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British Mensa Travel Special Interest Group |
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Top 10
tourist scams To stay safe and protect your belongings you should be aware of, and alert to, the local scams and robbery methods so that you are less likely to fall victim to these. We heard of no outright robberies during our time in Asia, but plenty of scams, while in South America there seemed to be a much higher risk of robbery, particularly in Peru, and scams were a less common method of relieving you of your money. Top 10 Scams and other ways of parting you from your cash: ASIA 1. On crossing the border into Cambodia maybe you are told on the bus there are no ATMs in Cambodia (which is true at the time of writing) and that US dollars are no longer accepted (which is false). Instead you need to change all your US dollars into local currency at the rate that is offered, which is approx. 30% worse than the official rate. The couple who told us about this scam only changed $10 as they did not believe what they were told, but apparently one guy on their bus changed about $600! 2. Someone (often in Thailand) will tell you that whatever tourist attraction you want to visit is closed (for lunch, for a public holiday etc). They are giving you this incorrect information so that you will consider going somewhere else that they suggest, usually a silk shop, a gem shop or the like, where you will suffer high pressure sales tactics. 3. If you are offered a cheap price for a tuk tuk journey, be wary. The driver probably intends to take you first to a silk or gem shop so that he can obtain petrol vouchers from the owner. If you just want to get back to your hotel or to the next tourist attraction it helps to specify that you want “no stops” on the way - invariably that will increase the price quoted for the journey but at least you will get there with minimum delay and aggravation. You may need to negotiate with several drivers before you can find one willing to take you where you want to go for what you consider an acceptable price. 4. You are brought in a taxi to your hotel but someone standing outside the hotel comes over and tells you that hotel is full but that you can go to a “sister hotel” which has rooms available. Your hotel is probably not full and the person telling you that it is will be getting commission from the second hotel for bringing you there. The same applies if the taxi driver brings you to the wrong hotel but claims it is a sister hotel of the one you named. 5. Asian people are normally shy and reserved and will not approach strangers to chat unless they are already serving them in some capacity. So if someone approaches you in the street, is friendly and wants to know all about you and your holiday, then be on your guard. Every time this happened to us, the chat would turn out to be the lead up to some scam or other, such as “I know how you can make lots of money by buying gems here and selling them in your country”. Note - this does NOT apply in South America, where locals often approach travellers for a friendly chat, with no ulterior motive. SOUTH AMERICA 6. Someone will spill yoghurt or a drink over you and then offer to help you clean it off. Or someone will tell you something has been spilled on you and offer to help. While they are helping you and you are distracted, either they or an accomplice will lift your bags or pick your pockets. 7. You get into a taxi and agree a price with the driver. When you get to your destination, he either claims you agreed a different price, or what he quoted was a price per person or was in a different currency (dollars not local) than you thought. If you are sure you are right and that what was agreed was a fair price then stand your ground. If necessary, threaten to report the driver to the relevant licensing authority, whose details should be available in any official cab. If you have your bags with you (not in the boot), have handed over the fare you agreed and want to get out, you may want to exit the cab leaving the passenger side door open. The driver will then have to get out of the car to close the passenger door, while you walk away. 8. Robbery on buses in Peru seems to be very common. While your rucksacks in the luggage compartment under the bus seem to be safe enough and should be tagged with a baggage tag, you need to keep your daybag on your lap and not on the floor beneath your feet or between your legs, or on the overhead rack. Beware of a version of the “dirty” scam here - where someone will tell you there’s water on the floor of the bus (no doubt poured there by themselves) and tell you to put your bag on the rack, where they can easily steal from it later, when you are asleep. Have a small lock on your daybag to make your bag a more difficult target than someone else’s. 9. Armed robbery seems to be prevalent in Brazil. We have heard of no less than 3 armed robberies on a free bus on the way to the Brazil side of Iguassu Falls from the Hostel Paudimar (a Hostelling International hostel which is a lovely place to stay). Take a taxi instead. We also heard of a guy being robbed at gunpoint by a group of kids a few blocks from Ipanema beach in Rio. No way to prevent this, other than to be aware of what areas/buses to avoid and to minimise what valuables you are carrying so that you lose as little as possible if you are held up at gunpoint or knifepoint. 10. Bus stations seem to be the most common place for tourists to be robbed all around South America. No doubt this is because any tourists there are almost always carrying all their worldly goods in one large pack and one daybag. The thieves know you keep valuables in your daybag, so this is what they tend to target. Try to put money, cards and your passport in various pockets around your person, lock your daybag and keep a very close eye on your bags while you are in the bus station. First published in VISA issue 65 (February 2006) |