Oplichterspraktijken: verschil tussen versies
Verwijderde inhoud Toegevoegde inhoud
k (Import from wikitravel.org/nl) |
k (Import from wikitravel.org/nl) |
||
Regel 22:
Dus moet je erin volharden om bij je geplande bestemming te worden afgeleverd. Soms weigert een chauffeur dit ondanks al je volharding. Vooral in India hebben taxi chauffeurs deze neiging en blijven dan stug volhouden dat dit gebouw toch echt het door jouw gewenste hotel is!
Als je dan met je bagage op de achterbank zit dan kan het helpen om bij een rood verkeerslicht uit te stappen. Meestal heeft de reisgids het bij het juiste eind en het is niet nodig om je persoonlijke veiligheid in gevaar te brengen omdat je zonodig het platgetreden pad moet verlaten.
<!--
=== Attraction closed ===
You may arrive at a major tourist destination only to find a very helpful local near the entrance explaining that there's a riot/holiday/official visit at the place you want to go and it is closed.
(Sometimes, taxi drivers are in cahoots with these helpful locals and will purposely drop you off to be received by them.) The local will then offer to take you to a lesser known but infinitely more beautiful sight or to a nice shop. Generally the destination is in fact open for business: simply refuse the offer and go and have a look. Even on the rare occasions when they are telling the truth they may not be as helpful as they seem, so it would be better to pursue your own backup plan. Just walk away from them and walk towards the main tourist entrance where they stop following you.
=== Insistent help ===
Sometimes a local will simply try and force themselves on you in order to help with a ticket machine, a subway map or directions. They might just be overly helpful but they may also be looking for, and demand, a small tip for their forced help. In general, be wary of anyone who forces their way into your personal space, and who starts doing things for you without asking you if you need them. If you have received help and then some coinage is demanded it's probably easier to pay it. However this kind of situation can also leave you vulnerable to substantial theft, be polite but firm, and then simply firm, by telling the person that you are fine now and that they should leave you alone.
===Just been robbed ===
This scam involves a person approaching you and asking you if you know where the police station is. He will seem frightened and shaken and inform you that he / she has just been robbed of the money he needed to get back home which is very likely to be in a different city or even country. Again they will get emotional and say the police perhaps won't be of much assistance and they will turn to you for help. Although they only expect you to happily hand over a small amount, the more people they con the more money they make themselves.
== Overcharging ==
These scams are based on your ignorance of the area and rely on getting you to pay well over the market rate for goods or services. Some will rely on a helpful local steering you to the goods, but others will simply involve quoting a high price to you. In some countries this is institutionalised: foreigners have to pay more even for genuine sights.
Getting a general sense of accommodation price ranges and the like is the best way to prevent being overcharged. In some places it's assumed that you'll bargain down overcharged prices, in others you will just have to walk away or pay up for goods although you should still challenge the amount in the case of a service if it is clearly overpriced.
===Currency swap===
If you are persuaded to buy souvenirs or other items from people selling on the street, look at the change you are given from the sale before putting it in your wallet - it may be in a different currency of similar appearance. For example, in China a street-vendor may hand you a 50 Ruble note in change instead of 50 Yuan; the former is worth three times less.
===Calculated price===
Precious metal items such as Gold bracelets are sold as 'dollars per gram' in some countries. Comparing the price between shops and then against the current gold price makes the practise appear open and transparent. So much so that you may rely on the seller to do the calculation, especially if it's 78 grams x $18. It won't be till later, if at all, that you will realise that the price you were charged is much more than the calculated price.
===Scenic taxi rides===
Since you don't know the area, taxi drivers can take advantage of you by taking a long route to your hotel and getting a large metered fare. The best prevention is knowledge: it's hard to learn a new city well enough to know a good route before you arrive for the first time. ALWAYS ask your hotel roughly what the taxi fare should be when you book or to arrange a pickup with them if they offer the service. Often you can negotiate a fixed price with a taxi before you get in and ask what the range of fare to your hotel will be. Good taxi drivers drive the route to your hotel every day and can give you a very accurate price before you or your luggage get into a cab. Watch your luggage as it is loaded! Get into the cab after luggage is loaded and out before it is out of the trunk.
If you can, go to a map website, print out the route, then hand this to the driver. Taxi drivers picking up fares at any international airport in the world are always looking for a good fare, and any opportunity to make it longer to justify their waiting time.
