There are many common tourist scams in New York as we call it Big Apple. It is good for you to know more about some tips and tricks of New York City before you pay a visit there.
Hot Dog Scam
Most of the food vendors in the Big Apple are honest and hard-working people. But there have been reports of scams where vendors are charging upwards of $20 to $30 for a hot dog.
The scam works because they’re not listing the price on the outside of their cart. Therefore, if you want to eat a hot dog but you don’t see the prices listed on the cart, make sure to ask them for the price before order.
According to the Department of Consumer Affairs in New York City, they legally have to list the prices. So don’t get caught up by paying way too much for a very cheap food item.
Outdoor ATM Fraud
This is a crime that plagues many US cities and New York is of no exception. I’m going to warn you to try to stay away from the outdoor ATM machines where there could be somebody watching you from far away. They’re also easily tampered with.
I had a friend of mine who used one of them and a week later he had some strange withdrawals from his debit account in Queens. The only problem was he hardly ever went above 14th Street. Your best bet is to use ATMs inside of banks which have cameras everywhere where something like that is a little harder to happen.
The JFK Airtrain Hustle
This scam is something you have to look out for if you are going to be flying out of JFK Airport. On the way back to the airport when you come up from the subway, you will be exiting through the doors and there’s going to be people asking you for an extra MetroCard.
They will take that MetroCard and they’re gonna be selling swipes somewhere else. But more importantly, the MetroCard that you just gave up was your ticket to get on the air train. So you will have to spend an extra $5 because you felt like a good person giving away your spare MetroCard. Whatever you do, make sure to keep it on you when you get back to JFK.
The Good Samaritan Hustle
I’ve heard of a few different variations of this one and even seen it myself. A good Samaritan is going to approach you in a place like Port Authority, Penn Station, or Grand Central Where they are near to one of the transit hubs.
If you look lost, they will come to offer you help or directions if you’re holding up a map. Consider yourself an even bigger mark. They will demand a tip afterward for their services. You are better just walk away from them as you don’t owe anybody anything for giving you simple directions. This happens more frequently than you would think.
Electronics Store Scams
You will see this scam happening a lot in midtown Manhattan where there are many small electronic shops and the scam works like this. They will sell you a product which is either old or refurbished but they mark it as new. If that product breaks on you while you are still in New York, you will go back to the store trying to get a refund.
But what you didn’t realize is that they have an awful refund policy at best. You will get store credit on an already defective product. I have heard of this happening so many times. So if you are going to a small shop, make sure to check the reviews online.
Parking Rip-offs
Expensive Parking Lot
For me, I don’t recommend you to rent a car when you’re visiting New York City. If you’re only coming here for a short period, let’s say to see a Broadway show, you may find yourself looking for parking in Midtown and you will find a lot of lots.
This may not officially a scam, but the fee that you need to pay is just way too expensive. A lot of people don’t realize how quickly the costs can add up. They are going to show you something like a $12 fee for 30 minutes of parking. And then what you are not realized is how quickly that rate is compound up.
The other thing you need to know is that they will throw on a18% parking tax on your car. Therefore, If you leave your car for 3 or 4 hours you may end up paying a very expensive fee.
If you drive a car and need a parking lot, I would recommend you to use an app like Spot Hero where you can actually see the prices in advance or maybe book something before you even go there.
Street Parking
If you do decide to park your car on the streets, you need to be very vigilant about the signs. There’s a big problem in New York with something called predatory towing or tow trucks. They’ll be driving around looking for anybody leaving their car even for one or two minutes. That’s sufficient time for them to tow away your car from a private spot or a spot that’s unauthorized for parking.
So if you are looking for a parking lot especially in Midtown, you need to be very careful.
The Additional Tip Rip-off
You need to be extra careful when eating at a chain restaurant at the Times Square areas. Many of them are going to add an automatic 18% gratuities to your bill. If you don’t realize it, there’s gonna be an extra spot for an additional tip. So you might leave a 20% tip on top of the already paid 18% tip.
Many of the restaurants aren’t going to tell you about it. So be extra careful.
Buying A Swipe
Somebody is going to tamper with one of the MetroCard machines and if you need to buy a new swipe, you’re out of luck. Now that person’s gonna be positioned strategically in front of where you would swipe and they’re going to be offering you a swipe at whatever the going rate is or even a little bit more.
Another variation of this is someone will try to sell you a pretty paid MetroCard and there may be less money or no money on that card. So if you see any of these scams going on, make sure you report it to a local police officer or somebody working for the MTA.
Comedy Show Rip-off
Times Square is not only home to the CD guys, but there’s another deceptive practice going on by selling stand-up comedy tickets. What happens is somebody is going to approach you and they’re gonna try to sell you tickets to go to one of their comedy shows.
They will say some big-name acts have performed there like HBO or Comedy Central. They may even imply that a famous comedian is going to be appearing that night. But it’s a secret either way. They will try to get at least $20 out of you and they’re not even going to mention or they just couldn’t mention it.
Fake Monk
There’s another common scam that you have to watch out for in Times Square and it involves fake monks. They’re gonna be walking around trying to give you a bracelet or an ambulate.
Then they will demand a tip of $20. They will show you a notebook of other people that have donated from around the world. They are just trying to scam money from tourists. If you want to donate to a Buddhist temple or any other religious organization, you can just do it online. Don’t give any of your money to random monks on the street.
Street Performer Tip Pressure
If you film any street performer or musician in New York City, you really should give them at least $1.00. But I’ve been reading reports that there have been some performers who have been really aggressive were they forcing tourists who are filming them to give big tips like $10 or $20.
I even had an experience once where I was filming a guy playing the drums in the subway for just 10 seconds, I dropped him a dollar and walked away and he started shouting at me that I should pay him at least $5.
If anybody ever tries to intimidate you to tip them more than you’re willing to, just walk away from the situation or find a police officer.
The Fake Sublet Scam
Speaking of apartments, for those of you out there traveling to New York for a little bit longer of a period, let’s say a month and you’re looking for a cheaper sublet, there are a lot of apartment scams out there including a sublet scam.
The gist of the scam is that somebody is going to try to get you to send them a security deposit of some sort on an apartment that you’re actually never gonna see. it’s just gonna be online with pictures via Craigslist or Streeteasy.com.
Do beware that you should never ever send money to anybody online for a sublet unless you actually see the place.
The Fake Tenant Scam
This version of the scam is where you go over to the place, you actually look at it and the person is going to insist on a security deposit to hold the apartment. What they’re really doing is renting the place themselves off of Airbnb.
They then get multiple people to come over and leave a security deposit. They’re going to get a lot of money and then take off. You’ll get there and the keys won’t even work. What you can do to avoid this scam is to make sure that the person actually lives there. You can take a look at their license, ID and a copy of the lease.
If you still not convinced, you can ask more questions. You have to make sure that everything is legit. So do your homework before act on anything. There are so many con artists in New York City who know how desperate people are to get short term housing and you don’t want to lose a lot of money over any of these scammers.