World’s Biggest Travel Scams

Click Here And Learn How To Avoid Scams Online


Here are some of the major scams you may run into when you travel.
1. The Mustard or Bird Poop on your Clothes Scam.
2. The Mother & Children Scam
3. The Bump Scam
4. Hotel & Fake Wifi Scam
5. Taxi Scams
6. Street Games Scam
7. The $1 Bet Question Scam

Best ways to get robbed, ripped off or Scammed while traveling. Know these common tricks and you should have a much safer and less ripped off vacation, holiday or stay.
filmed in Vienna, Austria
Copyright Mark Wolters 2014

60 Comments on “World’s Biggest Travel Scams”

  1. In the North train station in Paris there were three young girls that wanted me to sign a petition to help blind people. They asked me in English, and the petition was in English, not French. I told them to go away. Then one of them saw a police officer, and they left quickly.

    Avoid being distracted, and avoid accepting anything handed to you on the street, or in a crowded public place.

    1. Elliott Stoddard my uncle signed a petition to help african people in paris and left without paying it! I Love to remember the disappointed faces of the coups hahahah

  2. I was a street magician in Chicago for many years and part of my routine was the 3 shell game and the 3 card monte. I never let anyone bet on these games I only accepted tips for entertaining them. So it is ok to watch or play just never ever bet money, you will lose. I’m a professional and I can’t win the game unless it is my game that I am in charge of. So enjoy the street magicians, but avoid the gambling games.

    1. “Mister, palace is closed today because special ceremoney…lucky Buddha day…..but I can take you to …..”  

    2. Tosh T Money switch, taxi meter quickly turned off, and higher price. Empty shrimp shells in take out order in Bali.

    1. Noot fake restaurants will give out flyers and when you order online and use your credit card they’ll steal your information

  3. Another scam I faced in Paris is the signing invitation. At most of the tourist places, specially Eiffel Tower, someone will come to you with a pen and a paper in his/her hands asking you to sign. At first glance you’ll think of it like some kind of petition to sign for children, disabled persons, etc. But after you have signed you will be informed that you have to pay an amount for this, e.g. 10-50 euros. And they don’t speak English.

  4. There are people here in Ireland who will go up to random people and say that they really need money and will do their best to guilt you into giving them some ,I have seen these people in the same area of Dublin when I visit ,there is a street called Grafton street in Dublin that has a few,one always comes up to me whenever I am there.

  5. #Milan, Railway station, Italy: Someone stole my binoculars.
    #Paris, Tuilleries France: Gypsies tried to pull off the goldring trick twice.
    #Swinoujscie Harbour, Poland: Very helpfull “students” claiming to be tourist guides and windscreen cleaners demanding money for their sloppy services.

    #My hometown, Sweden (which is full of begging gypsies now): A guy in a Mercedes trying to sell fake Armani-suits.

    I have travelled extensively in Russia & the Baltics but I have never been robbed or scammed there.

    1. Frank Saxon Gypsies settled in Europe centuries ago. They are more European than mane more recent newcomers. Unless you use some unusual definition of europeanness.

    2. A lot of the gypsies in France are Romanians. I was in the subway, waiting on a crowded platform, and a very poor looking woman came to me begging in French and English to give her the fare to go to a faraway suburb to pick up her children. She was crying. It wasn’t much money to me, so as I was pulling out my wallet, my best friend (who emigrated from Romania to the U.S. at age 9) told me to put away my wallet and then she spoke Romanian to royally chew the woman out for trying to steal from me. The look on that woman’s face was priceless. So was mine!

    3. Roma gypsies are not Romanians! Avoid them at all cost. Better safe than sorry. Same with the African migrants handing out bracelets. Don’t be dumb and argue that this isn’t politically correct… just common sense. Most people that get robbed are naive, kind, compassionate people as they are easy prey. Just avoid them.

    4. pawelpap9 except they don’t intermix with other european cultures so they have their own distinct race (roma/gypsy people) and live in their own communities of thieves

  6. Do as many European men do. Don’t put your money, passport etc in your pockets but use a men bag. You can hold your hand on your bag while walking around. It’s much safer.

    1. +5winder I don’t know where you’re from but in Europe most of the straight men use men bags. There is nothing gay about it… But of course if you have a problem with everything it’s best to stay away….

  7. Another anoying thing, is when over-the-counter sellers of especially food products like say you want X balls of ice cream in a cup, and seller play “stupid”, waiting for you to pick the extra selection, or at the bakery, putting one extra product in the paperbag, and place the extra charge on the label. If they at the beginning understand that you dont know their language well, they may push this “trick”, as they know you might not bother trying to explain that you want less than what they suggest.

  8. In Europe, avoid gypsies whatsoever, they never bring anything good. Do not interfere with beggars, sketchy vendors. If they try to start conversation with you just ignore them and walk your way. Hire official tour guides, ask hotel staff, do online research about potential risks. Watch your valuables eventhough you are inside hotel loggy or restaurant. Make a plan of how much you gonna spend on single day and never carry all money with you. You do not need to carry your whole wallet either. Just CC, some cash and travel insurance card. Passport can be left in hotel safe as well. Carry a pepper spray with you and be ready to use it when necessary. You can avoid being scammed in restaurants by reading reviews beforehand. Just do not be lazy try to get as much info beforehand and risk of being scammed goes significantly down. Most of scams happen, just because people are too naive and unprepared.

    1. It all depend on the country. In some it’s illegal to posses a pepper spray- Ireland is an example of that.

    2. You don’t need ID in every European country. Scandinavia and the Nordic countries you don’t need any, unless you’re trying to prove you’re old enough to drink.

    3. Kyppy84 gypsies I’ve seen in turkey bulgaria and romania are mostly harmless and sometimes even friendly, they just sit in their horse carts and smoke

    1. Andrew Gerges yes it is. There is danger everywhere, but I am a woman, I’ve travelled to Western Europe many times. I am even planning to move to Germany.

    2. Billy TheKidd Maybe you watch too many American movies. You don’t get shot in the US, particularly if you do not go to places you have no business visiting in the first place. Tourist places are generally much safer in the US than in Europe. For one nobody will ever touch you as one can get arrested in the US for doing that.

    3. Overwhelmingly yes, you just have to watch out for scammers in tourist traps and large sights in the bigger cities like Paris and Rome

  9. I always carry an old wallet, bulging with shredded newspapers, but with a single sheet of paper with a message in at least 15 languages thanks to Google Translate: “Mo****ed was a child rapist.”
    How I love pickpockets in Europe!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *