When one of the random ticket office guys approached me it screamed "scam" into my face, but I got the right ticket for the official price and made my way to the city center...if they aren't scams, why are there 9 different looking selling points?

>>866313
Ain't nothing perverse about it.

> TFW you're a tourist tout and on /trv/

>>867199
What do you do specifically.?

Vegas can scam you in minor ways. Thought we'd get a limo from the airport to the hotel because it's kinda cliche. Cost $70 for what is a 10 min ride. On the way back to the airport when going home we got a shuttle bus which was about $30. Taxi drivers always tried to take us really long ways round as we were drunk pretty much all the time but when 4 drunk Brits get angry and point it out they start to put their foot down or quit what they're doing.

Also being a Brit in America a lot of people will come up to you cos of the accent and seem very friendly. Our first night in Vegas a group of good looking young girls came up to us and put their arms around us and were rubbing our bodies and saying go with them to wherever they were off to. Pretty sure they were prostitutes who'd have probably taken us to their pimp and had us threatened.

>>867207
>had us threatened
they probably just wanted you to solicit their services, anon

>>865983

I know this scam I fell for it once. You usually wind back up back at her place having the craziest sex of your life and then *POOF* you're married to her and she owns half your shit and gets 20 lbs overweight.

Trust me guys, stay away from this one. Its easy to spot I see it coming from a mile away now.

>Car trip to Macedonia
>Beard grown out on the road
>At the Croatian-Serbian border
>Guy at customs thought I was a Turk
>Apparently it's very common for Turks to get scammed, they have to buy a carton of cigarettes at the duty free shops or else they have to get their entire car checked
>My turn
>Guy tells me 'Carton or control Turk'
>I tell him to fuck off in Serbian
>Guy shocked and told me to just pass through

Also a few years after this, similar thing at a petrol station, also in Serbia

>Walk in after filling up my tank
>Two guys at the counter
>They're talking about 'How much will we scam this one for?'
>Hear them
>'You're not scamming anyone motherfuckers, I can understand you' in Serbian
>They act shocked
>'We thought you were a Turk brother, sorry. It's understandable man, the Turks stole from us for decades.'
>Tell them to go fuck their mothers
>Pay

Serbians ALWAYS try to fuck you over on the road, especially with the Dinar exchange-rate.

>>867341

Well then, who are the right women? How can you tell? Just the ones that don't pay much attention to you or something? I don't want to miss my chance here, but I'd also like to be safe.

>>866691
FUCKING MORON

Roman citizen here.

Yeah, you best watch out while using buses and the subway. As far as Italian towns go, we're not on the top of the shit-list, but you definitely need to keep your wits about you if you stand out as a tourist.

It's mostly Romanians and gypsies though. They LOVE to give you a "service" that you never asked for, and then demand payment. This happens especially when you need to park in a hip area of town and they ask you for 3 to 5 euro just for being in the vicinity and having pointed at a parking spot you were already headed for.

If you do NOT give them money, they will sometimes break your windows and/or key your car. And obviously there's little you can do about it once they're gone.

Simple strategy me and my friends use is to tell them, not unkindly but firmly, that we have no change on us while getting out of the car but that we'll pay them once we have some change coming back TO the car.

>>866274
>Dont trust any fucking gypsy, ever
Americans don't know what a gypsy looks like though.

>>867632
They look pretty much like you'd stereotypically expect them to look. Brown skin, (dirty) baggy clothes, usually colourful rags on the women's (usually braided) hair, and they're asking you for money either outright as part of some bogus charity. You won't miss 'em.

>>867680
so.... eastern european with baggy clothes

>>867682
Yep, and they'll be the ones begging you for money or thrusting a 'sick' (loaded with drowsy medicine) baby in your face with a fake sob story.

>>866018
this.
>>866027
or you're a total aspie.

>>866040
Not everyone trying to take advantage of you is necessarily scamming you. Some people are just poor and desperate and trying their luck. They're not going out of their way to massively rob you out of everything, just hoping for a handout. In many parts of the world, it is a societal expectation that the 'rich' help the poor, and it is not shameful to ask. Of course, you don't ask outright, but usually with some little story.

