What's up Members of the Barrio?
It's Jon and the first video on tourist traps and scams
Did so well
Almost 1 million views
That i've decided to make a second edition
And today we're going to be concentrating on More Common Tourist Scams
In the Big Apple
Guys if you want to learn more about New York City, some tips and tricks
Make sure to check out my playlist linked down below in the description
Pay close attention Because I've got a lot of warnings coming up
Here we go
We're going to start off with something that could ruin a dream of yours
Well if that dream is having a hot dog
In New York City
Most of the food vendors in the Big Apple
Are honest and hard working people
But there have been reports of scams
Where vendors are charging upwards of 20 to 30 dollars
For a hot dog
And the scam works because they're not listing the price on the outside of their cart
This guys honest
Great dude
Had his prices listed
But if you don't see the prices listed
Make sure to ask for them
According to the Department of Consumer Affairs
In New York City
They legally have to list the prices
So don't get caught up paying way to much
For a very cheap food item
The JFK Airtrain Hustle
This scam is something you have to look out for if you're going to be flying out of JFK Airport
One the way back to the airport
When you come up from the subway
You're going to be exiting through the doors
And there's going to be people asking you for an extra metro card
They're going to take that metrocard
And they're going to be selling swipes somewhere else
But more importantly that metrocard that you just gave up
Was your ticket to get on the AirTrain
So you're going to have to spend an extra $5
Because you felt like a good person giving away your spare metrocard
Whatever you do.. make sure to keep it on you
When you get back to JFK
Please
Outdoor ATM Fraud
This is a crime that plagues many U.S Cities
And New York is no exception
I'm going to warn you to try to stay away from these outdoor ATM Machines
Where there could be somebody watching you
From far away
They're also easily tampered with
I had a friend of mine use one of them
And a week later he had some strange withdrawals
From his debit account
At bodegas in Queens
The only problem was
He hardly ever went above 14th street
Your best bet is to use ATMs inside of banks
Which have cameras everywhere
Where something like that is a little harder to happen
Electronics store scams
You're going to see this scam happening a lot in midtown manhattan
Where there's many small electronics shops
And the scam works like this
They're going to sell you a product which is either going to be old or refurbished
And they're going to mark it as new
And if that product breaks on you while you're still in New York
You're going to go back to the store
And try to get a refund
But what you didn't realize is that they have an awful refund policy
At best you're going to get store credit
On an already defective product
I've heard of this happening so many times..
So if you're going to go to a small shop
Make sure to check their reviews online..
Or better yet
Go to B&H
It's my favorite electronics store in the city
And check out their drones on the 2nd floor
I love that place
Parking Rip-Offs
First of all I don't recommend you bring a car when you're visiting New York City
From the get go
But if you're only coming for a short period
Let's say to see a broadway show..
You may yourself looking for parking in Mid-town
And you're going to find a lot of lots just like this one
Now what I'm about to tell you is not offiicially a scam
But it's just very expensive
And a lot of people dont' realize
How quickly the costs can add up
They're going to show you something like a 12 dollar fee
For 30 minutes of parking
And then what you're not going to see
Is how quickly that rate is going to compound
Up if you leave your car for three hours
4 hours
5 hours
And then on top of that they're going to go throw on an 18% tax
Parking your car in one of these lots
Can be very, very expensive
If you must park in a lot
I recommend using an app like spot hero
Where you can actually see the prices in advance.. or maybe book something before you even go
That way parking is taken care of
And then we get to a second issue
Street Parking
If you do decide to park your car on the streets
Be very vigilant about the signs
There's a big problem in New York
With something called Predatory Towing
Where tow trucks will be driving around
Looking for any body leaving their car
Even for 1 or 2 minutes
That's as long as they need
To tow you away
From a private spot
Or a spot that's unauthorized
So if you're going to be parking
Especially in Midtown
Be very careful
I've even had my car personally towed before
From New York City
Not a fun experience
And very very expensive
The Good Samaritan Hustle
I've heard of a few different variations of this one
And even seen it myself
A good samaritan is going to approach you
In a place like this
Port Authority
Penn Station
Grand Central
Near one of the transit hubs
If you look lost they're going to offer you help
Or directions
If you're holding up a map
Consider yourself an even bigger mark
And they're going to demand a tip aftewards
For their services
Just walk away.. you don't owe anybody anything
For giving you simple directions
Buying a swipe hustle/scam
This happens more frequently than you would think
Somebody is going to tamper with one of the metrocard machines
And if you need to buy a new swipe
You're out of luck
Now that person is going to be positioned strategically in front of where you would swipe
And they're going to be offering you a swipe at..
