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The 13 best travel scams
From Floridian fraudsters to fake Peruvian police, these are the scoundrels out to scam you - plus, tell us your holiday scam horrors
Ever had your holiday ruined by a con artist? Been ripped off by a faker posing as a travel agent? Tell us your tales of the holiday scammers - and whether they got away with it. Use the comment form below
Let’s start on the sunny side of the street. Travelling is a boundless pleasure, a wonderful privilege, a blessing, a boon – and don’t let anything that you’re about to read convince you otherwise.
Because you have to keep loving the open road, searching for the thrill of the new and the joy of adventure, otherwise you’ve let them get to you.
They being the sharks, the cheats and the rip-off merchants who want to make wonga from your wanderlust by the most devious means possible; the innumerable slimy, scummy little spivs whose holiday scams and fiddles, stunts and diddles could dishearten the most dedicated traveller, making them timidly give up and stay home.
But are you going to let these ratbags spoil your holiday? Hell, no. You’re going to be prepared, informed and able to spot their scams a mile off. Here are some of the most common swindles out there today, at home and abroad – don’t let them get you down.
HOME
THE PHONEY FREE TRIP TO FLORIDA
The phone rings and an electronic voice tells you to hit the number 9 to claim your prize, a holiday to the Sunshine State – at which point a salesperson comes on the line and explains that you have, in fact, won only most of a holiday. To seal the deal, you are typically told, it will cost between £500 and £700 for a supposed £2,000 luxury trip, usually to Orlando and the Bahamas.
You’re then asked for your credit-card details, “strictly for verification”, but the full fee is promptly removed from your card without your consent. If you try to get the money back, the delays begin, with calls going unanswered, packages not arriving, and staff often verbally abusing customers. And your credit-card company doesn’t have to refund you – because you read out those numbers.
The Sunday Times knows of dozens of victims of this scam, and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has been trying to shut down the perpetrators for years – but they’re still at work.
Steering clear: if you’re told you’ve won a competition you never entered, it’s a scam. If you’ve been caught by the Florida fraudsters, go to www.800helpfla.com.
THE CARD MILL
“Become a travel agent! Save 50%-75% on flights and hotels using special travel-agent-only rates. Getting a travel-agent card takes only 15 minutes!”
This internet scam, known as “card milling”, is on the increase. Greedy travellers are told that by spending up to £260 on a travel-agent ID card, they will become eligible for industry-insider rates, meaning huge discounts on flights, hotels and, most commonly, cruises.
You cough up the credit-card details, your ID card arrives – and the first time you slap it down on a reception desk, you’re laughed out of the lobby.
The problem is becoming so widespread that Royal Caribbean Cruises has just announced a crackdown on card-mill chumps – if you flash one of these cards, not only will you not get a discount, you won’t be allowed to book at full rate.
Steering clear: if you really want a career as a travel agent, there’s a jobs page at www.abta.com.
THE FLY-BY-NIGHT
Comfortably the most costly scam in the UK is the oldest one in the book – companies taking travellers’ cash, then shutting down their businesses without delivering what they promised.
Many closures are just business failures – about 25 legitimate travel firms a year go belly up, leaving, on average, 20,000 Britons with trashed holiday plans – but many are dodgy deals. In 2006, an Oxfordshire company called MAS Travel collected more than £1m of British travellers’ cash for heavily discounted flights. But the firm never purchased the tickets from the airlines, and hastily shut up shop – some travellers found out they’d been scammed only at the check-in desk.
Steering clear: ideally, you should purchase holidays only from Atol-bonded operators, whose collapse wouldn’t cost you a penny. But in these independent-minded times, when more of us put together our own holidays, the safety net is to check that your travel insurance covers airline and operator closure – many policies do.
THE HOLLOW INSURANCE
This scam has, with luck, only one year left to run – but, as a 2007 House of Commons report suggested, because it affects 10m UK travellers a year, it’s still a worry. Basically, most travel agents are on commission to sell you insurance alongside your holiday, and for far too many of them, mis-selling is too hard to resist.
A Consumer Association survey in 2006 reported that 81% of customers didn’t have their coverage properly explained to them by their travel agent, 55% weren’t told about their excess payment and 65% weren’t asked about any existing medical complaints that might have left them uncovered.
According to another 2007 survey, by Sainsbury’s Bank, 7% of customers were told a big fat lie by their travel agent – that they had to buy the insurance to get the holiday. The government is so concerned that, from January 2009, travel agents will be regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
Steering clear: make it your responsibility – because, legally, the obligation lies with you – to ensure that the agent knows about any medical conditions and precisely what your trip will entail. And remember that it is your right to shop around.