Go with your gut at the end of the day. but it's not worth getting furious at some dirty toothless poorfag beggar. I don't give 'em money, but I don't fault them for it. I like to think since I've travelled a lot, I'm pretty attuned to scam attempts. I'm also kinda beefy-built, so people tend not to fuck with me. I've had touts approach everyone in a row in some touristy area, but a lot will skip me after I give 'em that 'don't even fuck it try it asshole' look.

>>866306
>>866307
>>866313
Happened to my dad right in the good ol' US of A.

'Italian' guy (probably some ex-Yugo gypsie) pulls up in a parking lot at a strip mall/gas station as my dad was buying fuel. Asks for directions to airport, saying he has a flight back to Italy and is running a bit late. Dad gives him directions. Guy says 'thanks, so helpful, hey since you were so helpful, I'll tell you something... I'm actually with Gucci, returning to Italy from a sample sale here. But I've already paid customs duty on bringing these jackets in to the country, and if I take them out again, I'll have to pay duties AGAIN. Better if I can unload them, and heck I'll make you a good deal!"

My dad knows nothing about fashion btw. This is a guy whose 'uniform' for the past 20 years is khaki pants and checked short-sleeve shirts from Sears. He's also a bit too good natured for his own good, small-town mentality and everything.

So the guy pulls out a few jackets in my dad's size. Dad naturally asks how much? Guy says 600 for all of them, these are designer jackets, real genuine leather (does a BS 'lighter test' to prove the leather doesn't burn). Dad laughs and says he never carries that much. "Oh yea? How much you got?". 200. OK, I'll take that. Deal.

That's how my dad ended up with three completely fake 'Gucci' jackets that smelled like paint and had super obvious Engrish (and ungrammatic gibberish in other languages) inside. Cheap stitching + vinyl bubbled when you hold a flame to it.

Next time I visit my folks, I see the jackets and ask, he tells me the story. Sounds very fishy to me, and after a bit of googling and looking closely at the jackets, I tell him they're fakes. He was actually disappointed, but more upset that he got lied to by someone he trusted.

Anyway, I took one of the jackets. It was a nice-looking jacket, admittedly. Just smelled like paint and after the second time it got wet from rain, the cheap vinyl layers started flaking off the jacket fabric.

>>867680
>Brown skin, (dirty) baggy clothes, usually colourful rags on the women's (usually braided) hair
Thats what Spaniards, Greeks, and Italians look like to Americans.
In my experience, Americans hold incredibly polarized views. They often cannot tell the difference between an old neighborhood, from a rundown "ghetto". Its either charming narrow street, or murder alley.

And a lot of them get irrationally upset if you tell them to watch out for gypsys and areas with a lot of Africans.
The American brain shuts down when you mention anything race related, and they will go out of their way to prove they are not racist.

>>868050
Most parts of western Europe are just as "politically correct" as the U.S., many of them more so

>>868050
>Thats what Spaniards, Greeks, and Italians look like to Americans.
Well, then stupid Americans get what they deserve. It's survival of the fittest here. Southern Europeans dress pretty obviously in a modern way.

Also, America has a very different history of racial dynamics than Europe does. Although the slave trade and shit was intricately linked to Europe, we didn't really get slaves and shit. That's obviously why they're more sensitive.

>>867207
God. Vegas cabbies are the fucking worst.

>>867498
>just for being in the vicinity and having pointed at a parking spot you were already headed for.
>If you do NOT give them money, they will sometimes break your windows and/or key your car. And obviously there's little you can do about it once they're gone.
I've seen this many many times. The "car guard" homeless man, who offers to keep the homies from jacking or hurting your car. Sometimes the guy points you into a space, helps you back into a tight one like a buddy that hopped out and gives you the thumbs up to get closer. Then, they want to open your car doors for you like a valet. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. I've found that if you wait in the car a while, like you're on a cell phone call, going to have a drink or two, make out, whatever you want, that they go away to scam someone else. I happen to see them again on my way into the club, I'll hand them a $5 or a free drink and thank them, but just out of fear of retribution, really. A flat tire will cost me $100, and a heck of a lot of aggravation.

