AVOID THESE EUROPE TRAVEL SCAMS | 18 Tourist Scams in Europe to Beware of (for First Timers)!

AVOID THESE EUROPE TRAVEL SCAMS | 18 Tourist Scams in Europe to Beware of (for First Timers)!

if you don’t want to get scammed while traveling around Europe then this video is for you in today’s video I am going to be sharing all the most common scams that you’re going to encounter in the most touristy destinations across Europe in case you’re new here hi I’m Christina from happyto wanderer.com and this channel is all about practical travel tips from someone who’s been there done that gotten scammed so you don’t have to and if that sounds like your kind of thing be sure to like And subscribe for more now we’re we going to start with a pretty common one that I feel like nobody addresses and that is the fake apartment scam so a lot of the time I have to emphasize if you are booking accommodation for your trip in Europe whether that’s on Airbnb on booking.com or through a website directly do know that if the deal seems too good to be true there’s probably a reason for that and I’ve seen a lot of Tik toks lately about Travelers who didn’t realize they were booking an apartment that did in fact turn out to not exist once they got there or they had to wire a deposit to the host separately which they did not get back so do make sure that any place you’re booking you are diligently reading reviews and vetting any properties because unfortunately these fake apartment scams are becoming more commonplace not just on Airbnb but on other booking platforms as well I do have a full video all about how to find the best accommodation in Europe so be sure to check that out if you want more tips another scam that I don’t hear people mention often enough is the Priceless menu scam so this happens most often in super touristy cities like Venice or Rome and unfortunately this is a scam where restaurants will not be very clear with the pricing of their dishes and what ends up happening is tourists will go in thinking it can’t possibly be that expensive and when they get their final bill it ends up being 900,000 something ridiculously expensive considering what they ate and so this scam can take a few different shapes first off places with no prices are probably a red leg and especially if you ask them to see the prices if they don’t want to give them to you then you should definitely run but another version of the scam is they’ll give you the price based on 100 gram or based on a certain quantity and then when they actually give you the dish it’s going to be five six seven times that amount that they listed on the menu so definitely be careful when you’re sitting down at a restaurant always make sure there is a price list available and definitely make sure you are searching up the menus and reviews in advance just because if someone has been scammed before trust me they will make it very clear in the review so be sure to keep that in mind related to this is the overcharging restaurant scam so this is when a restaurant will start bringing you dishes that you didn’t order making you think maybe it’s included or it’s free on the house whatever and then you get stuck with the bill at the end having to pay for all these extras that you didn’t ask for and so the only way to really combat against this is to make sure clarify anytime something comes on the table ask how much or ask ask if it’s free and if they’re being weird about it then you know it’s probably a scam I will say though in certain countries this is actually just a cultural custom like in Portugal for instance it is very common to just bring some olives some little appetizers for the table and that’s included in kind of like a table cover charge in that case it’s not a scam it’s just it is optional if you don’t want it you can tell them to take it away but I’m talking more about restaurants that will just bring you really expensive extravagant dishes and then charge you for it after without your consent now another really common scam that is in the grand scheme of things pretty harmless but something to be very careful of just because they seem to Target first-time visitors to Europe with this scam is the free for you scam now a general rule of thumb to go by is that if someone is offering you something for free it is not going to be free and this takes a lot of different shapes all across Europe very commonly it’ll be in the shape of a flower for instance so someone will come up to you give you a free Rose give you a free flowers say oh for you welcome gift it’s completely free and then they’ll come back and try to ask your travel partner for some money for it or they’ll beg you for a donation for it so really it’s not going to be free but of course it’s not just flowers sometimes it is a piece of jewelry so they’ll find a ring on the floor and be like hey this ring is it yours and you’ll say no and then they’ll insist that you should have it but then they’ll press you for a donation so do be mindful that anytime someone tries to give you something for free it’s probably not going to be free closely related to this is the bracelet scam and if you’ve done any research about scams in Europe you’re definitely going to come across this one just because it’s so common in touristy cities like Paris Florence Rome you name it there are guys who have friendship bracelets that they’re going to try to sell you and in a lot of cases they’re not going to try to sell them to you outright they will just kind of lure you in tie it on your wrist say oh it’s on the house it’s free for you my friend and then demand payment or demand a donation for it so anytime you see a guy selling ship bracelets on the street definitely don’t engage just walk away because they are not great news on a similar note there’s also the photo op scam so again this isn’t so much an outright scam as it is just kind of something that catches a lot of first-time visitors off guard but if you’re ever in a touristy destination and there’s someone there that is beckoning you to take a photo with them so for instance in Rome there’s often guys dressed up in really crappy gladiator costumes who will wave you over and get you to take a photo that photo op is never going to be free sometimes they get very