NOTE: Back in 2024, on the very first day of our US – Europe trip, we were also scammed by a so called “taxi” driver, when we landed in Los Angeles. The driver charged us US$150 from LAX airport to flower street, in downtown Los Angeles, which was an excessive amount of money. He claimed to be from the Philippines, and that his car was in his workplace’s garage. We are upset about this too, especially it was the first day of our four week holiday. Please be aware of these taxi scams, they occur worldwide, and only use officially marked taxis. Do not use unmarked cars.
Additionally, be careful around train stations such as the Brussels – Midi/Brussels – Zuid (Brussels, Belgium) as there are other scammers, including the toilet ticket scammer. These scammers will come towards you, compliment you – or whatever you are wearing – after they notice that you need to use the toilet, and want to pay the toilet machine. They will often offer to pay for you, giving you a “ticket” – either these are old tickets, or a fake ones. Often, these scammers will be pushy or demanding. In my case, they grabbed my hand and a woman intervened but despite this, the scammer kept being pushy, loud and aggressive despite the woman’s warning that she will call the police on him. She reluctantly said I go with the man, and I went reluctantly to pay him to use the toilet. Not cool, so please look out for scammers such as this toilet ticket scammer.
During our four week break, (two weeks in the USA – San Francisco and Los Angeles, and two weeks approx in Europe – England and France) everything was fine – we went to Disneyland in Los Angeles, shopped at Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills – a place where many celebrities shop for luxury goods at and we went sightseeing, as well as visiting family and I caught up with my old friends in London, from high school. Everything was fine and the trip went smoothly – except for the taxi scam (mentioned above) and later, us falling victims to a pickpocket scam in Paris. I am going to share my experience with the petition scam AKA the clipboard scam, in the hopes that everyone else is aware about the scam, and that no one falls victim to this.
On the first full day in Paris, and I was already in love with the city since stepping of the Eurostar train at Gare du Nord, the day before. The people are so friendly and helpful, and Paris (and the rest of France) has a very romantic feel to it. What I also loved about Paris was that the French also have a very good sense of fashion too. So, that very morning we got up early, excited to go to the Louvre museum, and so we went to the Louvre via the hop on-hop off bus. We admired the French scenery while on the bus, and after a few stops, we finally reached the Louvre. Keen to get inside to admire the amazing artwork, got off the bus and went to the gates of the Louvre. However, not long upon stepping inside the gates of the Louvre (but still outside of the museum), three women accosted us, all with clipboards. They were quite pretty and well dressed in appearance. They came up to us with petition and they demanded that we signed the petition. The petition was towards the funding of the museum (and from my memory, possibly something about the deaf as well) They made us pay a Euro as well. Luckily, I did not pay any Euros or sign the petition (and luckily, we did not carry our passports on us either!) We were both coerced into signing the petition. Mum signed it, but I refused to. The women were aggressive in demeanor, although they were rather pretty and well dressed. The women then dispersed, and we went on our merry way to explore the museum.
Once we realized our Euros was missing, we realized that those three women, in which mum signed the petition that they asked us to sign, had stolen 400 Euros worth of cash from us! I was very stressed out, mum went to the police and I was very upset that we ended up spending half the day at a police station in Paris, given that we went to Paris to have a nice holiday! The police took mum’s report – the matter is now in the hands of the French police. Those thieves were smart – and they outsmarted us, with the clipboard being an obvious distraction, and the request for us to give them a Euro was very likely an excuse for the pickpocketers to get money from mum’s wallet – because she took out her wallet!
We have learnt a valuable lesson from this trip – we will not get into any unmarked “taxi” like in the case of Los Angeles, and never ever sign a petition from unverified sources, again. Mum has been way too kind to beggars on the streets, but now that has changed – we will not give anymore handout money to beggars. We will continue to support buskers, (like Queenstown and Europe for example) as they bring joy to the streets. We will be more cautious with anyone who approaches us, especially beggars. And more importantly, we will do our own research before travelling in relation to scams, and other types of common crimes against tourists.
After doing some research on these scams, unfortunately, this is not the only type of scam out there. There are many – the bracelet scam, (often carried out by African immigrants in Europe), the “gold ring” scam, the rose scam, counterfeit goods, the “helpful local” scam, the “baby holder” scam and so on. Since this list is not exhaustive, and there are many more types of scams out there, will not list all of them, but I will post helpful sources in this blog at the bottom of this blog. And remember, do your research before travelling in regards to scams, never buy counterfeit items, and invest in an anti theft device. And always make sure your valuables and money is with you at all times. Never carry more cash than needed at one go – this is an easy opportunity for thieves to steal your money.
By following these tips and advice while travelling, you should stay safe. Remember, there is plenty of information on the internet from police and government sources as well as travel and tourist agencies. There are also stories from tourists who have fallen victims to these scams. So there is no excuse not to do any research beforehand.
