- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
What scams/thievery etc have you encountered while traveling?
Posted on 2/9/18 at 12:40 pm
Posted on 2/9/18 at 12:40 pm
I actually came across the gypsy "we are doing a survey" scam where they ask you to stop and do a survey and then they try and pickpocket you while distracted when I was in France. I had read about this one and then actually encountered it. Gypsies came up to me with clipboards saying they were doing a survey and before I could walk away I felt one coming up behind me and I stepped out of the way quickly. A french guy walking by shooed them away and told me in English "They get a lot of people with that one".
I had a friend that a guy tried the scam where they bump into you and try and make it seem like you bumped into them. They are holding a paperbag filled with broken glass and they make it seem like you broke something valuable and ask for cash for it and harass you until you do. My friend actually spoke the language so he very calmly said ok let's call the police and sort this out. Guy ran off.
Come across anything? Get harassed, scammed or pickpocketed?
I had a friend that a guy tried the scam where they bump into you and try and make it seem like you bumped into them. They are holding a paperbag filled with broken glass and they make it seem like you broke something valuable and ask for cash for it and harass you until you do. My friend actually spoke the language so he very calmly said ok let's call the police and sort this out. Guy ran off.
Come across anything? Get harassed, scammed or pickpocketed?
14
Posted on 2/9/18 at 12:43 pm to Fun Bunch
I’ve never had someone try and scam me, but I’ve been harassed by locals to buy things many times.
It’s annoying but at the same time I feel bad being rude because they’re extremely poor and just trying to survive.
It’s annoying but at the same time I feel bad being rude because they’re extremely poor and just trying to survive.
Posted on 2/9/18 at 12:45 pm to AbitaFan08
Last time I was in Mexico was a few months before the election and people were calling out to me as I was walking trying to get me to stop and when I wouldn't they would call me "Trump". 
Posted on 2/9/18 at 1:06 pm to Fun Bunch
On a subway train in Paris, I saw a "thief" drop his ticket on the ground at another guy's feet, then get down on the floor trying to "retrieve" it while saying something really loudly and grabbing the guy's leg. It certainly seemed like a scam to distract the guy while someone else tried to pick his pocket.
Posted on 2/9/18 at 1:15 pm to Fun Bunch
a hostel i was staying in in Paris got wiped out by burglars. a bunch of people I was with had passports, electronics etc stolen. i had my stuff with me, luckily
i was in downtown cabo, i had to go down off the main street to a side street to use an ATM. it was an atm enlcosed in one of those glass rooms. as i walked out the sliding glass doors two small mexican men started yelling at me and making a motion with their hands to give them my money. they didnt have any weapons in their hands, so i just of stared at them for a minute. i had few and was confident i could take both. a second later a car came up the street and they took off. had a few other small things happen in downtown cabo, nothing serious though. that place is trash
i was in puerto rico with some friends and a buddy and i went to check out this strip club. it ended up being in a seedier part of town. the building is straight made cinderblock and the insides smell of disinfectant spray. as i approach to enter, the burly bouncer in a cut off shirt tell me i cannot wear my hat inside. mind you, this is a nice $100+ Orvis straw hat. He takes it and puts it off to the side. we had a drink and left after realizing we may catch aids if we stayed any longer. I go to leave and this bouncer outside is talking to another ruffian and he is wearing my Orvis hat. I kinda laugh like "good joke man, give it to me". I go to reach for it and he knocks my hand away. I say "sombrero?" and motion for him to give it to me. with a serious look, he shakes his head no. the guy he is talking to gets up from his barstool. i smiled and said beunos noches and my buddy and i walked off
i was in downtown cabo, i had to go down off the main street to a side street to use an ATM. it was an atm enlcosed in one of those glass rooms. as i walked out the sliding glass doors two small mexican men started yelling at me and making a motion with their hands to give them my money. they didnt have any weapons in their hands, so i just of stared at them for a minute. i had few and was confident i could take both. a second later a car came up the street and they took off. had a few other small things happen in downtown cabo, nothing serious though. that place is trash
i was in puerto rico with some friends and a buddy and i went to check out this strip club. it ended up being in a seedier part of town. the building is straight made cinderblock and the insides smell of disinfectant spray. as i approach to enter, the burly bouncer in a cut off shirt tell me i cannot wear my hat inside. mind you, this is a nice $100+ Orvis straw hat. He takes it and puts it off to the side. we had a drink and left after realizing we may catch aids if we stayed any longer. I go to leave and this bouncer outside is talking to another ruffian and he is wearing my Orvis hat. I kinda laugh like "good joke man, give it to me". I go to reach for it and he knocks my hand away. I say "sombrero?" and motion for him to give it to me. with a serious look, he shakes his head no. the guy he is talking to gets up from his barstool. i smiled and said beunos noches and my buddy and i walked off
Posted on 2/9/18 at 1:24 pm to Fun Bunch
"Betcha I can tell ya where you got dem shoes"
My response: frick you.
