HOLIDAY MAKERS have been warned about a popular scam targeting visitors to popular tourist destinations in Europe.
Whether you are visiting the Eiffel Tower or the Trevi Fountain, it is essential that you are aware of the various dangers and how to avoid them.
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Although most tourists are aware of taxi fraud, only buy tickets for attractions from official companies and hold on to their suitcases, this summer there is a new risk for holidaymakers.
“A bracelet scam is spreading across Europe,” travel expert Jessica Dante told The Daily Express.
This is similar to the common scam where people give out free roses, often to people dining or drinking at a restaurant, to provide a distraction while someone picks their pockets.
The bracelet scam “uses the same principle, but the scammer will try to put a bracelet on your wrist,” Dante explains.
European cities such as Paris, Milan and Rome in particular have been identified as common locations for scams.
The website Rome Vacation Tips warns tourists in the Eternal City that the scam is “extremely common” there and that sellers will use “friendly chat” and “guilt tactics” to take money from you.
While some use the friendship bracelet as a distraction for pickpockets, others pressure people, especially couples, into accepting a “free” friendship bracelet before demanding money.
‘EDGE FOR MY LIFE’
A tourist from Paris shared his experience when he encountered a con man in Montmartre and ‘ran for his life’ after pushing away a group of men who had surrounded him.
“I was a victim of the bracelet scam… I’m a little shocked. It was all very scary,” he said in a TikTok video.
“It was very intimidating, because he was a very big, tall man, and he was like, ‘Get him, get him.’ And I was like, ‘No, thank you. No, thank you. No, thank you.’ Until he aggressively grabbed my arm, it hurt me.
“The more I would try to resist it, the more men and other scammers would come running to me.
“And the other guy said ‘Respect him. Respect him. Stay quiet.’ And I said ‘I respect him, I just don’t want it, please let me go.'”
“The same thing happened to my friend and I on our way to Montmartre, they robbed us for about €150,” another TikToker replied.
Meanwhile, a tourist in Rome took to Reddit to recount the time he saw a woman being shouted at by a scammer, telling her to “Delete the video or pay me!” while threatening her to call the police after he gave her a bracelet datum.
“She was desperately trying to tell him she didn’t have any video. He was very aggressive and she started showing him her pictures… I jumped in, put my arm around her and made her walk with me,” he explained.
“Someone was probably about to take her now unlocked phone and access every damn thing on it, and NEVER ENGAGE!”
GUILT JOURNEY
Couples should especially be alert to the scam that Dante mentioned.
This is because “the scammer plays on romantic emotions by making one partner feel obligated to participate and not reject the romantic gesture to hurt their partner’s feelings.”
Common tourist scams in European cities:
- Taxi scam – Only visit official stands. Insist that taxi drivers turn on the meter and if they say it is broken, leave as this is a common scam, just like telling passengers that the price is higher than what the meter shows.
- Petition – Here tourists are approached to sign a charity petition and often make a donation. This will be fake because the money will go elsewhere and you could be pickpocketed while signing.
- Rose or friendship bracelet – Used as a distraction for pickpockets or to pressure tourists into giving money despite initially saying it was a ‘free’ gift
- Street Card Games – Such games attract large crowds of people who are all distracted by watching the game. This allows pickpockets to take things unnoticed. At the same time, those who play the games lose extra money.
- ATM scams – Some ATMs may be equipped with skimmer devices that clone card information. Check to see if anything is loose or unusual about the machine before inserting your card. It is best to go to ATMs in banks.
One man took advantage of this after being approached by a ‘He was a ‘very nice and talkative man.
“He offered me and my wife a ‘free’ bracelet,” he explained on Reddit.
“I politely refused, but he eventually managed to get a bracelet around our wrists and then demanded (quite aggressively) €10, €5 per bracelet.”
While Dante advises people to “stay away and reject immediately,” other experts advise a tougher and more “unnatural” approach when dealing with such scammers.
The bracelet scam “preys on the natural human instinct not to be rude,” the experts at Rome Vacation Tips explain.
“To counter the strange psychology of the scam, we must act in an unnatural way.”
“Ignore the scammer completely… Pretend he literally doesn’t exist.”
If a bracelet is already halfway around your wrist, it is advisable to push it off.
“We have recently heard reports of scammers becoming more aggressive and intimidating,” the experts warn. It is therefore even more important that tourists do not engage with scammers under any circumstances.
The Sun previously reported on advice given to tourists visiting the Sacre Coeur who faced the same scam.
Meanwhile, holidaymakers in Florence are faced with another scam: fake art.
A simple money fraud has been committed in Spain where tourists were urged to check their change.