mhnadel

Here's one I haven't seen mentioned.

Outside Elmina Castle in Ghana, there are boys who will ask your name. It seems they are just being friendly, but when you exit the castle, they'll have written your name on a seashell and insist you purchase it from them.

Ancien Maestro

Entrepreneurship more so than a scam.. You can choose not to buy it..

Like those Disney photos at Ariel's grotto, 1900 park fare etc.. even billion dollar companies do this technique..

starflyer

I'm sure you'll find many people here on FlyerTalk who believe the Delta SkyMiles program is a scam. Also, see the Hilton HHonors thread: Premium Room Reward only scam: Major Devaluation in Hilton HHonors Program

Legionayr

The waiter in the rather touristy place in Prague who tells you, rather aggressively, twice, that 'the tip isn't included in the bill', when, if you look closely, there is quite clearly a ten percent service charge added to the total.

Ancien Maestro

I think some hotels are tightening up their programs in the hopes that customers will end up paying for the upgrades..

But in an economy like this, hotel programs should at least keep programs the way they are.. and encourage more frequency..

Unfortunately, with the Fairmont program.. our 55 or so nights we be cut less than half next year I think.. unless the loyalty program gets back to their grass roots..

rbrenton88

Here is a different one...

Not sure what the situation is now but a few years back, I arrived to the Hanoi airport and walked up to a desk, where a woman exchanged my dollars for Vietnamese Dong. At something like 15,000 Dong per dollar, it was quite a wad of cash.
When departing, the same desk was deserted, with none of the change booths you usually find in an airport. Sitting on a bench nearby was a man in an airport employee uniform of some sort, and he offered to exchange back to USD at a rate that was good enough, considering that Dong is completely worthless outside the country (no outside change booths would ever touch it). At this exchange rate, I had to do some mental gymnastics to figure out how many dollars he was supposed to give me, but as soon as I looked at the first bill, I could see the printing didn't line up right on the paper, so I snatched my wad of Dong back and walked.

Fortunately there was a lady sitting behind security who offered Euros for a small fee which I was happy to pay. I didn't want to be stuck with $100 worth of souvenir paper.

It seems that the gov't intentionally makes it difficult to move dollars out of the country, and the worker spotted a good opportunity for a side business.

pinworm

watch for double billing in restaurants, especially in Mexico. In Cancun this happened to me at 3 of 5 places. They just doubled the amounts on the bill. When I pointed it out, they fixed it. No apologies or explanations, they just thought they might as well try. Same thing happened in Prague.

Ancien Maestro

Which places did this happen to you..

I've never had the pleasure, when visiting Riviera Maya..

RichardInSF

Heck, I've had that happen in San Francisco and I LIVE in the SF bay area (only the added "service charge" was 17%). The restaurant -- I forget its name, it's a steakhouse not far from Chinatown -- even had printed cards on the table saying that the service charge was not a tip. I told them to...well, you can finish the sentence!

manneca

Did a quick read and haven't seen this one which I understand is fairly common. In Almaty I was walking down the street with my guide. He quickly told me not to pick up the wallet that had landed at my feet (I hadn't even seen it). Evidently, you pick up the wallet and then someone accuses you of stealing it while they pick your pocket.

Another riff on the it's not open theme. In Cairo, wandering around looking for my favorite shwarma shop, a guy says it's not open and offers to take me to his shop until it opens and then tries to sell "perfume". After about 30 minutes, managed to get out without buying anything.

In Tunis, I can't quite remember how it happened but someone overheard me say where I was staying. It may have been that I stupidly told someone, but I hate to think I was that naive. Anyway, a second guy comes up and says that he works at the hotel, saw us there and wondered if we wanted to see a view of the city from a rooftop. He led us through the medina by a circuitous route to a carpet shop where we indeed went up to the roof. When we returned he demanded a high tip which we refused. We figured we could find out way out, though he said we couldn't without his help. We finally got rid of him and found we were only about two blocks from the entrance to the medina.

And of course the art student in China who wants to show us his art.

My dilemma is that there are some honest people out there who just want to meet and talk with US citizens. I hate to be rude and ignore them, but it's hard to differentiate who is honest from those who want to scam. So if I'm in a populated area, I generally go along for a few minutes and then decide if it's a scam or not. I don't carry a lot of cash. My male traveling companion carries less (they seem to think men will carry the money, at least where I travel where women are third or fourth class citizens).

darthbimmer

Thanks for pointing that out, manneca. Many people out there really are curious about travelers visiting their cities and want to strike up friendly conversations or offer a token gift. For example, I've been approached several times in Asia by locals wishing to practice English by speaking with me. One even offered to buy me a drink in the bar. In each of these cases I quickly analyzed the risks of the situation (e.g., I was already at the bar and knew their price list) and agreed. So far none of these have been scams.

Scammers use these methods precisely because legitimate people use them. If we travel with our defenses constantly on maximum alert we will miss opportunities and risk fostering an impression in the communities we visit that travelers are rude.

acunningham

In some places, this can be a real problem. It's difficult for the single traveller, without existing local contacts, to meet real locals in Beijing or Shanghai on a short trip. For every genuine person wanting to practice their English and chat about the world outside China, there are ten scammers selling tea ceremonies and student art exhibitions.

Ancien Maestro

I can't say I remember ever being scammed..

I think its prudent to analyze the situation, and act accordingly.. and be aware of what potentially can go wrong..

Interacting with locals, I have no problems with.. I try to be cordial and polite.. often a warm reception awaits from those who give me the time of day..

acunningham

Around Tienanmen Square, I was approached 4 or 5 times per hour. The first time was minorly amusing - "Hey, a tea ceremony scam!". The second time less so. The third was annoying. After the first day I just avoided the whole area. Maybe I just look like a good victim!

Ancien Maestro

I'm used to being bombarded by beggars.. I politely waive them off and don't think twice about it..

I mention that I'm charitable and donate to the homeless societies.. but they would need to access those services to receive the help..