Here’s ways on how you can avoid these scams:
- Never leave your drinks unattended – it is very easy for thieves to spike your drink so that they can steal your money, bag, wallet, passport and other valuables while you’re unconscious.
- Never sign any fake petitions – this is one of the tactics thieves to take money from your bag. The clipboard acts as a distraction, while the donation request is just an excuse for the pickpocketers to see where your wallet is. Most of these scammers are from organized criminal groups originating in Eastern Europe, although a few may be from the Middle East, and even Africa.
- Do not let anyone (especially those African “vendors”) place a bracelet around your hand. They will force you to wear the bracelet, then force you to pay them for it. Say loudly and firmly “NO”.
- Be wary of restaurants that have no fixed price. Don’t go to restaurants such as the DK Oyster bar in Mykonos, and do your research before going to a restaurant. Avoid restaurants that have mainly bad reviews.
- Do not hop into any unmarked “taxi”. Licensed taxis will have an official marking on them, and it’s illegal for an unmarked car to claim themselves as an official taxi and to pick up passengers.
- Don’t give beggars any money. Not only there is a risk that they will use this money to purchase illegal drugs, tobacco or alcohol, they could actually not be homeless, but they could be scammers or criminals pretending to be homeless. You could be funding their criminal activities. Being kind is a good thing, but it should not be applied to every random person on the street you meet. Use kindness with caution – some people exploit your acts of kindness and use it against you – like stealing money, for instance. Just because Jacinda Ardern says “be kind to everyone”, doesn’t mean you should. Scammers and thieves deserve no money or acts of kindness. Give no money, no smiles, and no acts of kindness to these criminals.
- Do NOT buy fake luxury bags. In some European countries (and also around much of the western world) you could be fined for this, with penalties going up t0 the price of a Chanel bag! You might as well invest in a genuine Schiaparelli or a Chanel bag, at the price of the hefty fine for buying fake bags from a “vendor”. Besides the point, counterfeits fund child labour, terrorism, drug and human trafficking and the quality of the product is very poor, and could potentially harm your health.
- NEVER buy fake currency, or currency from sellers on the street. It’s against the law to use fake money. The penalties for this can range from fines to imprisonment, and a criminal record. If you see anyone claiming to sell currency, report it.
- Don’t take photos of people in “costumes” or with them. They will ask you to pay a huge amount of money for doing so. We have been warned about these in Los angeles, and have seen these people doing this in Europe.
- Do not play games by scammers such as the cup and ball game. These scammers win every single time, and you lose every time, and they are the ones who get the money.
- Invest in an anti theft bag and other anti theft/anti in flight theft gadgets. This makes it much harder for your valuables to be stolen. These can be bought on sites such as Amazon or other verified sites. Avoid low quality sites like Temu, as products from sites like Temu may not work against thieves.
- Never assume any country is safe from crime, including pickpockets – just because they are listed as being “peaceful” or one of the most safest countries in the world. New Zealand is a prime example, along with European countries like Ireland, Denmark and Switzerland – Pickpocketing is in fact, rampant in all of these countries – and as a local New Zealander, I would like to emphasize that we do have pickpockets, notably in areas like Rotorua, Taupo and South Auckland. Moreover, New Zealand – Auckland, Rotorua and Wellington in particular have problems with violent crime and gangs. The Guinness factory in Ireland (along with Irish pubs), in fact, will have some of these scammers around – the same clipboard people found at the Gare Du Nord, the Eiffel tower and other places. Assumptions is the biggest mistake anyone can make, as people let their guard down and they are given a false sense of security. And this can lead you to becoming a victim of crime and pickpocketing while travelling. And note: The same can also be said, even for “honest” countries like Japan and Singapore.
- Do not assume that countries like Japan, Australia, New Zealand and other countries, including Denmark and Ireland, are safe for leaving your valuables lying around. Some tourists took their passports to Bondi Beach in Sydney, and ended up losing their passports to thieves. You can watch the full video in this on Bondi Rescue – on YouTube in the link provided. So do not leave valuable stuff or important items, such as passports, lying around unattended anywhere, regardless of country, or place. False assumptions that certain countries, such as New Zealand, Canada, Australia, Japan, Ireland, Denmark and certain European countries are very dangerous.
Useful links/sources
- 15 Europe scams you need to know before your trip
- Paris Police warn tourists about “petition” scam
- Official PDF file from the French Police: A guide to staying safe in Paris
- Nightcap – drink spiking prevention items *This site sells items that is handy when going to bars in Europe (or anywhere else), as pickpocketers spike drinks with the intention of robbing their victim*
- List of anti in flight theft devices – link here
- Information on some examples of anti theft gadgets can be found here
Photo on blog post cover by Dmitry Shulga on Unsplash
NATALIE DUNN 
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