you walk away in one direction, your luggage
disappears in the opposite direction.
and they can pester you and try various
methods to extract your cash or personal
information
in
the
years
ahead.
Taxi scams are high on the vigilance list. It
Travel scams work because they are for the
could be a simple matter of rushing to the
most part, simple scenarios that take advantage
airport, giving the driver money for the fare,
of your fears or your
receiving your change
gullibility or your
in a wad of bills, all
sense of good will.
clumped together, and
One of the more
then when the taxi
innocent scams I
takes speeds away,
encountered was the
you realize that s/he
powdered milk scam
has shortchanged you.
in Kathmandu where
Another popular scam
a
young
boy
is the taxi meter that is
attaches himself to a
pre-set from when the
tourist and provides
last passenger was in
information on the
the taxi. You don’t
historic temples, for
notice this and all of a
free. After a while,
sudden the inexpensive
impressed with the
ride to the hotel or
restaurant is double what
boy’s knowledge of the
Durbar Square, Kathmandu. One of the places you
can encounter the milk scam
you expected. Or there is
area, the tourist offers
the phony night time charge
some money. The boy
scenario where the taxi, instead of taking you to
refuses and suggests that the tourist can buy a
the front door of the restaurant or hotel, parks
box of powdered milk for the boy’s family. In the
several meters away and then demands a
spirit of being magnanimous and worldly, the
special night time surcharge on the amount that
tourist agrees and sometimes will even buy 2-3
the taxi meter is displaying. The aggressive
boxes of the milk, which can sell for $8.00driver may keep the doors locked and try to
$10.00 a box. With tears of gratitude, the boy
intimidate you into paying. (In this case, the
thanks the tourist and departs. But as soon as
best strategy is to insist that the driver pull up to
the tourist is out of site, the boy returns the
the front door of the resort so you can check
boxes to the store where he gets $2.00 per box
with the concierge about the night time charge.
commission. The storekeeper puts the boxes
The driver will usually accept the metered Fare
back on the shelf for a repeat performance later
and leave quickly).
in the day. Everyone walks away feeling good.
And we have all been subject to internet and
email scams, where someone has ‘found’ $20
million dollars and is willing to share it with
YOU. All you have to do is provide them with
your name, address, phone, and bank account
number. As soon as you open an email
attachment or even respond to the scammer,
you have basically accomplished what they set
out to do—which is to cast their net large
(by sending out thousands of these emails) and
then wait for a few responses. Even if you ask
to be removed from future email transmissions,
the scammers now know that your email is ‘live’
Being aware of travel scams and how they work
is part of the preparation that any traveller
should undergo before they set out to explore,
whether it’s a package tour, a luxury cruise or
independent travel. Always be vigilant, use
hotel safes to store your valuables, take
minimal cash with you when you are out and
about, and retain a healthy scepticism when
meeting new people. There are just too many
scenarios where a traveller who has known a
friendly local for less than 5 minutes, decides to
put their total trust in the person and the results
are sometimes disastrous.