cheviot

Friends, <BR>Just back from Paris, and all was wonderful. We were careful about preparing for pickpockets and had no problem, BUT: I fell for a dumb little scam that fortunately cost us nothing. Here's how it went: A well-dressed woman with an undefinable Euro accent asked me, "Do you speak English?" And then proceeded with her plight, involving her having a pass of some sort that was in Italian but she needed one in Swedish(? or something like this, it was hard to follow), but she left her wallet back at the hotel, and to pay for it to be changed she needed money, and could I...so I recognized I was being hit upon and walked off, to which she said simply "Thank you." Moral is, don't let the guard down EVER!

Mitch

I might just be a horrible person.., but I am in Europe and someone like that comes up to me I usually ignore them because I know that 9 out of 10 times there is a scam going on. <BR> <BR>Last summer I was in poland and had three gypsy's come up to me, asking for money. I tried to ignore them, but one of them actually pushed me. When I started yelling AAAAUUUGGHHH!! and gave myself the poses by the devil look in my eyes..., they quietly walked away. <BR> <BR>Moral of the story.., while it may not be the correct thing do to.., ignore them.., if that doesn't work. Scream like you ARE possesed by the DEVIL himself!

Ursula

Cheviot: What I usually do - I know I might sound snobbish - but I do not even stop to listen to these people and just walk away. It's the best you can do, rather that get involved into a discussion which can be dangerous (for your wallet). I also do this here in my home town when strange people try to make me stop for whatsoever. A good thing is to wear sunglasses and avoid eye-contact.

Santa Chiara

Amen to what Ursala said. In my new "hometown" in Italy I am constantly beleagured, and avoiding eye contact is the best defense. I am super careful but, for example, the other evening I paused at a street corner to get my apartment keys out of my purse. (I no longer carry a billfold, for obvious reasons). All of the sudden, someone bumped into me from behind. Fortunately, I am much more stolid than I look, and I also was able to instantly brace myself. When he didn't get what he wanted (dropped purse), he muttered apologies. I yelled at him like a mad woman, making him to slink even further away. <BR> <BR>The morale of this shaggy dog story is that you can't be too careful, don't make eye contact and lift a lot of weight at the gym. <BR>

another

they pull that one in the states as well. i used to live in san diego and i remember a woman who would hang around the outside of my office building downtown quite a bit. she would approach people asking for money. said she got robbed and needed bus fare back to her home state. funny, she never managed to get quite enough for the fare during the two years i worked downtown.