My response: frick you.
This post was edited on 2/9/18 at 1:26 pm
Posted on 2/9/18 at 1:32 pm to GynoSandberg
quote:
cabo, nothing serious though. that place is trash
Big time. I had a guy walking next to me trying to sell me drugs for like 15 minutes.
Among other things. I did not like Cabo too much.
Posted on 2/9/18 at 3:26 pm to Fun Bunch
Not really a scam but funny story. A couple years back by we went to France and while in Paris myself, my wife, my brother and his wife went to the Louvre.
My brother is a former Army infantry grunt, didnt learn a lick of french, wore sneakers the whole trip, you get it...exactly what Parisians love about Americans. He wasnt rude, enjoyed their food and wine, etc but didnt really make much effort to "blend in"
Anyway, we had heard you buy your tickets for the Louvre "downstairs" but we didnt know where that was and had trouble trying to see if we were in the right place. In any event my brother took things into his own hands and asked the person selling metro tickets where he could get 4 cheap tickets to "the louvre" so she sold them to him.
She sold him 4 metro tickets to the louvre...which is the exact stop he was standing at.
He laughed it off and let us do most of the inquiring from then on out.
My brother is a former Army infantry grunt, didnt learn a lick of french, wore sneakers the whole trip, you get it...exactly what Parisians love about Americans. He wasnt rude, enjoyed their food and wine, etc but didnt really make much effort to "blend in"
Anyway, we had heard you buy your tickets for the Louvre "downstairs" but we didnt know where that was and had trouble trying to see if we were in the right place. In any event my brother took things into his own hands and asked the person selling metro tickets where he could get 4 cheap tickets to "the louvre" so she sold them to him.
She sold him 4 metro tickets to the louvre...which is the exact stop he was standing at.
He laughed it off and let us do most of the inquiring from then on out.
Posted on 2/9/18 at 3:27 pm to LSUfan4444
A positive story is my passport fell out of my pocket in Taiwan and a complete stranger picked saw it, picked it up, chased me down and gave it to me.
Posted on 2/9/18 at 3:38 pm to Fun Bunch
quote:
Big time. I had a guy walking next to me trying to sell me drugs for like 15 minutes.
Same thing happened to me in the Straw Market in the Bahamas on my honeymoon. We took a bus from the resort down there to look around for a few hours. I picked up this wooden carved pipe to show to my wife. This little guy, maybe 13 or 14, followed me around for a while trying to get me to buy something from him. I mean, I could just buy weed from the lady selling cigars and cigarettes on the beach at the resort if I wanted it.
Posted on 2/9/18 at 6:07 pm to Fun Bunch
Went to Kenya on a mission trip 10 years ago.
We are all in a van with our host/translator and our driver (both Kenyan). In the middle of nowhere we stop at road spikes across the road and a man with a machine gun. Guy with machine gun walks up to the van as our driver quickly tells us to hide all valuables right now and to not say a word. Guy pokes his head in the window, talks angrily with our driver in Swahili and then waves us on our way. All of us in the back frozen in fear.
As we are driving away our driver explains that was local police. They are highly corrupt and that if we wouldn’t have been in the van they would have robbed him and our host of any valuables. They won’t try that if they see Americans.
We are all in a van with our host/translator and our driver (both Kenyan). In the middle of nowhere we stop at road spikes across the road and a man with a machine gun. Guy with machine gun walks up to the van as our driver quickly tells us to hide all valuables right now and to not say a word. Guy pokes his head in the window, talks angrily with our driver in Swahili and then waves us on our way. All of us in the back frozen in fear.
As we are driving away our driver explains that was local police. They are highly corrupt and that if we wouldn’t have been in the van they would have robbed him and our host of any valuables. They won’t try that if they see Americans.