aggressive in demanding payment for them so you know if you want a fun photo and you’re happy to give them a bit of money then it’s fine but do know that if you’re just trying to get a free photo it’s not going to be free they are going to demand payment and often can be quite aggressive about it so keep that one in mind another scam to be mindful of especially when you’re arriving in a brand new city is of course taxi scams so taxi scams can take all sorts of shapes and forms in different cities but the most common one is when you arrive at the airport or at a train station someone’s going to ask you do you need a taxi you don’t necessarily know if that person is an official licensed taxi or if they’re going to charge you an extortionate rate and depending on the country this can happen that they will charge you more than they should just because they know you’re new to the city and you’re maybe not familiar with the currency or you’re not familiar with the rates so to prevent getting scammed by fake taxis or taxi scammers who are going to charge you way more do always have an idea of how much a taxi should cost because this information these days is readily available online in some cities like Paris and Rome for instance they actually have set rates that taxis have to abide by when it comes to how much it costs to get from the airport to the city center so in advance of your trip make sure you do research exactly how much your taxi is meant to cost if there isn’t a fixed rate make sure you know at least a rough ballpark of how much a taxi should be costing you in the local currency because otherwise it’s very easy for you to get taken advantage of now another thing I would make sure I do honestly to prevent getting scammed by taxis is just ordering your ride in advance either on an app like Uber or free now or through a service like welcome pickups and the great thing about ordering your ride in advance is then there’s a paper trail and when there’s a paper trail you are far less likely to get scammed so I would definitely advise either ordering a ride in advance on an app or doing it once you get get there and to do that of course you do need data access and one of the easiest ways to get data access these days is through an eim on that note this week’s video is brought to you by AO my go-to eim provider that provides instant and affordable connectivity in over 200 countries and regions including of course Europe where I’ve been using their eim for the past 2 months of my trip now if you’ve never heard of it before eim stands for embedded Sim which means it is embedded in your phone and works 100 100% digitally to connect you to a telecommunications provider as soon as you let so with Arlo for instance you can just buy a package through their app activate it on your phone in advance and then just turn it on so that it’s available for you as soon as you arrive now as an example of just how easy this can be I actually bought my most recent AOW package while I was waiting in line at the airport to board my flight and it was ready to go as soon as I landed so this can be really handy for situations when you’ve just arrived in a country when you need to get an Uber or even just use the internet to search up the currency conversion rates or how much your taxi is supposed to cost so if you want to test aolo out be sure to scan this QR code for a link to download the app this code here will also get you a discount all right thanks again to Arlo for sponsoring this week’s video now let’s move on to another common scam which is related to the taxi scams but slightly different and that’s the petty cab scam so in a lot of touristy cities around Europe you will see a lot of petty cabs which are these things right here and not all of them are scammy but many of them will try to take advantage of unsuspecting tourists by giving them prices that are honestly ridiculous this is especially common in London where you’ll often find these Petty Cals waiting outside of West End theaters playing music from the show using Bright Lights getting you amped up and you think to yourself This can’t possibly be very expensive if I’m just going a short distance but sometimes you hear the prices that these people charge to get you from point A to point B and it’s ridiculous so make sure you are clarifying the price before you get on make sure you are getting the full price quote for the entire ride for that one Petty cab because you don’t want to get scammed another Europe scam for newbies to be aware of is the euronet ATM scam so in a lot of major cities in Europe you’ll find these euronet ATMs especially in very busy touristy areas and these aren’t fraudulent ATMs they will give you money but where they’re scammy is just how much they charge you for the privilege of taking cash out often times the rates that they give you are way worse than any regular bank and also they’ll charge you crazy fees on top of that I remember when I first moved to Germany as a student and I got a German debit card as soon as I started traveling I didn’t know better I started withdrawing from these euronet ATMs and I didn’t realize until much later until it was far too late that they were charging me €7 per transaction every time I withdrew something so don’t be stupid like me definitely learn from my mistakes and use other ATMs not these euronet ones which are very common in airports and also just main touristy areas another common scam is the change switcher R scam so this is when shop owners taxi drivers anybody really gives you the incorrect change for the amount that you give them so this is a really easy scam to fall prey to if you’re not paying attention so really the best way to make sure you don’t get scammed this way is to pay really close attention to how much money you’re giving them and keeping an eye on it making sure you call them out if they’re not giving you the appropriate change I would also advise paying by card whenever possible just because that way it’s a lot harder for them to give you incorrect change the only possible scam there is if they enter the wrong amount and Bank on you not noticing and just paying with contactless but at the same time it’s still way safer to be scammed via credit card compared to