Just Fell Victim to a Scam in Istanbul -- God Do I feel Like an Idiot!
Jul 3, 2015, 7:05 pm
#481
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 436
A lot of Filipino scammers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia who approach you and say "nice shirt, where are you from?" then they tell you that their "sister" is moving to your hometown and they want you to come to their house to meet her. When you get to the house, there's no sister, but there's a deck of cards, and then they rope you into a rigged card game by convincing you that they can cheat on your behalf and deal you winning cards, but in the end it's the tourist who gets cheated, of course.
Larson E. Whipsnade
Jul 4, 2015, 11:01 am
#482
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 814
I ran into a similar scam in Istanbul. A nice fellow wanted to take me around for a good time. He explained this was one of the few times he could get away without his wife and he wanted to enjoy himself. (Alarms went of right there. He was not a good man, obviously.)
Unfortunately for him, my idea of a good time in Istanbul was to walk around the Blue Mosque looking for good photos. Nevertheless, he was quite persistent and finally gave up when he realize I was not going to go anywhere with this new 'friend'. No doubt, loose women and booze would have been involved.
I won't even begin to mention the rug salesman whose sister-in-law was president of the World Bank.
Unfortunately for him, my idea of a good time in Istanbul was to walk around the Blue Mosque looking for good photos. Nevertheless, he was quite persistent and finally gave up when he realize I was not going to go anywhere with this new 'friend'. No doubt, loose women and booze would have been involved.
I won't even begin to mention the rug salesman whose sister-in-law was president of the World Bank.
Jul 4, 2015, 1:47 pm
#483
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This was not really a scam, but it was misleading. I was in Kusadasi, Turkey on a cruise, and took a bus tour to Ephesus. On the way back from Ephesus, the tour guide told us about this Australian friend of hers that gives presentations/information on Persian rugs, and she was going to take us to attend the presentation and it would not take long, about half hour. So off we all went, we arrived at this entrance to the building where the presentation was held. When we were ushered inside, they offered us some Apple Tea, and we sat down and he asked us to introduce ourselves, and he introduced himself and a few of the young woman that make the carpets, telling us how poor these young women are, and how this organization assists them in buying the material to weave carpets. Then he had a few strapping young men bring out carpets and unroll them so we could look at them. By this time, I was uncomfortable, realizing this was actually a sales pitch, not an informational tour. There were 2 other young men standing in front of the door which we came through, so I finally plucked up the courage to leave, while the Australian guy was in the middle of his sales pitch. I was traveling solo, so did not know anyone else in the group, but I had had enough of this bulldust he was dishing out, so I walked to the door to leave. The 2 young men then pointed me to another door not far from the one we entered. As soon as I opened it and walked though, I suddenly noticed I was in a room filled with cabinets with jewelry etc..and sales people suddenly tried to sell me jewelery. I immediately said quite loudly, 'No Thank you, not interested' and walked really quickly until I found a door leading outside. And guess who was sitting right outside this door? The tour guide of course. I just ignored her and walked quickly to the cruise ship, which thankfully was very close by. I was ticked off, believe me!!!! At dinner that night on the cruise ship, we discussed what had happened and realized it was all staged by the tour guide. We were actually cheated out of about half hour of our actual bus tour by going to this 'presentation'. Oh well, other than that - it was a great trip!!!
Dec 9, 2015, 5:27 am
#484
Moderator: Mileage Run, InterContinental Hotels
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 5,914
How to prevent the taxi banknote swap scam?
I've fallen victim to this scam three times this year: You pull up at the destination, hand the driver a $X note, and a second later, he shows you a $Y (smaller) note. Once in China, once in BKK at a toll booth, and once (this morning) in Rome. I never said anything -- in China and BKK the damage was $2-3; today, slightly more significant (swapped EUR5 for EUR20).
I realize that $20 year in a travel year isn't a major financial loss, but every time, I'm annoyed at this scam. I won't get into an argument with a cab driver (or possibly worse) over a handful of dollars (and of course they know that), but I'd like to prevent this if possible. Question is, how? Hand them the bill in a very obvious way and say, "here's EUR20"? Pay outside of the car, rather than handing the bill to the driver while seated?
Or is this one of the things that happens occasionally, and should be looked at as a tax on those who don't carry small change?
I realize that $20 year in a travel year isn't a major financial loss, but every time, I'm annoyed at this scam. I won't get into an argument with a cab driver (or possibly worse) over a handful of dollars (and of course they know that), but I'd like to prevent this if possible. Question is, how? Hand them the bill in a very obvious way and say, "here's EUR20"? Pay outside of the car, rather than handing the bill to the driver while seated?
Or is this one of the things that happens occasionally, and should be looked at as a tax on those who don't carry small change?
Dec 9, 2015, 6:19 am
#485
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When I hand over the bill(s) to the driver, I announce the value/denomination of each out loud. I then observe the driver and the money, which I make it obvious to him, until he puts it away so he can't switch bills on me. This way the driver knows that he will be unsuccessful in challenging the amount later.
Last edited by rbwpi; Dec 9, 2015 at 6:25 am
Dec 9, 2015, 7:54 am
#486
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Try to have enough small bills to be able to pay only very close to the exact amount. If you're arriving at your hotel, you could ask the doorman for change and then give the right amount to your taxi driver.
Dec 9, 2015, 11:47 am
#487
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Pay outside of the car, rather than handing the bill to the driver while seated?
Dec 9, 2015, 1:19 pm
#488
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You could mark your bills. Say "I just gave you a 20 and there's a black x next to the 20 in the upper left corner" or something.