>>868050
Confirmed
Americans think anyone with dark skin is from any place where people stereotypically have dark skin.

I'm 1/4 Native American.
In my small school (where everybody knows everybody) my classmates would ask me if I was Mexican/Italian/Arab/(East) Indian on a fairly regular basis all throughout middle school and every now and then throughout high school.
It took several years before they all figured out I wasn't an immigrant, despite my native English, same accent and having lived in the community since I was 3yo.

I even had one guy swear I looked Asian (still haven't figured that one out).
And a girl who asked if I was french because she meet a french exchange student once who looked like me.

Last I checked my family immigrated from Germany in the 1890's.

Isn't really a scam, but...

On the bus from San Jose Costa Rica to Panama City. Bus gets there and.we have to wait 6 hours for the station to open. People que and some nuns from the bus walk down the line selling stamps. Everyone buys one, but I tell them no. When I get to the office the guy says no and points to the nuns. I buy a stamp for $5, I think locals paid half that. I'm then allowed into Panama.

It wasn't really a scam, but a forced tithe.

>>868146
Thanks for your life story, amerifat.

>>868146
Many Native Americans do have slightly asiatic features though. Due to that whole bering land bridge crossing and all, they are distantly related to Siberian/east asian natives.

But yes, Americans are pretty dumb. My names ends in -berg, which comes from my Swedish-born grandfather (muh uther heritages are German and various British Isles). I have light brown hair and green eyes, and attended a (semi-private) nominally Christian school (Quaker though, so really hippie Christians), and people would always ask me if I was Jewish ("but your name ends in -berg, and that is Jewish!"). DERP.

>>866691
top kek

>>868207
>your name ends in -berg, and that is Jewish!
It is though...at least in America.

>>867682
Well to be fair, you shouldn't trust any eastern europeans in general

When I was in Rome with family, we asked some guy for directions, he gave us them and after that he asked for money. dad gave him 5 but he wanted 10, he would not leave us alone so we just gave him another 5, it wasn't that big of money. He then came backed and directed us again because our train had changed terminals so we followed him after which he asked for another 5 euro and we told him to fuck off. It wasn't my money, but still pissed me off that we gave him some, never give random people in Italy money, just keep saying no til they leave you alone.

>>868218
It isn't Jewish, it's a super-common germanic root that means 'hill/mountain' and is as common in germanic countries as 'Smith' or 'Brown' or whatever are for anglo names. Jews only have 'berg' in their name (and it's always Goldberg, Silverberg, Schwarzberg, shit like that) because they passed through a Germanic country where authorities made them get rid of Hebrew of Slav names and take germanic. They are still Germanic though, not Jewish (Hebrew). Jews may have them, but not everyone who has them is Jewish (especially in Europe, or the midwest where I come from).

Trust me, when you're Swedish(-heritage) or something in America, it's annoying. I've had a fair number of Jews assume I'm Jewish because of the name too. Even had a casual fuckbuddy once who thought I was Jewish (she was) before that first time I took my pants off, and was visibly shocked I am not cut.

>>866441
Shit happens, also never buy coke off the street. You that shit is filled with messed up stuff.

I'm in New Orleans for the weekend. About 30 minutes ago I fell for a scam. Some guy on the street came up to me and told me he "could guess the street, city, state and country where you got yo shoes" and then proceeded to tell me our exact location in the French Quarter. Once he was done he bent down and squited this shit on my shoes then clumsily wiped it off and demanded $40. Stupidly, I pulled out $40 and and stopped to question it, so he says "$30 then I got change" and I just went with it.

I guess I just gave a homeless man $30. That's not so bad right? He'll use that money to improve his life, right? Right?

>>868305

Beta as fuck. You should have just told him to fuck off.

>>868097

Yeah, happens a lot in Italy, not sure if it does in other countries.

And sadly yes, I too rather fork over a few euros than risk getting my shit wrecked. Problem with the cops is that unless they plan an actual RAID, they're useless. They have to catch these guys redhanded and deport them, or you're screwed.

Why is Italy so writhe with theft anyway? Is it just abject poverty?

>>868305

"I know where you got your shoes"
"where?"
"On your feet"

That's basically what that one amounts to. A play on words.

