Summer is here, and more people will be traveling. It’s not a coincidence that this is also the season for travel scams.
Many of these scams are simple crimes of distraction. And of course, it’s all about getting your money.
A man walks up to you and is holding up a wallet and says, “Excuse me, I think you dropped this.” So what do you do? You immediately frisk yourself and when you feel your wallet, you thank him and say the wallet he’s holding isn’t yours. A few minutes later you are pickpocketed because you’ve identified exactly where your wallet is.
The second scam is extremely simple and also infuriating. You’re standing at an iconic location—perhaps in front of the Eiffel Tower, Buckingham Palace or Trevi Fountain. And a man comes up and asks if you’d like him to take a picture of you. You hand him your smart phone. He asks you to back up a bit, and then a little more until he has created enough distance between the two of you. Then he runs off with your phone.
Forewarned is forearmed. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
By Peter Greenberg for PeterGreenberg.com
Photo Credit: Cory Doctorow
For more travel warnings, check out:
Travel Warnings About the U.S.