cash because at least with credit cards you do have recourse you can call your credit card company ask for a charge back and that way you can at least get those charges taken back whereas with cash are a little bit out of luck if they don’t give you the right change and you don’t notice another common scam that you’ll come across in Europe I’m sure you’ve heard of it before it’s the petition scam so oftentimes in major cities in touristy areas there will be groups of young women who are circulating with petitions and most of the time the way that this scam works is they will come up to you with a petition ask you to sign it and then when you sign it they’ll ask you for a donation and if you don’t want to give them money then they will get quite aggressive the other half of the scam is often times when you are distracted whether when you’re arguing with them or just signing the petition someone else is going to come and try to pick your pockets so any time you see a group of people with petitions it’s probably bad news odds are this is not going to be a legitimate petition so the best course of action is to just not engage ignore them often times they’ll try to lure you in by asking if you speak English pretend like you don’t or even better just don’t look at them or engage at all another scam you’ll often see in major cities is the street game scam so often this will be the ball and Cup game where there’s a ball and there’s three cups and you have to keep an eye on which cup the ball is under now keep in mind most of the time if you see anybody winning they are working in cahoots with the person organizing the game and through slight of hand or trickery or whatever you are never going to win so make sure that when you see these games taking place you don’t give them your money maybe you can watch have a few laughs but do pay attention to your pockets because often times these games are also used as a distraction tactic to pick your pockets while you’re watching the cup and the ball another Street related scam you might encounter is the fake damage scam now I’ve heard of this happening a lot in Florence where people would put art on the street but they’ll display it literally on the floor in very busy areas and what they’re counting on is people walking past accidentally stepping on the artwork and then them asking you to pay money for that artwork because you damaged their work or whatever now of course this is a scam usually it’s set up in a way that is basically trapping you into damaging the artwork and most of the time it’s not real artwork anyway it’s just prints so do make sure that anytime you’re in a crowded area you are paying attention and looking at where you step next is the fake good scam so in a lot of busy touristy areas you’ll often find that there are people on the street trying to sell you something whether that’s counterfeit designer products or tickets to an attraction or sometimes even drugs needless to say if someone is approaching you on the street to buy something whether it’s a Louis Vuitton purse or tickets to the Coliseum or cocaine it’s probably not a good idea to just buy things off of this random so definitely be wary of Street vendors now this next scam is most common in busy touristy party destinations like Prague or Budapest and that’s the hot stranger scam so I often hear of this happening especially to men and the scam will go like this an attractive young woman will approach you on the street or in a bar ask you to grab a drink and then when you move on to the next bar to grab a drink with them then a big bouncer is going to block the door going to pour you a few drinks they’re going to charge you an arm and a leg for them and they won’t let you leave until you pay the bill so needless is to say Europe is great but the odds of a really attractive stranger coming up to you and just being super friendly without any ulterior motives is not super high so just be wary of that and don’t fall for this scam because it can be quite scary I’ve heard of a lot of physical intimidation techniques being involved so you don’t want to be caught up in that another scam that often prays on drunk tourists is the fake police scam so I’ve heard of this happening in cities like Barcelona where people dressed in fake police outfits will ask to see your passport usually when you’re inebriated so you can’t really tell that they’re not real police and then in that process they’re going to be stealing stuff from your wallet or they’ll take your passports so just be wary of that it’s very rare that an actual police officer is going to come up to you and ask to see your passports unprovoked if they do do make sure you get a look at their identification now another one to be mindful of especially these days is the phone snatching scam so when you are out with your phone do be mindful that phone snatchings are becoming a very common crime these days in major European cities so avoid using your phone when you’re right next to a road or bike lane and also don’t leave your phone just out on a table even when you’re sitting inside a restaurant I’ve heard of multiple stories now about people coming in distracting you maybe putting a petition down or a map or newspaper down and while you’re distracted talking to them then they actually take your phone in the process so make sure that doesn’t happen and of course there’s also the distraction scam now this is really tied to pickpocket culture and is basically just an umbrella term that I’ve coined for any scam that relies on you being distracted so that they can take your wallet in the process now this can come in a lot of different forms whether that’s just talking to you while their partner pickpockets you or asking you to take their photo while creating some commotion in the process to distract you so try your best to keep your wits about you and do not get distracted because often times this is where pickpockets Thrive if you’re interested in learning more about pickpocket techniques be sure to watch this video over here where I explain more all right thank you so much for watching I hope you enjoyed this video be sure to let me know in the comments if I’ve missed any common scams you can think of and I’ll see you guys next week bye