>>868313

No more so than the U.S. is if you base your judgment on a trip to Baltimore or to New York at night.

There are good areas and bad areas. And even in the good areas, if you're an easy target, you run a slight chance of getting into trouble.

>>868318
You could just pull out the grammar nazi hat out and say that got is the past tense of get. I have my shoes here right now but I got them in a store in...

>>868325
It's 'got' in the sense of possession, as 'got' is not only the past tense of get.

It's a classic trick anyway. They're not going to care about grammar lessons, they're hoping whitey feels enough guilt to a down and out black man some money. Last time in NOLA (a few years ago), I had some nignog talking to me and my friend for like 10 minutes about how he's a musician (so were both of us). Then came the pitch: he's actually collecting donations for the music school he's associated with that destroyed by Katrina. Hands us an envelope with generic 'donation' fields on it (to/from/$ amount), he'll come back in a minute to collect it, we can put in whatever we want.

But the envelope has no address, no name of institutions or anything. I never give money to people on the street ever, anyway, but we immediately got suspicious. Friend starts asking him all sorts of questions about the school, he's obviously bullshitting and being vague. I tell him give us the address of the school and we'll drop it off tomorrow 'cause we don't have a lot of money on us right now (true story). He gave us an address, though I'm sure it was right in the fucking ghetto and all his boys would've jumped us if we went near. He had obviously lied himself in knots and knew we knew, but we just told him (very sarcastically) we'd think about it and donate tomorrow. He said thanks and walked off pretty quick.

Most scammers and shit do this in pretty touristy areas, so if you just tell him to get lost there's not much he can do. If he really wanted to stick a knife in your belly for $30, he wouldn't make a bet with you.

>>868332
>It's 'got' in the sense of possession, as 'got' is not only the past tense of get.

Yes I know, and this is grammatically incorrect even though it's used commonly. It's also common in nigger speak.

I don't got shoes on my feet, I have shoes on my feet. I got the shoes last week in a store, not I have/had the shoes in a store last week.

>>866441
i live in Düsseldorf, germany, about 2 hours away by train and car from Amsterdam.
I go every weekend and i see some fucked up shit. I can literally envision what you said.
i have to many stories to tell of that city so im not even gonna start, but yeah its a fucked up city full of scammers EVERYfuckingWHERE. Weed is good at Grey Area and Voyagers only. Don't fall for the typical tourist cofeeshop stuff dude. Grey Area. Voyagers.
thats the real fucking deal.

>>866687
>>866306

Yep, I fell for the gold ring scam one in Paris. Was pretty fucking embarrassed about it when I realized what just happened, luckily I only paid 10 euros I think and got a kind of neat little souvenir to remind me to not be such a dumbass.

>>867206

I just take first-time visitors to fake government tourist offices. If they book a tour or spend any money, I get commission, which ranges anywhere from forty dollars to five or six hundred. Sometimes I'll also hook people up with overpriced weed, city tours, and traditional clothing shops.

My average day consists of sitting around, eating with a few people, and then dragging them wherever.

>inb4h8

>>868371
Some gypsy kid tried that on me. I told him it wasn't my ring and I didn't want it, but he insisted a few times it wasn't his and we should split the value if I keep the 'gold' ring. It was obviously a scam from the first instant. Then I said something like 'well, look, someone lost their very valuable golden ring, let's go together to find a policeman and tell him the story and he can get it back its rightful owner". The gypsy kid noped out pretty quick and scrammed.

I thought about taking his ring and throwing it as far as I could over a fence we were next to, but he's probably got a pocketful of them.

>>868482
Where do you live?

>>868509

Take a wild guess as to where I live - you'll probably be right. Also, fuck this piece of shit tablet.

>>866280
i thought i might understand lithuanian, but i don't. can you elaborate, how did the guy get his stuff robbed?

>>868618
Morocco?

>>868354
might as well

>>867363
top kek

>>865859
Nothing special, some bum in paris tried to put a shitty bracelet around my wrist and then quickly seal it shut with some kind of heating iron.
Him and his friends got some people though, mostly girls who didn't have the nerve to say no, some of them even volunteered for one. I think they went for around € 3,- per bracelet.

