Prague visitor warning
 

Last year's &quot;fake policemen&quot; scam has returned with a variation. It now appears that you will be approached by somebody wanting to change some money in order to &quot;get back to their hotel&quot;. You are then approached by two &quot;plain clothes policemen&quot; (who speak some English) who ask to search you, your bag and your wallet. The Czech police have no time or money to spend sending plain clothes police on the trail of money changers i.e. THESE ARE NOT POLICEMEN AND NOBODY CAN ASK TO SEARCH YOU IN THE STREET. This raises a second problem in that knowing they are not police, how do you deal with them. Being aware of where you are and if others are near may help (I would start shouting to draw attenton to myself as there are plenty of real uniformed police around) and I would consider stopping the first car that comes along. But if you are caught in a lonely place, 2 or 3 against one make sure that what is in the bag, you can afford to lose. My website counsels damage limitation in that if you are not carrying passports or credit cards, you may only lose the bag and if this is the case, don't fight for it. <BR><BR>More advice at http://www.jasoncholt.com/prague<BR><BR>Jason

By &quot;last year's fake policemen scam&quot; are you referring to the people who watch for tourists to get on the busses and don't punch their ticket, then claim they are policemen and demand a &quot;fine&quot;? That's what they were doing several years ago.

Thank you, Jason for the valuable contributions you make here, and through your website.<BR><BR>May I write to you with some personal questions about specific needs of one of our daughters for our May trip to Prague?<BR><BR>Looking SO forward to this trip!<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>[email protected]<BR>

Always willing to help Rex.

Thanks, Jason. I realize that the prominent display of your e-mail address on your homepage implies that is fine to write to you - - but on the other hand, I didn't want to assume that you want to... or try to... be the ambassador for every single person coming to Prague.<BR><BR>I'll need to think through exactly what are my questions (which are personal, which are just as suitable for here), and write to you later this weekend.<BR><BR>Hope everyone realizes what a valuable asset you are to this forum, and to anyone seeking Prague info!<BR>

I appreciate it when people use the various resources on the website to do their own planning and then contact me when they are faced with a decision or need advice. What I do not like is when I get a mail saying &quot;can you recommend.....&quot; because that info is already available. Why not enter the competition Rex and see if you can win your daughter a special tourist kit for when she visits.<BR><BR>Jason