Thx to all who shared info and thoughts on this scam and others...very enlightening.
Not a scam, but shady:
Something related to credit card charges that I just encountered for the first time this summer in PRG...or perhaps BUD and I can't even remember my own trip...and that is a charge slip for a restaurant tab converted into USD.
When I questioned the waiter about it, his blase' answer was that it is now automatic with some credit card companies to convert the local currency at the point of sale. I was not in favor of it, but did not protest it and signed.
Once back home I contacted a rep for the card issuer and was informed that it is policy that all credit card transactions be in the currency of the locality. Merchants or service providers can convert the bill at the request of the customer. It is NOT automatic!
Not a big deal for a restaurant tab for one, but think about the less favorable conversion rate that might be applied to a large bill or purchase. Insist on a charge slip in local currency if not presented as such. It is your cardholder right.
As for the IST scam, I wonder what might have happened if the tables were turned on the con-artists? How about this? You complain that you thought the "Iranian" was gay and coming on to you and came with him to the bar expecting to be entertained by young men, not female belly dancers. You are not interested in the champagne ladies, only the "Iranian" and if he is not going to leave with you, then you are leaving alone. Plunk down some money from your pocket and bravely head for the door. They might be surprised (maybe revolted) enough to buy it and want you out! Their scam assumes they have selected the right mark, not the wrong one.
If readers think this is a bad idea, please don't flame me.
Sometimes desperate situations call for desperate measures, that's the point.
BTW, I almost got caught in the "someone just spit on you" scam in LON a couple of trips ago. In a record store, a stranger told me some "French" guys had just spit on the back of my leather jacket. Shocked, but able to avoid being distracted, I moved away from the stranger to a cash register (where TV surveillence is likely) then removed my jacket to look. There was indeed spit, which I cleaned off there. As I left the store, there was no sign of the "helpful" stranger.