Latest Scams in Europe 2018 please

[Melburnian1]

...If you want a real European experience go to the country and you'll only find locals.

I haven't been for more than two years but this strikes me as very good advice. However Fairfax Media's 'Traveller' had an article recently where the writer said he was on a slow Italian local train (possibly ex Firenze?) and most or all other passengers were Africans, with the conductor not bothering to check their tickets. The writer didn't however say they were badly behaved, but the conductor may well have had previous 'experience.'

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Not new, but maybe tell your loved ones, and others who you trust, or are in your friend zone, that you are going overseas, and give them a code only these people will know.
The worst case is that they get emails, how I don't know, that you have been robbed and that you need $.
Maybe use an easy one like that you are the King of Taswegia in your emails.
Stupid or dumb from me, yes, but here is my tale of woe.
A family friend, of my parents supposedly sent me an email, saying that they were robbed in Europe, and I stupidly replied to that email from the family friend, the name was right, everything looked legit.
BUT, after I replied that I didn't have a lot of money, guess what happened, yep, I lost access to that email address.
I had to plea with Yahoo, and in the end, did get my email address access back.
You can also tell your friends/relatives, not to reply at at all to emails that "seem" to be from you.
Have some Euros in your shoes or sewn into your underwear, or sewon into a spot maybe under your armpit.
Take a look at Youtube, and learn as much as you can from there.
Someone I know, who went to France a few years ago, felt a hand went into their trousers pocket!
Personally, though, Europe scares me, and the only place I now ever go, is "tame" NZ! But truthfully, I know that they do have their Mongrel mobs and gangs etc.
Maybe buy one of those Chairman Mao shirts, like the US special forces shirts with large pockets, so you can secure your passport in it, and keep those 4 pockets buttoned down at all times. I have one of these shirts in black!
Worst thing is loosing money, but even worst is loosing your passport!
Enjoy the trip!

 

[Melburnian1]

...Worst thing is loosing money, but even worst is loosing your passport!
...

AustraliaPoochie, suspect you meant 'losing' your passport.

Are you in the school that says keep your passport in the hotel room safe (or at front desk if no safe in room), or do you carry it with you at all times?[/QUOTE]

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

I always have my passport in my Chairman Mao shirt, even when travelling NZ and not crossing any borders at that time.
If you keep that pocket buttoned down, its less likely that you will drop it.
I know someone, sorry, another analogy, this person had an APEC card, I think thats the name of it, you know, the card for business people who run bigger businesses, someone got very chatty with him in DXB, and yep, for some reason, he lost his passport.
Always thought the right spelling was loosing. Losing it it, then.
In the papers a few weeks back, a lady going to do some trek in Europe, had a her bag next to her, under the seat in front, she was going to Spain, at some point, this was flying out of the UK.
Another lady sat next to her with 2 bags, and yep, this Aussie had her purse stolen at some stage during the flight.
See, this is why that Chairman Mao shirt, with pockets buttoned down, is a good idea.
Edit: Haere Mai, is/would it be bad if we said/replied, if asked, not by an African/gypsy, to say, while overseas, that we are from across the ditch, say, from Manukau/Papatoetoe/Dunedin/Christchurch/Queenstown?

 

[Tassieoptom]

Trying to get you to sign a petition big in Paris this year. Very aggressively in your face

If you take a look as they hit up someone else, the clipboard for the petition is made of junk mail often.

 

[Tassieoptom]

Just say Nein and they move on.

Does replying no in German work better than in French? Is it just because they can spot an Aussies French better than German?

 

[wannabeinvestmentbanker]

The one most people are talking about in UK/Europe now is the drive-by phone snatchings. Crims on mopeds yanking phone/bag and driving off. Not a scam per se, but worth taking precautions.

I wouldn't be too worried about anything in Switzerland. If someone there comments you have bird poo on your shoulder you probably do! And their attempts to clean it off will probably be genuine

I can personally vouch for this. Whilst living in London recently I had my phone snatched while waiting to cross the road 1 minute from home in Angel. On the plus side it was the last month of my phone insurance and the battery was failing so got a free phone delivered.

My advice is try to be local. I dont dress like a tourist (imagine old americans with their sneakers and cameras around their neck) and look confident on the streets. On the whole I think Europe is less scam heavy now with fewer gypsies and the migrants are genuinely trying to make a buck.

 

[Venwool]

Recently in departure checkin Madrid airport, approached by middle eastern male with baggage trolley and suitcase. He asked if I spoke English. He claim to have lost his family and missed his flight and asked for €25. I decline. Afterwards I thought this may have been a scam. Anyone else had similar.

 

[Petcollect]

I had the ring scam tried on me a couple of years ago in Paris while walking near the Seine. I let the woman go through her spiel and then told her that as it was a lost ring we had better take it to the police and then started asking passers by had they seen a gendarme anywhere nearby. She left pretty quickly.

 

[JohnK]

Have not been to Europe recently but have been lucky in the 4 times I have visited Europe since 1990. See gypsy kids in the Paris Metro and immediately start shouting and they leave you alone.

I remember the scam in Thailand a few years back where they were doing surveys in busy places. All they wanted was a room number at the hotel you were staying and they would send you and invite to a party and you'd find yourself the victim of a high pressure hard sell time share presentation. No thanks.

 

[TAK]

Embarassed to say but after traveling for decades, I picked up the dropped shoe brush of a shoe shine man in Istanbul ( knowing what was coming) by the time I got away, he had applied some gunk to my suede shoes (enough to permantly mark them) the funny thing was , he told me he had change and then 5 minutes later another guy “dropped” his shoe brush, I just said you guys need to look after your stuff a bit better and walked on....

 

[jastel]

I nearly got pickpocketed on the Paris metro...he didn't get anything except his face smashed into the wall and a kick up the backside.

Saw the baby scam, the string scam, the petition scam, straight begging and even the pretty random girl hugging scam.
The Roman Gladiator, naked Cowboy. cartoon character photo money scams etc as well
A newer one seems to be street artists (or buskers) have multiple panhandlers shaking tins in the crowd DURING the performance.

it is pretty much the same all over the world where there are large amounts of suckers/tourists.

 

[Pushka]

Embarassed to say but after traveling for decades, I picked up the dropped shoe brush of a shoe shine man in Istanbul ( knowing what was coming) by the time I got away, he had applied some gunk to my suede shoes (enough to permantly mark them) the funny thing was , he told me he had change and then 5 minutes later another guy “dropped” his shoe brush, I just said you guys need to look after your stuff a bit better and walked on....

Oh, you are just not alone there. So did we. Once. But it didn’t work for him. MrP was wearing suede sneakers that can’t be cleaned although he insisted as a reward. Then he asked for money. I said we didn’t have any Turkish lira ? as we’d just arrived. He left without his money.

After that as we were walking alone we would play the game of whether or not someone would try it on us again.

Is this guy going to try as we walk towards him?


Yup. He started across the road and oopsie he dropped his brush.



We kept on walking over it.

 

[davidj]

Paris has turned into a Baghdad of Europe. The French have always been frank but with all the immigrants its turned real seedy. City of love? I don't think so!

I'm not the only one who agrees...

Courtney Love Cobain on Twitter

 

[Oakdene]

In about 2009 I was in Paris when I sort of fell for the ring scam. I just picked the ring up gave the girl 10 euros and walked off with it. I don't know if she got into trouble, but I got a very heavy gold ring worth a lot more than 10 euros. Sometimes it pays to be a bit naive.
I've just come back from 6 weeks in northern Europe and the only scam was in St Petersburg where they have pigeons and if you go up to them they will put them on your hand, shoulder, head. My friend fell for this and I took photos then they wanted 1,000 rubles per bird. Saw lots of these pigeon hustlers around the tourist areas in the city.

 

[touriz]

Also watch out for luggage theft if taking the intercity rail. On a recent trip from Milan to Venice there was a group of people loitering in the luggage racks carriage and right before the train depart they got off the carriage carrying a suitcase each!
In Milan we also encountered the string scam, we ignored him and continued walking but he persisted in front of us then placed the string on my partner’s shoulder, we ran after shaking it off onto the ground..

 

[opusman]

Recently in departure checkin Madrid airport, approached by middle eastern male with baggage trolley and suitcase. He asked if I spoke English. He claim to have lost his family and missed his flight and asked for €25. I decline. Afterwards I thought this may have been a scam. Anyone else had similar.

Yes well known scam at MAD.

 

[Vic]

NEVER touch your pockets with valuables in a crowd. That immediately tells the spotters which pocket to steal from.

Does replying no in German work better than in French? Is it just because they can spot an Aussies French better than German?

Considering the germans killed 5 million Gypsies... I find a stern NEIN to be very effective. Throw in a Swinerhund for the difficult case.

 

[djd]

Just back from London, Spain, Portugal and Croatia - no gypsies encountered anywhere.

In Porto (Portugal), one lady (i suspect homeless) asked for money, we say sorry no then she followed us for about 3 blocks gradually crying louder and louder and saying please please, when she realised we werent biting, she stopped wailing and went back to her spot in front of the cathedral/castle to try the next group of unsuspecting tourists.

I agree dont engage, wear your purse cross body or day pack on the front unless its locked).

Three of us visited Lisbon, Faro, Porto and Santiago de Compostela in May and, happily, didn't experience any scams or misadventures.

 

[OATEK]

Did a Baltic trip this year (June) taking in Helsinki, Warsaw, Berlin, Tallin, St Petersburg, Riga, & Copenhagen - not a single scammer in sight. Well I did see the pigeon man doing his thing near the Church on Spilled Blood with some World Cup fans from Argentina. But as we regard them as rats with wings, there is no way they will be allowed on our person. But no one approached us directly at any time during our month away.