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SPAIN TOURIST SCAMS AND TRICKS THAT YOU SHOULDN'T FALL FOR
Spain is one of the world's top tourist destinations for a good reason; whether you're there for
the food, the wine, or the beauty, nothing beats a trip to Spain!
But with popularity comes risk, just like with any big city.
Here are the most common scams to watch out for when visiting Spain to keep your vacation
safe and pleasurable.
One scam that people fall victim to occurs when you're trying to take a picture of your
group.
Someone might come up and offer to take the picture for you, that way you can be in it
with your family and friends.
When you give them the camera, though, they simply take off with it instead of helping
as they promised before.
What's more, most people just use their phones to take pictures, so you're left without your
most efficient way to navigate and get help.
If your phone was unlocked when you handed it over, you can be sure they will be going
through all your information to look for bank accounts, passwords, emails, and credit card
info.
The best way to avoid this scam is simply not to hand any of your belongings to strangers
for any reason.
Don't be fooled by friendly strangers offering to do you a favor sometimes; they are simply
trying to get money or anything of value within reach.
Another scam involves a somewhat complicated setup designed to fool even the savviest travelers
from around the world, so be sure to watch out for this one.
Someone approaches you for directions, which should raise alarm bells; you are a tourist,
how could you know any guidance here?
It makes no sense, right?
You decline to say you don't know; then they go along their way.
Minutes later, a nonmarked police car approaches you, and the officers flash you a badge fast
and tell you they are investigating the person you just talked to moments ago.
They ask for your identification and go through your stuff, only to steal it and drive off
before you know what happened.
These crooks are impersonating police officers so they can get their hands on anything they
want from tourists who follow their instructions to help the so-called investigation.
Avoiding this scam requires you to break a common habit that most people instinctually
use when interacting with others.
You have to learn how not to talk to strangers asking for help.
It may seem rude at first, but most scammers rely on being able to approach tourists in
person, and asking for help is the easiest way to get close to strangers.
If approached by the police, it might be handy to know what an actual police badge is supposed
to look like in Spain so that you can spot a scammer with ease.
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Scams are born in the streets and evolve as the effective ones catch on in popularity,
and the ineffective ones die out.
One scam that has been around since ancient Greece is known as the shell game.
This is the game we've all seen a dozen times, where the performer has a ball that is placed
under one of three cups.
They then shuffle these cups around quickly and ask for a volunteer to guess which cup
contains the ball they showed you at the beginning.
There are multitudes of magic tricks that have spawned out of this Game involving making
balls appear and disappear out of thin air.
It's no surprise that this can be used as a scam that prays on confident tourists who
think they can outsmart the performer.
Unfortunately, the game is completely rigged.
Another trick they'll use to gain your confidence is putting a scammer friend or multiple in
the audience who will 'win' at the Game and show everyone how easy it is to make some
quick money.
They are working with the scammers together as a team, scamming you, so no money is actually
being lost.
Avoiding this one is very easy.
Just don't let anybody invite you to this Game you can find it around most tourist attraction
sites like Las Ramblas, the area around Sagrada Família, Barrio Gótico, Plaza Cataluña,
or Park Güellin Barcelona.
If you enjoy the rush of gambling, there are other ways to satisfy that urge.
Gambling is legal in Spain, so feel free to visit any of the well-established casinos
where you can play games or bet on sporting events to your heart's content!
And remember: if someone offers you something for free on the street, be aware that there
may be an ulterior motive.
Ouer next scam on the list is done by ex-pats and stranded deadbeats and some of those scammers
are doing it for years as a job to stay above water, mainly while you are in Barcelona or
Madrid, Sevilla enjoying your time there you might be aproached or meet casualy any random
foreign tourist who starts a conversation with you telling you very heartbreaking sad
story how he lost his Passport or his luggage was stolen or he got robbed and had all his
money stolen, it is always the same sobe story they invent, the goal here is to get any money
out of you, they could ask for 10 Euros for something to eat or 30 euros for a taxi ride
back to their hotel or even more like a few hundert euros to get an return plane ticket
back home all depends how weak they see you, don't fall for this scam my advice here is
ignore any stranger walking up on you without any reason and starts a conversation and reqeusting
money from you, think about it if they where really robbed they must go to the police to
file a report and notify their embassy to get a return airplane ticket, for sure they
would not hit up any stranger to ask for help at Las Ramblas in Barcelona.
Taxi scams are common in prominent tourist destinations, and Spain is no different.
One of the most common tricks is manipulating prices so that tourists end up paying more
for their services than they usually do.
There are several ways to accomplish this: claiming the meter is out of order.
They will promise you a fair price, but the scam relies on you not having knowledge of
reasonable cab prices in the area.
Another tactic is to ask for a fixed fare before giving you the ride.
This is easily spotted as a scam because that's simply a way of the driver asking an overpriced
amount since he knows you are a tourist.
They know what a fair price would be but aren't willing to work for that cheap.
They know tourists have a lot of money, so scamming is very profitable for these scrupulous
taxi drivers.
You can use several strategies to avoid taxi scams in general, which seem to be prevalent
in any tourist destination in the world.
The simplest way to dodge these scams is to take public transportation wherever you go.
You'll have to be sure to have plenty of change and small bills since some busses won't give
change, but you can be confident they won't rip you off, not in Spain.
Another method is to know the local taxi rates and have a map online on your phone of the
area you're traveling in.
This way, you can stay on top of the meter and the driver's path so that you won't be
scammed.
If the driver is asking for too much or driving in circles, or giving you the scenic roundtrip
route, you'll know it and be able to show you're not going to be suckered into overpaying.
Once the driver sees you're not going to let them push you around, they will most likely
just give up so they can try the scam on the next tourist rather than pressing the issue
with someone who is wise to their games.
Pickpocketing happens in many busy towns worldwide and is one easy way to have your entire vacation
ruined in a few moments.
Imagine arriving at your destination only to realize your money, phone, Passport, identification,
and credit cards are all missing!
These are common targets for pickpockets, and they know exactly where to look.
They are also masters of distraction.
Often, they will have one person going around distracting the tourists while another has
their hands in everyone's pockets.
It's not uncommon for someone to offer you something - either a product of some sort
or even flirting with you - as a distraction while they help themselves to whatever is
within reach on your person.
Even families use their children to steal from people, knowing that if they get caught,
there will be no consequences since they can't exactly throw a child in jail.
Avoiding this scam requires a little ingenuity and a lot of vigilance.
A few products can make it difficult for would-be pickpocketers to access your valuables.
Zipper packs, wallet chains, cell phone holsters, and locks on bags can all deter a thief.
This is mainly because there are many other easy targets, so wasting time trying to get
into your locked bag will be pointless when there are so many unlocked belongings free
for the picking.
Remaining aware in crowded areas is a little more challenging.
You're on vacation, likely trying to organize your day so that it flows smoothly, or perhaps
you're absorbed in the beauty of Spain itself.
Just be sure you do these things in areas with plenty of room to move around because
pickpockets rely on the anonymity of a crowd to get lost in after they get what they want.
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