The tea house scam was attempted on me twice in Shanghai earlier this year.

First, I was approached by 4 girls on the Bund who asked to have their pic taken, it turned out they were tourists too. We chatted for a while, and they were heading to a tea festival nearby. I told them I was going to the Expo, and learned that the tea festival was a part of the Expo

The second attempt was brilliant however. I was approached by a Chinese gentleman who claimed to be a calligraphy teacher enjoying his day off. We talked about Shanghai and general travel in China (he was very knowledgeable about Hong Kong and Macau). He then offered to show me the old Shanghai, we went to the City God temple (for which I bought him a ticket). We also chatted about tea, and then he mentioned that "tea tasting" is possible in Shanghai too. At this point, I told him that I was not interested in tea ceremonies, and a few minutes later he wished me to have a nice day and was gone.

Had I not known about the tea house scam, he would have me on the hook. To avoid scams, I never let locals influence my plans for the day. But he didn't do that. He would simply tag along until I got hungry, and then his tea house would have my money ^ In fact I am not 100% sure it was a scam.

Also was approached by a girl at one of the temples who offered to be my tour guide. I immediately refused. Not sure if it was a tea house scam or something else.

Are such scams actually legal in China? Does it make sense to call police if you see scammers on the street?