One of the biggest drawbacks of travel is the possibility of somebody trying to scam you. There is often a difficult distinction at times between who is genuine and who wants your money. Possibly the saddest aspect of this is that some travellers, especially ones who have had bad experiences before, become less willing to interact with local people, and therefore miss out on some of travel’s greatest bonuses, like this guy:

1. Gem scams

General rule number one! If it sounds too good to be true, it is.

If anybody offers you anything, especially if THEY APPROACH YOU, and this deal has the potential to make you money, question it.

It may sound obvious, it may even seem condescending to some of you, but many have succumbed to the promise of a quick buck. I’m sure most of us have in the past.

One of the more common ploys is the gem scandal. Pay a low price for precious jewels that are worth thrice their price abroad. Only abroad, the gem dealers know a ruby from a booby, sadly.

This may also happen with other “precccccciiiious” items such as carpets and porcelain etc.

2. Poop squirters

Incredibly inventive, rather grotesque, and yet a genuine threat in parts of India, especially Delhi, is the poop squirter.

How it would happen:

You might be rather shocked when a man taps you on the shoulder and directs your attention to your shoes. Lo and behold, there is small mess on them.

How did it get there?

Well, this kindly gentleman will direct you to the closest boot polisher to clean your shoes up. How convenient; the shoe polisher is close by!

Wait a minute! How much? $50 dollars to clean shoes? Are you joking?

It’s too late of course, the shoes have been cleaned and causing a fuss will get you nowhere when you are the outsider.

It turns out the man who smelt it dealt it! The man who directed your attention in the first place was the culprit, his shoe cleaner cohort just lying in wait for the unfortunate out-of-towner.

Avoid: Well the actual act itself may be hard to prevent, I’m not going to suggest that you watch your shoes constantly, but if you are unfortunate enough to come a cropper to the plopper, then hail a taxi and move away from the area before getting cleaned, and of course agree the price before the cleaning.

3. I’m hot and want to practice my English with you.

It is hard to know sometimes when somebody genuinely wants to reach out to you and express friendship. This next scam is one that upsets me most, because it really does make me more cautious about talking to people when I travel. However, I cannot stress enough that one should not withdraw from the chance to meet local people.

The scam: You have a meal/drink, then get charged an extortionate amount when the bill arrives.

Never-the-less in parts of Asia, China in particular, especially the tourist locations, it is not uncommon for tourists to be approached by a friendly looking local who wants to speak English. This is fine. You can have a lovely chat. But if you are asked if you would like to go for a meal of coffee etc. then politely decline and find an excuse, say goodbye and move on.

4. “The hotel is closed”

Another very common scam is the lying taxi driver routine. In certain countries, you will inevitably get a taxi/rickshaw driver who wants to make a little commission from bringing tourists to a friend’s hotel.

The scam: You could be told any number of things, including:

“the hotel is closed for during this season”

“It burned down last week”

“The hotel is full due to there being many tourists in town at this time of year”

“It is closed due to riots/water main burst etc.”

They are all lies. The taxi driver will sometimes also try to take you to his friend’s/brother’s/father’s establishment and claim that it is the place you asked for.

How to avoid:

1) Insist strongly, but politely that you be taken to your chosen destination anyway.

This could go one of two ways. First you are taken. Second, you get out, pay and find another taxi (note: this is not advisable if you are travelling at night, or in an area with few people and other taxis around).

2) Check the sign on the hotel to make sure it is the location you requested. All major hotels and hostels worldwide that accept tourists will have signs in English.

5. “The taxi meter isn’t working”

Taxi drivers worldwide are notorious for their rather immoral attempts to make a little extra scratch, especially out-of-town types. Even in the safer tourist havens of Korea and Japan where there is very little petty crime, taxi drivers have been known to be untrustworthy.

Never believe that a taxi meter is not working. If you make no progress, find another taxi.

How to avoid: Always ask for the meter to be put on BEFORE you set off. If you really can’t make the driver turn it on and there is no other option, at least agree a price before you set off.