And there's the old parking meter trick where they come running at you from nowhere with a sence of urgency and start begging you for some change. All machines have PIN nowadays and if you don't have that you probably don't have a car,

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>>866441

My friend bought some 'MDMA' from a street dealer in Amsterdam. He said he had to hurry after they closed the deal because the police was in the neighborhood.

Turned out it was flour. Oh well.

>>867363

Top lel

>>869153
Somehow all the undercover police in Amsterdam are 40 year old Moroccans. Funny how the world works sometimes

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What do you do in this situation.
>Lived in NY/NJ area for 20+ years
>move down south
>come back up for a tradeshow, gotta stay at a hotel
> tfw, need a taxi to get to the tradeshow @ Javits center instead of driving & parking...fuuuu
>Insert non-american cab driver
>I know where the javits center is... driver continues driving north
>"Hey man the Javits center is not that way."
>"Jaa, man but there is a ton of bumper to bumper traffic I gotta drive north and then cut over."
>notice I am now around 57th ( Javits is near 34th)
> get out of the cab and find another.
>tfw.. still tipped the guy.
> fucker brought me around time square like a regular nyc tourist noob too

>>868305
I don't get it. Was it some kind of bet? Why did you give him 30 bucks? Are you stupid?

>>865859
I know those rose scams. They were all over the bloody place when I went to Berlin and Cologne. Also common are Romanian beggars; they'll ask if you speak English, and if you say yes, they'll try to give you a card, most commonly blue. DO NOT take it. It is a distraction and marks you for pickpockets. The beggars have people who'll pick your pockets while you're pre-occupied.

Question:
Are you guys more likely to give money to beggars who are honest with you and don't outright scam you?

"Honest" meaning they blatantly ask you for money because they want/need it; no promises to pay you back, no selling of shoddy goods, no offers of some bullshit half-assed service, no fake stories about having children to feed, etc. Just a good ol' "May I have some money, please?" with no strings attached.

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>>869861
So "pickpocket-proof pants" are a thing now. I wonder how long it'll take until they gain mastery in opening those.

Maybe I should start wearing those faggy rave pants with enough zippers to make me look like a Final Fantasy character. It'd be hard to tell which zippers lead to pockets.

i met a girl on online dating site. she sent me emails for like 2 weeks, . the emails never answerd my questions, it was like they were made up bullshit. and i knowed it was a scam but i played nice. i said yeah come over to america. come see me she said send me money i say no you come here bla bla she never come, finally we in chat she says can you just give me some money so i can eat. of course i still didnt and that was the closest i been to a hot chick in a few years

>>870026
I never give money, if I have some food with me and the person looks like in really need I give them food.

In Brazil beggars (usually children) have to pay to more powerfull criminals for a good begging spot.

>>870026
I still rarely give money ever, but sometimes if I'm in a good mood I'll give a buck or two.

Once at a train station in Latvia, a woman who obviously a junkie came up to me (knew I was a tourist) and asked for money. I was certain she was gonna buy some heroin with it, but I was in a good mood, and I figured me giving it to her straight up is better than her sucking another dick.

I almost always give cigarettes to bums around train stations that ask for one, I don't care.

I used to live near an asylum-seekers 'centre' in my neighbourhood. They are allowed out during the day if they check in/out, and are given a daily stipend, but it's really not much (like $5). So a few times I've been asked while in the cheapo grocery store, while they're holding all their stuff, for a specific amount of change 'cause they're 73 cents short or whatever. In that case I'll offer them $2-5 as they are obviously just normalfags in a desperate temporary situation, and not reckless drug addicts. Someone holding toilet paper or diapers and milk, you know. Often they're too shy (or ashamed) to accept the extra, and insist on just wanting the exact difference. Maybe they are scamming me to turn around, drop the toilet paper and buy beer, but I haven't seen that happen yet.

>>866159
Almost heard the same scenario going on in Krakow.

>>866289
When I first visited Paris with a friend we had to buy tickets as well. I get mine while my friend purchase the ticket in the next machine. His machine eat his 20 EUR for no reason. No ticket comes out. We try to go to the assistance office with of course ignore you/give you the bad look if you don't speak fluent French. She gave us the waving had like "go away I don't speak English".
Very nice motherfucking city. Fuck france people and Paris.

