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A subscriber tells us how he was scammed in Beijing by some young girls who approached him at Tiananmen square…
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When I lived in Beijing, I would spend part of my Saturdays in the Tian An Men Square subway and the surrounding areas. I would specifically look for lost foreigners (I’m a laowai too) and help them out. You don’t know how many scams I’ve thwarted. There was an older Canadian couple, one time, that just agreed to go out to the bar with two girls. I quickly came in and I introduced myself. The girls asked me if I wanted to go and I said, “Wo Men Bu Yao, Xie Xie Ni”. I said loudly, “Don’t go with them! They will try to take your money!” The old couple thanked me and went on their way to the tourist sites. Later, two big guys tried to approach me but I was smart enough to stick close to the subway staff and police. NOTE!!! If you are going White Knight in these situations, try not to make it so obvious that you are taking their “business” away. What is worse than getting your money stolen, in China, is to be in the hospital. I devoted part of my time to this after falling for the good ol’ tea trick in Shanghai. I actually ran in that case (it took me two glasses of tea to figure out, “OH… this is that scam…”). No money lost, but they chased me for a good while until I lost them in the Yu Yuan Gardens around the Spring Festival time. We really need to set up a Foreigner support system here in China.
Mega tyx, good man! good advice!
That moment when he’s telling his story & I’m watching the lady in the back eating noodles…
Plastic Noodles
That’s only in California made noodles.
She eating that Top Ramen!
Tourist scammers are everywhere, in every country that I have been to. This includes Europe and the US. We don’t talk to anyone who approaches us for any reason. Unlike most people, I don’t care about being rude. If you approach me, too bad. I don’t get scammed – surprise surprise. I never use taxis, always pre-pay transfers with reputable companies. Yes, I pay more, but I don’t get taken for a long long drive and then scammed either. Pay a little more, use airport busses and use that rare thing, common sense. If you aren’t so gorgeous that girls approach you all the time at home, then you are being scammed. End of story.
Too bad for me then. I get approached by strange women all the time when home.
+Social Sketch You might get chopped to pieces with a machete in Thailand. Be careful.
In Finland it is impossible to have a scam like this because the normal prices of alcohol in bars is already a huge scam.
jjaus Which specific countries in Europe did you experience scams?
I don’t believe you..
Except obviously obscure looking Gypsies no one is scamming & threatening in Europe..
Police will be there right away
Lol. I know many older guys in the same situation with the big Chinese guard blocking them, but the Chinese person never did anything. They are terrified of the police and laws. They would get the death sentence for doing anything to a tourist. They just try to scare you.
Actually, the only Chinese men that will do anything are the ones with rich daddies who walk around Sanlitun in packs of 10 or more people trying to fight 1 person showing they are not pussies like the other zhonguoren there, which ruins the whole point.
+Bryan Kelly Bryan, you need to stop watching the Rush Hour movies. They are destroying your brain.
What the hell do you know about China and taiwan politics? Why are you an expert? And what the hell does it have to do with the topic? Nothing. Just because you morons say its bullshit, doesn’t make it so. I don’t care what you morons think. You’re wrong. And don’t come at someone claiming they are stupid with some kind of fucking evidence.
?? people don’t care at all. police? don’t brother me. BUT! in case, may help!
An interview in a noisy public place like a cafe is not a good idea. I had so much trouble hearing
+coweatsman I heard it perfectly fine on low volume. Get a better headset.
Anywhere you go in china is nothing but noise lol… Even the museum ok… maybe at home is better but hey you dont want to meet with strangers at secluded area or bring them to ur home right?
Oldest scam in the book. Young man thinks he’s going to get laid and instead gets fleeced.
+Craig Hancock Here in Norway we have absolutely zero of these scams. Yes our women might be expensive too, but at least they are joining us to bed 😀
+perrrry
haha 😀
well, never is nearly always wrong. Scams exist everywhere but are far less prevalent in places without as much poverty.
DUR.. good looking women don’t walk up to you speaking english all friendly and such asking for drinks in ANY foreign country unless its a set-up. these types are paid by bar owners to trick foreigners into piling up huge tabs. typical
+Richard Graham Just read that comment again
I live in Germany and it’s actually not too uncommon to have girl ask you to go out and by them a drink and you usually choose the bar yourself. Happened to me sometimes and some were pretty attractive.
This type of scam is uncommon in Germany. Here you usually see Windows scam and rent deposit scam.
gets you are right, drinking with strangers without scamming them is totally normal in germany
Thank you so much. I was in London a few months ago, so when a girl came up to me and started speaking English, I immediatly knew it was a scam.
… who else spent most of the video only watching the lady in the background eating noodles? xD
Yep, I did, just because I could. I don’t do that in the restaurant as it’s rude. Interesting way to eat noodles.
Me! She was really shoveling it in, wasn’t she? Besides, I couldn’t even concentrate on the guy talking because it was too loud inside there. Perhaps the videographer could have found a quieter place, hmmm??
yah bro. dude look like fking goof ball. started reading comment after the first 30 sec lol
And her eating was quite disgusting.
Noacceptance guilty
Thanks for sharing this, especially to Ben.
