NOTE: On the very first day of our US - Europe trip, we were also scammed by a so called "taxi" driver, when we landed in Los Angeles. The driver charged us US$150 from LAX airport to flower street, in downtown Los Angeles, which was an excessive amount of money. He claimed to be from the Philippines, and that his car was in his workplace's garage. We are upset about this too, especially it was the first day of our four week holiday. Please be aware of these taxi scams, they occur worldwide, and only use officially marked taxis. Do not use unmarked cars.
During our four week break, (two weeks in the USA - San Francisco and Los Angeles, and two weeks approx in Europe - England and France) everything was fine - we went to Disneyland in Los Angeles, shopped at Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills - a place where many celebrities shop for luxury goods at and we went sightseeing, as well as visiting family and I caught up with my old friends in London, from high school. Everything was fine and the trip went smoothly - except for the taxi scam (mentioned above) and later, us falling victims to a pickpocket scam in Paris. I am going to share my experience with the petition scam AKA the clipboard scam, in the hopes that everyone else is aware about the scam, and that no one falls victim to this.
On the first full day in Paris, and I was already in love with the city since stepping of the Eurostar train at Gare du Nord, the day before. The people are so friendly and helpful, and Paris (and the rest of France) has a very romantic feel to it. What I also loved about Paris was that the French also have a very good sense of fashion too. So, that very morning we got up early, excited to go to the Louvre museum, and so we went to the Louvre via the hop on-hop off bus. We admired the French scenery while on the bus, and after a few stops, we finally reached the Louvre. Keen to get inside to admire the amazing artwork, got off the bus and went to the gates of the Louvre. However, not long upon stepping inside the gates of the Louvre (but still outside of the museum), three women accosted us, all with clipboards. They were quite pretty and well dressed in appearance. They came up to us with petition and they demanded that we signed the petition. The petition was towards the funding of the museum (and from my memory, possibly something about the deaf as well) They made us pay a Euro as well. Luckily, I did not pay any Euros or sign the petition (and luckily, we did not carry our passports on us either!) We were both coerced into signing the petition. Mum signed it, but I refused to. The women were aggressive in demeanour, although they were rather pretty and well dressed. The women then dispersed, and we went on our merry way to explore the museum.
Once we realized our Euros was missing, we realized that those three women, in which mum signed the petition that they asked us to sign, had stolen 400 Euros worth of cash from us! I was very stressed out, mum went to the police and I was very upset that we ended up spending half the day at a police station in Paris, given that we went to Paris to have a nice holiday! The police took mum's report - the matter is now in the hands of the French police. Those thieves were smart - and they outsmarted us, with the clipboard being an obvious distraction, and the request for us to give them a Euro was very likely an excuse for the pickpocketers to get money from mum's wallet - because she took out her wallet!
We have learnt a valuable lesson from this trip - we will not get into any unmarked "taxi" like in the case of Los Angeles, and never ever sign a petition from unverified sources, again. Mum has been way too kind to beggars on the streets, but now that has changed - we will not give anymore handout money to beggars. We will continue to support buskers, (like Queenstown and Europe for example) as they bring joy to the streets. We will be more cautious with anyone who approaches us, especially beggars. And more importantly, we will do our own research before travelling in relation to scams, and other types of common crimes against tourists.
After doing some research on these scams, unfortunately, this is not the only type of scam out there. There are many - the bracelet scam, (often carried out by African immigrants in Europe), the "gold ring" scam, the rose scam, counterfeit goods, the "helpful local" scam, the "baby holder" scam and so on. Since this list is not exhaustive, and there are many more types of scams out there, will not list all of them, but I will post helpful sources in this blog at the bottom of this blog. And remember, do your research before travelling in regards to scams, never buy counterfeit items, and invest in an anti theft device. And always make sure your valuables and money is with you at all times. Never carry more cash than needed at one go - this is an easy opportunity for thieves to steal your money.
By following these tips and advice while travelling, you should stay safe. Remember, there is plenty of information on the internet from police and government sources as well as travel and tourist agencies. There are also stories from tourists who have fallen victims to these scams. So there is no excuse not to do any research beforehand.
Here's ways on how you can avoid these scams:
Useful links/sources
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AuthorI am Natalie Dunn. I am a feminist who believes in gender equality and rights for everyone. I have many passions in life such as fashion, beauty, adventures and travelling. ArchivesCategories
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