Warning Paris Metro scam
 

This is my 7th trip to Paris and I just got ripped off at the Pont Neuf station. My metro ticket did not work in the turnstile (don't know why) and before I could decide how to proceed, a woman walked up to me and told me to walk me through with her on her Navigo pass. I did this and right after I got through, the Metro gendarmes (there were four of them hiding there) stopped me and told me I had to pay a 50 euro fine. They did not stop the woman who let me through! Obviously she was working with the cops. I protested that I had indeed tried to get through with a ticket and that it did not work. They acknowledged that was true but basically said too bad- pay the fine. I wanted to take a picture of the cops but I figured it would land me in jail!

Why, those dirty RATPs!

How could you be sure they were Métro cops?

Did you get a receipt for the fine?

Will Navigo really allow more than one person through?

Does RATP actually have the time to stand around waiting to sting people whose tickets don't work?

This whole thing smells kinda funny.

Well, I hate to say this but I am with Robes on this one (no animals were hurt in the confessing of this opinion).

But let me get this straight-you paid in cash? on the spot?

Ha ha! Thousands of people a day press behind other people to go through a turnstile together. 99% of the time, the person behind is a fraudster. 1% of the time, the person is being helped for a reason such as you describe. You just were not lucky today.

When your ticket doesn't work, you have to go back to the ticket/information office of the station where they will check the ticket and unblock a turnstile for you if it checks out properly. In stations where the turnstiles are down on the platform level away from the office, they either unblock a turnstile by watching you on video, or they give you a special countermark that works like a ticket.

They were uniformed, and yes they gave me a receipt with RATP identification on it. They were just waiting to fulfill their quota of fines by entrapping tourists. Why else would they be setting up this trap at a station very likely to be used by tourists.

I can't comment on this scam, but I did want to mention that I saw a group of pickpocketers at work on the métro a few weeks ago.

The station: Hotel de Ville.

The line: No. 1 (which I am told has the highest occurrence of pick-pocketing.

The thieves: A group teenage girls, about 13-14 years old. (I've since read that many pickpocketers are teens or children because you cannot be legally prosecuted in France if you are under 18).

The victim: A young American man, mid-30s.

The scam: When the train arrived, the girls crowded around one door and started pushing all the passengers exiting and entering the train, distracting the victim and (presumably) removing his wallet. When the doors closed, I noticed that not a single girl had boarded the train. After we pulled away from the station, I heard the victim say: Oh my god, we have to get off. I just lost everything; my credit card, cash, everything.

The lesson: If there is an unnecessary crowd, avoid it! I noticed the crowd and subconsciously moved away. Had I known what was going to happen, I would have warned the victim. I've recently discovered that this "push and take" method is among the most common among pickpocketers.

The lesson is...wear a money belt. Happy Travels!

I would not blame the RATP - hard to believe they would do a scam as you say

someone was just being helpful and you got caught entering without a cancelled ticket - your fault not the RATP IMO - that said the Metro cops should have understood and given you a pass.

But i think to call it a scam is unwarranted.

Perhaps I'm confused, but it seems to me that the following occured:

1. Your ticket malfunctioned (this happens, in my experience, quite often with those darn little paper tickets.)

2. A local saw your distress and offered to "sneak" you through on her pass.

3. You, knowing it was illegal, accepted and went through with her.

4. You got stopped by the cops, she didn't.

Why do you think this is a scam? Can you imagine if everyone got away with scooting others through on their card?


Is this any different from jumping turnstiles in NYC? Please explain why you should not be fined for this?

This isn't a scam. The métro police weren't out to "trap" you.

You had a ticket that didn't work. It happens.

Someone offered to let you go through on her pass. You mean you thought it was ok to do this? It didn't register with you that one person at a time with one valid ticket/pass is all that's supposed to go through the turnstile at once?

You happened to be spotted by métro police. Hey, that's what they're there for, among other things.

You got fined. That's what they do when they catch someone going through a turnstile without a proper ticket.

"Obviously, she was working with the cops." Hmmm...that's a major leap, don't you think? Certainly, it's far from obvious. Maybe, just maybe, she got a rise out of setting you up, but how you get from there to "working with the cops" beats me.

The pickpocket scenario is very common. Happened to us. I slapped the girl's hand and yelled to DH--they got off immediately.

Rather illustrates how travel rumors get started - folks go home and tell friends about some scam the city of Paris perpetrated no less..... by jumping to conclusions

People trying to cheat or steal things always say it is a "scam" targeted at them, even though they knew they were doing something illegal.

My metro tickets have not worked at times, and I have the brains to go to the ticket clerk (or often, a metro person standing right there) and ask them why and to resolve it. Which they do, often just opening the gate to let me through after looking at it.

If you get let through the gate, won't the ticket be un-canceled (and therefore not valid)?

The turnstile prints a code on paper tickets. If the code is correct, no problem in case of a check.

For Navigo passes, all of the agents now have an electronic scanner to see if they are valid.

Please note also that many metro inspectors are now in plain clothes (especially on the buses). But they will show you their official card before checking your ticket.

Fines are generally collected in cash. Perhaps they also accept credit cards now. People who claim not to have any money on them are obliged to provide full name and address on identity papers. Naturally, this is a big favorite of fraud specialists, who always have papers proving invalid addresses.

<i>The turnstile prints a code on paper tickets. If the code is correct, no problem in case of a check.</i>

If the code is incorrect or missing, you are screwed, <i>n'est-ce pas</i>?

The code would never be &quot;incorrect&quot; - if it is missing, if in doubt, they can run your ticket through a machine (all of the ticket offices have them) and the magnetic strip will tell all.

And if you squeeze thru the turnstile going in then don't you usually have to have a valid ticket to go thru the tunstiles going out - why you always hang on to your ticket

would an unvalidated ticket work going out - perhaps it would be validated in the out turnstile

not nearly all metro exits have turnstiles but most major ones do

You only need a ticket to leave the RER, not the metro.

You did something you should not have done-- you accessed a restricted area with a cancelled ticket. You were wrong, it was your desicion. You got caught. Life goes on.