Avoid These Common Travel Scams - Travel Tip Tuesday

Meggan shares some common travel scams she came across while planning her next trip. Unfortunately, we all need to be aware of our surroundings in order to stay safe while traveling

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We are travel enthusiasts who do not claim to be professionals! Instead, we are two Halifax, NS natives with travel blogs who somehow found one another on the internet, and now, we have a podcast!!

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Transcript

0:00

Hey everyone, and welcome back to Travel Tip Tuesday. We are so glad you were here as always, Jenn, how are you doing today? Hi. I am doing well. How about you? Excellent. Thank you. Okay. Well, Peter and I have finally decided where we would go this year. Ooh, exciting. Tell, tell us more. Tell us more. I know. And WestJet, bless their hearts, introduced a few direct routes this year that they haven't had previously, and one of them is a flight to Barcelona, Spain, and we decided to go for it. Yay. I know it is, and we are going in early September and since booking, we have started, of course to do some research because I'm gonna be really Frank, Spain has never been not high on my list, but hasn't really been much of a thought. So I, it was like, okay, we should probably start looking into things. And we have come to learn that while prevalent everywhere. I do wanna stress that, that Barcelona is known as the pickpocket capital of the world. Ooh. Yeah. Not a great, uh, not a great reputation there. honestly quite a distinction, really. Yeah. it have to be number one for something. Since learning this though, we have done more research and learned about a variety of other scams that are happening to travelers while on vacation. There's scams before, there's scams after, or there's scams all around, but these are ones while on the trip. So not just in Barcelona. I'm certainly not picking on Barcelona, but in many places as well. And Yeah, to highlight some, but of course we can't cover all of them. But I did wanna hire, highlight some to be wary of. sure. All right. First one is the bracelet scam. So someone or a couple will approach you and they're super friendly. They compliment you, and as they're talking to you, they de proceed to put a bracelet on your arm, directly telling you that it's free, but then causing a scene and demanding money from you. The brace, the bracelet scam. I don't need a bracelet. I love an accoutrement, but I don't need a bracelet that bad. Next up we have the bird poop scam. Oh, okay. someone approaches you and tells you that you have been the target of some bird droppings. I love a bird, but I don't want their droppings, and they offer to help you clean it off. This is usually done in pairs, so while you put your bag down or you're distracted looking the other way, their partner will either take your bag, you have sat down to help clean you, or they will rob you while your attention is elsewhere from your bag. Hmm mm-hmm. Great. Similar to the bird poop scam is, oh, I've spilled something on you. So again, similar, but they will bump into you instead claiming that they've spilled mustard or ice cream or they've spilled something on you. Again, offering to clean it off while distracting you to rob you. Mm-hmm. A fairly new one is charging your phone in public places scam. Malware has been put into jacks where people charge their phone to access their data. Uh, I that one makes me so. we can't have anything including electricity. Oh. Um, so that one is something to keep in mind. Try to leave your accommodation with fully charged phones, cameras, et cetera. Mm-hmm. This one is fairly expl, self-explanatory, but it's the bump and grab scam. So again, it's a bit more of a lazy option, in my opinion, for the scammer. But, and they work, I mean, they don't really put a lot of work into it. They literally bump into you. You're distracted. Oh my goodness. Like looking around and they steal something from you. So that is one of them. And then another one I wanna mention is clowns with balloons for kids scam. Oh, okay. Right. Yeah. enjoy a balloon. I know I did. Loved me a balloon. And people know this of course, so it happens oftentimes in busy tourist attraction spots where kids are offered balloons. Of course, the kid is gonna take the balloon, who wouldn't? Their Yeah. And then the scammer causes a scene and demands money from the parent for the balloon their child took. This could be anything like something little suckers, lollipops, whatever the case might be. But the kid is just naive, of course, as a child. So something to keep in mind there. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Now how to be aware of your surroundings and prepare to be safe, to have fun, you know, without worrying too much, because there are things that you can do as the traveler to sort of try and avoid this as much as possible. Mm-hmm. First thing I wanna mention is often scammers seem friendly and they look unsuspecting. So an attractive couple. You know, someone that you know comes up to you and you're like, oh my goodness, they're so nice. Mm-hmm. I hate to say this, you need to be suspicious of random assistance or friendliness from people that don't need to be doing it. Does that make sense? Yeah. They, they're friendly for a reason, and it's not one you want. Mm-hmm. Yeah. If someone, number two claims that a bird got you or they spilled something on you, thank them for letting you know, and just let them know you're gonna take care of it later. You don't need their help, and there likely isn't anything on you anyway. So just be like, yeah, thanks for letting me know. I don't like, do not let someone clean you. Okay? Number three, don't be scared to be a bit aggressive. So scammers are often successful because people are too friendly. Too polite and they don't wanna cause a scene. But if it's safe to do so, of course keep that in mind, meaning there's lots of people around try and match their energy a little bit, especially if your kid took a balloon innocently or if you have the bracelet on and you're trying to take it off and be like, I don't want this to start with. Yeah. match their energy again. Please only do this if it is safe to do so. Mm-hmm. Number four, never set your belongings down when interacting with strangers on the street. Don't hang your purse on the back of your chair at a restaurant and be alert when you're taking things out of your backpack or your purse. Always ensuring that when you're done or once you've gotten your item that is securely closed. Mm-hmm. And then number five I'll mention is look online before you travel for safety items such as RFID wallets, so that people cannot scam your cards even from within inside your purse or while you're holding it in your hand. Another idea is to purchase a slash resistant strap for bags. I'm a very big cross body bag person. So a slash resistant strap could be very helpful. And these are just a few suggestions. So do some research on what you feel you might need based on what you carry around with you that could help to keep you safe. Hmm. So, Jenn, have you ever heard of any of these scams or experienced any or know anyone who's, who has, and what do you sort of do to remain safe when it comes to this type of thing while traveling? Yeah, I mean, like you said, like being aware of your surroundings is like super important. I personally, knock on wood, have not. Um, had any of these things happen to me. I did meet someone in Paris who had their phone stolen out of their front jeans pocket in an elevator, so they're very good at what they do. Yes. Um, I actually just saw TikTok recently that, um, people were putting, they were taking their straps off of like their old Wii controllers and putting it on their phone. So it's like strapped to your wrist. And I was like, that's not a bad idea. Yeah, actually. Well, apparently it's funny that you say that because I've been looking into this and people in the travel group I'm in for Barcelona are buying phone lanyards. Mm-hmm. where you can't get it off unless you take my neck with you. So Yeah. that's the idea. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. So that makes sense. Yeah. I think, yeah, it's, it sucks that we have to like worry about that kind of stuff, but yeah, it is important to, um, be aware of your surroundings and not just have your stuff flying out everywhere. It is, it is. And Yeah. isn't even scratching the surface of travel scams. So please do your research on what to look for, maybe in particular in the destination you're going to, but really Yeah. you go. Yeah. so have a good time and don't spend all your time worrying about these things. We're certainly not saying this to scare you. It's just about using common sense and be alert. But of course still try to have fun. And if you are traveling with someone, make it sort of a duo that you're both, you know, really careful for one another if something is left open that you notice it, that kind of thing. So use a buddy system that way. And if you are solar traveler, again, just really be alert and don't let anyone be too friendly when it's a situation where they simply don't need to be. Mm-hmm. Well, that is it for this week's Travel tip Tuesday. We appreciate you being here. As always, never forget to do your own research on any of the topics that we have discussed. Information is power, and you can always find us on social media at Travel Mug Podcast on our website, travel mug podcast.com. And if you think what we're doing here is great and want to support the show, you can buy us a coffee. The link is in the show notes and it helps us monetarily, , or leave us a review on. Apple or Spotify. And until next time, save travels and clutch your belongings and we'll see you soon. Bye everyone.