I had this attempted on me in Shanghai. They ordered Whiskey though and lots of it. the bill came to over £800. I called the cops and they were interrogated very very harshly and I walked away….
correct, just dial 110 to call policeman, normally you don’t need pay any cent
I’m guessing the drinks they served weren’t really worth their weight to begin with
Japan is safe, but be careful of the Nigerians and Chinese scammers here
maxel is playing along for the sex
I got bored of him as he tried to blackmail me instead. Then it wasn’t really fun games anymore xD
rainman1344 are really surprised?
Roh P What, it happens in Japan as well. There are established groups set up to catch naive foreigners who think they’ve landed sex/love.
I never trust women who ask you stuff. Any of them.
In the case of romance, men approach women not the other way round. If a women approaches you it’s almost always bad news, and it’s kind of your fault if you trust them.
I run every time I see a Chinese woman.
That’s true, but I’m also a scaredy-cat .
Herbert N you have to be careful of some people but give it a chance ; you could meet the woman of your dreams!
Fiona R marry me?
amazing man and amazing lucid, factual films, directed and narrated as a gentleman, well done indeed.
He’s not British, or bald. Also, your caps lock is on.
Stonehedged yes, he was born in england but moved to Johannesburg
+Thelunatic Loggers
More importantly, why is he trying to look like Jason Statham?!
Rollo Larson what? you mean a bald English guy in a suit??? pretty normal, if you’ve ever seen the UK.
Because it’s a good look. I can’t pull it off but he does it quite well.
Same thing happened to me when I visited Thailand ten years ago. Now I think with my brain instead of my dik.
manuel grohse Still using ‘gay’ as a pseudo insult in 2016? Are you 12 years old?
+pisse3000 finding males more attraktive than women is per definition gay. That’s not an insult.
You really need to go to Thailand. They are indeed much more attractive than your Fat and selfish American beotch. BTW, I am not gay and I don’t hates Gays.
+med ray , , ,lmao…but so true
I knew because I was 18 yo b4.
He could’ve walked away without paying anything and left them in serious trouble by calling the police (110). China’s law enforcement has zero tolerance for scams(taxi, bar, etc) on a foreign tourist.
You must be joking. The Chinese authorities are probably better scammers than most.
Craig List That’s not true. They take scam complaints by foreigners more seriously than murder cases. Something to do with “face”, I guess – they don’t want to be seen as incompetent by foreigners. An average scammed Chinese citizen, in contrast, is unlikely to be accorded equal attention.
Personally I think everyone in this comment section should thank David Wang and people like him for giving good honest information like a true gentleman.
Thank you Mr Wang, I have not been scammed in any foreign country but the more detailed and honest information that gets posted helps keep the average person safe and potentially stops or hinders scammers from taking advantage of vulnerable people.
It does make sense. I mean, it would both make them save face and they could get quite a lot of money from the scammers given how lucrative it seems. I suppose the biggest hurdle for foreigners to contact the police is the language barrier, which is why many of these scammers are willing to take the risk. Winston also mentioned in another video that law enforcement becomes a lot stricter in areas when foreign officials visit that area, I guess for the same reason they would want to protect regular foreign visitors from bad experiences with scammers.
Not all Chinese policemen are trained to deal with foreigners, and most of them don’t understand foreign languages. You can all 110 but getting police to you is difficult, and letting them know what has happened is even harder.
While in Shanghai I fell for the tea scam. It was 2 young women and a young man. So friendly and spoke quite good English. I ended up spending about 120 for some tea. Oh well, lesson learned. BTW, excellent video.
We must have met the same ‘team’
Yep. Tea house. Happened to me in Beijing.
I’m 99% sure that this almost happened to me and I got away by sheer luck!
In Beijing in June 2014, near Tiananmen square, I’m a 21yo white guy wearing a big backpack, looking for which metro to go into that’ll take me to the airport, cos I have a flight to Japan in 2 hours. 2 young Chinese girls come up to me and start asking where I’m from, blablabla, they’re visitors from another part of China… then they’re asking me if I want to go have a beer with them. I’m thinking “this is crazy since when do girls ask guys out?” but I have literally zero spare time before I catch my flight, so I decline. I didn’t realise at all that anything was amiss, it was purely the fact that I had to catch a flight that stopped me going with them, but it sounds like EXACTLY the same spiel they gave you – I had a narrow escape and didn’t even realise!
UberJamesMan You were one lucky guy!
bro you dodged a bullet!!!
UberJamesMan gods will. Even though i am an atheist
American don’t know Chinese, you can found more their history in youtube. don’t think they don’t have gun, you are safe, they can call up thirty people, you going to blame you mother why she doesn’t give you ten hands and ten foot to run.
I’ve heard of a similar scam in St. Petersburg Russia. Except over there, there’s a big bouncer named Boris strong arming you to pay.
Swazi Hitler Why? Everybody knows Turkish people are often fakers..
Muslim don’t care about civilised manners
ArrigAutist Muslims actually do care about manners pretty much.
ArmoNavi lol why are you so mad about all these ppl? Bad experiences?
Child suicide bomber just to name one…… if we talking about extremist muslims.
That happened to me in Saint Petersburg Russia, I talked about it on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQ6DFGPLY_c&t=5s
the sound is hard to hear with all the noise.
EDKsurly or is the noise hard to hear with all the sound ?
Quit complaining and go listen to it in a quieter room.
Turn down your freedom then.