You hear about them all the time. When you are about to leave to travel abroad many people will give you this once piece of sage wisdom: “Watch out for scams!” Now at first, this sounds like great advice. You leave home, jump on a plane, and wander around a country you’re not accustomed to, all the while keeping an eye out for ‘scams’... whatever those may be, in whatever form they may take. OH WAIT. They’re called scams for a reason — because you don’t see them coming.
So let’s take a minute and directly address some of these scams, because our hard-earned cash should be earmarked for the adventure of a lifetime, not to a guy who is pretending to be Dutch, but really isn’t Dutch, and offers to pump up your bike’s flat tire for you, but then doesn’t, and asks you for money.
As a disclaimer, this is not a comprehensive list. I myself am not a scammer, so I cannot reveal to you all of the truths about the scams that you may encounter. However, I can give you my experience and the experience of those I have run into on the road.
So without further ado, be extremely wary of these scams:
1. Rental bikes
Shoutout to Dublin Bikes for ripping me off and providing the inspiration for this article. Be extremely careful if you rent one of the bikes off of the street. There are terms and conditions that may lead you to believe that you are purchasing a day or three-day pass when really, they are going to charge you by the hour, and you are going to look at your bank account a few days later to a 72.50 euro charge.
2. Children asking you for money
I’m aware this makes me sound like a calloused person, telling you to beware of cute children begging for food, but I’m serious. Many times a) they are being told to beg by someone who is in charge of them and they actually don’t get the money or food, for example, in many instances, it’s Romani (gypsy) children, as part of a vast network of organized crime that funnels most of the funds back to extremely rich Romani families in Romania. Or b) they are distracting you so someone else can pick-pocket you, or c) you give them money and then they tell all their friends and you are followed around everywhere you go. (This happened to me in Marrakech, but happens literally all over the place)
3. Taxis/horse rides/any other form of transportation that is not general public transport
Make sure that you negotiate what you will pay for taxi rides and carriage rides BEFOREHAND. If not, you will get ripped off. Also, lots of drivers will take you a roundabout way to get where you are going in order to make more money off you. Shady.
4. People who are extra ‘helpful’
Okay, so this is not everywhere, but there are a significant number of people who want to be ‘nice’ and show you to your hostel or show you to various tourist spots, but then will demand that you give them money afterward for showing you around. I refused to give the kid money, because don’t be ridiculous, it was approximately 100 meters, and I was told that “me and my friends will find you, and you will pay me”. Super fun.
5. The bracelet/flower/whatever is being sold on the street
Whenever you are in a super touristy spot, you are subject to being approached and sold some sort of random item. This could be a rose, a selfie stick, a homemade bracelet, or a photo of you in front of a famous background. This is all well and good if you want to purchase it. However, once you stop and talk, often the person will take the photo, will tie the bracelet around your wrist or put the flower in your hair and then demand money from you. If you refuse, they will tell you that it cannot be used anymore and that you have to pay them for it. Walk. Away. You can do it. They will survive.
Once again, two very important things to remember; one, this is not a comprehensive list, so just be careful. And two, not everyone is bad everywhere you go. It is sometimes just really obvious that you’re a tourist and are susceptible to being taken advantage of. Do your best to protect yourself, but also don’t close yourself off to meeting new people, especially locals. Meeting people from around the world is one of the most incredible and eye opening parts about traveling, so don’t miss out on that just because you are scared. The world is an incredible place, and it’s waiting for you to explore it.
In short: explore the world, meet the locals, but be careful. You are going to get scammed at some point, and you’re the only one who has your own back, so just make sure you don’t get completely screwed. Just get screwed enough for a good story when you get back.