===Gem and other resale scams===
You are taken to a jewelry shop and offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to purchase gemstones or jewels at special discount prices. Another customer in the shop, well-dressed and perhaps from the same country as you, tells how he made incredible profits last year by reselling the gems and is now back for more. But hurry! The sale ends today and you have to pay cash.
Of course, once you get back home and try to sell your booty, it turns out to be low grade and worth only a fraction of what you paid for it. This scam is particularly prevalent in [[Bangkok]], but variations on the theme with other products that can supposedly be resold for vast profits are common elsewhere too. Another variation involves you exporting the gems for a supposed 'commission' in exchange for the scammer taking a photocopy of your ID cards and/or credit cards, which can of course be used to make a tidy profit in identity theft cottage industries.
== Coercion ==
These scams rely on trapping you in a bad situation and forcing you to pay money to get out of it. They're best prevented by avoiding the situation; once you're in it you may well have no option but to pay whatever it takes to get out of it safely. Many of these scams are bordering on illegal.
=== Free tours ===
You are offered a "free tour" of a shop or factory way out of town. Your driver may then suggest that you'll need to buy something if you want a ride back. The best prevention is avoidance, as if you're stuck out there you might well be compelled to do as she 'suggests'. Don't accept any kind of lift or offer of a tour without having a basic idea of where you're going and whether you will be able to get back if your driver deserts you.
=== Art school ===
You are met in the street by people who say they are art students. They speak English well and invite you to visit their school. Then they will try to get you to buy one of their works for an excessive price.
This scam is practiced in [[China]], particularly in [[Beijing]] and [[Xian]]. The "students" are often attractive young women.
===Nightlife tour===
You're approached by a well-dressed local gentleman or attractive woman, who suggests going for a drink in his/her favorite nightspot. When you arrive, the joint is near-deserted, but as soon as you sit down some scantily clad girls plop down next to you and order a few bottles of champagne. Your "friend" disappears, the bill runs into thousands and heavies block the door and flex their muscles until you pay up.
This is particularly common in Europe's larger cities, including [[London]], [[Istanbul]] and [[Budapest]]. The best defense is not to end up in this situation: pick the bar yourself, or at least back out immediately if they want to go somewhere that is not packed with locals. If you ''do'' end up in this situation, pay by credit card to get out, then cancel your card and dispute the bill immediately. The police are unlikely to be of much assistance, but filing a report may make it easier to get the charges canceled.
===Dual menus===
A few bars in China, especially [[Shanghai]], will give you a menu with reasonable prices to order drinks. Later they present a bill with much higher prices. If you argue, they produce a menu with those higher prices on it.
A variant of this is practiced in [[Bangkok]], where touts with laminated menus offer sex shows and cheap beer. The beer may indeed be cheap, but they'll add a stiff surcharge for the show.
The best way to avoid this is to stay out of sleazy tourist bars. You could also try hanging on to your menu or paying when your drinks are delivered, preferably with the right change.
=== Passport as security for debt or rental ===
You rent equipment like a jet ski or motorbike. You are asked to give your passport as a security guarantee. After returning the rented goods, the owner claims you damaged them and will ask for exaggerated prices to compensate. If you do not agree, they threaten to keep your passport. People also ''lose'' passports when holding them as security or guarantee for payment of a debt. This scam is used in almost all Thai tourist resorts, and is very effective.
'''Never hand over your passport as a security or guarantee in any circumstances'''. Pay cash (and get a receipt), or hand over something comparatively worthless, like your library card.
== Theft ==
These scams are outright theft: they involve putting you in a position where someone can take your money by force.
=== Pickpockets ===
Pickpockets are thieves who steal items — often wallets or passports, sometimes other valubles — from people's clothing and bags as they walk in a public place. For in-depth information on how to protect yourself from pickpockets, see [[Pickpockets]].
=== Credit card skimming ===
In this scam, you use your card to pay in a bar or restaurant. However, while your card is out of your sight, it is swiped not only in the machine that sends the information to your bank for approval, but in a second machine which copies the card's identifying information from the magnetic strip. The copy of the card, or the number, are then used by the third party to buy goods. Often this is an "inside" job: employees of the outlet are either using the information themselves or being paid to acquire it.
The best way to prevent this scam is to keep your card in your sight at all times. Unfortunately the typical restaurant custom is to let the restaurant staff take your card away and bring you back a receipt to sign: insisting on observing them while they handle your card may make you unpopular.
Otherwise, you can limit the damage done by credit card skimming by keeping receipts when you use your card and checking them against your credit card statement. Make sure the amounts match up and make sure there are no additional purchases you didn't make. Report any discrepancies to your credit card company: the liability rests with them not with you, as long as you report fraudulent transactions as soon as possible.
Credit-card skimming has sometimes gone a little bit more high-tech than this. Criminals have fitted several Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) in at least Dubai and Australia with card-readers so that card numbers were recorded when the card owner made a legitimate transaction with a bank-owned ATM. In this case, your best chance is likely to be simply checking your statement and reporting and disputing fraudulent transactions.
=== Maradona ===
The '''Maradona''' is a scam that is very common in [[Romania]], especially in the capital [[Bucharest]]. Someone will approach you and attempt to engage you in a conversation (in English), typically - although not always - about something vaguely illicit. Seconds later, two men will appear in plain clothes but flashing legitimate-looking police badges. They will accuse you and your "new acquaintance" of some illegal activity (usually 'currency swapping', a totally ridiculous charge in a country where legitimate currency exchanges are more common than streetlights), and demand to see your wallet and/or passport.
'''Do not hand them these things!''' Keep your documents and belongings in your pocket and out of sight....
Walk away, or yell, or tell them outright that you do not believe that they are the police, or suggest that you all walk to the lobby of a nearby hotel (or police station) because you are not comfortable taking out your wallet or papers in the street, or whatever. These con men thrive because the police fail to enforce laws against non-violent crime and because some foreigners are easily gulled. They will not physically attack you: the treatment of violent offenders is severe - these men are professionals, and they would never be foolish enough to chance a physical attack.
'''Never threaten to call the police or fight them.'''
While 'professional', the con men are usually armed and can be very dangerous.
=== Out of Gas ===
A person (perhaps an attractive person of the opposite sex) will approach you on the street, telling you that their car just ran out of gas and is only few blocks away. They'll usually first ask for money for gas. If you don't believe them, or try to walk away, they may beg you to come with them to the car to see that they are telling the truth. Of course, they'll explain that they <i>really</i> need the money because grandma is sick, or they have a big presentation at school/work, etc. Often, the person is well dressed and looks like they really could be a student or professional in distress, and you'll be tempted to believe the story and/or follow them to help out.
Do not do this! Your best way out is to use the standard line that you don't have any money and you've got an important meeting/lunch/appointment/etc. that you have to get to. <i>Do not</i> follow the person to thier car, as it usually happens to be on a deserted street or dark alley, where others are waiting to rob you.
=== Distraction ===
Distraction thefts take a variety of forms. Generally the thieves work in groups: one will distract you and the other will rob you while you're distracted. Sometimes a single thief will rely on a ready-made distracton like a busker or a departure board. Sometimes the distraction can be pleasant, such as having an attractive accomplice talk to you, but sometimes it's very nasty, such as throwing rotten eggs or faeces over you and robbing you while you panic or clean yourself up. On some Asian beaches, fake drownings are used. You plunge in to help and your belongings are rifled.
A common distraction scam in [[Eastern Europe]] is a staged fight, usually between children, during which someone bumps into you and snatches your belongings. The best response is to recognize the scam and give any kids heading your way a firm shove back and perhaps a choice turn of phrase; it is of course also wise to keep belongings out of a pickpocket's reach.
It's best to be aware of what's going on around you in any public place and to be a little suspicious of strangers who appear to be trying to single you out. If you are the victim of a minor assault, suspect that it's the prelude to a robbery attempt and if you feel safe enough, try and get in a position where you can look after your belongings. Unfortunately you may need to refuse the help of concerned onlookers; it's common to have an accomplice pose as a concerned onlooker.
=== Streetwalkers ===
Sexually attractive people are a fine distraction, and conspicuously available ones even more so. However, sampling the local streetwalkers puts you at risk of crime. Prostitutes can be used as bait for a variety of scams:
* leading you into an armed robbery
* having a confederate go through your clothes while you are out of them
* a bogus "outraged family member" (or cop) appearing and needing to be bought off
* hidden cameras and eventual blackmail
Even if you do not allow them to lead you anywhere, streetwalkers can be dangerous. A person who brings one to his hotel is quite likely to miss his watch or wallet in the morning.
If you are willing to take the health and legal risks of hiring a prostitute, go to a "massage shop", "sauna" or whatever the local euphemism is. These establishments are significantly safer than the street workers.
-->
[[fr:Arnaques courantes]]
| |||