SCAMS!!
They happen to the best of us.  We are all accustom to the typical ones (aka scam emails: “Terry Wetherford, you have won prize.  Send money to address, so we send money you won.”)  However, traveling is completely different, because you are dealing with people face to face and in the moment.  There are higher emotions and less time to think.  Most people I’ve met on my trip are awesome, wonderful and great.  Some are not.  Here are just a few of the “scams” I’ve come across on my time on the road.

The Tuk-tuk Scam:
This usually begins by negotiating a set price before entering the tuk-tuk.  The scam may ensue when a driver drops a person off at a random location and expects payment, or the agreed upon price is changed upon arrival (“No, not $3, I said $30.”)  This happened to Julia and I in Thailand.  We showed a tuk-tuk driver the address, he told us he knew where it was, then he proceeded to take us to the wrong location and wanted us to pay him.  We began to walk away, he started to yell at and follow us.  We ended up paying the fare because in the end it was about $5 and our safety is worth much more than that.  Moral of the story! We would write down the number of payment  on a sheet of paper to show the driver (30 Thai dollars, not 300,) also always negotiate before getting in the taxi, and last try to not get too upset if we were taken to the wrong place.  In most case these drivers were fair and honest.

The Milk Scam:
“We don’t need money we need milk.”  Person buys the milk.  It’s immediately returned for money. I completely fell for this one.  A little kid approached me in Siem Reap and asked me to buy his little sister milk.  I should have never done it, but kids just get to me.  I thought to myself “What’s a dollar or two for a bit of milk?”  Well, the problem is it wasn’t a dollar.  It’s never a dollar!  The little boy walked into the store like he owned the place (and for all I know maybe his family did,) and picked up a $25 BOTTLE OF FORMULA.  I told him no.  So he goes for the “cheaper” version. A $20 bottle.  I say no again and he finally settles on a bottle for $8.  “Fine” I tell him.  It was $8.  Does that bother me so much.  Not really.  His family probably needs the $8 dollars more than me.  What bothers me is that I helped to perpetuate this problem.  I essentially sent the message to his mother “Great job!  Your child CAN in fact tug on the heart-strings of strangers and make you money.”  Moral of the story! As sad as is for me to say, don’t trust the kids. They know not what they do.

The “I Don’t Have Change” Scam:
This typically happens on the street with food or little goods, usually from vendors carrying their items. We are constantly counting our change.  One night, in Vietnam were completely ripped off by a street food vendor.  We bought these little donut things and asked for change.  The conversion is ridiculous there with $1=20,000 dong.  We gave the woman 100,000 dong (about $5) and asked for 50,000  dong back (about $2.50).  She gave me 10,000 back.  My hand was still waiting for the rest.  Then she gave me 5,000 dong more.  Hand still waiting.  Then another 10,000.  Still waiting.  Than another 10,000. Then she tells me she doesn’t have any more change.  Do we sit there and fight with this woman over 10,000 dong?  The equivalent of 50 cents?  No, we didn’t, but the principle of it is so aggravating because we were already giving her WELL above what this little food was worth.  They probably cost less than a $1 to make and we ended up paying $3. Moral of the story! Carry small bills!

The “Your Shoe Is Broken” Scam:
This one is just so strange. A person will walk up to you on the street, and will try to take your shoe off you to fix it by glueing and sewing the shoe.  Then it will be returned and payment of around $40 is expected.  This didn’t happen to us but it did to friends of ours.  My response probably would have been, “uum, these shoes are the $4 Target special.  You aren’t getting me to pay $40.  K thanks bye.” Moral of the story! Tie your shoes tight!

The Tea/Coffee Scam:
A friendly person will walk up to you, make conversation in English, then  ask you to go for coffee or tea so they can continue practicing their English.  They will take you to a café or restaurant that is in on the scam, and will proceed to order items without presenting a menu. Thirty  minutes later the bill comes and it is hundreds of dollars.  They even go so far as to have fake policemen outside of the restaurant who will say you must pay.  Moral of the story! Be wary anyone too nice! Don’t randomly follow a person somewhere.