AWAY
THE FAKE RECEPTIONIST
If you’re a scam artist, the modern-day jackpot is spending some time alone with a traveller’s credit-card details before they realise anything is up. Common, and almost unstoppable, tricks include capturing all the details when you hand the card over for a meal or some petrol – but one ingenious new tactic, first reported in Shanghai, has been to call hotel rooms late at night, pretending to be from reception.
“We’re trying to process your bill, sir, but the card details seem to be wrong. Could you just bring the card down to the desk?” “But it’s two in the morning!” “Okay, just read the numbers out down the phone...”
Steering clear: take great care who gets your numbers and handles your card out of your sight. Realistically, your best defence is last-ditch – checking your credit-card statement carefully after every foreign trip. You should be refunded any money that has been taken illegally.
THE SECRET CONVERSION
There’s a more minor, but also more irritating, way you can be diddled when you hand over your card overseas. Whenever you pay by card, you should be given the choice of stumping up in sterling or in the local currency – and the sensible choice is the latter, allowing your bank to convert the sum to sterling later on.
But many shops, hotels and restaurants have other ideas, and convert your bill into sterling without asking you, using their own brazenly uncompetitive conversion rates. To add insult to injury, they stick on an exchange commission of up to 4%. Cheeky.
Steering clear: it’s a good golden rule to use the credit card only for larger purchases from established vendors, then remember to tell them you want to pay in their home currency.
THE PRETEND POLICEMEN
It’s a classic scam, because it works. The well-spoken young backpacker who told me this cautionary tale has, perhaps wisely, opted for anonymity: “I was hanging out in Cuzco, Peru, when I met a local guy, and we became friends. He showed me some of the ruins, we had a few beers, then, one night, he said, ‘You are my friend, you are kind to me. I want to give you a present.’ And he gives me a fistful of marijuana.
About an hour later, I was walking back to my hostel. Two men were waiting outside the front gate. They told me they were policemen and asked me to empty my pockets. When they found the dope, they told me I’d spend four years in prison for dealing drugs... unless I paid them $200 to forget everything. Panicking in a dark street, I paid up there and then – and never saw my ‘friend’ again.”
Steering clear: don’t do drugs. In general terms, if you get yourself into a similarly sticky situation, remember that your safety is the priority. Try calmly to make the issue public, getting other people involved, preferably the real police – although if you’ve got a pocketful of hash, that’s going to be tricky. If you’re alone, consider coughing up.
THE SHONKY EXCHANGE BOOTH
There are so many scams involving exchange booths, it’s, fittingly, hard to keep count. There will always be occasions when you need to change cash but there’s no bank about, so more informal converters come into play. Most are perfectly legitimate, but signs that all is not well include: the teller shuffling and counting out bills in absurdly small denominations, which makes keeping score a chore; a disturbance or argument that conveniently flares up just as you’re trying to count your cash; and anything involving opaque envelopes, which will probably turn out to contain newspaper clippings.
Steering clear: always change money in a pair, so one of you can concentrate while the other fends off any distractions. Get a receipt, and choose fixed premises, not a bunco booth or a bloke with a briefcase, so you’ll have somewhere to take the police if you do get short-changed.
THE DODGY DRINKING BUDDY
Many of us have been caught in the “nice” version of this scam – a friendly stranger takes you drinking in a foreign land, pays a fraction of what it’s costing you for the same round of drinks, then takes a backhander from the bar-owner at closing time for hauling your well-fleeced backsides into the establishment. No big deal.
But a nasty version has, travellers’ websites suggest, taken root in the newly fashionable slacker beach resorts of Venezuela. This time, your pretend buddy slips you a jungle version of Rohypnol, known as burundanga. This generates about three hours of stumbling incapacity, during which time you are roundly robbed.
The Foreign Office reports that burundanga is also being used in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, to sedate travellers by touch, using laced pamphlets and flyers. But booze is the most common delivery system – because who spots a drooling backpacker? Unsurprisingly, Thailand is also becoming a drink-doping hot spot.
Steering clear: with the “nice” scam, it’s probably best to relax – frankly, if everyone knows what’s happening, what’s the harm? To avoid getting burundangaed, watch your own drink in a bar, favour bottled products and always think carefully about going clubbing before you fly solo.
THE UNLICENSED TAXI
You’re tired, there’s a queue at the taxi rank, so you accept the cheery offer of an unofficial taxi. From this point on, a good outcome is that you’ll be overcharged, or forced to stop off at the driver’s brother’s souvenir shop on the way to your hotel.
The bad outcome is unthinkably bad. In 2006, an Austrian couple on a round-the-world trip got into a fake taxi at the bus terminal in La Paz, Bolivia – and were kidnapped. Their bank cards and Pin numbers were taken and they were held captive for five days, while their bank accounts were emptied. They were then killed.
