This video is closed-captioned DOMINICAN REPUBLIC TOURIST SCAMS
AND TRICKS THAT YOU SHOULD NOT FALL FOR The Dominican Republic is a beautiful island
nestled within the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean. The Dominican Republic has it all,
complete with gorgeous white sand beaches, friendly people, delicious food, and plenty
of island exploration to be done here. I have lived here for 11 years, and my wife is from
the Dominican Republic. Over those years, we have seen many tourists and locals fall for the
tricks and scams we are listing here today. Due to the nature of the topic of this video, it is
almost impossible to get footage of the actual fraud or tricks being executed in real-time,
so we will use nice drone clips of the Dominican republic and narrate how the scam is perpetrated.
Here are a few scams And tricks aimed at tourists that you should be aware of before taking that
tropical vacation you've been planning. In the Dominican Republic you will encounter
many young shoeshine boys on the street or beach offering to shine your shoes for a fee,
most of them are trying to make a few pesos honestly with their work to help out their family
or for them to eat, most of them are not going to school and hanging out at tourist locations
where the money is, I have seen it myself how tourists take their service to get their shoes
cleaned and after they are clean they pull out a 50 or 100 dollar bill or a 5000 pesos bill and try
to pay a 50 or 100 pesos service or any other small amount with a large bill and guess what,
obviously the kid has no change for a bill this big, so some of the smarter kids have the bright
idea to go off to change the bill and they let you keep their work shoeshine box as collateral
till the kid comes back with the change of that big bill, BIG MISTAKE if you agree on that,
you will be the new proud owner of an authentic Dominican shoeshine box with all his tools and
shoe shine creme and cleaning liquids inside which cost around 10 bucks all together and you
will turn blue waiting for the kid to come back with your change ,so don't be a fool and fall
for this one ,my advice always have small bills and change with you for all your shopping.
On the beaches of the Dominican Republic, there are men called 'sanki pankis' who have the goal
of seducing women in order to extort them for money or even get into a relationship so they
can travel abroad with someone to another country. They will tend to target women traveling alone or
in small groups and always know just what to say to make you feel wanted. It can be very disarming
for some when treated like royalty, especially when it's from an attractive Latino who seems to
want to give you the world. They will assure you that they are serious and it's a case of love at
first sight. The second you give them the time of day, they will persist doggedly in an attempt to
wear you down and inch closer to getting a first date with you. After the first date, they have
made all the discoveries on you by politely asking questions as a new lover or boyfriend
and decide how far they will go with you, just rip you off for some cash, booze, food, and party time
while you on vacation here in your hotel or take it all the way and tell you that you are the love
of their life and want to marry you and go back with you to your home country and live with you a
happy married life there. And I know it is hard to believe. Still, I have seen just too many couples
coming for a week's vacation in an all-inclusive resort in Punta Cana, for example, and next thing
you know, that 25-year marriage is broken in less than 24hours after meeting that handsome Dominican
Giccolo in the hotel disco who knows how to treat a lady and has just the right words for her
or that stunning hot exotic beautiful Dominican Lady who moves better then Jenifer Lopez on the
dance floor, next thing you know both parts from that 25-year-old marriage go separate
ways with their own Sanki, as you can see Sanki Pankis come in different forms even ex-pats
living here have taken that profession on. But rest assured, once they have what they
were after, they will ghost you and never contact you again. If you want to see them,
just go back to the beach where they will be trying the same routine on a new woman.
Avoiding these types of scams is more difficult if you're traveling alone,
though it is totally possible. The main rule of thumb here is not to give strangers any attention
if they come up to you on the beach or disco. And I'm sure this goes without saying, but never
take a stranger back to your hotel. Even if you don't go to your room with them, they now know
where you stay and are one step closer to finding a way into your life. They might hang around and
try to be the first person you see on the way out for the day. At the very least, it's going to be
extremely annoying to have to turn them down repeatedly. At the worst, they may get access
to your belongings or even your entire life. As unlikely as it sounds, this scam has worked
enough times for it to still be around, so be on the lookout for overly romantic strangers!
