Scam in Florence

Me too, I stop for nobody, just keep walking, and I Never carry a wallet, ALL money is in my neck wallet and money belt both tucked inside my panties, and I Never bring those out in front of strangers.

"A Clean cut man from Barcelona..." And how do you know he's from Barcelona?? Change for the phone?? When's the last time I ever saw a pay phone in Europe?

Honestly - you have to use some intelligence when in situations like this.

No one will "castigate you for rudeness." If anyone approaches you, your radar should jump to its highest setting. Locals know how to handle these con artists - Ignore them completely and just keep walking. I sometimes also throw in the "Talk to the hand" gesture along with a crisp Italian "No!"

By the way, were his trousers vermilion? The Boy From.... :-)

Kudos to Peter for taking it in stride and giving us a heads up.
As to the two pieces of advice given above - NEVER carrying a wallet and NEVER stopping for strangers - I think heeding BOTH at the same time is a bit of paranoid overkill. It should be either or.
If you have nothing to lose - why not engage with the locals.

On a bit of a separate note, I hate being on the receiving end of someone's high alert settings. Just last month I happened to be in downtown DC around 8 am and lost my bearings - wanted to find the nearest metro. I had to ask at least half a dozen people before someone stopped and helped me with directions. Most young and seasoned professionals rushing to work ether pretended to have not heard my "Excuse me", or (my favorite) sputtered out a rushed "no hablo Espanol" in heavily accented Spanish.

Peter, from your other posts you seem to be a seasoned traveler. I'm a little surprised you let your guard down, especially pulling out and opening your wallet when approached by a stranger.

My wife and I practiced situational awareness as a team. If either one of us are approached on the street, the other immediately checks the surroundings for accomplices. We don't respond to petition signings, street beggars or trinket vendors.

You might want to re-evaluate your appearance, behavior and demeanor. It seems you were identified as a mark. Had you just gotten money from the ATM? You may have been watched.

Yeah, I know. I was dumb. But a good learning experience. I am a frequent traveler but never had even a similiar experience. And yes, there are pay phones in Italy. (No, we did not just get money from an ATM)

We were loving Italy, met friendly tourists at restaurants and on the train, so we were in this kind of mood when all was well with the world! And we Canadians tend to be polite. I am careful about how I carry my wallet and the guy did have a Spanish accent and the hotel told us that Florence is safe. Yes, still dumb but I hope that at least a few other trusting souls who read this will not get scammed.

Perhaps this is a common scam elsewhere too. .... And yes, I will be more careful from now on.

100 euros to learn a valuable lesson is not that bad in the grand scheme of things
Many of us know what to watch for but can still fall prey to pros like this.
Shame the attitude and probably best solution is better to be rude and not take any chances than be trusting and friendly.

I trust the rest of your vacation will go better!

I got to be a game with us... When we saw someone approaching with a trinket/toy, or trying to shuffle us over to see the prints/purses spread out for sale on the ground, we would somehow work the words Polizia or Carabinieri into the conversation. It was fun to watch them scatter...

As we will be in Florence very soon, thank you for this warning/reminder to always be on alert. I am sorry you lost $ while trying to be a good samaritan.

Sorry you got had...could have been worse..That is why my mother always said, "don't talk to strangers," ...keep walking let the cops help him if he is really in trouble, end of story.

The idea of producing a wallet in front a total stranger is less than savvy. ;)

There is a way to"engage with locals" and it sure as heck isn't on Ponte Vecchio! LOL how about at a cafe, or in your hotel bar, grocery store!

Peter,

Sorry to hear that you were victimized, especially for such a significant amount. This will be an expensive lesson! There were a few red flags in the situation you described. For example, although his excuse for the pay phone could have been legitimate, the greater majority of Europeans use cell phones, so that would have got my attention right away. Also, if he needed change, I would have referred him to the nearest commercial establishment.

On future trips you might just keep daily expense cash in a secure pocket and access the wallet as little as possible.

Scams like that are not limited to Florence, as I've even encountered them here. On one occasion, I encountered an individual who frequented the local A&W. He had a "hard luck story" about losing his wallet and needing money for a Bus ticket to get home. Something didn't seem "right" so I never gave him any money, but some of my colleagues had made a "donation". After a few weeks of this, a public warning was issued by the RCMP, as this individual was "known to police".

When I moved to NYC years ago from Wyoming I was told, 1) Never tell anyone the time, 2) Never look up a gawk at the buildings and 3) Don't open a map in public. The one time I stopped to tell someone the time outside my building the chain got ripped from my neck - a horrible bruise but not as bad as 100 Euro. I will give directions to the metro but I keep moving while giving them :). Hope the rest of your trip is better!

"A Clean cut man from Barcelona..." avoid qualifying integrity based on superficial junk
Change the title to "how I was scammed in Florence." because there are more varieties than just what happened here.
or maybe not so tourists that read this will be too scared to go visit this overrated site that scammers know as easy pickings

The lesson - don't pull your wallet out in front of a stranger. Can happen anywhere, why tarnish Florence? Seems like Barcelona is to blame.

Florence is indeed safer than most Italian or even European cities, however common sense should apply anywhere. Pulling out a wallet to someone asking for money is not a good idea anywhere.

Funny about perceived safety or danger in specific cities; the first time I was pickpocketed was in Firenze, 35 years ago. A total of twice in 35 years isn't terrible.

Peter, I'm glad you're having a great time and not letting this glitch dampen your spirits! My nature is to be helpful and it bugs me to act in ways I feel borders on being rude.

We did get approached for directions in both Florence and Siena. In Florence, it was early evening and we were just leaving the Uffizi. There was a misty rain and an older couple approached us and asked if we spoke English. I'm hoping that was a sign that at least to foreigners we blended in. I was able to point them in the right direction. No alarms went off. The same thing happened in Siena.

I'm not so much worried about the potential situations that I recognize, but the ones that I don't! The only time I felt out of control and uncomfortable was our evening in Rome the last Saturday before Christmas. The streets were teaming, there must have been 50,000+ folks on the Via del Corso. Our tour guide said 90% were locals out doing their Christmas shopping. We got jostled just because of the number of people on the street. Luckily, there were no problems.

I've seen a number of posts recently from those traveling to Italy for the first time. Peter has done you a favor to remind you to be careful, but don't blow this out of proportion. There's been some good advice posted here and elsewhere about simple steps to keep you and your belongings safe, many of them things I would do when traveling to a large city in the US. Be careful, but most of all have fun!

To me, "safe" means "safe from physical harm." Being pickpocketed or scammed like this guy did not inflict any physical harm. Most of Italy is very safe when it comes to physical safety. You are VERY unlikely to get mugged at knifepoint or gunpoint. What does happen is these sorts of scams and pickpocketing.

As for the "why not engage with strangers if no money is at risk" question, please be aware of the scam where (usually) a young woman approaches you with a smile on her face, extending her hand in "friendship." When you allow her to take your hand she quickly ties a "friendship" bracelet on your wrist in a way that it cannot be easily removed. Then she demands money. They are very good at causing a big scene to embarrass you into giving them money to go away.

If you want to interact with strangers, do it (as mentioned) in a restaurant or someplace other than a crowded tourist site.

Peter,
Thanks for the heads up and reminder about scammers. Even the best travelers will sometimes get scammed. My wife and I braved the aggressive vendors at the Pyramids in Cairo successfully. We congratulated ourselves, then agreed when the "Tourist Police," offered to take our photo with the Pyramids. Then these real policemen, uniforms, guns, and badges, proceeded to demand money for their photography services. Forgive yourself often! As Nora Ephon said, "One day this will all be copy."

Scott

p.s. I left my wallet in the hotel safe and just took 40 Euro and one MasterCard with me the next day in Florence.

In my hip pack pouch with a steel cable in its belt. inside a zipped compartment. And we did not tespond to any strangers except an American couple at the next table at lunch. After all, we do not want to be hermits when traveling.

Seriously, you opened your wallet in front of a beggar? What did you think would happen? I keep coins in my pocket for buskers and occasionally buy flowers or whatever from immigrants hustling to make a living, but professional beggars? not me. And this guy was a beggar, not a clean cut guy from Barcelona. Reminds me of the woman with the rollerbag near a metro in Paris who lost her wallet and just needed 20 Euro for a hotel; saw her at the same metro, presumably with the same story for days after that.

