Thousands of people get robbed of money and their valuables when they move to foreign countries to travel. This constantly happens in many forms, sometimes in currency exchange. A lot of times, people hand over lower currency notes and head off – duping the tourists of thousands of rupees. Tourists can be cheated anywhere, but the probability is higher in places like Thailand, Singapore and Europe.
So how do you start off? Here are some pointers that you could follow :
Carry a Photocopy of Your Passport When you Step Out: Keep the original one safe in your hotel. Do not hand your card down to strangers, it is a bad idea to do so! No insurance covers your travel scams.
Currency Exchanging Scams are Huge: Always check the online conversion rates. Those who are giving you the currency notes might distract you with small talk and fraud you. Often valuables are exchanged and you are given a cheaper version at a higher price. Look out for these.
Too Eager People to Help are Suspicious: Some people memorize your pin attempting to help you, then pick your card and withdraw the money. Avoid all kinds of unsolicited help from anyone.
Fake Cops are all Around the Tourist Destinations: You must be very cautious, demand to see a proper ID if someone arrests you for no reason. It could be any random scam where people ask you to look after their luggage, and then return with a cop and extract money from you.
Be Careful of The Drink: It is very easy to spice it up with some drug, and then extort money from you. This could happen anywhere, in bars, pubs, even in restaurants.
Dropped Money: Often it happens that someone will point out to you a stash of cash and say that it might be yours, so when you go to pick it, another person appears from nowhere and calls you out – demands a huge sum of money too!
Photo Request: This is the most expected – people will ask you to click pictures of them, and then will themselves drop off their camera and ask you to pay for the damages.
Restaurant Frauds: Sometimes restaurant people will invite you in, showing you cheaper price rates, and will then charge you exorbitant prices after you have eaten. If you complaint, they will show you another menu with more expensive prices. If you want to avoid that, insist on keeping the menu with you.
