Comments on: Paris: Smart tourists know these 3 scams

By: Kim

Kim — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 14:56:15 +0000

This happened in Berlin, not Paris, and its actually more like a mugging than a scam, but anyway, what happened was, I was walking down the street (in a very wealthy part of the city, incidentally) and a guy walking in the opposite direction asked me for the time. Not being even slightly suspicious, I got out my iPhone to tell him, and in a split second he grabbed my phone and sprinted. So be careful if anyone asks you the time!!

By: Bes

Bes — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:36:17 +0000

Gabriella,
This EXACT thing happened to me just last night, at the Nord station in Paris. Except he claimed to be a Jewish Canadian banker but the “girlfriend + children”, “messing up the card PIN”, “I am so ashamed to be asking this, so embarrassed (with tears in his eyes), “I can leave you my watch and even my spectacles and get it back later” etc, ALL HAPPENED.

I asked to see his passport but he said his gf had it with his jacket (it was an early December evening, why would you NOT have your jacket, or any kind of ID on you for that matter?) and that she was so stressed out that he did not want to make it worse by letting her find out he was asking strangers for money.

Yeah, I almost knew it was a scam but stupidly I gave him money. 80 euros, such a dumb move.

I wish I had done more study on these scammers before I left for my trip – I hope others will take note and give this guy a kick in the balls for me if he approaches you.

By: PVG

PVG — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 13:42:06 +0000

Last week me and my friend were in Paris and almost got pick-pocketed by the same girl twice! She used the same trick both times: the girl was in a group of ‘deaf’ people, trying to get people signing a petition. When we kept on walking one of the girls kept following us. Suddenly she reached out for my friends backpack. We managed to avoid the actual theft, but were stunned by the fact how fast it happened.

Also, if every offered ring was as valuable as they pretended them to be, I could open a museum myself with golden rings, not mentioning the amount of 10-euro bracelets!

Be aware of those scammers, Paris is a nice place, but people like that ruin it a bit…

By: El Samo

El Samo — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 04:24:42 +0000

Just got back from Paris … Had the ring scam tried on us by a dude around the Place de la Concorde. Sensed something off, but didn’t really get the point. Thankfully the scammer didn’t either. He was the world’s worst short con!

Now … Lest I seem like the world’s second most insensitive bastard … Has anyone had any experience with “the lady balling her frickin’ eyeballs out” at Pere Lachaise cemetery?

Not sure if it’s a scam … But this lady literally started wailing uncontrollably at a grave just as and only as we walked past her. (North West corner by the Holocost memorials).

Maybe she was legitimately bereft? But something didn’t seem 100%.

By: PC

PC — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 18:50:55 +0000

I seem to be approached less frequently than many other tourists in Paris. I have tried to analyse why this is and I think its partly to do with the way I dress (clothing quite similar to the locals), not carrying a map and looking like I know where I am going (which is usually the case anyway). In other words I appear confident. I do get approached occasionally, but if I am with my partner it is a rare occurence. I am convinced that this is because she is of African appearance. We tested this at Sacre Couer recently where no African guys approached us with the bracelet scam while they were going for everyone else very aggressively. We seemed unable to get them interested in us. Maybe other tourists from ethnic minorities could comment on this. Maybe its just coincidence or they thought we were undercover police!

The police do act. I know that in Montmartre they patrol on bikes and lift people quite regularly. The difficulty is that many of the perpetrators are under the age of criminal responsibility (14 like a lot of european countries). The Roma operate here in the UK, but can’t do the deaf mute scam because our age of responsibility is 10 so they would not be prosecuted. The police in France have a tough job. They can’t run sting operations as they are prevented from anything that could be considered entrapment. Many of the locals look out for tourists and will intervene if they see someone being scammed.

The vast majority of people in Paris are very welcoming and friendly. Avoid the tourist parts of town and go where the locals go. I never pay more than 2e50 for a coffee and eat well for very little. However, learning some French gives you a huge increase in credibility with the locals.

As far as retaliation is concerned, the problem is numbers. I can look after myself in a fight, but not if I had four or five guys against me. I would not recommend getting involved physically. Avoid eye contact, block out what they say and move on.

By: katey

katey — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 14:28:09 +0000

got caught by the ring scam because I didn’t know about it. I gave the guy 10 E because I thought he was so nice. He haggled me for more and then I knew it was a scam and told him to get lost and enjoy the 10E i gave him. I plan to do the exact same scam with the ring to a tourist in the louvre when I go there. It will work better for me because I am also a tourist and can pretend I’m out of euro and really hungry and would appreciate 10 E for some lunch. I wonder if it will work?????? haha

By: Howard Freeland

Howard Freeland — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:16:14 +0000

Oh and for the “do you speak English one”, I do speak Russian and responding in Russian blows them away really fast.

By: Howard Freeland

Howard Freeland — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:14:57 +0000

I was caught by the ring scam several years ago and kept the ring which cost me 10 Euros and I’ve used it to good effect in Paris.

A few months ago I was approached 3 times with the ring scam, I feigned interest, said it was amazing, and after 30 seconds of interest say, that is so amazing, you really found it on the ground, oh yes of course, I wonder if there are any more, hey look, I found one, wow it looks just the same as yours, we have one each now.

I was accosted by one angry woman accusing me of stealing her ring, she said it was hers, I said, no you have one already, this is mine.

By: Paris, France and its Voracious Vendors | 562

Paris, France and its Voracious Vendors | 562 — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 05:29:12 +0000

[...] From then on, I fended off each of these encounters by feigning Icelandic or occasionaly Welsh. Also, a little pre-trip internet search had also shown me the value of keeping your hands in your pockets. [...]

By: todd

todd — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 23:13:32 +0000

Another good way to avoid the bracelet people is to keep your hands in your pocket so they can’t get the string around your wrist. I’ve experienced the card trick in Berlin before, didn’t happen to me in Paris. Nor did I experience the ring trick, but many of the roma and pickpockets have incredibly elaborate ways to separate you from your money.
A girl got robbed right outside my hostel in Madrid. 2 guys came up behind her, one with ketchup on his hand. He put his hand on the girl’s head and says “you’re bleeding” as soon as the girl’s hands touch her head, the accomplice reached in her purse and took her wallet.
Always keep your wits up.