This post was edited on 2/9/18 at 6:09 pm
Posted on 2/9/18 at 7:30 pm to Fun Bunch
I had a Roma woman try to steal my wallet in London. I had LAX baggage handlers divert my luggage to their apartment in Compton, where they took everything of value, and then shipped it to Tokyo three weeks later. I had a crazy high cab ride a couple of times. I think the internet makes people way more aware of all the scams.
Posted on 2/9/18 at 8:42 pm to Fun Bunch
Saw two people get their phones snatched on my last trip to Europe. Beware, pickpockets know that a nice phone - and they can spot the nice ones - are worth way more than most people carry in their wallets. Was told they work in teams. One snatches phone and runs to a secure hiding spot while surreptitiously passing the phone off to his partner during the flight.
My favorite all time: rented a jeep in Yukatan, Mexico and was driving the "scenic route" back from Chichen Itza on some back roads. Saw a homemade sign that said toll road ahead. About 100 yards up, some young kid had set up a folding table in the MIDDLE of the road where he sat with a jar for collecting "tolls". I could have driven around him, but had to laugh at his brazen little scam. He got some well-earned pesos for that one. He was pushing it though when he asked for a propina for his toll booth services
Posted on 2/9/18 at 9:50 pm to Fun Bunch
Cab drivers in Budapest that charged $20 to take you to a restaurant, then over $100 to take you back to your hotel.
A restauant recommended by hotel concierge, also in Budapest, charged us $700/bottle for local wine. We were at the four seasons and complained to the GM. The next day we were called to the front desk where they handed us $2100 in US cash and told us they fired the concierge who was in on the scam with the restaurant.
A restauant recommended by hotel concierge, also in Budapest, charged us $700/bottle for local wine. We were at the four seasons and complained to the GM. The next day we were called to the front desk where they handed us $2100 in US cash and told us they fired the concierge who was in on the scam with the restaurant.
Posted on 2/9/18 at 10:48 pm to Fun Bunch
Two guys tried to pick my pocket at a bus station in Mongolia. I had my wallet in a zipper pocket, or it totally would have worked. One person fumbled into me holding his wallet out out in front of him, and another guy walked up behind me and tried to get his hand in my pocket. It was super effective even though I was on my guard generally. I was totally distracted by the wallet guy.
When I'm alone in touristy areas in China, college-aged girls will approach you and start chatting with you in English. That's always a scam. It is totally out of character for Chinese people to approach a foreigner and start chatting them up--except maybe inviting you to their table in a bar. The girls will offer to take you to go get a drink or say that they want help practicing English. It is a shame that it is a scam; they are always really nice and seem like they would be fun. I hate feeling like a mark.
When I'm alone in touristy areas in China, college-aged girls will approach you and start chatting with you in English. That's always a scam. It is totally out of character for Chinese people to approach a foreigner and start chatting them up--except maybe inviting you to their table in a bar. The girls will offer to take you to go get a drink or say that they want help practicing English. It is a shame that it is a scam; they are always really nice and seem like they would be fun. I hate feeling like a mark.
This post was edited on 2/9/18 at 10:51 pm
Posted on 2/10/18 at 7:43 am to TigerattheU
So what is rest of scam? Are they trying lure you to guys that will rob you ?
Posted on 2/10/18 at 8:06 am to Fun Bunch
While I was waiting for a bus in London the guy next to me was on his phone. All of a sudden out of the corner of my eye I see a bicyclist racing towards us and bam the bicyclist just snatched the dudes phone - it was impressive and I am always more aware at bus stops now.
Posted on 2/10/18 at 8:09 am to lsunurse
quote:
As we are driving away our driver explains that was local police. They are highly corrupt and that if we wouldn’t have been in the van they would have robbed him and our host of any valuables. They won’t try that if they see Americans.
That's weird. You'd think they would perceive Americans as rich - and more willing to comply so they could get home. Locals are poor and don't have much worth stealing.
Posted on 2/10/18 at 8:24 am to Fun Bunch
Gypsy taxis. Always go to a real taxi stand in foreign countries. If someone walks up and asks you for if you need a taxi at the train station or airport in Europe politely decline and head to the nearest marked taxi stand.
They’re especially bad in Rome.
They’re especially bad in Rome.
Posted on 2/10/18 at 9:00 am to Bestbank Tiger
quote:
That's weird. You'd think they would perceive Americans as rich - and more willing to comply so they could get home. Locals are poor and don't have much worth stealing.
Yeah but they also likely think that Americans will make a bigger fuss afterwards and report it to the American Embassy.
Page 1 of 2
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News