nona1

I've been mildly 'scammed' a couple of times - a cafe bill in Rome and a taxi fare in Athens. People taking advantage of tourists.

But out and out scammers work anywhere with anyone. There is quite a'designer watch' scam similar to the leather coat one mentioned above. I know Mr N fell for it in the past as I recognise his watch, which he thinks is designer but isn't, but I don't have the heart to tell him. then only last month some guy parked his car outside our office (we are on a high street) and was running the scams on passers-by. He nearly hooked one of our neighbours till I intervened, and then I just called the police with his number plate and car description. I don't know if they turned up but when I looked about 10 minutes later, he was gone.

tarquin

In 35 years of European travel, only two scams that we know of.

Outside Santa Lucia train station in Venice, the man in the vaporetto ticketbooth shortchanged me 10 euros. My Italian then wasn't up to making a protest, I just stood there and gave him a look until he "realised" his mistake.

Outside the Vatican museums, an exotic woman asked for money, waving scarves and showing me her baby. She must have had at least three arms, because she filched my purse from a zipped handbag.

Oh, and my husband was suddenly surrounded by a group of children near the Colisseum. It was like a neorealist film, their hands were all over him, but he had so many pockets (it was winter so he was wearing jacket and overcoat,) he could bat them away like a flock of starlings.

suec1

These scams really are not myths - on most trips I have at least seen something fishy - blocking the door on bus or metros to facilitate pick-pocketing the most common, also the ring and tricky taxi drivers. I'm glad for posters that bring these to our attention - helps all of us to be more aware and less likely to be victims - even it we aren't fluent in the local language.

hetismij

The biggest myth to appear here is that these scams are all targeted exclusively at Americans.
So often there appears some warning that Americans are being picked out in such and such a city.

They're not.

Locals get pick-pocketed too - actually probably more often that tourists, simply because they are local and not on their guard. OK, locals are less likely to fall for the gold ring scam and it it's ilk, but other Europeans visiting do. I have seen it in Barcelona, with find the lady - a crowd of Italians standing watching and then trying to win at it. Fools.

travelgourmet

I have no idea why these myths have such legs either. I've never been victim to any scam, nor have I been pickpocketed. And I don't take special precautions, nor do I speak any language other than English and a tiny bit of Spanish. Most of the scams I've seen reported, would seem to require the victim to be of astonishingly low intelligence.

As to the fashion myths... I simply don't see that much difference between how Europeans dress and how Americans dress. The one exception is the shocking prevalence of the mullet in Spain (where laughably bad hair appears to be an ingrained part of national culture), much of Germany, German-speaking Switzerland, and among a certain breed of Italian.

hetismij

Ah fashion myths.
How to look like a native?
Wear something comfortable, put on a hassled expression and rush everywhere whilst not looking around you.
People in European cities have to work, just as they do in New York or LA or wherever, and wear similar clothes and go through the same hassle, including trying avoid tourists standing in the way gawping, whilst trying to blend in in their trendy but uncomfortable shoes .
They don't have time, and nor do they care, what the average tourist wears. They would barely notice a fat American slung with cameras, in a loud Hawaiian shirt, shorts, and white tennis shoes. Honestly.

Nikki

Myths? You really think we are all making this stuff up? Seeing it and mentioning it does not equal falling for it. In fact it helps prevent problems.

I have had a couple of pickpocket attempts. Once was eight years ago in Paris when two guys got in front of and behind my daughter and me on a long escalator at the St. Michel metro station. I told them to get lost but as they were running away, the one behind me ran his hand along the outside of my purse.

Once was in Rome, as I was entering a metro car and the entrance was blocked by a crowd of young girls, one of whom also ran her hand along the outside of my purse.

But my husband had his pocket picked getting on the circumvesuviana in the Naples train station. Same technique as the girls on the metro, but more effective thieves. A group of five or six well-dressed men in their thirties crowded the entrance around my husband and disappeared when the doors closed. Wallet missing from front pocket.

The last two times I was in Paris, this year and last year, I saw so many ring scammers it felt like a cartoon from Mad Magazine. People falling over themselves in front of me to pick up rings. Last year in the Champ de Mars I gave up on my plan to spend some time relaxing and taking photos of the Eiffel Tower because it was so intrusive, and this year in front of the Musee d'Orsay and then along the Seine and across the bridge to a bus stop on the right bank. When I ignored the final attempt by a woman who came up to me at the bus stop, I watched and saw her talking to a woman down the street a few minutes later who came away carrying a ring. So it must work on somebody. I only saw these things in the most touristed areas I visited, however, and never in the neighborhoods where I stayed and spent most of my time.

DancingBearMD

Surely not myths. But we got 'em here to. In Chicago, stopped on an exit ramp at a stoplight, couple has car with hood up, hitting up folks for a few bucks for cab fare or something. Went down the street and to get a fill-up and returned through the same interchange 10 minutes later. The car and the couple are now on the exit ramp going the opposite direction! Just one of many times I've been hit up with similar requests.