Whatever the going rate is
Or even a little bit more
Another variation of this is somebody is going to try to sell you a pre paid metrocard
And there may be less money or no money
On that card
So if you see any of these scams going on
Make sure to report it to a local police officer
Or somebody working for the MTA
Street performer/musician tip pressure
I'd like to preface this by saying if you film any street performer
Or musician in New York City
You really should tip them at least one dollar
But I've been reading reports that there have been some
Performers who have been really aggressive in forcing tourists who are filming them
To give big tips..
10 dollars, 20 dollars
Heck I even had an experience once
Where I was filming a guy playing the drums
In the subway
For just 10 seconds
I dropped him a dollar
Walked away
And he started shouting at me
That I owed him five
If anybody ever tries to intimidate you
To tip them more than you're willing to
Just walk away from the situation
Or find a police officer
Rip-Off Comedy Shows?
Times Square is not only home to the CD Guys
That I was talking about
But there's another deceptive practice going on selling stand up comedy tickets
And what's going to happen is somebody is going to approach you
And they're going to try to sell you tickets to go to one of their comedy shows
And they're going to say that big name acts have performed there
They've been on HBO
Comedy Central
They made even imply that a famous comedian is going to be appearing that night
But it's a secret
Either way they're going to be trying to get at least $20
Out of you
And they're not even going to mention or they could mention
The drink minimums
And each of those drinks is not dollar beer, trust me
Your best bet if you want to see stand up comedy
In New York
Is either go online.. look up shows in advance
Carolines, Comedy Cellar
Or just go to Greenwich Village
You can find free shows there..
With minimums as low as just 1 drink
And see some great up and comers
Fake monks..
There's another common scam that you have to watch out for
In Times Square
And it involves fake monks
They're going to be walking around trying to give you a bracelet
Or an amulet.. something else
And then they're going to demand a tip
Of something like..
$20 and show you a notebook of other people that have donated from around the world
As I said
They're not real
And Buddhist temples are not getting that money
If you want to donate to a buddhist temple or any other religious organization
Just do it online
Don't give random monks on the street your money
Trust me
Be extra careful when eating at chain restaurants in the Times Square area
As many of them are going to add automatic 18% gratuities
To your bill
If you don't realize it..
There's going to be an extra spot for additional tip
So you might leave a 20% tip on top of an already 18% tip
And many of the restaurants aren't going to tell you about it
So be extra careful
I've also seen it at different spots in New York City
So always look over your bill carefully
The Fake Sublet Scam
It is so cold outside
I'm going to film this part inside my apartment
And speaking of apartments
For those of you out there traveling to New York
For a little bit longer of a period
Let's say a month
You're looking for a cheaper sublet
There are a lot of apartment scams out therea
Including a sublet scam that I did an entire video about
And here's a little sneak preview of it
He sent me a phony lease agreement
I mean any real New Yorker knows that nobody says they live in Manhattan New York
But wanting to see where he'd go with it
I filled in all phony information
Because I wanted to see where he actually wanted me to send this money
He wanted 4,700 dollars paid up front
I'm going to include a link to that video down below in the description
But the gist of that scam is that somebody is going to try to get you to send them a security deposit
Of some sort on an apartment
That you're actually never going to see
It's just going to be online with pictures via Craigslist or Streeteasy.com
Never ever send money to anybody online
For a sublet
Unless you actually see the place
But then there's a second version of this scam
Where you go over to the place
You actually look at it
And the person is going to insist on a security deposit to hold the apartment
But what they're really doing
Is renting the place themselves
Off of Airbnb let's say
And then getting multiple people to come over and leaving a security deposit..
And they're going to get a lot of money
And then take off
You'll get there
And the keys won't even work
What you can do to avoid this scam
Is to make sure that the person actually lives there
Look at their license, their id
Also ask to see a copy of the lease
If you need even more proof
Ask to speak to the super
Just make sure that everything is legit
So do your homework There are so many con artists in New York City
Who know how desperate people are
To get short term housing
And you don't want to lose a lot of money
Over any of these scams
Guys make sure to check out my New York City tips playlist for more ideas
For your next trip..And of course
A lot of good information
Tell me down below in the comments if you've fallen vctim
To any of these scams or hustles
I want to know
Thank you so much for watching as always
Until next time