Steering clear: never get in unofficial taxis – full stop. And, sadly, it seems the old traveller’s tradition of sharing taxis to save money is no longer safe – the poor Austrian couple, and the others who have escaped similar ordeals (chiefly in South America), were partly undone by gang members posing as travellers and getting into their taxi. Only share rides with those you trust, and never permit the driver to pick up another passenger.
THE SHOESHINERS OF ISTANBUL
Some scams are much more harmless. The many young men who scratch a living shoeshining in Istanbul have an elegant moneymaking trick. They’ve developed the art of inadvertently dropping their brush behind them in the street, in a holidaymaker’s path.
You pick it up and take it to them, and they thank you effusively for saving the vital tool of their trade – it’ll probably turn out to be their grandfather’s shoe brush. To say thanks, they offer you a free shine, and, as your toes are buffed, you’ll hear a long hard-luck story, designed to loosen the stiffest wallet.
Steering clear: Why steer clear? If your shoes need polishing, accept the offer, enjoy the story and pay the man. Once your leather’s nice and shiny, you’ll be left well alone.
THE METAL-DETECTOR SHUFFLE
A clever one, this – you put your belongings on the conveyor belt, but a man bustles past you in a desperate hurry. He then gets himself held up at the detector, emptying his pockets of innumerable coins, keys and collectables. While you wait patiently, the guy who was in the queue in front of you – Mr Metal’s accomplice – waits for your bag, then nicks it.
US airports, where security chaos and wealthy travellers collide, seem most blighted by this – in 1997, a Texan oil baroness passing through Newark airport was diddled out of her handbag, which contained jewellery worth more than £300,000.
Steering clear: watch your stuff, stand your ground – and, in general, think twice about using your luggage to advertise your wealth.
AND FINALLY
THE BUS SCAM SCAM
Finally, an answer to the question: “How stupid can people be?” According to insurance-industry reports, this stunt has reeled in gullible travellers across the USA and Canada. It goes like this – you are approached by someone in a bar who guarantees you thousands of dollars if you join in a scam by getting on a bus that they will rear-end somewhere along its route.
Most of the passengers, you are promised, will be in on the fraud, and will all protest that it was the driver’s fault, while rubbing their hips and necks. And the bus company will start handing out cash and liability-waiver forms immediately. To get a piece of the action, all you have to do is pay your new friend a $250 fixer’s fee and get on the assigned bus.
Next day, you get on the bus, winking at all your fellow passengers, and, as the journey passes without incident, you slowly realise that you are an incurable chump.
Times recommends
At Murcia Airport, Spain recently while pushing a trolley to find our hire car, an older woman walked into the front of the trolley while an accomplice stole a bag hanging under the trolley handle. The purpose of pushing the front of the trolley was to make the bag available to the accomplice.
Elizabeth Perkins, Aberdare, Wales
One difficult scam to avoid being caught by, an extra fee called a green tax on air flights out of a well known country. Said to be on conservation grounds, but just extra money for said countries wallet.
Charles Stirling, Bristol, UK
The scams make me smile at our own naiivety - suffered taxis swapping $50 for $1 & those who can't change your note & car hire Co claiming on your card much later. But we've travelled the world & most folk are great. Our own poor language skills leave us open to be duped - Night School for us????
Tina, Sedbergh, UK
In our first 2 days ina week's stay in Paris we had the 'is this your ring?' scam attempted 3 times. Pathetic execution - we saw the person putting the ring on the ground. We just walked away quickly. But we couldn't work out how it would work. Seeing the above message we now see how it would work, ie the person comes up to you afterwards and begs.
Andrew Dylan, Bristol, UK
At Barcelona Airport having used a trolley for our baggage we collected our hire car from the central point. On taking the empty trolley to the collection area two Spaniards strike up a conversation in Spanish pointing at the trolley - you are distracted. In the car park there is a gang of mixed race youths messing about and exchanging shoes - again you are distracted. Meanwhile another gang member is happily helping themselves to your handluggage from the car. They are even brazen enough to try and take luggage from the back of the car whilst you are reversing out of the space! Slamming the door on their arm seems to stop them in their tracks!
This happen to us and they managed to take my handbag - and I hope they found the contents interesting - but not worth a penny thankfully. Clearly a well-organised operation - and the airport police do not want to know so don't expect any help there.
Mo, Buckinghamshire
Maurene Collier, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire
The Taxi Scam Rome.
You get into a Taxi in Rome. You check the fare which seems extortionate, but because you don't really know the distance, you agree to the fare. Bagage is extra.
