Followed by man on a shuttle service to CDG airport

Why would 2 people traveling together book a shuttle service for probably more per person than splitting the fixed rate taxi fare?

Did they notify the police? Contact the shuttle service? Which shuttle company was it?

How did they book the shuttle service? Through the hotel? Through someone they met? Finding the cheapest on the internet?

Whenever I need a taxi from my hotel to somewhere, and I'm not using Uber or Bolt, I let the hotel book it. Usually, the hotel will have an arrangement with an honest service. They don't need complaints in this day of internet reviews.

Wow. Can you post more info about how they got the service. No name needed because we don’t want to muddy a name without knowing.

I think some people want to figure out if it was happenstance that this man was in it or conspiracy.

Posted by S J (Western Canada) on 11/27/24 05:52 PM or are thieves now
spending money for tickets in order to steal yours??

This. Yes they do.

News stories on shows like 20-20, Dateline, etc. have done shows in the past where there are thieves working airports.

"Nice-looking" family in the gate area, but they are waiting for someone to walk away/look away from their belongings to strike. Then they move on to the next area of the airport. Apparently the haul is worth the ticket prices to get into the secure area.

All the more reason to never let your guard down and practice your security measures whether at home, on the way there, there, on the way home, at home.

Sorry, I don’t know any more details as I only had a very brief chat with one of the friends this morning.
I would imagine they booked it through their hotel.
As I said, they did go straight to the airport security people, who said nothing could be done as this was happening so frequently and the would be thief was long gone.

I have read of thefts in elevators previously, usually with a couple of thieves working together to jostle, crowd and distract people.

These people had a similar experience in Rome:

https://youtu.be/YZl3NRHaVDE?feature=shared

I’ll be thinking twice about elevators now when traveling.

Thank you so much for posting. This is one of the times when I'm so very glad you have a posting history here because the story is quite scary especially since I'm a solo traveler. Wow.

IF I were your friends, I'd definitely contact the shuttle service to report it.

I think it is also weird that they were dropped off on the lower level to take the elevator up. The taxis and the one time I used a shared van (booked by Road Scholar) they all deposit you on the upper level departure area so you just walk directly in to the check in desks, no elevators needed. If others have taken shuttle services that dropped them at the lower level then this might not be a red flag. If the shuttles routinely use the Departure level then this sounds like it could be a set up.

I think it is also weird that they were dropped off on the lower level to take the elevator up. The taxis and the one time I used a shared van (booked by Road Scholar) they all deposit you on the upper level departure area so you just walk directly in to the check in desks, no elevators needed.

The same thought occurred to me, at least at CDG. I can't ever recall being dropped by a taxi at CDG where I had to take an elevator to the departure level, but maybe there are certain terminals where that happens that I am simply unfamiliar with.

I am going back to Paris next month, and I will pay more attention to this. For years I have always flown American, but this next trip will be on Delta, not sure how that terminal is setup for the departure level. Regardless, I intend to tell my driver I want to be dropped off at the curb outside of the check in desks, if possible.

JoJo, Delta uses Terminal 2E. I have always been dropped off by taxi at the departures area where you just walk in the doors and you are on the same level as the check in desks. I had not actually thought of other terminals being set up differently as I always fly Delta but that is a good point.

For what it’s worth, I remember they were flying WestJet.
I don’t know which terminal they fly from.
I’ve never arrived at CDG by road, only on the RER B, so I’m not familiar with different levels.
I don’t see the friend again till next week as we are all busy with two different choirs and our volunteer stuff, but I’ll see if I can get more information then.
As I said, the other person didn’t lose any valuables, but was shaken by the whole thing.

What next! :O

JoJo, Delta uses Terminal 2E. I have always been dropped off by taxi at the departures area where you just walk in the doors and you are on the same level as the check in desks. I had not actually thought of other terminals being set up differently as I always fly Delta but that is a good point.

Good to know, Pam, thanks for posting this info. One less thing to think about on getaway day.

I have never arrived at CDG Terminal 1 by taxi, but by bus you are dropped off at the ground level and must take an elevator up to the departure level. There are no public stairways. Terminal 1 is served by United and partners airlines like Air Canada, Swiss and Lufthansa.

Why would he do this, especially while still in the elevator?

Seems obvious to me. He didn't want them screaming and attracting attention when the elevator doors opened. He realized he was caught and was essentially returning it, but by making her snatch it he bought himself a little time to get away when the doors opened.

Thank you Syd, for your explanation of what the man did.

Not doubting others account, just sort of amazed that a thief would take the time and make the effort to catch a shuttle, spend the hour or so getting to the airport in the remote hope of snagging a billfold, that anymore, is not likely to include much cash (we all use credit cards it seems). The payback, to me, would not be worth the cost of the shuttle, or my time; better to prey on the tourists trying to figure out the Metro.

Of course maybe said criminal works the airport, and needed transport to his job, and opportunity presented itself.

"...not likely to include much cash (we all use credit cards it seems)."

If they've gone to all this work, as you say, it's a good chance they are tied into a ring that can take all the cards and run them in multiple places (remotely) to run up quite a haul before they get cancelled. It's all in the timing.

There's even groups where you can purchase such services and leave "you" to run the local picks and float from place to place.

As to why would the thief wave the wallet around, maybe he’s just not a good thief. In Ephesus we absolutely, unequivocally established the taxi cost and when we were finished he tried to extort us for triple the amount. I was dumbstruck, and responded with a shocked expression. He renewed his pathetic lying explanation until I just burst out laughing. He shrugged and walked away. Bad thief.

As to arranging a service with the hotel, this spring we arranged a ride to the station in Ghent through the hotel desk. Arriving in the lobby we found the driver and clerk in friendly conversation, clearly they knew one another. Our affable friendly driver who loaded our luggage into his car became sullen and rude when we declined for the third time his offer to drive us to Brussels after we’d explained over and over we already had train tickets .When we got to the station, he insisted we pay only the determined fare and not to tip him. I told him Don’t worry about that. Then the stand off….he did not move from his driver’s seat nor did he release the trunk with our luggage until I finally said, Open the damn trunk! And we grabbed our luggage and left. I really thought he was about to drive off with it. I have an even more puzzling story of the guy in San Juan airport who grabbed my shoulder bag when I set it down at the departure gate..mea culpa… and then found him returning through security with my shoulder bag which he handed to me, only to realize onboard the plane that he’d taken $300 from my wallet which was back in the bag. Why bother coming back through security, seeking me out, and handing me my bag??? There are more things under heaven Horatio than I will ever understand…thieves and crooks being among them. The bottom line for me I suppose is remain vigilant and stand your ground when you know you’re being wronged.

Coincidence or conspiracy? Ah, that seems like a Netflix movie right there. The Shuttle Gang.