FLgrr

Just returned from a week in Paris. Around the Eiffel Tower and a few other attractions in that area, there were women with clipboards and sheets of paper trying to get the passersby to sign it, I guess. What was this all about?

Got to admit, even if they were speaking to me in English I would have ignored them. But yet I still wonder.

cassierose

I was just there too and had the same experience. Apparently they are deaf (or claiming to be). My impression was that they wanted signatures and possibly money. We said no and then ignored them.

highflyerboy

Hello everyone,

Just for your information, these people are usually gipsies coming from Romania and all they want is money. There are a lot of them in Paris, begging for money in return for your signature. They aren't deaf! you guys did well not to pay them....it only encourages them to continue...

cheers,

nrr

In many cities of the US, people asking for signatures could (1)asking people to sign a petition against/for some (political) issue, (2)trying to get a candidate on an election ballot--I assume neither of these apply here(?)

trueblu

We encountered the same last month. Google came to the rescue when I didn't find anything on FT. As stated, it does seem to be a scam. I had suspected (and witnessed) that they ask for money after you sign, and it was clear that some of the people at least are not deaf etc.

Some websites, however, go one further and impute that they try to pickpocket you while you are busy signing the petition or saying no to pleas of money. Didn't witness that myself, so can't corroborate.

Does seem best to ignore, however.

My general feeling is that if 'a cause' is willing to accept my signature, even without taking time to explain the motivation, then it's not worth supporting.

tb

GuillaumeD

In touristic places, it is a scam.
The best thing to do is to do not stop. I didn't know they could pickpocket but I am not surprised.

Most of the time, when it comes to 'real' petitions or charities, they have a badge or a jacket, something you can recognize.

Also, be carefull at train stations. Some people are trying to sell you directly tickets, avoiding vending machines or desks. But they are at least twice more expensive and most of the times not valid for your journey.

zoe67

I did stop once and checked the paper. It is a list with names of people and donations they gave - the amounts however seemed too big. I suspect they just write a few zeros after the original number. I offered a couple of euros, but the girl didn't seem to be too happy with it, so I said, no worries, I take it back. I don't stop for them anymore.

CP3

First time poster here...

I was walking the Seine last month and saw the petition on the floor. It seemed like they just threw it so I snapped a pic. It mostly seemed to be Gypsy kids trying to get you to sign it. They are not mute or deaf.

OverThereTooMuch

I saw this too, and I was surprised that there was no visible effort by the police to do anything about it.

I was left with the feeling that if they weren't going to protect people at a major landmark, then you were really on your own heading off the beaten path.

biggestbopper

This sort of thing has been an ongoing problem for many years in Europe, not just in Paris.

Twenty years or so ago one of my traveling companions was attacked by a group of kids by the Louvre who waived signs and maps in her face while yelling at her. When they ran off she found her wallet and watch were gone, too. The Paris Police could be barely bothered to take a report (filled out on a very old manual typewriter at the station) although with the report insurance covered the loss.

And, I had much the same thing happen to me in Barcelona a couple of years ago, although I got away with no losses. I was told then at Catalan law is not effective if less than five hundred Euros or so is stolen and so the cops do nothing about these things which have become more common since the borders in the EU were opened.

The whole thing is very odd to me because, usually, French law enforcement is pretty good.

AnnieOnTheGo

Earlier this week, my traveling companion lost her wallet to one of these young women as we sat in a cafe in the Paris Gare de l'Est station even with our awareness of exactly what was going on and our very aggressive attempts to prevent the theft. My friend did make a police report but it was very obvious this sort of theft happens so frequently it's not worth investigating. In looking back on the incident, I'm not sure what we could have done differently other than to make an even bigger fuss by yelling, or perhaps trying to take a picture of the young woman in the hopes of scaring her off somehow.

While walking between Paris Gare du Nord and Gare de l'Est earlier that day, we had to fend off quite a number of these petitioners as well as "helpful" young men who tried to help us carry our bags. I'm a seasoned traveler and very aware of safety precautions but these experiences were discouraging enough to make me think twice about going through the Paris train stations again anytime soon.

BigLar

1. On our first trip to Paris, we were in the tunnel under the l'etoile to get to the Arc. Just ahead of us was a woman (tourist) wearing a back pack. Two or three kids sidled up behind her, unzipped the pack, and began rummaging through it. I yelled at them, and the woman turned around and figured out what was happening, so she began to yell at them, too.

The pickpocket fell to the ground and began quivering like it was a siezure or something. I ignored him and urged everyone to keep on walking. I might have stepped on his hand as we hurried away.

2. On the next trip, we were staying at the old (sadly no more) Hilton, and we were having coffee at a little cafe away from the Seine; I forget the name of the street. A group of young women came walking along, all dressed, well, perhaps not outlandishly, but at least they certainly appeared to be wearing what I perceived as eastern european dress. Gypsies? I dunno.

Anyhow, they spoke perfect English and were chatting about going off to work (their turf was the area around the Tower, where we had run into them before) and scores they had made. I guess they didn't realize we spoke English.

At that time, the scam had something to do with being stranded, in imminent danger of being deported, or maybe even helping to free their 'brother' who was being held captive by the authorities back home (can you say Spanish Prisoner scam?).

Anyhow, they're all scams and you're better off ignoring them.

Low-level scams like this seem to abound all over Europe. Fortunately, they rarely end up with violence. Some of them are actually amusing ("Pardon me, did you just drop this gold ring?")

CubsFanJohn

I saw it in Paris last year as well. I just ignore it and gave them the death stare of stop harassing me.

corky

I was just in Paris 2 weeks ago with my 16 yo niece. The first day there we were encountered these crooks along the Seine. I realized the first couple minutes that it was a scam but the next thing I know I see my innocent, naive and sympathetic niece handing them 5 euros. When we walked away, I tried telling her that it was a scam and she kept telling me "but they're deaf--I felt sorry for them". It wasn't until we saw about 3 more groups of these jerks at other places that she believed me that 1) what are the chances of that many young people of the same ethnicity being deaf 2)why aren't they in school? 3) so what if they really are deaf-why do they need $$? I felt so bad for her that she had been ripped off in the worst way--by someone preying on her generous nature. Evey time we saw them after that I yelled "liar criminal" & other things at them. My niece was embarassed but it sure worked. I just kept yelling 'liar' & they somehow "miraculously' were cured of their hearing loss. I still don't get why the cops don't go after them--would be so easy to round them up. Makes my blood boil just thinking about it.

JDiver

Last week I had the opportunity to observe a miracle in the vicinity of Notre Dame cathedral! A group of about fifteen "deaf and mute" signature sheet kids were all arguing quite vocally.

Of course, I also said "non!" or "allez-vous en" to several of them whilst looking away, and they understood me just fine.

The "found ring" scam is also surprisingly alive and well; it is so old.

corky, if your niece wants to do something good with her money and get it back, have her check out Kiva - she can even join the FlyerTalk lending team! (See my signature...)