You are asked where you come from and when you arrived. When you get to your Hotel you hand over a twenty euro note,as the agreed fare was 17 euro. In a flash the diver shows you a five euro note saying that this is not enough. You know that you have given him a 20 euro note which he has secreted somewhere on his person. You have no option but to hand over more money.
Solution, hold on to you money until he sees what you have in your hand but if you fall for the scam take his number and report him to the Police.
Tom of Havant
Tom , Havant , Hampshire
15 years ago in Co Cork we parked our car and decided to walk into a well known beauty spot (Hungry Hill) . Down the quite lane leading to it an old lady came out of her house and told us the land was very boggy and dangerous and we'd all need sticks and so on, and she then proceeded to tell us how she had created the parking space and so on. She was very persistent about our need of the red painted sticks she was offering us. Even though I'm a qualified mountaineer I felt a little sorry for her and didn't want to offend her so I took one and the other four in our party did likewise. The instant this happened her demeanor changed and she told us that the fee was £1 per walking stick. Like idiots we'd be done!!
David Perry, Schull, West Cork, Ireland
Don't just blame Thailand for putting drugs in travelers drinks it happens quite often in the Philippines,I was a victim myself .
maurice, Manila, Philippines
Nearly suffered the Paris metro scam twenty years ago when flying my then Girlfriend there to get engaged. Managed to avoid it though.
Best bet is to stay in your house, bolt the door, trust no one especially forgieners. (Hard when your an Englishman in Glasgow.)
James, Glasgow,
I recently got had in Paris in front of Sacre Coeur. While taking a picture a lovely African man came up to me and my sister and offered us a bracelet. I said "non, merci" and he smiled and insisted, telling me over and over that it cost nothing. So I gave in and he chatted with me as he made a cheesy bracelet. By the time he was done I had decided to give him some money for entertainment value alone. When I opened my change purse tho he insisted on E20! 20 Euro for an embroidery bracelet! I talked him down to 10, but he could see my money inside the wallet so I felt bad for going lower (I'm too chicken). I couldn't believe how badly I was had, but it was a learning experience. And a great story to tell your friends and family. They laughed for hours!
EEH, London, UK
I was 'had' in Shanghai, having just got off the Maglev. I went to the 'official' taxi stand, where I got into the taxi. The driver spoke reasonable English, but then insisted on dropping me 300m from my hotel entrance claiming he couldn't cross the freeway (rubbish, as there was a left turn up ahead). At that point, the meter was revealed with a charge of around USD50 - about 10 times what it should have been. I protested, but the driver started physically threatening me...and refused to get my luggage out of the boot. I paid..one learns the hard way!
GL, Cambridge, UK
The biggest scam in South Africa is the claim by what seems to be all the car-hire firms (including all the big names) for damage that was never incurred.
The cars are never checked while you're there, but you receive an add-on when you receive your credit card statement after your holiday ends, when ytou are not in a position to dispute the charge in person. This practice is endemic, and is the subject of a big scandal at present in South Africa.
At present I'm in dispute with one of the major names in the car-hire business. Despite handing over the keys and the car to one of their representatives at the airport, the company is claiming that they've never received the car back.
cotumely, london,
The scam you don't mention is the "Tomato Ketchup Spill". I experienced this at a train station in Europe.
You suddenly notice that there is tomato ketchup/mustard etc on you. A nearby person happens to have a napkin and is most helpful in pointing out the spill. However, it is the accomplice on the other side who tries to steal your bag while you are distracted. Fortunately I knew about it and watched very carefully as the man on the other side circled round several times. He stood very close but as soon as he could see I was watching he walked away but, a little later he was back in the same position.
I let my wife handle the situation while I carefully guarded the bags and kept my eye firmly on the second man. If I hadn't been warned about this scam - I am sure we would have lost our passports.
David, Colchester, England
Another scam I've heard of is in a crowded area some one spills a drink on you. Because of the shock, you don't notice someone taking your wallet.
Must be careful....
WK, Singapore,
I booked a return ticket From Baghdad to Cairo on Dijla Airways, Enjoyed the one month Holiday then booked my flight back to Baghdad through the Airline Agency in Cairo. the Flight was suppose to leave from Cairo International at 7:00 A.M. but there was no open desk for the Airlines we had to wait for another three hours and nobody in the Airport had a clue about this flight, I called a Friend in Baghdad International Airport and he told me the Airline was shut down by the Iraqi Government !!
since there were no flights to Baghdad from Cairo other than this one I had to Get myself a Visa to Syria and board two expensive flights just to get Back home.
Zappy Corleone, Berks, Iraq
The unlicensed taxi rule is obviously sensible when Mr Nice confronts you at the airport. But in some places the only practical option is to go with the grain. In Central Asia there aren't really any taxis as all cars are taxis and in Cameroon every taxi is by definition a shared taxi. Of course the fact it is the custom means the percentage of bad apples is much reduced as a proportion of the whole.