The Black Taxi Scam:
These non-metered cars try to encourage you to skip the taxi line and hop a ride with them.  If they don’t rob you before making it to the car, then the ride is not metered and there is a joy ride around the city.  Once arriving to your location you are expected to pay an exorbitant fee.   Moral of the story! Always go with the taxi line.  Never ride in an unmetered taxi.  Don’t be tempted to skip the long line in favor of one of these guys who approaches you.

The “This Is My Unique And Authentic Merchandise And You Should Buy It For An Ridiculous Amount Of Money” Scam:
One of the first days we were in Thailand, we stumbled upon this really cool merchants market.  Everything seemed unique and handmade.  We found these interesting bags of all sizes made out of cork.  Julia and I ended up talking to the owner for 10-15 minutes about how he went to design school and thought of the concept of creating these bags and wallets out of cork because he was bored with using traditional materials.  We didn’t buy anything 1- because I don’t really want a cork handbag and 2- they were just too expensive for us.  Imagine our surprise when over the coming weeks we saw these “unique” cork bags at every market we visited in Thailand.  They weren’t original or created by this man.  They were in fact mass-produced.  Moral of the story! Shop around!

The “You Look Western And Therefore Will Be Charged 100-500% More Than Locals” scam.
While we were visiting friends in Shanghai we went to a place called “The Fake Market.”  Obviously, you can figure out what this place is from it’s name.  It’s a huge underground mall-esque mini-world.  They sell probably everything you can imagine.  Lots of the stuff comes from factory overruns, but other goods are straight up fake (and yet good quality fake!)  We were there one day with our friends, one of whom is from Hong Kong.  We bought purses, which we really liked for about $7USD.  We liked them so much we decided to go back the next day.  This time without our friends.  We walked into the exact same store, asked to buy the exact same purses, and the man quoted us at $60USD.  “Ooookay.  We were here yesterday.  These are the purses we bought,” Julia and I showed the man the purses we had just purchased the day before.  “They were $7 yesterday.” The owner dropped the price to $30.  Just like that slashed in half.  “Riiiight.  Okay yesterday we paid $7 for them, so today we want to pay $7.” We felt like this was a fair price for the items because again this stuff is fake. The man literally starting yelling at us.  “You here yesterday with friend.  You friend Chinese.  Yesterday, Chinese price.  Today you price.”  In my world, no purse is worth getting yelled at so Julia and I started walking out the door.  “Okay, okay how much you want to pay?  Best price.  Tell me best price.”  “$7 dollars,” I deadpanned.  “No, no $7 dollars not your price.”  We settled on $10.  Gah!  The frustration level of this is over the top for me.  We would see this all over the place.  In some ways I get it.  Friends, family, resident, locals discount.  Sure, I guess but come on!  Moral of the story!  Have local friends to help you!  If this is unrealistic which is probably is, Bargain like your life depends on it.

The “I’m A Monk Or Some Other Person Of Charity” Scam:
This one happens outside of local temples, shrines, or even just on the street.  Someone is dressed like a monk or from a charity and is asking for money.  Usually it’s a scam.  Moral of the story!  We were told monks will never ask for money on the street.  Ever.  As for other charities, probably best to walk on by and make a donation to a place where you know exactly where that money is going.

Moral Of The Story: Scams happen all over the world.  It’s easy to get “taken for a ride” because people are doing this day in and day out.  We are newbies at this. We don’t have the practice that others have in these situations. It’s easier for us to get frazzled because we have the element of surprise working against us.  “Just a couple of dollars for milk? Sure!” “Let’s go grab a quick coffee and practice English? Why not?” Dealing with scams is part of traveling.

My best advice is to trust your instinct, try not to get swept up in the moment of doing what someone wants you to.  Do what is best for you in the moment, even if it causes a delay or awkwardness.  It may sound as if I am very untrusting or paranoid with people during my travels but actually quite the opposite is true.  I am very trusting and often rely on the kindness of strangers to help/guide me in certain situation.  However, in my opinion the key to safe and succesful interactions is to approach these on your own terms.  I will often walk up to a stranger in a foreign city and ask for guidance or directions.  Yet, when someone randomly walks up to me offering advice, to sell me something or do something amazingly generous for me I take a certain level of caution.

I read a sign at a National Park that said “Your safety is our concern, but your responsibility.” I try to remember this daily.  Even if people are generally concerned with my well-being, my safety is my, and only my, responsibility.  Acting accordingly is key.