Beware, More than half our fellow Delta passengers on Monday night's return to Atlanta were either robbed or an attempt had been made to rob them. The most common method was to squirt a noxious green/yellow liquid onto clothing and pretend to wipe it off, claiming it was bird droppings, while picking your pocket. One lady's credit card was charged $2600 in the 30 minutes it took to cancel the card. Most of the money was charged at supermarkets who were obviously in cahoots with the robbers. Some times the squirt came from a passing taxi while the robbers were walking towards the victims. That was the best news. An Australian was robbed at gun point in the taxi from the airport and a Delta employeee with his family lost a suitcase in a few seconds from the lobby of his hotel as he signed in. The family's passports and tickets were in the case. Just take great care.

Any updates on this? <BR>I have travelled quite a bit in Europe, and am a regular poster there and on the US forum. I have the opportunity to join my husband on a business trip to Argentina (Sao Paola & BA), but am apprehensive. I have never been anywhere in South America. What should I expect? We enjoy fine dining, beaches, shopping, and some culture. Any input/advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! <BR>

B. Kelly, <BR> <BR>Could you, please, be more specific? Where, precisely in Buenos Aires these robberies took place? And at what time? <BR> <BR>That I know of, this is not likely to happen, or at least not more likely than it is in any big city, be it in the USA, Europe or Asia, so, could you please elaborate a little more? <BR> <BR>I wonder how could someone charge about 2.600 dollars, or 2.600 A. Pesos in less than half an hour since the card was robbed. The thief had firstly to get to the supermarket ( assuming that the card wasn'r robbed IN a supermarket), then, he/she would have to collect some very expensive merchandise, before getting to the cashier. I don't know how it's done in B. Aires, but usually the credit card companies do require to talk to the card holder on the phone when such a transaction is made, since it's not a regular transaction for the amount spent. Or whether several smallers transactions were made, and again I ask, how come in such a short time frame? It does make me wonder... <BR> <BR>Surlok

Beth: Don't let this "warning" scare you away from an amazing trip. I question the math, in the first place. A plane on a major international route would have something like 300-500 passengers on it. The only way you could know that half the passengers were robbed is if you surveyed everyone on the flight and did the math. I'm having a hard time believing the OP even spoke to half the people on the flight, much less did the calculations. <BR> <BR>The mugging method the OP describes is not new. It was used against me in the late 1970s in Adams-Morgan, a then iffy and now extremely trendy neighborhood in Washington, DC. My would-be mugger was "armed" with a squirt ketchup bottle that he fired at my hair; a moment later, he was going for my handbag, which he did not get. My point is that things happen everywhere, but it's only if they frighten us into staying home that the bullies of the world really have robbed us of anything irreplaceable. <BR> <BR>If I can offer any other reassurance and you want to contact me direct, you can send email to me at my yahoo address, which is aphra_abroad.

Thank you Escorita. No, I am not scared off! I had posted this at the same time as the one you responded to earlier - Didn't know which heading would elicit a response! <BR>It does sound like the basic pickpocket scams we've seen so much about. I wear no significant jewelry, and carry no significant cash, so it's easy to keep one credit card safe! As you can probably tell, I am over-careful. <BR>However, the only travel-robberies I really do worry about(for this trip and others) are the "fake" cab drivers that end up robbing you and dumping you off in no-man's land! But you'd never leave the room if you succumbed to all your fears! <BR>Thanks again! <BR>

When you get to Buenos Aires airports only take a taxi from Manuel de Leon (Booth). They will aks your destination and you will pay them the amount at their booth. You will give your ticket only to one of their taxi drivers. I lived in Buenos Aires in 1997. I new about pickpockets around the area of Carlos Pellegrinni 100 or near areas. There are pickpockets that when you are trying to get in a taxi they will try to take the wallet(men) from the back pocket of theirs pants. They always work in pairs. You use common sense like when you are in any big city in any place of the world. Do not put your bag, camera, computer etc.. on a chair or floor when you are eating even when you are in a good hotel. Keep it close to you. Do not leave your baggages unattended. Just be aware of your surroundings. Do not stop to give money to beggers. Do not walk at night by yourself. Your best friend is your hotel concierge. He will give you all the information about the dos and Donts. Have a great trip. BA is a great place. Visit the Recoleta, Puerto Madero, Calle Florida, Plaza de Mayo. Have fun!! <BR>

I was in Argentina in May and heard from everyone there that the best way to avoid a problem with a taxi is to call for a radio taxi. NEver just hail a cab on the street. We didn't always heed that advice, but to be safe, i'd suggest calling for a cab.

