You may or may not notice a more subtle thing going on in London. The turnstiles used for the railways and Tube work on simple reflective sensors to see who has gone through before closing again. If you cover the sensors, it appears to the barrier that you are still passing through, so you can get as many people through as you like.

It's rather easy to do: I've used it in the past when my wife had a non-magnetic ticket, and the station staff couldn't be bothered to come and let us through.

We had a cab driving scam us in France. We were docked in Marseille and wanted to go to Aix. We were 6 people and one of us spoke fluent french. He did the negotiations with the cab driver. The deal was to be $50 Euro each car round trip. Two cars were needed. They would drive us there and return 4 hours later to take us back. Well, we get to Aix and they want us to pay them $50 Euro each now. We said we would pay half now, half when they return and thats when the cab driver suddenly tells us it was $50 each way per car. Well, that didn't fly with us and he kept trying to say we didn't understand. So, we call over the Police and sure enough they were trying to scam us. The drivers had however run the meters while they brought us there, so the Police said we had to pay the meter (which was about $50 E) however they wrote up each driver for about $150 E each in tickets. The female officer was wonderful. Very kind and helpful, and took care of us well. We ended up taking the bus back which turned out to be very cheap and just as easy if not easier.

So in this case, we understood perfectly but you are held hostage with a cab driver sometimes. We laugh about it today though.

Gypsies In Seville, Spain
 

Whatever you do, don't accept the twig of rosemary some filthy gypsy tries to give you around the Cathedral in Seville.

They will demand money, as well as try to distract you enough while their friends go through your pockets.

re: security
 

I had a variation of the leather cord at Sacre Coeur in Paris. A middle-eastern looking guy was trying to wind a dirty string around my arm while saying something to me in French, and I told him in English to get away from me. He changed to English and tried to sell me the string as some sort of hair accessory. I had to laugh when he said 'it will totally change your look'.

Check on youtube for these great con-artists showing you all the dirty tricks including travel related, search for: real hustle ^

-Please delete-

-Please delete- Sorry!

I have had these dirty ba23tards pull this too more than once...I absolutely HATE these kind of people preying on naive and innocents.

A quick "F23k Off" normally stops them from proceeding.

I also hate the gypsy women who go around twisting or pinching their babies limbs to make them cry while they moan the blues.

It is one thing to need help and I gladly assist those who are not pulling something...but con artists are lower than the dog crap you step in in Paris.

Myself and my colleagues were walking around Beijing near Tiananmen Square and ran into the scam of the English speaking "art students" who want to show you their work and practice their English. I guess the end game is to try and get you to buy some crap or something else. I had to lead our group out of there and tell the other, more trusting folks that it was just a scam. :p

The ones in the Forbidden City were tricky. They approached us speaking English and I answered in the little German I know. The problem was that one of them switched to German! The next set that tried didn't understand Spanish though. :D

After a few weeks I got really annoyed by these people making a beeline for us, whether they were selling handbags and shoes, were hookers, or just beggars. It kind of sucks when you can't blend in.

well, let's not be all that harsh

I can appreciate a good con artist if he cons on a bigger scale. Thats what being a lawyer is mostly about :D

A little something to add to the camel/pyramid comment. Often, what you think is free isn't. Even if they graciously offer to allow you to climb aboard a camel and snap a photograph, they'll negotiate the price with you to climb off of that camel. Relatedly, they might increase the price mid camel ride before letting you dismount. Essentially you're at their mercy. My advice if you're ever in Egypt and don't fancy a camel ride/souvenir/postcard bundle/ head covering/ shawl/ scarf/ other tourist product, simply smile, politely say no thank you (phonetically La Show-Cran) and people will leave you alone. I never encountered any problems when I did that and I found that people would immediately stop hassling you after that.

Helpful hints to avoid some scams
 

I probably avoid some scams by:

(1) Not wanting to buy stuff on the street, regardless of what it is or even if it is free. If someone wants to give me some coats or something, I'm never interested. I typically own a coat and if I want to buy another one, I will go to a store.

(2) Not wanting to get some special deal that someone is offering. I will make every effort to to research the best deal at home before the trip, but if someone offers a special train ticket or something like that, I'm not interested. I want to pay the best available regular/special fare officially available.

(3) Not wanting to meet people. If someone approaches me in a country where I am not familiar with things, I typically would say "sorry I can't help you" and walk away. If I want to meet people, I will travel with an organized group to that country.

(4) When in doubt, I quickly walk away and walk faster than the approaching person.

(5) When approached, always say "no" regardless of what the question is. Well, not always, but much of the time. Some innocent questioners have received this answer when it wasn't warranted. Perhaps even a recent person in Buenos Aires who asked "may I ask you something".

(6) Avoiding taking taxis...anywhere, or at least have the hotel arrange for one.

(7) Never carrying my wallet in a reachable space.

Lawyers...the biggest, steaming dog crap around. I'd rather give a gypsy money.

Cheers

LOL that was funny. ^

Yes, on the way out of the metro, as you're about to go through those narrow gates. The distractor who tried to get me cut in front rudely, then suddenly was on one knee with a pack of cigs on the ground pulling on my pants. I jumped back and smacked into the guy going for my wallet, but I don't keep it in the back pocket for just that reason (I've always figured I'm a bit more sensitive to groping hands nearer my genitals - used to keep my cash in a little plastic bag taped inside my underpants in my crotch when I was bumming around Asia).