Dave Williams, Beijing, China
I've travelled through 90 countries over the years (independently and on a variety of budgets) mainly 2nd and 3rd world and the worst I've had is an unnecessarily circuitous taxi journey.
If you keep your eyes open and your wit's about you there should be little problem.
Ignore the resons not to... you're a richer person for travelling regardless. (Especially those from the U.S)
C, Australia,
In Antigua, in the Caribbean, it is common scam for someone to sell you a joint or loose ganja then go to a police officer whom he knows and turn you in. The seller then gets a reward from the officer. You are then hauled into court and have to pay a $3,000 fine to get out of jail and the country. Naturally the money is split with the local police. This happened to a sailing crew member of mine and I was also given the opportunity to see a local police captain under a palm tree who hinted he could take care of the matter for a payment. I dropped this like a hot potato because he might have arrested me for bribery and thus continues the scam.
C Cross, New Haven, CT USA
I often carry my laptop on trips, business and personal, and when it has to go out of its bag for scanning, as is often the case in European airports but not all, I always make sure it's on the belt as the last item, before my coat and anything else. This way, when I walk through, often the laptop is still to come and there is no way anyone can run off with it.
As for wallet and coins, I always put them inside my hand luggage for the scan, never loose in the trays. So far this has worked perfectly well.
And in Thailand, where I spent 2 years, yes, ALWAYS be aware of your money! Most Thai people are wonderful, trusting and amongst the most honest I've ever come across, but beware the ones in official capacity or wearing uniforms!
And here in Athens, the drink scam is widely used around Syntagma Square and the adjacent shopping street Ermou. Don't fall for it!
Victor D., Athens, Greece
It started in this country. I went to the Thai Embassy a few years ago to get visas for my son and his girlfriend. She had forgotten to sign the passport so I had to go back the next day. However, I had collected my son's visa the first day and had paid extra for an extension to it. In those days they would accept only cash and I noticed the official put something in his shirt pocket - but thought nothing of it. When I went back with the girlfriend's passport, I handed over my son's visa and said I wanted an identical extended visa for the girlfriend. I was told that it was only a one month visa. The other official had pocketed the difference. I ended up having an almighty row with a senior embassy official who ordered me off the premises for accusing his staff of being thieves. I had to pay again for the extended visa.
Mrs J Jones, Haverhill,
I tend to agree with Carlos in La Paz. As for travel scams....hmmm, Egyptian pals were taken from Kings Cross to St Johns Wood apparently via part of the M25 and charged 55 pounds for the 'privilege' and in my (much) younger days I used to know two dodgy guys in Kilburn who made a very tidy living showing tourists 'magic tricks' out of a suitcase on Oxford Street - well, one of them did while the other nicked their wallets, purses, cameras, etc. Tourists everywhere get scammed, it's not a 'foreign' speciality. Generally, the vast majority of people wherever you go, at home or abroad, are good, decent and honest, just keep your wits around you and don't assume because you're abroad things or people are somehow magically different.
Ruth , Salwa , Kuwait
During a trip to Sunny Beach, Bulgaria, a late evening taxi ride with friends to a club resulted in the driver supplying us out-of- date currency as change for the ride...something your really not likely to notice in the dark taxi after a few hours in the bars...
D Lees, Norwich, UK
GOOD ADVICE
RE: THE PHONEY FREE TRIP TO FLORIDA
The credit-card company DOES have to refund you – although you "read out those numbers"...
First, you have authorised to charge your card with £500 to £700, NOT £2000!!!
Second, if you only provided your credit-card details, “strictly for verificationâ€, then no monies should be charged to your account at all.
Third, if you try to get the money back, (for this or for any other credit card transaction made in good faith), and "...the delays begin, with calls going unanswered, packages not arriving, and staff often verbally abusing customers...", you should simply contact your credit-card company who would have to refund you the full amount. It would be up to the credit card company to recover the money.
And lastly, if you really want to take it further, as monies have been obtained by deception, your credit card company may even pay for any legal costs associated with the matter.
That's the law.
Ron, London, UK
I saw a man pick up a gold ring in a parisian district not long ago..he turned to me and asked me if it was mine..i said no, he offered it to me, but i said no thankyou, you found it, you should keep it ...why would i take a ring from someone who had just found it and who didn't look very well off himself ? Only now having read this thread do i realise it was probably a scam....but i have to wonder at people who would take that gold ring off someone...i have to agree with AL newark.."you can't cheat a truely honest man"' most of the time.
sarah, paris, france
To Zara of Peterborough :
The same "Have you dropped this gold ring ? " scam is practiced in Florence, Italy - usually by dodgy Romanians. The rings are made of brass and the scam artist claims it has a hallmark inscribed on it. He also claims it isn't his and wonders if you'd like to give him some cash for food in exchange for the ring he's just found at your feet.
