Interesting travel scam article
 

That link should be pasted in every thread from first timers.

We saw the thrown baby a bunch of times in Lisbon. they even tried it with us once. When I just let the doll drop the the street the "mother" started cursing and gesturing at me - and became even madder when I laughed at the "curses" she was putting on me.

Agree just to keep your wits about you - and if anyone "official" stops you for any reason ask to see their identification and write down their name and badge number.

Caveat: We are native New Yorkers and have long since learned to ignore the people trying on all this nonsense. I can't believe people still fall for the Shell Game. My father explained it to me the first time he took me to work with him - when I was about 7 - the con man, the shill, the lookouts (to warn of police arriving) and the pickpockets.

I've seen people stuff a large piece of cardboard in front of the rube, the cardboard has a painting on it while under the cardboard is a small child picking their pocket

The saddest shell game I saw was in the former East Berlin soon after the fall of the wall. Police presence was transitionally lacking, and elderly Hausfrauen on the way to their shopping would get taken in right at Alexanderplatz - - their eyes growing wide with excitement because they knew just where the ball was hidden, and then brought to tears when they lost their precious 50 or 100 western Deutschmark.

The photo of the Ramblas is so different than what I experienced last April. When I was there the street was practically empty. I would have avoided it if it were mobbed as in the photo.

I've experienced children with newspapers covering their arms in the Straw Market in Florence. When we weren't taken in by their attempted theft, a man ran up to us to tell us to check to ensure our money was still in our purses as these children were gypsies, not Florentines and were trying to steal our money. We just looked at him and said we were fine and walked away.

I've (fortunately) never seen most of the other scams.