Scammers are ultimately people preying on your ignorance for their own benefit. You don’t want to spend your holidays wary of everyone and everything around you – travel is, after all, an opportunity to try new things. However, even for experienced travelers, sorting out what you see and hear from reality can be tricky.
You’re sure to meet friendly locals and enjoy warm hospitality on the road – that’s the spice of traveling life. However, as at home, not everyone is as genuine as they seem. There are many slick operators out there, not to mention the outright criminals.
We try to highlight some of the more common traps for young travelers here.
Drink Spiking
If someone buys you a drink, watch them get it from the bar and deliver it to you, or better yet, go to the bar with them. It’s not unknown for travelers to be drugged unwittingly and end up lost and alone with all their gear gone.
You can check out this post to know more about the same scam that normally happened in South America.
Pickpockets
Petty thievery is more common than you might think, and if you look like an obvious tourist, you may as well have a target on your forehead. Keep your wallet or purse with you at all times, and distribute your money and cards around your body. It’s a good idea for men not to keep their wallet in the usual back pants pocket, as that is another easy target.
Confusion tactics
This is a variation on the basic pickpocket scam. Generally, the trick that they use is to try to distract you from other things so that they can seek a chance to snatch your valuables. It could be anything from a crowd of gypsy kids jostling you, someone falling down, being covered with tomato sauce, or flattery from a group of sexy French men. They are using all the tricks to create a chance for them to commit their pickpocket attempt.
Check the seals of your drinking water
If you have purchased bottled water, check that there is a proper seal or that the packaging is intact. Some places have been known to sell recycled bottles that have merely been filled up with tap water.
Beware of the black market
If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. You might be buying souvenirs that are not authentic, and with electronics, DVDs, high fashion or other consumer goods, they may be bootlegged, knock-off or stolen goods.
Carry your own gear
Never agree to carry anything back home for anybody. You don’t know what you could be carrying with you – like drugs or other prohibited or dangerous material. Be wary of accepting ‘gifts’ that may contain contraband substances, and don’t cross borders or go through Customs with strangers.
Pushy Recommendations
Don’t take the advice of overly-friendly taxi drivers or local hawkers. If they can encourage you to part with your money, there’s often a financial kick-back from their friends at the hotels, shops and ticket offices. If you’re just looking for a cheap bed in a hostel for a night this might be ok … but if you’re coughing up thousands to buy precious gems in Bangkok, beware!
Begging
A skinny child in ragged clothing or a mother with a crying baby asks you for money. There might be a heart-wrenching story or big sad eyes quietly burning into your guilty soul. Face to face experience with a beggar can be one of the most challenging aspects of travel.
The reality is that over a billion people in the world live on less than $1 a day and truly need your help. Unfortunately, however, begging is sometimes run as an organized business where kids are used as bait to tug your heartstrings and part with cash… which they’d be lucky to get a small slice of as most of it goes to a ringleader.
So I figure if a kid is out on the street hustling for money he is probably hungry, give him some money, if an old poor raggedy guy is hustling for money he is probably hungry, give him some money – especially if you are in a third world country. I love the chicklet girls in Mexico and have bought tons of chicklets – but I don’t chew gum.
There are some world organizations do advocate helping the world’s most impoverished people, but make sure you’re helping, not hindering. Sharing your food or buying some fruit is the best way to make sure the kid’s bellies get full.
‘Don’t get me wrong, we all want to do something to help, something to make a difference to the world.. But, most people are too scared to look at poverty in the face’.
Paying too much
Now, this really is in the super-advanced scam category because it can be as simple as feeling ripped off when you don’t know the local customs. Or it can be aggressive behavior that preys on fear or creates a genuine risk to your personal security.
When you arrive anywhere new, you are bound not to know what represents good value and what doesn’t. Just go with the flow, accept that for the first day or two you’ll ‘lose’ a bit of money on stuff and don’t get stressed. Over the first few days, you’ll get experience with the local currency and then it isn’t a problem anymore.
And accept this thought… you will always pay more than the locals do.
Paying too much tactic can also be taken to extremes through – a traveler is presented with an excessively high bill and physical violence is threatened if it’s not paid.
Tuk Tuk Trip Scam
The key is to find out the price before you buy, clarify what’s included and what’s not and pay upfront if necessary.
When I was in Bangkok with a friend last winter we were subjected to the cheap tuk tuk trip scam. It was so well set up. A security type person at the exit to the Royal Palace offered us assistance as he overheard us discussing our next stop.
He “helped” us negotiate a great local price on a tuk tuk for a return trip. I already knew my way around Bangkok a bit and knew where we were going. Of course, we weren’t going the right way. Realizing what was happening, I told the tuk tuk driver we’d see only one tailor shop and one gem store – and I promised him we’d not be buying anything.
He had the decency to look a bit sheepish – it had only taken us about 30 seconds to figure out what was going on. I insisted he take us to our destination before any further “touring”. He really wanted to take us to other “tourist” shopping places. (No doubt!)
There are more scams that you may want to find out if you are in Bangkok.
Of course, no money had exchanged hands yet as this was a round trip deal. We were very quick at both his “shopping” stops, bought nothing. Then we spent a couple of hours at our chosen destination- which we told him we’d be doing. When we came back to our meeting place he had left – needless to say, the word had spread. Some of the other (honest) tuk tuk drivers around the parking area thought it was pretty funny.
Pays to be aware of some of the scams popular in the places one is visiting.