Another scam practiced in Lanzarote is the one in which a very friendly, attractive young woman in a car park attempts to persuade you to open a sealed envelope. If you do you'll not be surprised to learn that you've won a bottle of champagne and a special prize - but you've got to attend a 'presentation' at a remote destination in town where charming and extremely friendly salesmen attempt to get you to sign up to become a member of a 'club' which offers you years of cheap holidays - in exchange for your credit card number and several thousand pounds - oh, yes, several thousand pounds. Stay away from these people.
Dr. Jimmy, Nottingham, England
Don't trust anyone! Avoid all swarthy-looking foreigners!
Stay on the beaten track. Or better yet; stay in your international hotel - clutching your money belt.
In fact, just stay at home and worry about something less adventurous.
T di Porcacchi, Syracuse,
I don't understand AL of Delaware's 'honest man' argument. It is easy to be scammed while just using a credit card. Surely that isn't dishonest?
But please don't stay on the beaten path as Boris Nightingale suggests. Much of the fun of travelling is taking a few risks and enjoying the kindness of strangers, like the fixer at Dhaka airport who befriended me, who truly helped me change money and run some errands on a five hour stop over. He also took me for motor cycle rickshaw tour of Dhaka, all for a few dollars and an enjoyable shared meal.
Don't get me wrong, I have suffered a few scams, but generally have found strangers to be helpful ,kindly and entertaining in my extensive travelling.
David, Marlow, UK
Luxor, Egypt, one of the attractions that the locals hawk are the stone factories. You go in, they give a nice show demonstrating how their produce is real and not painted plaster of paris. You feel obligated to buy something because of the free tea and water, then the fellow will come up with some 'super price' for you his new best friend. This guy even told me he was just recently married, which generated some empathy as we were on our honeymoon. He then says that he needs a tip to cover the 'special price' and will make a big show of giving you some small carvings. Of course you fish out your wallet again and he will ask for something almost half the price of what you got but he makes a show of trying to be secret so the guy up front doesn't see. you leave the store, they try to shake you down again to get some photos with the small guy hammering on a useless rock outside the store.. We got back to our hotel to discover the free carvings were actually fake. Well executed con.
Phil T, San Francisco, USA
Two scams that caught out some friends whlst travelling:
BORDER CURRENCY CONVERSIONS IN SOUTH AMERICA
On long bus trips through outh america, be careful when you are crossing borders and a friendly genteman hops on the bus at a rest stop and offers to exchange your Bolivian currency for eg. into Parguayan currency. Often to enable you to buy some food / drink. Often this is just fake money, or extremely bad conversion rates.
THE RECOMMEND A CRAP HOTEL SWINDLE
Fresh of the Plane.. a Taxi driver in Bali picks you up, puts your bag in the boot of the car and asks if you want to go to hotel.
He proceds to take you to show you to the foyer of an awful hotel you wouldnt wat to urinate in let alone sleep. You say no, hop back in cab and he takes you to a nicer hotel. Turns out while you are checking the place out an accomplice has rummaged through your apparently secure bag in the boot of the car and stolen any valuables.
Nick P, London,
Bent Train Guards in Hungary
If travelling by rail from Hungary to a neighbouring country, it is worth knowing that the domestic mileage rate to the border station is around a quarter of the international rate for a ticket. Local people [legitimately] will buy a ticket to the frontier station at the domestic rate, and then an international ticket for the few miles over the border into Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania etc.
It is important to buy this latter additional ticket in advance, as some corrupt train guards will not sell you a ticket on the train, or will try to 'fine' you for not having a ticket for this last stage of the journey. Many will try to cut a deal and take a bribe instead of levying the fine.
The alternative is to take an earlier train to the frontier station, get off and buy an international ticket to cross the border at the booking office. Finally, if you're feeling bloody minded you can always insist on paying the full amount demand a proper ticket.
Richard Madge, Bexhill, East Sussex
I'm surprised that you didn't include "The Accident", a particularly common scam in much of Mediterranean Europe.
In this scam the traveller is "accidentally" driven into by the scammer/s. During the ensuing discussion the traveller's vehicle is ransacked, either in full view/at knife point or while the traveller is distracted.
STEERING CLEAR
If you can, try to get the number for the police BEFORE you arrive at your destination and call AS SOON AS this happens. If you must get out of your car, lock the door as soon as you do, taking your handbag with you.
