Beware Travel Scams
If you travel a lot, learning about travel scams will be very-much to your advantage. The majority of travel scams take place in large cities, but even if you live in the country, this doesn’t mean you should ignore travel scams altogether. Cultural differences, barriers in language, and unfamiliar surroundings are all things that make some tourists easy targets for travel scams.
Whether you decide to travel to the next town or overseas to another country, you will probably come into contact with con artists and very convincing scammers who will try to take your money by telling you that someone is handicapped or poor. They may also try to make you feel guilty. Especially if you choose not to help them.
There are a number of travel scams that you should be aware of. First, there is the ‘No Fuel’ scam. When you travel to a new location, a strange person might approach you and say that they have run out of gas as they were on their way home. The person desperately needs to get gas in order to get to a family members funeral. The scammer will tell you that he and his family members are Christians, and therefore, you can trust them. If you get approached by someone like this while traveling, offer to go with the person to the nearest gas station. Knowing that their scam didn’t work on you, they will most likely come up with some logical excuse to leave.
There is also what’s called the ‘Precious Item’ scam. In this scam, a stranger will stop you and ask you for directions. They will ask for money as well. When you give the directions to the person, they will thank you with a gift. The scammer will then place something like a bracelet on your arm as a demonstration. When you are not able to remove it, you will feel as though you have to pay for the item. And it may supposedly be quite valuable.
Another version of this scam is when someone nearby will tell you that they found a valuable watch on the ground near you and then offer to sell you the item to you. These items are actually valueless, so avoid paying for the items and be sure not to lend them any money.
When traveling, you should also be aware of ‘Diversion Theft’. You could be traveling in your car and then your car will suddenly have a flat tire. Someone will pull up and assist you. While the first individual is distracting you by working on your flat tire, his accomplice will steal the luggage out of your car.
Still one more version of this travel scam is when you are taking a walk through the city and either ketchup or bird droppings gets splattered on your clothes. A con artist will assist you in cleaning yourself off and will lift your wallet in the process. This version of the travel scam can work the opposite way as well. There may be someone that will ask you to assist him with a problem and while you are doing so, your wallet will be stolen. There are many ways con artists create diversions so keep an eye out. Always be aware of the fact that scam artists everywhere have no conscience whatsoever!