>>870098
Sucks for you.

I speak elementary-school French. My first day in Paris, I didn't know what ticket to buy, so I went to the attendant and asked in shitty French what ticket to buy. I then also asked if she spoke English, which she did about as good as my French. No problems had, she even suggested the 3-day tourist pass which gives you discounts on museums and shit (good deal, actually).

I really had no problems with language barrier in Paris, I didn't find people to be jerks, at all.

i had one where i really couldnt tell whether i was being fucked with or not

was either in cambodia or laos, in a city somewhere on the mekong riverfront
i sat down next to some laotian-american to have a fag and we started talking, after a little bit he told me all his shit got stolen and then it finally gets to the, 'could you help me out' bit, any money is a help
i thought he really might be legit so i actually felt bad saying no

>>868173
Should've payed the first time heathen

>>868639

Nah, wrong continent. I'm in India.

>>870111
99% a scam. This is a pretty common scam from that region. There's a whole lot of scummy westerners "living" there who try to scam other foreigners. It's Asia, the land of doing things illegally.

Travelers usually don't expect other foreigners to scam them so they let their guard down. Makes things much easier to just never give money to anyone, then you never feel bad.

>>865859

At a Rome airport around 11:00 pm guy approaches me with an electrolarynx and offers a ride.

Rolls me telling me that a ride in a Mercedes is not cheap.

I give him everything I had left, but for travelers cheques.

Never will happen again.

>>870104
you didn't have problems because you at least tried to speak french.

I never ran into a single problem either, except for this old african illegal immigrant who I asked for directions who just started yelling at me in french that he doesn't speak english, even though I asked him in french.

Actually, my second day there I was invited to someone's home to eat his homecooked meal, smoke his weed, and drink his wine. I brought wine too, of course.

My third week in the country I was invited to stay over at a randomly met dude's place for a week, and he also cooked and fed me alcohol.

The idea that french aren't friendly is bullshit. They're a little more quiet and conscientious than other europeans, but a LOT more hospitable and warm than americans so long as they think they can trust you, which usually takes time, but no always.

>>870297
yeah i know its a common scam which is why i was wary
ive travelled a lot and i can tell when someone is bullshitting me, i never do give money to anyone anyway but if i thought it was legit i might, i trust my own judgement

i am not one of the hundreds of fags on /trv/ who get their dollars taken from them because they are cowards

>>870316
The fuck you talking about, you silly special snowflake? A majority here seem to be seasoned, skeptical, stingy bastards.

>>870341
it is a fact that the majority of people get 'scammed' simply because of their own cowardice in asserting themselves

like when they get taken to a tourist shop and 'give in' to the pressure sales
or get screwed on a cross border bus journey where the bus driver takes everyones passports and inflated visa fee money and they just go along with paying too much

if you haven't seen hundreds of these stories on /trv/ you haven't lurked enough, and if you haven't heard hundreds of them from other people while travelling you haven't travelled enough

>>870371
Most people get scammed when they're tired, distracted, or otherwise have their guard down. Usually by the time you realise you've been had, your money is already long gone. Granted some people do fall for the sob stories, or go along paying way more for something than it's really worth, but usually it's out of naivety or generosity, not due to intimidation. I know it makes you feel tough to view things your way, but it's just not an accurate opinion.

>>870381
I know that when I'm tired, it doesn't make me lie down and get rolled over when someone tries to pull bullshit on me, it makes me flare up in anger and rip into them and solve the situation quicker

No one will ever admit to 'intimidation' but that is the undercurrent of all these events, these people just don't have the guts to support themselves

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>>870405
omg ur sooo fucking badass. i wouldnt want you ripping into me lol!

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>>870405
>I know that when I'm tired, it doesn't make me
And someone reacting differently when they're tired is unfathomable to you? Fuck off with your tough guy bullshit. People get scammed for all sorts of reasons

Not exactly a scam but was in a cafe in St. Petersburg and right outside the window saw a little gypsy girl run and wrap herself around this rich looking lady's leg screaming (what my Russian friend translated as) "Give me money" over and over as loud as she could. The lady peeled her off eventually and the little gypo just ran back and grabbed hold again. Eventually the lady gave in and threw some notes at her which she gave to her thug father/pimp. This one always bothered me as even in hindsight I have no idea how I would play it if it were me.