I just returned from Bs.As. on 11/25/01. I was traveling as a single woman and had no problems. The hotel conceirge did tell me to not hail cabs on the street.<BR><BR>As in any large city, you must be mindful of your surroundings.<BR><BR>I Throughly enjoyed the people and food.

I was born and live in Buenos Aires. I can't deny that there are some robberies, but not quite different than other big city around the world. <BR>When you travel you always feel some discomfort because you are a foreign, you need to avoid risk situations as dark or lonely places, in my country street taxis (a good option are Remises or Radio taxis and use your common sense to realize what is dangerous o could it be.<BR>Argentina is a beautiful place, with amazing landscapes and Buenos Aires is a very cosmopolitan city with a lot of things to do and an interesting cultural life. <BR>Enjoy my country, and WELCOME.

I have been to BA zillions of times, as a tourist and have never encountered any problem, even if it true that Argentine friends are now telling me to be more cautious than "before" (the economic crisis, or rather its more acute form, since this otherwise great country is not world champion in economic management). I too question the maths of this "plane survey" and am very cautious of the "American traveller collective paranoia syndrom".BsAs is by far the safest Latin American capital (bar PAnama City, but it's so boring ! ), so go there, it's Barcelona meets Paris, and they definitely need your money now.

I'm a crew member for a US carrier and fly to Buenos Aires regularly. The mustard/bird dropping scam has been around since I began flying there 12 years ago, but with the current economic situation, robberies are more commonplace, even in broad daylight. My airline stays in a 5-star hotel in a nice neighborhood, and crew members (who are generally pretty savvy in not looking conspicious or taking chances) have been mugged recently in the vicinity of the hotel. I've walked around alone at night in the nicer part of town in the past, but won't do it now. But, I still think BA is safe, it's just that the people are a little desperate!

Dear friends, my loved hometown, Buenos Aires, is generally safer than most large cities in the world.<BR>Naturally, you have to take some precautions, the mustard scam is oder than Noaha s Ark!.<BR>If you keep to the city centre, you don t run major risks. Look for taxis with the radio taxi emblem, and better still, have them called from the hotel!.<BR>If you walk around at night, do it at least in couples, like anywhere.<BR>Enjoy all Argentina, it s not only Buenos Aires, good luck!

BA is a great place, but also dangerous for those not used to large cities. A little common sense will go a long way. Anywhere can be dangerous but La Boca is probably the worst. I went to La Boca and wandered away from the tourist area, looking for things to take pictures of. I was walking down an empty street, by myself, next to the stadium when a gang of street kids appeared as if out of nowhere. I tried to walk quickly away but they surrounded me and knocked me down. They then started hitting and kicking me, and trying to steal my backpack, my camera, and even my watch off my wrist. They pulled back a little when the strap on my camera broke, and I managed to get up off the ground, but then they came after me again and tried to get my backpack. I kept my balance this time and was able to run away. They chased me for maybe half a block and then gave up, but I kept running until I was back in the 'safe' tourist area.<BR><BR>I was sore, had some bruises and lost my camera, but was for the most part OK. It was a real eye opener though. I was alone, obviously a tourist, holding an expensive looking camera (it wasn't very expensive, except for the lens which took a year to replace), in a known bad part of town. I'm now much more aware of my surroundings when in a city, and actually feel safer because I know how to keep track of everyone around me. As my friend said, you have to grow an eye in the back of your head!<BR><BR>Keep your things close to you and be aware of who is near you, and *why* they are near you, and you'll probably be OK. Don't hesitate to duck into a store or cross the street, or even break into a run, if your intuition tells you something is up.

Hello!<BR><BR>I'm from Santiago, chile and i although i really like Buenos Aires (and i often go there) i have to say it's ten times more dangerous than Santiago, and i obviously played na&iuml;ve and took a taxi and nearly got raped by the driver. Please be careful!<BR><BR>ciao