➡️ ➡️ Try Airalo here & use the code HAPPY3 for a discount! https://go.airalo.com/HappytoWander

Written guide (and more scams!) here: https://happytowander.com/europe-scams/

0:00 INTRODUCTION
0:33 FAKE APARTMENT SCAM
1:31 PRICELESS MENU SCAM
2:40 OVERCHARGING RESTAURANT SCAM
3:44 ‘FREE FOR YOU’ SCAM
4:34 BRACELET SCAM
5:09 PHOTO OPP SCAM
5:54 TAXI SCAMS
8:55 PRICEY PEDICAB SCAM
9:59 EURONET ATM SCAM
10:43 CHANGE SWITCHEROO SCAM
11:45 PETITION SCAM
12:38 STREET GAME SCAM
13:18 FAKE DAMAGE SCAM
13:59 FAKE GOODS SCAM
14:33 HOT STRANGER SCAM
15:23 FAKE POLICE SCAM
15:55 PHONE SNATCHING
16:32 DISTRACTION SCAM

CHRISTINA’S TRAVEL GEAR
Note – many of the links below are affiliate links which means I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases. For more info on what this means, check out my website privacy policy and disclosure: https://happytowander.com/privacy/

➡️ My Camera {Paid Link}: https://amzn.to/3MhZ0VQ
➡️ My Favourite Regular Packing Cubes {Paid Link}: https://amzn.to/45OdSlI
➡️ My Favourite Compression Packing Cubes {Paid Link}: https://amzn.to/3MbIiYs
➡️ My Favourite Noise Cancelling Headphones {Paid Link}: https://amzn.to/46J6cTg
➡️ My White, More Elegant Carry-On {Paid Link}: https://amzn.to/3uS6lpU
➡️ My Black, More Minimalist Carry-On {Paid Link}: https://amzn.to/478ROnf
➡️ My Pretty Re-Usable Toiletry Bottles {Paid Link}: https://amzn.to/3SeqaAJ
➡️ My Amazing E-Reader That Links to the Library for FREE Books {Paid Link}: https://amzn.to/3Mgfca2

OTHER TRAVEL RESOURCES

➡️ My favourite travel credit card – Wise: {Referral Link} https://happytowander.com/Wise
➡️ Where I search hotels {Paid Link}: https://www.booking.com/index.html?aid=1180711
➡️ Where I search flights: https://www.google.com/travel/flights
➡️ Where I compare/book transport in Europe {Paid Link}: https://happytowander.com/omio
➡️ My go-to travel insurance {Paid Link}: https://happytowander.com/WorldNomads
➡️ Where I book activities/tours {Paid Link}: https://happytowander.com/GetYourGuide
➡️ Where I find rental cars {Paid Link}: https://happytowander.com/DiscoverCars
➡️ Rakuten USA for cash-back on purchases {Referral Link}: https://www.rakuten.com/r/LECOUR23?eeid=28187
➡️ Rakuten Canada {Referral Link} for cash-back on purchases: https://www.rakuten.ca/referrer?referrerid=T1dMsjxn5c0%3D&src=Link
➡️ American Express Platinum Referral Link (for 60,000 points!): https://happytowander.com/AmexPlatinum

MORE EUROPE VIDEOS:

➡️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMfmxwRv8qs
➡️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LtZitVvECw&feature=youtu.be
➡️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIWOJmGwUKA
➡️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFyR6tro6iI
➡️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdXDwoq11Kk
➡️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1EelA5RgW4
➡️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqBjW4WNM4g
➡️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fbfegva4uHM&t
➡️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbXR1IFsvTc
➡️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH44LZcWbFA&
➡️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pA87YO7SqtI&t
➡️ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61RUP1uBinU&

EUROPE TRAVEL TIPS & MUST-KNOWS:

➡️ My best Europe travel tips: https://happytowander.com/europe-travel-tips/
➡️ How to travel Europe by train: https://happytowander.com/how-to-travel-europe-by-train/
➡️ Grab my free Europe trip planning workbook: https://happytowander.com/EuropePlanningWorkbook
➡️ Grab my free accommodation checklist: https://happytowander.com/accommodation-checklist
➡️ My (brutally honest) Flixbus review: https://happytowander.com/honest-flixbus-review/
➡️ My honest RyanAir review: https://happytowander.com/honest-ryanair-review/
➡️ My honest WizzAir review: https://happytowander.com/wizz-air-review/
➡️ Europe summer packing list: https://happytowander.com/packing-summer-europe-ultimate-female-packing-list/
➡️ Europe winter packing list: https://happytowander.com/travelling-europe-in-winter-female-winter-packing-list-for-europe/
➡️ How to avoid pickpockets in Europe: https://happytowander.com/how-to-avoid-pickpockets-europe/
➡️ 7 scenic train routes you can’t miss: https://happytowander.com/most-scenic-train-routes-in-europe/
➡️ Europe car rental hidden costs: https://happytowander.com/travel-europe-by-car-hidden-costs/
➡️ 17 unconventional travel hacks: https://happytowander.com/travel-life-hacks/

———

Curious about common scams in Europe and how to avoid them? This video goes through the most common tourist scams you’ll find in touristy areas around Europe, along with what to do to avoid these European tourist scams/traps. Includes well-known scams like the petition scam and friendship bracelet scam commonly seen in big cities like Rome and Paris, as well as lesser-known but important scams like fake apartments, scam menus/restaurants and more!