HOLIDAYMAKERS have been warned about a popular scam targeting visitors to popular tourist destinations in Europe.
Whether you visit the Eiffel Tower or the Trevi Fountain, it is crucial that you are aware of the different dangers and how to avoid them.
While most tourists are aware of taxi fraud, only buy tickets to attractions from official companies and hold on to their suitcases, there is a new risk for holidaymakers this summer.
“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 places for scams.
The website Rome Vacation Tips warns tourists in the Eternal City that the scam is “particularly common” there and that sellers will use “friendly chat” and “guilt tactics” to extort 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.
‘RUN FOR MY LIFE’
A tourist from Paris shared his experience of encountering a scammer in Montmartre who saw him ‘running for his life’ after pushing away a group of men who had surrounded him.
“I was a victim of the bracelet fraud… 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 said ‘Get him, get him.’ And I said something like, ‘No, thank you.’ Until he aggressively grabbed my arm, it hurt me.
“The more I resisted it, the more men and other scammers would come after me.
“And the other man said, ‘Respect him. Respect him. Stay quiet.’ And I thought, ‘I respect him, I just don’t want it, please let me go.'”
“The same thing happened to my friend and I when we drove to Montmartre. They robbed us about 150 euros,” another TikToker responded.
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 frantically trying to tell him she didn’t have video. He was very aggressive and she started showing him her pictures… I jumped in, put my arm around her and made her walk away with me,” he explained.
“Someone would probably take her now unlocked phone and gain access to every damn thing on it, and they NEVER HAD TO DO ANYTHING!”
DEBT TRIP
According to Dante, couples should be extra alert to this scam.
This is because “the scammer plays on romantic emotions by making one partner feel obligated to participate and not rejecting the romantic gesture to hurt his partner’s feelings.”
Common tourist scams in European cities:
- Taxi scams – Only visit official stands. Insist that taxi drivers turn on the meter and if they say it is broken, get out as this is a common scam, just like telling passengers 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 goes somewhere else and you can 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 groups of people who are all distracted by watching the game. This allows pickpockets to take items without being noticed. At the same time, those who play the games lose extra money.
- ATM scam – Some ATMs may be equipped with skimmer devices that clone card information. Check the machine for anything loose or unusual 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 declined, but he eventually got a bracelet on both of our wrists and then (quite aggressively) demanded €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 “plays 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 they literally don’t exist.”
If a bracelet is already halfway around your wrist, it is advisable to push it off.
“We have recently heard reports that scammers are becoming more aggressive and intimidating,” the experts warned, making it even more important that tourists refuse to interact with scammers in any way.
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.
In Spain, a simple money scam has led to officials urging tourists to double-check their change.