Cons

[UHBlackhawk]

It doesn’t hurt to prepare your future officer for some of these scams. I’ve seen most of these and variations.
The good looking girl in the bar digging you? Yeah. She isn’t digging you. Or that good looking guy buying you drinks.
Another one on the rise is getting your smart phone either unlocked or getting the access code and unlocking it. If this happens you have to be very quick in contacting your phone company and blocking the phone. If not, you are really, really hosed. So train them to be very careful when using their phones unlocked. I’ve seen phones grabbed out of someone’s hand at a train stop, and the thief sprints out the open doors with the unlocked phone into the night.

Travel Scams You Should Watch Out For

Unfortunately, travelers and tourists are prime targets for scammers around the world. You're out of your element, in an unknown location where you might not speak the language, leaving you vulnerable. While it's hard to predict when and where we might be taken advantage of, there are a few...

www.thediscoverer.com

 

[cb7893]

Sounds like an opening to share experiences of being robbed, cheated or otherwise swindled...successfully or not.

I'll go first. I was in a country in which the exchange rate was 4 times better than on the street, hence no one exchanged his/her hard currency in a bank. In fact I was stopped by a traffic cop for exiting through the entrance to a gas station. He said I had two choices: pay a fine or exchange dollars with him. It was illegal to exchange money other than at official exchanges. The fine was for about $3, so I said I'd take the ticket. Both the cop and the future Mrs. cb7893 looked at me like I was an ungrateful idiot, so I let her make the transaction. I told her she'd have to find a another way home if she got thrown in jail. I digress.

In the same country I was walking into a restaurant at the same time a well dressed man with his attractive companion were walking out. He asked if I would like to exchange money. I said sure, $20. He carefully counted out 26 100's. I gave him the 20 and he gave me the stack which I stuffed in my pocket. When it came time to pay the bill I saw that I had a couple of 100's and the rest 10's in the middle. Lesson learned.

Best story. In 1994 I was on a USDA trade mission in Ukraine. People were selling on the street anything and everything they could. I mean everything. A common item was tins of caviar for $10 which would have fetched 10 times as much in any Western capital. I bought a couple which I brought back to the states in my carry on. The leader of the trade mission bought about 7 or 8 which he packed in his checked bag. When he got home it was gone. Upon reflection he remembered watching as his bag went through the x-ray. At the moment his bag showed up on the monitor, round tins showing up clearly, the operator picked up his phone and spoke to someone. Nice racket. No telling how many trips that caviar made to the airport.

 

[AA787DRIVER]

Cambio people are all over the streets of Buenos Aires looking to give you a better rate than the Man.

 

[Wishful]

@UHBlackhawk There have also been several articles about thieves memorizing your iPhone access code before stealing it then locking the owner out of their Apple account. All photos, notes, etc. gone forever.

We Hope Your iPhone Never Gets Stolen. But Just in Case…

Here’s how to enable security settings, diversify data backups and freeze your credit.

www.wsj.com