Was this a scam?

Yep...very old trick. You'll find them all over...people coming out of the blue offering help then demanding money for their "service."

Did you give him any money? I really hope not.

unfortunately we did.... we read all about scams before we left...didn't take flowers from the guy at Spanish steps, kept valuables unreachable etc., but hadn't heard about this one. Hopefully a lot of people will read this, be aware and tell the guy to keep his mitts off the luggage !!

Dianne, well, you gave him money ,, but are telling others not to? Tourists who do not question and hand over money like that are exactly why these con artists continue to do this,, and are so successful,, you gave in.

Just wondering,, were there other passengers around,, did you not feel singled out?

BTW Unless someone presents an idenity card, or is at least in a uniform,, I make it my policy to look blankly away when any stranger approaches and talks to me. If they speak english to me right off the bat I am suspicous and will not trust them as I figure they have already watched me and decided I am an english speaking tourist. Tourist in Europe are not all english speaking, so that assumption always sends my spidey senses tingling.

Dianne, I don't wanna make you feel bad, but I would never, in a million years, give even a penny to anyone that asked me for money. Not here, and not in Europe. I don't understand why anyone would.

OK now I have been properly chastized and deservingly so. And you're right...that is how they succeed.

I am the other half of Dianne's story being the sister who travels with her. We were totally alone on this train car, he approached very quickly from the opposite end, and stated his story. I do think he completely startled us, that we didn't have time to think...which is his purpose. Anyway, in looking back, had there been other people on that car, it would have been different. And we did give him what he wanted, shame on us, but maybe, just maybe, it was 5 euros well spent, as he could have had a weapon.
Sandy

Dianne (and Sandy),

I would like to thank you for sharing this experience, as it might possibly keep someone else from winding up in the same predicament.

And I sure know that I've made my share of mistakes on trips that I look back on and think could have been handled differently! (sigh) I guess I'm not perfect after all.

-Angela

Yeah, it was a scam but I wouldn't sweat it. 5 euros is a small price to pay for an interesting story and a lesson learned. Thanks for sharing that so others can be aware and learn from your mistake.

Thanks for sharing. Everyone on this board has made mistakes....lets call them learning experiences...so you shouldn't be chastised.

About the weapon comment...I can almost guarantee he didn't have a weapon. Unlike in the U.S., crimes against tourists involving weapons is very rare.

What this guy did was not illegal. The worst that would happen to him if caught is he'd be kicked off the train. If he had a weapon, he would go to jail.

Sorry that happened to you, Dianne.

I was on my way from Bologna to Padova, a young woman was passing out a piece of paper in front of each passenger on the table in front of them. She disappeared to another cart and reappeared several minutes later and asked for money. I did not understand what was on the paper or understood what she was asking for so I simply refused to acknowledge her. This happened again on my way from Padova to Venice. Do people actually give them money??

Jennifer, I suppose some people do give people like her money if they understand the message on the paper.

I remember in the 90's before security got tight at U.S. airports, girls would go from passenger to passenger and put down small pieces of paper and a little trinket. The paper would say "I am deaf and support myself by making these items." They would them come back to see if you wanted to buy it. If not, they just picked it up and walked away. Sometimes they were just asking for money. No trinket.

Once, out of boredom I guess, I got behind one and clapped my hands loudly. The girl jumped as if startled. Oops, deaf con "out the window."

Re Frank II's story, while I suspect it was indeed a con, it's possible she could truly have been deaf (or at least severely hearing impaired which is almost the same thing) and still been startled. Deaf people are pretty sensitive to vibrations, so depending on how far away you were when you clapped, she might have felt, rather than heard you.

Dianne, sorry about what happened to you, but like the other posters said, 5 euro isn't too bad for an interesting story, and you will be on guard against this happening again!

Frank II,

Good idea but you could probably say, "Look it's Elvis Presley!(or other unlikely person)" and get the same results.

True, but I was at LAX where seeing a celebrity is about as common as seeing an airplane out the window.

Sandy states "we were totally alone in this rail car"

This is a good illustration of the fact that, if you don't travel during the peak travel season, on a Monday morning or a Friday or Sunday afternoon, there are chances that you may find yourself in an empty (or sparsely occupied) railcar, even on a popular route such as Rome/Florence.

That's another reason that you usually don't need to worry about making advance seat reservations on this route.

Remember that Trenitalia trains accommodate up to 671 passengers. Even the local "regionale" trains can seat up to 500 persons.

ADVICE: Ask the ticket agent to be reseated in a different compartment if you're uncomfortable staying in a sparsely occupied one (particularly when it's dark). Most Trenitalia long-distance trains have a "spare" railcar to accommodate passengers without seat reservations (those who "hop-on" or who want to change their assigned seat). If you're on a regionale train, where there are no seat reservations, simply switch railcars yourself. Same advice if the air conditioning or heating is not working in your railcar, and it's very hot (or cold, as the case may be).

Last summer my sister was on the metro in Rome and a uniformed man asked to see her ticket. When it wouldn't scan in his hand-held machine he demanded her passport. She didn't have it on her. So he gave her a choice -- pay up 50 euros or go to the police station. She paid the money and received a written ticket/receipt. I'm not sure if he was legit or if she was scammed.

Thank you to EVERYBODY for your comments. You have actually made our 5 euro mistake worth it.