Dec 9, 2015, 1:43 pm
#489
Suspended
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 1,808
Don't talk to strangers who approach you. Seeming rude should be the least of your worries.
YOU pick who you engage with.
A good trick to avoid this sort of trouble is to pretend not to speak english. If you speak another language, start speaking that. While most people in other countries speak some english, fewer speak german, french, swedish, dutch, hebrew, russian, danish etc. You can also speak gibberish and they will just assume it's language they don't understand. It's over before it begins.
YOU pick who you engage with.
A good trick to avoid this sort of trouble is to pretend not to speak english. If you speak another language, start speaking that. While most people in other countries speak some english, fewer speak german, french, swedish, dutch, hebrew, russian, danish etc. You can also speak gibberish and they will just assume it's language they don't understand. It's over before it begins.
Last edited by Proudelitist; Dec 9, 2015 at 1:49 pm
Dec 9, 2015, 1:48 pm
#490
Join Date: Mar 2007
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I took a taxi from near the Blue Mosque to Chora to see the mosaics. I think we got the taxi at our hotel. We insisted that the driver turn on the meter. I watched the meter during the drive. Just before we arrived, the driver turned the meter off and some random numbers came up. He insisted that was the fare. I refused to pay that amount. I gave him about what the fare should have been and walked quickly to the church. We caught a different taxi back to our hotel with a more honest driver.
In Singapore we had a driver who put an extra $10 on the meter. I asked what for and he said luggage or something. I knew what the allowable add ons were. I argued and he took it off the meter. He tried to get his revenge by taking us the long way through a lot of traffic to our hotel. I paid, but took note of the number. A couple started to get in the taxi but I told them that the driver was dodgy. They declined the taxi.
In Singapore we had a driver who put an extra $10 on the meter. I asked what for and he said luggage or something. I knew what the allowable add ons were. I argued and he took it off the meter. He tried to get his revenge by taking us the long way through a lot of traffic to our hotel. I paid, but took note of the number. A couple started to get in the taxi but I told them that the driver was dodgy. They declined the taxi.
Dec 9, 2015, 2:50 pm
#491
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 814
My first night in Istanbul, I had a similar experience while walking about in the area of the Blue Mosque. A very suave fellow started talking to me about having a good time, especialy since he was in Istanbul without his wife (wink, wink). That made me immediately suspicious since if he would cheat on his wife, he certainly would cheat me. I did not now about the overpriced liquor scam at the time. Rather, I thought I would be lured somewhere, and probably robbed. I told him I was tired and wanted only to get a few night shots of the Blue Mosque (which I did!) and then return to the hotel for a good night's sleep. Sensing the presence of a naive but uncorruptible tourist, he left me to find other prey.
FWIW, I found the Turkish people to be wonderful. Twice, while in a bit of a hurry, I foolishly left my change on a café counter only to have the server run after me onto the street to return it. I never felt unsafe. And I had a great 'conversation' with a former Turkish serviceman who fought in the Korean war and proudly wore his medal. I wish I could post the photo I took of him here. Great people the Turks.
FWIW, I found the Turkish people to be wonderful. Twice, while in a bit of a hurry, I foolishly left my change on a café counter only to have the server run after me onto the street to return it. I never felt unsafe. And I had a great 'conversation' with a former Turkish serviceman who fought in the Korean war and proudly wore his medal. I wish I could post the photo I took of him here. Great people the Turks.
Dec 9, 2015, 5:05 pm
#492
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I hate taxi scams the worst. Buenos Aires was the worst for the switching bill bit. As others have mentioned, mentioning the bill denomination and having exact change are the best policies.
In Argentina, I had someone with both a hot meter and gen he tried to switch bills. It was a relatively short trip, but I wasn't going to get double ripped off.
In Argentina, I had someone with both a hot meter and gen he tried to switch bills. It was a relatively short trip, but I wasn't going to get double ripped off.
Dec 10, 2015, 2:12 am
#493
Moderator: Mileage Run, InterContinental Hotels
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 5,914
Taxi banknote swap
As for having the exact change, it's an obvious one. I try to keep some $50 in small bills for countries I visit frequently, so I usually arrive equipped with THB20-50-100 and CNY5-10-20 bills. If I arrive to a place and the ATM spits out denominations a cab driver is unlikely to be able to break (say, THB1000 or IDR100k), I try to break them at the airport. Of course, few stores will happily make change unless you buy something, and in the end it may be cheaper to be scammed out of $10 every now and again than to frequently buy half liter bottles of Evian at airport rates of EUR4.50.
I suppose what I'm hearing is that while there are some safeguards -- have the correct change, make sure to mention the denomination and act alert, pay after getting out -- the bottom line is that this scam happens from time to time, and there's very little you can do when the scam actually does occur. I assume I'm not the only one who wouldn't challenge a cab driver over what in the grand scheme of things is a minimal amount?
Dec 10, 2015, 10:18 am
#494
Join Date: Oct 2001
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When I hand over the bill(s) to the driver, I announce the value/denomination of each out loud. I then observe the driver and the money, which I make it obvious to him, until he puts it away so he can't switch bills on me. This way the driver knows that he will be unsuccessful in challenging the amount later.
Someone tried to pull this on me once (not a taxi driver), and I stood my ground. But I was in my own country, had paid the exact amount I wanted to, and was not in a car, so was free to walk away. tls
Dec 10, 2015, 12:48 pm
#495
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I do my level best to avoid having to get change at all in Thai cabs, but I would absolutely expect "one thousand" or better yet "one thousand, na?" to be understood. (The English style rising tone making it a question fouls up the tone, but it'll be understood.)