The world is an amazing place to explore. You can see the major cities of the world, the large ones, with tens of millions of people, or you can opt to see an almost deserted island and enjoy the silence and the crashing of the waves. Some like to visit jungles, other mountains, which is pretty normal, given that we are all different. It is worth knowing, however, that no matter where you go, you can end up being scammed. This, more often than not, takes place in cities, especially relatively popular tourist destinations. Here are some of the most common scams you should know of, and how to avoid them.
Strange Taxi Meter
Taxis are among the most common scams which tourists unfortunately fall for. You get into a taxi, sometimes, a nicely painted, almost branded one, and the meter starts going haywire, raising your ride price exponentially rather than linearly. When you need to pay, it ends up being cheaper to hire an actual chauffeuring service.In order to avoid these scams, look up taxi companies in advance and be relatively familiar with the route. You have tons of offline map applications at your disposal, as well as reviews of various taxi companies, not to mention potential scams.
The Hotel is Full
Some taxis will charge you a normal rate, but they will take you to a better hotel, often saying that the one you want to go to is either full or closed. The drivers often get a commission and you get ripped off. The easy way to avoid this is to call and make a reservation of your own, thus ensuring that you have a room in a specific hotel. You can always tell the driver that you have a reservation even if you might not have one. If they insist on taking you to another hotel, just get out of the vehicle and look for another taxi.
Free Jewelry
This is a common scam where a person walks up to you and either offers or slaps a free bracelet or some other form of jewelry, giving it to you for free. Once you actually take it, they start demanding money and if you don’t want to pay, they start making a scene, often having other friends nearby, acting as concerned citizens.To avoid these types of scams, don’t ever take any form of free jewelry and if someone tries or actually puts one on your wrist, immediately take it off and walk away. You don’t need to get in trouble just because someone wanted to scam some money off you.
Filthy Clothes – Expensive Cleanup
This scam is strange because it requires the scammer to spill something on you, whether a drink, condiment, or something a bit dirtier, like poop, and then offer to clean the mess up. While that is going on, they will attempt to pick your pocket. This is a fairly straightforward scam and to avoid it, simply tell the scammer that you can clean the clothes yourself and keep them away from you.
Fake Police Officers
Someone offers you something illegal and then fake police officers walk up and ask for your wallet and passport. The fact that they ask for your wallet should immediately signal that something is wrong. You can always say that your passport is locked in your hotel and that they can accompany you to it, or you could ask to see their identification. If they refuse, walk away.
These are some of the most common scams you can experience while traveling. Now you know how to avoid them. Stay safe on the road.