This was back when the Lyra was still in effect in Italy
I had just arrived, i forgot where, i think it was near Rome
I was meeting my grandparents there so we ate at
some nice cosy restaurant
my Grandfather got really pissed because he paid in euros for the lyra price, which was at least a 40$ difference

>>870405
I think it's more because they come from (rich, safe, developed) countries where aggressive begging is unheard of. It's naivety and (mis-placed) guilt more than intimidation, IMHO. Some poor kid asks you for money while standing around in rags, and for the average westerner that is a very pitiable thing, so out comes the wallet.

In many societies, it is also a norm and expected that the 'rich' support the weak, by giving alms or tithes. Sometimes they create a transparent sob story so they can save a bit of shame by outright asking for money. Europe (and 'the West') used to be like this, but not for over a hundred years now.

I really don't think it's intimidation most of the time, unless it's a bar scam with bulky bouncers at the door or involves shady mafioso types.

>>870417
>>870416
>people who got scammed
its always embarrasing listening to peoples pathetic stories about handing over their money

>>870505
its not necessarily intimidation where people feel they are physically threatened
but when someone is up in their face, it upsets them and flusters them
they are worried about the situation and they just throw their money away unnessecarily when all they need to do is have a firm attitude

another classic situation is the overcharging taxi
they get in, and when they get to the destination the taxi driver tells them it cost a ridiculous price
instead of saying 'lel gd1 m8 and telling them they are bullshitting you and youll only pay them a fair price' people get intimidated by the person threating all sorts of absolute crap like calling the police and give him a stupid amount of money when it is so easy to just give him a fair price and walk away

>>870040
>In Brazil beggars (usually children) have to pay to more powerfull criminals for a good begging spot.

I'm brazilian. What the fuck are you talking about?

>>870427
Just ignore it and keep moving. Little girls aren't particularly heavy. At some point the big guy will come up and try to accuse you of absconding with his kid, at which point you will calmly say "I am sorry for the confusion, let us call the police to clear things up."

You will have an entire neighbourhood full of tourists to back up your story and the police are well aware of the scam in question so you're not at any particular risk.

>>870427
This happens in China as well.

>>870584
>are worried about the situation and they just throw their money away unnecessarily when all they need to do is have a firm attitude
Well, I still respectfully disagree. Some might be like that, but I don't think it's psychological MO for a majority.

Dane here, living near Copenhagen. Haven't really heard of any scams here, but then again, I only head to town during the day and I always know what I'm after.
We do have shitty homeless people though.

>Friend stopped by homeless
>Can't say no, gives him an amount that = $10
>"Got anymore?"
>"No"
>"There's an ATM over there, go get me a $40"

I've learned to say no over the years and lately they just ask me to go to an ATM to get them money from there.
Story about my last homeless encounter:
>Guy mumbles so I can hardly hear him
>"Sorry, I don't have anything. I don't carry cash on me and I have little to no money left on my card" (Truth, bank account has been more than empty for months now)
>"You have your bag don't you?" (I was carrying a big backpack filled with work and school stuff)
>"I don't have anything for you, ok"
>"Listen, if you don't give me anything then I'll probably go and rob a bank and then I'll go to jail and it'll be YOUR fault"
>wow fuck off
>I walk off while he's still talking to me and he starts yelling whore at me among other things now, instead of just moving on and asking people who might actually have money

I've been avoiding CPH since. I have on two occasions been asked by "deaf" gypsies to donate to their organisation for deaf people. One of them flipped me when I shaked my head at them. But that's the worst I've experienced here thank god.

>>870934
I remember when I was in Copenhagen, was walking down the street when a homeless woman approached me, asking (I suppose -- I don't speak Danish) for money. I shook my head no, and mouthed 'sorry' and moved along, but she flipped out, and as I took a step past her, she snatched at my bag to make me turn around then shouted some sort of angry crazy gibberish at the top of her lungs. I stood for a few seconds kinda stunned, then I moved away quickly and she was shouting more shit, pointing at me, following me (luckily she had a limp) while other people looked from me to her, obviously realizing she was crazy.