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The following scam or trick is played out on the Public transportation system,
if you venture out from your hotel to go stroll around in Santo Domingo for a day be very careful
while riding on the Bus or Guagua called here, the guaguas usually get to be packed with passengers,
the trick is executed when you arrive at the end location of the route, they are working as a team
mostly 4-5 guys in all ages from school kid age up to a senior citizen to throw you off balance,
you would not expect that from them, once the bus stops at the last stop the scam starts, the group
is seated in different positions of the bus they pick a victim who sits in the middle of the bus,
the front man of the line exiting the bus bends down and does like he is tightening his shoe
or similar and creates a traffic jam in the exit line, the guys from behind start pushing the
victim being in the middle of the exit line and the ones pushing from behind are actually stealing
your wallet and handing it to another team member most likely the older citizen who is ahead of you
ready to exit the bus with your belongings once they grab your wallet.phone,camera whatever they
can get with that distraction move they even jump out of the open windows of the bus to escape with
your Valuables so be very carefull flashing out all your bills while paying for that bus ticket
or you might fall a victim of theft here. The next trick you need to be aware of is
while exploring public places like the pedestrian shopping street El Conde
or other tourist sites In Santo Domingo like the Colonial Zone or the different mercados or markets
around the tourist attractions, never have your phone with you on your belt with a phone holder
exposed or your camera just in your hands while strolling around these majestic colonial sights
or you can fall victim to snatchers, they are also working in teams usually 2 of them the first one
is the spotter watching people walk by the shopping street the second one is waiting
around the corner with a Motorbike once the snatcher finds his victim he will get close to him
in a split second he snatches your valuables or phone and runs to the corner where his accomplice
is waiting to escape on the motorbike and see ya later you can't run that fast behind them
trust me on this one it has happened to me, they snatched my phone,this trick is also
used as a drive-by and grabs everything out of your hands at 20mph speed on the scooter.
The camera scam. This is a scam that prays on your sense of guilt and responsibility for breaking
another person's camera. As you sight-see along your journey, you might find some locals trying
to take a group picture in front of some scenic view. They will ask if you could take the picture
for them, and being the polite individual that you are, you'll oblige. Then, as you
go to hand back the camera, they will let go at the last moment while it's still in your hands.
Now you've dropped their expensive camera, and they want money to cover the loss. The truth is
that camera was either inexpensive or stolen, and they have plenty more where that came from.
It may be hard to resist that urge to help out a stranger, but you'll need slightly thicker skin
if you're having trouble turning down requests from random people while you are abroad. A large
number of scams in tourist locations will prey on your emotional responses, so it's always best
to take a few seconds to think about what people are trying to get before responding instinctively.
One way to do this is to repeat what you are being told. This will give your brain a chance to catch
up, and you'll have a better idea of where the conversation is headed. If you do fall victim to
this scam, one way to get out of it is to say you don't have any cash. The scammers are after money,
not a new camera, so if you only have a few small bills with you,
there is nothing more in it for them. If we've said it once, we've said it
a hundred times. Be careful when using taxi services in foreign countries. The Dominican
Republic is no different, and the scams are too familiar. Never take a taxi from the airport
because you are sure to pay anywhere from double to ten times what a ride should cost typically.
When a tourist first arrives in a foreign country, a few things make them a target.
Firstly, they probably haven't had the chance to take a taxi yet so they won't be familiar with the
local rates or geography. Many taxi drivers will take advantage of you once they find out you are
not a local here, don't speak the language, and have no idea what to expect. My advice here is
to have somebody from your resort pick you up or a friend but do not take taxis without negotiating
the price beforehand and never agree on the first price, Dominicans love to negotiate, don't be
afraid to walk away and search for a different taxi or call a radio taxi where you call up, and
the Taxi central send you a designated ride. You know the rate ahead of taking the service.
Now that you're armed with knowledge about these scams, you can look forward to a safe vacation in
the Dominican Republic with little risk of falling victim to one of these scams. Always trust your
gut feeling in these situations. Remember that you're in a completely different environment,
so talk to the local tour guides or hotel staff before deciding how to travel!
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