Colin Gorton, Arbucies, Spain
In london you got to be careful. A bottle of water can cost £1.50!!!!
chetas, croydon, surrey
We got up early to backpack down the mountain and then 6km to the train station. Passing the cable car station a smartly dressed woman asked why we were not using the cable car to go down as at this time it was FREE. We accepted what a wonderful experience.
At the bottom she and her husband offered a lift to the station in their Mercedes.
They asked where we were going and it seemed in two weeks time we would be only a few miles from where they would be on holiday would we like to meet up, they gave us a phone number and so we latter met them.
They had a lovely 2nd home on the Aegean coast with a moored boat not far away we spent some days with them and they would accept nothing in return (we did wash up)
That was 21 years ago at their request we have joined them and enjoyed free holidays in 19 of those years, they have visited us in the UK 4 times and we have been glad to host them in our bog standard semi in the Midlands.
Not all strangers you meet want to scam you!
Jon Raider, Dudley,
Just last week, I had $300 in local currency surgically removed from 1 of 2 zippered compartments in a money belt while going through gate security scanner at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport. I happened to notice the missing cash a few minutes later and approached security about it and asked them to examine the video tapes.
This is the first time in 14 months of independent travel that we have been robbed. While we kept our guard up in Central Asia, it appears we let it down a bit in shiny, friendly Thailand.
The money concerns me, obviously. But one has to wonder how compromised airline security is when (likely multiple, coordinated) security employees are paying more attention to thieving than they are to the safety of the plane.
Daniel Noll
Uncornered Market
Daniel Noll, Krabi, Thailand
Oh all you poor travelers, trying to find your way in a world where everybody seems to be after your money, your jewelry, your wealth. Beware of kind fellow travelers, beware of kind foreigners! What? beware of kind people anywhere in the world, they might possibly have bad intentions!
Well, of course, there is another option: just use your good sense without letting you be cut off from kind and interesting people all over the wordl!
Carlos, La Paz, Bolivia
I've just discovered a £10.30 VISA charge on my (Smile) bank statement for purchasing $1000 US with my debit card from a UK website. How can they justify this particularly, as part of the Cooperative Bank, they are supposed to operate an ethical policy?
Duncan Ralph, Manchester, UK
Very common in Paris - whilst walking around the sites a lady appeared from nowwhere and bent down in front of us. She picked up a ring (large gold looking wedding ring) and asked if we'd dropped it. We said no. She then showed that the ring didn't fit her and offered it to us. We refused but she was very insistant. She then seemed to leave. After a short distance she returned and asked for some money for food for her children. As she'd been so 'kind' you tend to offer some money. At this point the woman is very keen to look into your wallet and ask for more money. Don't be fooled this is a sham - the ring soon goes black and a few yards along the road another person drops in front of you asking if you've dropped a ring!!!! Very effective con!!!! Beware when in cities.
Zara, Peterborough, Cambs
On a recent trip to Madrid wwe had just arrived at our Hotel, checked in and headed off in search of a coffee when we were stopped by a pleasant looking Man asking if we kenew where the nearest Cashpoint was as he had just arrived from lebanon. We told him we had just arrived also and had no idea where one might be. He then got into conversation with us about England "where his Brohter lived" and pulled out a wad of lebanese notes. He asked if they were similar to Spanish money and rather foolishly (in retrospect) my Husband took out his Spandish notes and showed him. The man simply put his notes alongside my Husband's (with me watching him closely all the time) declared they were very similar and left. It was only a couple of hours later we realised he had somehow managed to extricate 50 Euros from my Husbands pile - how I have no idea. Very clever!
Edwina Sleight, Boston. Lincolnshire, England
Beware the Duty Free Shop in LA airport plays the Secret Conversion trick. Pay them with dollar bills, not your credit card.
K Geary, Bath, UK
At Gare du Nord I stood bemused before the state of the art touch screen ticket machine, when a smartly dressed man said 'where do you want to go?' 'Charles de Gaulle Airport ' I replied and he touched the screen like and expert and up came a ticket price-voila! I put in my debit card but it was not accepted. 'Do you have cash?' he asked ,and when I looked suspiciously at him he flashed an impressive ID, complete with logo. He even gave me change and produced two tickets before literally disappearing into thin air. I knew I had been conned but couldn't work out how. We entered the barrier ok and boarded the RER train as I continued to work out the scam. Eventually by studying the tickets I saw that they were for the inner zone only (and cheaper) whereas the airport is in an outer zone. I primed my wife and rehearsed my explanation. The tickets of course were not accepted by the barrier but luckily there was a space for luggage to be passed and we made our exit. A nice little earner!
Philip A Clemas, Greencastle, Co. Donegal, Ireland
The 'Armani Manager' Scam!
Boy, did we laugh when we read your article on Scams.Even the dialogue was the same!
