Paris - Please read, Security/Ripped off
 

We just got back from a week long stay in paris 11/4 - 11/13. We had a nice trip despite the fact that the riots were going on. The center of Paris was not affected. Except for one incident where somebody stole 250 Euros, and I thought I should warn you guys. This is how it happened.

We are walking to our hotel room from the train station with bags after arriving from the US in the bastille area.

Guy 1 comes in and says he wants to sell you something and talks something in French. Then Guy 2 stops him and tells us that is himself is a cop and what guy 1 is doing is fraud and that guy 1 deals in drugs. So he frisks guy 1 checks how much cash he has an lets him go.

Guy 2 shows quickly whisks us a badge and claims he is a cop again. Then he asks us where we are from, whether we have drugs, makes us show our passports. He makes us open our boxes and wallets and show him how much cash we have. Then guy 3 comes in tries to divert our attention to him by saying something. Then guy 3 leaves. Then guy 2 returns our cash. Guy 2 keeps harassing us and we realize this guy is a fake and leave.

After going back to our room, I counted the cash we have. They had stolen 250 euros from us. I remember keeping our eyes on the cash while he was checking. But, just for a few seconds our eyes got of the cash when guy 3 diverted us.

All this in the midle of a busy street in Bastille. We would not have fallen for it if we knew french and we made sure that the badge that guy showed us was a genuine police badge. We reported the incident to the french police.

So if something like this happens, please make sure you check the badge the person shows you. It should clearly read POLICE in big red letters.

Have fun!
HS

I don't think a policeman in France would ask you how much cash you have or have you to show him your passport or money for no reason. That wouldn't be doine in the US either, but maybe it would be in some countries. I wonder whether these thieves target people from countries where that kind of police bahvior might be the norm.

Hi fsh,

Thanks for the heads up.

Sorry to hear that you were robbed.

Looking forward to hear about the good things that happened.

((I))

Would a badge in France really have the English word "POLICE" on it?

It's one of those international words - at least, they'll know who you want if you ask a francophone in Montreal, Quebec, for la police.

Next time you should ever feel in doubt or intimidated, fsh020, insist on going to the police station. No authentic police can hardly object to your request.

I am sure everyone here, even those people who are SOOOOOOOOOOOO smart and have absolutely never been scammed in their entire lives, will appreciate your taking the time to post this, even if they neglect to tell you so.

Degas, isn't police "police" in French?

I for one certainly appreciate your reporting of this version of a well-known type of scam. This one is more complex than some of the other similar ones, and the coming/going of several characters probably confuses the victim more than the two-man approach that has been used frequently.

By the way---someone said a policeman will not ask for your wallet and money. Well, a legitimate policeman did that, and more, when I happened to park in an unmarked parking place in the middle of Czechoslovakia back in the Iron Curtain days. This was on serious communist dude. He not only checked our passport, our money, our various credit cards, and our rental automobile papers, but he searched us and the car. All the while I was protesting in Russian, a language he knew well and the only one that I knew was understandable to him (I surely didn't know Czech).

After a lot of hassling, the cop let us go with a stern warning and a kinder bit of advice on where we should park. The funny part of all this is that in the communist mentality, everyone squeals on everyone. I would not have even encountered the police, but a Czech citizen saw us parking in the spot and ran to report it to the police.

Sue, if in doubt, I certainly wouldn't want to get a RIDE from someone claiming to be a policeman who seems a little fishy, and would even want to follow a suspeicious person to the station if I had no idea where the station was located. Maybe if they don't seem right, it's safer to be out in the open.

I am still curious whether this particular scam targets people who SEEM to be from certain cultures, where the police may behave differently.

I am sure everyone here, even those people who are SOOOOOOOOOOOO stupid and always get scammed on EVERY trip, will appreciate your taking the time to post this, even if they neglect to tell you so.

CMT - I thought the french police had "Flatfoot or Fuzz" on the badge?

Wayne, I think I meant to say that a French of American policeman wouldn't do that (at least I don't think a French one would), but that in some other countries it might be the norm. That's why I wondered whether the scammers (i.e. THIEVES) might be targeting people who look like they are from certain countries where the police DO do that.

The word for police is 'police' in French.

fsh - Thanks for the heads up.

I'm sorry to be one of those people that these things don;t happen to - but

Do not stop and talk to strangers in train stations

Ignore them - whoever they say they are - and keep going

If they keep bothering you - just say no, loudly - and that you will call the police

If they persist - yell POLICE as loud as you can

But the key is to keep walking and keep ignoring them - so you never have an encounter

(Real police don;t want to bother tourists, don;t want to see your money - and wear UNIFORMS)

This scam sounds like a variation on the old "pigeon drop" ploy. It goes on day after day in big cities everywhere. Other variations are the bank inspector ploy, the bait-and-switch ploy, the hidden wallet ploy, and/or the dropped package ploy. Any bunko squad in any police department in any city can give you many more. Don't feel bad -- these guys can spot a "mark" a block away. They are pros.

cmt, you are right, of course one wouldn't want to get into a strange car. But I seem to recall someone reported a similar incident (only near the Rome train station). After the would-be target loudly suggested they all go to the station, the 'police' suddenly thought better of it, and disappeared. It would certainly be worth a try.

Degas, I think one has to take into account the fact that people often feel like fish, or should that be fsh, out of water when travelling. We don't expect the local customs to be the same or even to necessarily make any sense. So spotting a scam is tougher when abroad, I think. And even the genuine police in other countries often seem to be more intimidating. I still recall being startled when our bus from San Gimignano to Siena was stopped and machine-gun-wielding police boarded, took a quick scan of the passengers, and then to my great relief, got back off and allowed the driver to continue on.

This scam was so common in Amsterdam a few years ago that the city posted a special page on their website warning tourists about it - complete with images of what real police uniforms and badges look like. It also suggested that any "Dutch cop" spoke English with an eastern European accent should be regarded with suspicion.

"Would a badge in France really have the English word "POLICE" on it?"

Degas, are you for real? the ENGLISH word Police? Please...

I quess Degas doesn't give a gendarme :)

Am I for real? Of course I'm for real. It's everybody else who isn't.