The latest one--on my route home (DC area) a man is on the side of the road with "disabled" van, flagging folks down. What roped me in me was he had his young son on the side of the road with him--no shoulder, potentially dangerous situation. I stopped and offered to give them a ride to a safer location, but the guy said he was waiting for the tow truck, and just needed cab fare. I offered to wait a little while, but he wasn't interested, just wanted the cab fare. Then (d'oh) I realized what was up. Felt bad for the kid, but I drove on.

marlib1951

It is no myth about Rome! While walking to the train station and pulling a small carry on bag, my husband was surrounded by teenagers. Two tried to pull the suitcase out his hand while the three on the other side were trying to reach in his pockets. They were relentless but he was determined and they got nothing. For some reason he was the chosen victim instead of me. Also we met another family who had their backpack CUT while on the subway and their video camera was stolen. I can't imagine they carried around a cut back pack and told this story for amusement and no, we were not asked to buy them a new camera or anything.

SuzChicago

What exactly is the gold ring scam?

Nikki

Someone picks up a ring in front of you and shows it to you. Asks if you dropped it. I never followed through, so don't know how it is supposed to end. But I think the scammer then offers you the ring and then hassles you for money for giving it to you.

Paul1950

I've experienced attempted taxi overcharges in Munich and Prague and attempted pickpocketings in Amsterdam, Florence, and Prague. Saw a purse snatching in Florence. That's in many trips to Europe over about 40 years--though all of the above incidents happened in the last 12 years.

hetismij

No pickpockets and scams are not myths - if you read the thread through you will see that we say they are true. What is a myth is that Americans are specifically targeted, or even that just tourists are victims to pickpockets.

DancingBearMD

A related article from T&L:

http://www.travelandleisure.com/arti...travel-scams/1

annhig

I know that this is the europe forum, but we got conned by our favourite scam on holiday in tunisia many years ago.

we had hired a car [an undertaking in itself] and were driving to somewhere or other, when we were flagged down by a boy by the side of a car which had "broken down". could we give him a lift to the town where his uncle could go and help his dad with the car?

of course..so we did, and amazingly, it so happened that his uncle owned a carpet shop, and would we go inside just for a cup of tea so he could express his thanks...

at this point we realised that we'd been had, but in a fairly harmless way, and went along with it, until we got bored and made our excuses and left.

we were targetted by default - only a tourist woudl have been so stupid as to stop!

on our recent visit to Barcelona, DH did think that someone had tried to dip him, but years of practice on the london underground made him very aware of what they were trying to do. BUT not so aware that he'd put his wallet elsewhere like I keep telling him! He did after that.

ilana25841

We were constantly approached on the Champs de Mars near the Eifeel Tower, with young women waiving a letter we were supposed to read explaining their predicament (a fine distration). DD and I decided we don't speak English (we do speak Hebrew and I told her to hang on to her bag). Kept telling the ladies using my "foreign" accent: "No English" "No English". and I kept my wallet too!

annhig

ilana - we do that, but we say that we are cornish.

immimi

Our friend, well-educated, frequent visitor to Paris, got
caught in the 'gold ring' scam. He was mortified when we
(smarty-pants know-it-all Fodorites) laughed at him for his
gullibility.

And, speaking of gullibility, we got taken 'real good' by a
Roman cabbie with a trip to the airport.

susanna

In more than 20+ trips, nothing bad has ever happened. I have to agree that reading all these "scams" on the board do make you more aware of what's happening when you are traveling.

We also were approached in Rome with the leather jackets, we both started laughing so hard the guy just swore and got back in his car and left.

I too have had the extra long ride around Rome in a taxi. I do speak some Italian so I was able swear at him and jump out of the cab without paying...wasn't as lucky in Naples, he got me. I have seen the gypsies take a wallet out of an inside coat pocket of an Italian man in Milan..he definitely was a local businessman.

But what I really want to say is more times than not, things have worked out in my favor. I don't know how (vino) but I have left my purse twice at a restaurant/bar in Italy, both times when I returned, my purse was there with EVERYTHING in it, yes, I was lucky. My husband paid for a newspaper and some other little things with an amount of lira equal to $100 instead of $10 and walked away, the gentleman came running after him with the change...and when he tried to give him something for his honesty he refused. Our car has been towed from where we had parked it and the police gave us a ride to where it was towed , and waved the fine.

Criminals live everywhere, my town and yours. They usually pick their victim with the least resistance, the most distracted , the most unaware of their surroundings, both locals and tourists.

basingstoke2

Picpocted by some kids in Rome years ago. They got a few traveller's checks and then tried to sell them back to me when they realized what kind of loot they had. Other than that, just one roundabout taxi ride, also in Rome, last year. I knew the route so knew he was taking me the long way, but since he was giving us a pretty good narrated tour, I didn't mind - in fact for a tour, it was pretty cheap.