Tourist Scams

[PierreandBetty]

Another scam I recently heard of consists of offering brand name perfumes at a fraction of the cost. Often, a woman will approach another woman in a parking lot with several bottles of very known high price perfumes and offers the victim to smellbefore buying. However, it's not perfume but some substance which knocks out the victim long enough for the scammer to get away with purse and whatever else the victim was carrying.

[jashermd]

Hello,

There's another perfume scam which is common in Egypt. If you go into the souks, there will be vendors everywhere offering to sell you 'brand-name' perfumes at knock-down prices. You go into a shop and are shown a collection of vials of perfume, which smell just like various name-brand perfumes (at least according to my sister -- like most doctors I don't wear scents so I'd have no clue) and offered a bottle of the same for a fraction of the price. You buy the bottle, only to get home and discover that it either A) has no scent B) has a scent completely unlike the sample or C) smells like a very cheap and nasty version of the sample.

Cheers,
Julian

[no-backpacker]

Jashermd, I have seen this in lots of places, Crete, Mallorca, The Canary Islands, Rhodes etc.... As they say, if it's too good to be true (the price) etc....

C.

[jashermd]

Hello,

Perfume isn't normally something I shop for, so this was my first exposure to it. I'll keep my eyes (or perhaps that should be nose?) open when I visit the places you've mentioned!

Cheers,
Julian

[pilon52]

I have to tell you, I just read the story about the ring and cracked up.....Me.....six years ago.....same bridge but I guess I was dealing with her male counterpart/boyfriend, they apparently take turns.

I had slipped it on my pinky finger after the transaction and by the time I got back to our hotel, the pinky was green and I laughed like heck from being duped. I just chalked it up to another one of the fun experiences of that marvelous city and it's a great story to tell to folks that are going abroad for their first time. I keep it in my jewelry box, it's makes me smile each time I look at it, and all those memories for 20 Euro were worth the price of admission. Safe travels

[omegaet]

I have to tell you, I just read the story about the ring and cracked up.....Me.....six years ago.....same bridge but I guess I was dealing with her male counterpart/boyfriend, they apparently take turns.

I had slipped it on my pinky finger after the transaction and by the time I got back to our hotel, the pinky was green and I laughed like heck from being duped. I just chalked it up to another one of the fun experiences of that marvelous city and it's a great story to tell to folks that are going abroad for their first time. I keep it in my jewelry box, it's makes me smile each time I look at it, and all those memories for 20 Euro were worth the price of admission. Safe travels

I keep my 'gold' ring from the Paris scam in my safe next to our passports....just a frequent reminder to think twice and act once when making decisions regarding deals too good to be true while traveling abroad!

[LL_Travelfan]

Our friend fell for the ring scam a few years ago while in Paris, same bridge. He had the ring checked out by his daughter jewler, who was not amused. But we still laugh about that one.... I am surprised it is still going on????