Please don't feel stupid for being scammed. Second, thank you for reporting the scam on this forum for our knowledge and to open a scam discussion for education. What happens is - we tourists are simply caught off guard and don't have time to analyze the situation until it is over. I've had to deal with some minor scams. However, thanks to the precautions promoted here - it was never anything that wrecked my vacation. Just annoying for a brief time. It would be great if the webmaster could build in a scammers alert category for each country on this website. Then, the scams could be provided concisely to us before traveling.

I'm sorry this happened to you. Fortunately, it is just money. That being said, I have to disagree with people who say don't talk to strangers. I have had many extremely pleasant conversations with strangers, but I always maintain my space. I'd hate to lose that freedom of meeting and conversing with strangers, because of fear of losing a few dollars. Why are we traveling after all? I also know where my unprotected money is, and it is not much. If someone is annoying or up to no good, obviously, I will strongly say "va via" no matter what country I'm in. It might mean nothing, but they look at me, surprised at the language or the crazy lady and back away. I've never felt threatened by the bracelet people and have had interesting exchanges with the gold ring women to their disappointment. This is the fun of traveling. However, if someone comes up to me in a foreign country looking for help, amidst many other people, I ignore them because you don't turn to a foreigner for help, unless it is the sex slave trade and I'd be unlikely to recognize that in a foreign country. I have never been pickpocketed in all my years of being in the US or abroad. I remember being on the Piazzale Michelangelo and offering to take a photograph of a couple of Asian women taking turns taking pictures of each other. I'm there with my DSLR and clearly a tourist. They took one look at me and essentially ran back to their lady with the flower, like frightened children. This is not the traveler who I'd want to be. I think pickpocketing is overblown on this site. Be aware, but enjoy yourself. Be prepared, but don't isolate yourself and don't be afraid. Feel and enjoy every minute. Most people do not get pickpocketed contrary to what it seems on this site. You're more apt to lose your stuff...but that's another discussion.

I had an incident buying a vaporetto ticket in Venice.

Just before the ticket and changed dropped, a young woman runs up to the machine on my left asking "San Marco?". She had three men with her. It took me a couple of seconds to register but I pushed my left hand against the door that held my ticket and change and grabbed my bags with my right hand. (My mistake--my bags were to my side). One of the guys was too close to my bag.

I told them to "f" off, took my change and ticket and walk away. They didn't linger near the machine of buy a ticket. They were roaming around. Not acting as if they were really trying to get a ticket.

When I got to my hotel, one of my bags outer pocket zippers was open but i never put anything in that pocket. My tote bag was riding on top but I had connected the zipper pulls with a cable key ring. I had a jacket on so pickpocketing would have been difficult.

The strange thing is that just before using the machine, I scanned behind me and no one was within 100 feet. This group acted fast.

The next day the petition people were out and very aggressive. I just ignored them.

No need to be paranoid, just aware.

Tourists are fair game for scams in Rome. We are tourists, so naturally fair game. We were stung in the most memorable fashion a couple of years ago, when we managed to purchase a pair of leather jackets (“I’m on my way home from the Milan fashion shows, where are you from?, my sister lives in Adelaide, I’ve lost half my map of Rome (shows half map), can you direct me to the bank, my Visa card is broken (shows Visa card with broken corner), here take these two leather jackets – they are just samples, I don’t need them, could you spot me 50 Euro, I’m about out of petrol (points to petrol gauge)”. 50 Euro for two leather jackets – unbelievable, and they had an Italian label – pasted over the other label that said “Made in Beijing”. A few polyvinylchlorides were killed and their skins tanned to make those jackets. And he was right when he thanked us for our help – “you’ll never forget me”, he said. We haven’t.

So we were chuffed on a later visit to Rome when a guy pulled up, asking to be directed to the Tiber – all of 50 metres away, bridge in full view, jackets in plastic bags on the back seat. Anticipation of sweet revenge. Same dialogue, up to the point when we were advised that his sister lived in Perth. And then he drove off – he must have spotted Lou’s grin as she poked me in the ribs. Damn. Hate that.

Vigilance while traveling...sometimes we let our guard down. These are good reminders.

2 years ago, we were walking out of the Naples train station...to get on a bus to go to the airport and my wife was pickpocketed....a version 1 (old) Ipad she took while traveling.