I didn't understand a word.

This one's not so much a scam as a straight up robbery.

>On family holiday to Southern Italy
>Driving through some sketch shithole town in a rented car
>Scooter stops in front, guy feigns engine trouble
>From the car behind us, some guy runs out, having tried and failed to open the boot, opens the passenger-side door and tries to jack my mum's purse
>My dad gets out of the car to fight the guy, and then he runs into the car and drives off along with the scooter

Nothing was actually taken in the end, but it was a pretty shit holiday besides. Seriously, Italy is a dump.

>>869153
hahaha my friend fell for this as well
thought he was the big man 'getting on it' in Dam and we all laughed at him

>>870304
This. Parisians in general are friendly towards foreigners if they see you are making effort to "fit in". Quality of the effort doesn't matter much as long as it's genuine and humble

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>mfw all these retards getting scammed in "Italy"

>>866159
Saw this in Scam City in another country/city.

>>866414
That depends. In some countries/cities, you can trust the airport taxis more because you can easily report them if they try to trick you.

>>866691
>realised i got a marker instead of a laser
fucking laughed

>>870934
>and it'll be YOUR fault
God, I fucking hate the logic of some poor people. There are fucking carolers around Christmas season here whose songs have intros like that. They climb buses or sing beside cars at stop light and start their spiel.

>good day, don't be alarmed
>we're only singing carols
>this is much better than stealing
What are you implying, you fucking teenage junkie.

Today I went to Tiananmen square and on my way there I was approached by two guys who brought me to a tea house. I heard about tea house scams where they can run up a bill of thousands of yuan, so I tried to say that I wasn't really thirsty and wanted to just go directly to Tiananmen. They insisted I stay, so I just left. While I was at the square I was approached by a girl. We talked for a while and stayed at the square, but she also eventually brought me to a tea house. I tried to convince her to leave, but I eventually caved because I'm a huge autistic beta. We only ordered 120 yuan worth of stuff, but there was an additional 100 yuan charge. I think it said something about brewing tea or something, but again I was too beta to ask about it. 220 isn't too bad but I'm still suspicious. I'm really not sure if she was scamming me or not and it got me thinking that the two guys I met before the square might not have been scamming me either. What do you guys think?
We made plans to see a show tomorrow and I'm kind of suspicious that she'll somehow scam me with the tickets, but I'll try to not let that happen.

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>>870934

Copenhagen fag here. Never experienced the homeless being rude.

Some guy from Hare Krishna wanted to give me a book and 'donate' him money (le I'm a monk so I can't ask for money face). Didn't have any, he suggested to go to an ATM. I declined which he respected. Wasn't a scam, but those Hare Krishna faggots want to give you their shitty books

Same with the facers from Amnesty, UNICEF etc. Some of them don't respect a no.

>>871713
I forgot to mention that part of the reason I trusted the girl more was that we didn't go directly to the tea house. The guys took me straight to one, while the girl stayed with me a while at the square and we took a bit of a walk to some shopping area. Also, before we left the square she said there were two night markets we could go to and we decided which one with rocks paper scissors. I assume the way the scam works is that they have a deal with some tea house, but she opened herself up to the possibility of going to two different places, so there would have to be two different teahouses she has a deal with, which seems less likely.
What's the best way to clarify whether I'm paying for both tickets to the show without seeming like an asshole or letting her know that I'd willingly pay for both?

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>>866306

Parisian here.

The "lost ring story" is the most common gypsy scam in Paris.

Some gypsy also tried the "Armani manager" scam on me, one or two years ago, in Paris. He had a car registered in Italy, talked with a hilarious Goodfellas accent, and asked if I talked "un poco" Italian. Unfortunately for him, "un poco" is Spanish and not Italian (I speak both languages). So all his bullshit was debunked from the start.

Stay away from gypsies, don't touch them, don't talk to them, don't even look at them, and be careful about what you carry when they are around.

>pic related: what a gypsy "family" looks like