In Jan 2008 we were walking down the busy road along side the Tiber in Rome. A small car drew up and a very well dressed elderly gent asked directions to the Vatican. My husband being the most helpful Scot imaginable, proceeeded to give him directions. Then came the compliments - We were such 'nice people, his wife was also Scottish' and then best of all he said he was a manager with Armani from Milan then proceeded to show us catalogues on the front seat of his car.To show us his thanks, he then enquired as to what size we were and handed over 4 large sealed plastic bags with 'leather coats' for us and our daughters. Next he took out his credit card which he explained he couldnt use for the 'gas ' and could we give him 50 euros for some. We replied that although we were Scottish we had certainly not come 'up the Clyde on a bike' and graciously gave him back the coats!!
Anne Wujec, ARBROATH, Angus Scotland
Best Travel Scam Number 15. The British Banks with their exchange rates, commission and overseas transaction fees. The Colombian cartels have nothing on HSBC and the like when it comes to fleecing us.
eric campbell, harrogate, uk
Sadly, beware of strangers being nice to you for free. Especially if they say they work in your hotel and have seen you around. They'll probably take you to a place where you'll be severely overcharged for something you didn't want in the first place. I've avoided this in China and Egypt, but got nailed in Sri Lanka by a guy who was a real pro. He told us about the buddhist festival just up the road, that would feature an elephant parade. No problem, just a short walk to see the paraded, until four bloacks later, the road was closed by soldiers. So no problem, we'll get a tuc-tuc to get around the closure. Oops. We ended up getting charged £20 for a tuc-tuc ride that should have cost £2. And of course there was no elephant parade. But at least we got a nice tour of a buddhist temple out of it.
Bob Nelson, London, UK
Timeshares - very attractive on the surface but when you count the annual fees, a decent package holiday is probably cheaper. Trying to sell the timeshare unit is difficult - they have little or no value, and you are under contract to pay the annual fees even if you cease to use it. Is this legally enforcable?
E W Smith, Taunton, UK
in a holiday in turkey, we stayed in an really awful hotel. Apart from their more obvious robbing of our possessions from the room, they also left messages saying that Father or Mother or someone with an English name had called and it was an emergency you call home. Naturally the only phone nearby was the hugely expensive hotel phones.
rich, alicante, spain
The beaten path is where most fraudsters congregate and we seldom have as much control over a situation as we think we do but many mistakes are caused by confusion and misplaced trust. Many travellers on the old backpacker trails of Asia and South America still enjoy the legacy of comradery and trust of the old hippie culture. But whilst there are still travellers who are willing to live and let live, share transport, accomodation, food and conversation etc.. there are a lot of people who are now exploiting this culture by perceiving trust as a weakness which can be expxloited to deprive people of their wealth or even life. It's a great shame and a sad refllection of change in a global society.
Karl, Coventry, UK
On a recent trip to Paris we twice encountered the same attempted scam. The scammers choose a pleasant boulevarde where people are walking and then place a gold ring on the ground. They then accost couples pretending to be honest bystanders inquiring whether the ring is theirs!!! The rings are broad masculine rings and their purpose is to bamboozle the male partner with a generous handshake in their attempts to push the ring on to or into their hand and slip off their watch in the process..........!
Joan, Hackney, UK
AL from Delaware, USA is correct - even the early morning credit card scam would not work - the honest man resents being woken for this information and knows the admin is not being done at that hour. He'll inform the caller that he will visit reception on his way to breakfast. If the honest man is in a taxi that is taking him some place he did not request - he gets out when it is stationery and has no qualms about it.
Nora, London, UK
It would have been nice if your reporter would have researched there article better,DRI as far as i am concerned delivers what they promise good holidays,there were a few unhappy members because that was the tactics used by the previous company in a few cases,but you cannot level the accusation against the new owners.
Mr B Aitcheson, dudley,
It's all very easy when you know how. So it's a case of being alert and not taking too much to heart. Eg if some one is trying to be nice to you , be aware. Sad but the most Basic of rules to follow.
like the nice people by the pool who like you so much they are on their way home the next day, give us your address and tel number and we will keep in contact..
They then phone some one at home to say how much your enjoying your holiday and your house is empty please go rob the place.. here's the address and telephone number..
But it's not all on holiday... Taxi's are called to a house being watched and when there is no answer the watcher ( robber ) knows your out...
Mark, Hants, UK
Barring the unlicensed taxi and the early-morning credit card call, all the scams can be avoided by just remembering that "You can't cheat a truly honest man". The victim in almost all such cases is an accomplice who expected honor from thieves.
AL, Newark, Delaware, USA
Bottom line for traveling overseas is always stay on the beaten path and never lose control.
boris nightingale, London,
Interesting
JMC, Hull, England