travel scams

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Bill Mullins
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travel scams

Postby Bill Mullins » December 8th, 2008, 1:28 pm


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Q. Kumber
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Re: travel scams

Postby Q. Kumber » December 8th, 2008, 7:53 pm

Thanks Bill,
Very interesting.

raj k
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Re: travel scams

Postby raj k » December 9th, 2008, 1:44 pm

Mr. Steves appears to be quite the mark....

Richard Hatch
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Re: travel scams

Postby Richard Hatch » December 10th, 2008, 1:36 am

raj k wrote:Mr. Steves appears to be quite the mark....

Steves merely compiled these from his readers as cautionary tales. They didn't happen to him personally...

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Ray T. Stott
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Re: travel scams

Postby Ray T. Stott » December 11th, 2008, 12:52 am

Thanks for posting that link.
It was both interesting and amusing.
It's not about the magic; it's about the daily box office gross.

Mike Remington
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Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Re: travel scams

Postby Mike Remington » December 17th, 2008, 11:56 am

Reminds me of an experience in Rome. While standing on a crowded bus, I kept feeling a hand on my front pocket where I had my wallet. Every time I reached down to check, the wallet was still there. When I saw the guy that I thought was trying to pick my pocket start to get off the bus, I reached into the pocket again ready to grab him the wallet was gone. A little while later, in a shop I went to pay for something and discovered that he had stolen all of the money out of the wallet while leaving it in the pocket.

I was also drugged on a train in Morocco, but that is a different story.

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: travel scams

Postby Richard Kaufman » December 17th, 2008, 12:02 pm

Rome is the worst: pickpockets and Gypsies all over the place.

Earle Oakes had his pocket picked on a bus, and my father almost had his suitcases stolen while he was unloading them from the taxi in front of the place he was staying at. Some little bastard had grabbed his big suitcase and was halfway down the block with it during the instant my father turned around to get his second suitcase out of the taxi. My father caught the gypsy and got his suitcase.
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Dave V
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Re: travel scams

Postby Dave V » December 17th, 2008, 2:08 pm

Hard sided, locked suitcases seem to be the way to go too. I've heard stories just recently of seeing slashed soft side luggage coming out of the carousel at the airports in some small cities, especially in Russia. It seems the smaller the city, the more likely that theft is a significant portion of their income. If you make it easy for them, they WILL take advantage of it.

My wife learned during her trip to Russia, that gifts (toiletries, perfume, etc...) help to insure that your personal items won't be stolen from your hotel room while you're out. Even so, keep everything locked (in your hard side luggage) when you go out for the day.
"I still play with a full deck, I just shuffle slower"

Mike Remington
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Re: travel scams

Postby Mike Remington » December 18th, 2008, 10:26 am

How dangerous a place is depends on one's perspective. For several years after September 11, when people in the US found out I lived in Kuala Lumpur, they would often ask about life for an American in such a dangerous place. They knew it had to be dangerous because 14 of the 19 hijackers had been seen in cafes there at various times. My response was to point out that by that standard, the most dangerous place must be the only city where all 19 of them had been spotted - Las Vegas. I have also heard of many things disappearing there.

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: travel scams

Postby Richard Kaufman » December 18th, 2008, 11:26 am

I've always traveled with hard luggage: Samsonite and Delsey make the best, in my opinion. Make sure that you purchase a model with TSA approved locks! That's the only way you can lock your luggage.
On international flights sometime you just can't lock your luggage.
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Bob Farmer
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Re: travel scams

Postby Bob Farmer » December 18th, 2008, 8:01 pm

Travelers to Canada should be wary of the old grizzly bear scam. As your dogsled slides to a stop in front of the Mountie fort, and you shake the corn starch off your mukluks, you will be distracted by a ferocious bear who will be eating your tour guide. A native tribe of northern pygmies -- the Woma -- will swoop in, grab your backpacks and hardtack, and make for the igloo ghetto. It's been a problem for years.

Pete McCabe
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Re: travel scams

Postby Pete McCabe » December 18th, 2008, 10:29 pm

I was nowhere near Canada.


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