Travel scams make the Grumpy Pilgrim, well … grumpy. We all want to float through our travels unperturbed by miscreants, scalawags and tricksters but we have to deal with them on the road just as we do at home. But the tricks vary with the territory so I want to give you a list of the top scams to be aware of. In a related post I will go into detail about how to avoid them. But here are the Top Ten:
1. Taxi Scams
Taxis are the number one way to get ripped off. Every country and city has their own unique regulations and protections – or lack thereof, so we need to customize our approach to dealing with taxi scammers.
2. Street Touts
If we could round up all of the street touts in the world there’d be enough of them to have their own country. Wouldn’t that be nice? But dealing with them can be pretty easy.
3. Bribes
Sometimes that policeman that pulls you over and demands an on-the-spot “fine” is a real official and sometimes he’s an impostor. Does it matter?
4. Evil Twin WiFi Hubs
Hackers set up free WiFi hotspots in airports, coffee shops or other heavily-trafficked public places, often using hotspot names that look legitimate. As soon as you log on to the free hotspot they steal your passwords and download your files.
5. Tea Ceremonies
After asking you to take his or her picture the scammer will ask you take have some tea with them in a nearby tea shop – then you get a bill that’s out of this world.
6. Goo on the Shoe
Don’t need a shoeshine? Let me fix that for you. People will sneak up on you and squirt goo on your shoe or your clothes and then offer to clean it off either for a fee or while an accomplice picks you pocket.
7. Bogus Booking Sites
There are criminals out there that set up fake tour or accommodation booking websites or mimic real company websites to gather your personal information or simply your cash.
8. Pickpockets and Thieves
Having your wallet or pocketbook stolen can be a major pain on a long trip – especially if they got your passport. How do you guard against this?
9. Play Money
Counterfeit money is a problem in some countries and if there’s a tourist in the area they’re the preferred target because they (you) don’t usually know what to look for to spot the fakes. Unscrupulous taxi drivers and retailers like to unload their misfortune on hapless travelers.
10. Damaged Rental Cars and Motorcycles
You return your rental car or motorcycle to the rental shop and they claim there’s a scratch or dent that wasn’t there before you took it. You know you didn’t hit anything. What can you do?
How do you avoid these common scams while on the road? I go into more depth on the topic here.
