I was in Prague a few years ago and got one of those scammers. My friend(metal vocalist for 4 years) pretended to go do something while the guy talked to me. He snuck up behind and gave his heaviest, most disgusting low growl into the guy's ear and he jumped like I've never seen before. Deafness went away instantly
Had that happen a few times in Thailand be sitting at a bar or eating in a restaurant and get approached by an individual they place a business card in front of you asking for a donation as they’re deaf.
As an Italian I sometimes feel ashamed of how Italian cities are plagued by these scammers, particularly illegal sellers. In my hometown of Bologna there rose sellers enter so many times in restaurants and they are soo annoying
I have traveled extensively in Europe while living in Austria for close to 10 years. I learned early on, “Do not accept anything or sign anything from people canvassing on street corners, 100% scam.”
Funny side note since you lived in Austria. Just speak in a stereotypical aggressive german (either per accent or just staight up talking german). Start with a "Entschuldigung, wie bitte?!?!" People will most likely stop trying it.
The real shame here is the italian police. They do nothing. Once i was there with a group, one of us got robbed at the metro (kids do it at plain sight) and when we found a police car, they literally roll their tongues talking with us just like they could not speak or understand us talking in english. That was truly ridiculous! When we found the nearby police station, the same cops were there, warning the others about our arrival, so the others didnt open the doors. When finally a car drove out their garage, we enter there. Instantly the cops rush from the station, saying "you cannot be here!". Keep it in mind, if you need some help, you wont get it. This is what i remember from Italy, bravo!
They usual don’t speak English. If the zio DIDNT run Italy im sure they would care more!! Carabinieri are the ones to look for in case you go again. Sorry u went through this
Italian police go to arrest good people that plant medical cannabis for their illness or health conditions , and don’t care about real criminals, dem a bloodclaats
I once became a 'victim' of this wrist band scam ..... I stood my ground and walked away with the gift keeping to say 'thanks, thanks for this beautiful gift' .... the nice person who gave it to me shouted something in a language I did not understand. I assume he was saying something like 'I love you'
Oh holy shit! I think I got scammed with the wrist band scam too! Two “monks” literally came on to me and wrapped this bracelet around my wrist. Unfortunately I didn’t stand my ground like you tho. On the bright side, I only had coins on me, so that’s what I gave and ran away when the “monk” started gesturing. It pisses me off now thinking about it. I could’ve bought atleast two candy bars with the coins I gave away. Damn it.
I'm from Italy, I worked 10 years in tourism in Florence. Thanks for this. Italians know how bad it gets with these and many more tourist traps (most of them affect also the locals as well as italian tourists), but way too many people and institutions passively accept that there is nothing more they can do about them as the solutions are complex, costly and difficult to execute. We need people like you giving more visibility to the issues, sadly the only thing that moves us to action is international shaming.
The only thing the police is doing, is to wait the end of the month to get their salary!!!! Pizza, calcio e Aperitivi!!! Ma dove cazzo devono andare i poliziotti?! Si mettono la divisa tanto per avere il posto fisso!
@@soloataraxia in general I absolutely do, it's a great place to live. We do have issues as any other country and it can be conplex to live in certain areas but most definetly living in Italy is much better than many other places imo.
One scam I caught onto quickly was the "return half you change, then wait to see if you leave" scam. This happened a couple of times, so I know it wasn't a fluke. You go to pay for something, wait for your change and they at first give you half of it, then pause. Many people think they've gotten it all back and leave. Luckily, I can be a bit particular in making sure I get the correct change back, so I start counting it...then the scumbag owner says, "Oh, here's the rest."
That happened to my mom and I in Colombia. One of the ladies was talking to us too -- but my mom was paying close attention to her money and wasn't having it.
Just yesterday my family and I were visiting the pantheon and there were so many guys carrying bracelets and throwing them at people. I was over by the fountain when 2 tourists were stopped by one of the bracelet scammers and I was roped in. He threw the bracelet at me and I jumped out of the way and told the guys to drop the bracelets and walk away. The bracelet scammer got more aggressive and started cussing me out and telling me to go back to my country (I was born in Italy) I walked away back to my family and the guy followed me and started cussing me out. My dad told him to buzz off but he didn’t until pantheon security walked by. The whole time I was in line for the pantheon they were circling us. A few hours later my family and I were riding some electric scooters through Rome and we ended up back in the pantheon we’re we saw the same guy, this time he was going home and he saw me. He pointed me out to his friends and started running after me. Of course he couldn’t out run the fully charged lime scooter I was on so since I have brain cells I drove away. Don’t take anything from anyone in Rome. Please. (Thank you for reading through my essay)
It looks like a tourist must bring a pepper gas with him, to such places. Why don't you call police immediately ?? Why your family didnt take a photo of that guy ?
@@firewhite i think it was because of that company (seznam) they worked for. Because Seznam is basically google of Czech Republic, so they also have their own youtube (called stream, its actually older than youtube) and i guess the company demanded from them to delete those videos because of the its claims on those older videos
It's the same deal in Rome but 1000 times worse. The 'wrist band' scammers are really agressive and you can't go more than a few min without someone trying to slap a wristband on you.
@@Jut1233456 sorry to hear your bad experience. Although scammers are nothing new, they've been there since I can remember. Plus that's not just a Rome thing every major city I've been to in Europe have scammers it's a consequence of turism. Hope to welcome you back in Rome soon!
The wristband scam happened to me and my wife in Italy too. We were in Milan and four african men came up to us and tied wristbands on our wrists saying it's a gift and that it's good for fertility (wtf!). Asking us where we're from, saying they love Zlatan when they hear we're from Sweden, then showing pictures of their "families". They got very agressive when we said we don't have any cash and said we stole from them... We couldn't take the wristbands off to give back as they were tied. It was a scary experience. We were out sightseeing in a ruin and we were all alone with these people. It's so sad that this is the first thing I think of when I think back to our vacation there. :(
The really sad thing if you speak out you are labeled a racist, this whole situation is absurd. People need to stop accepting this behavior and letting people get away with the narrative that it’s about race, because it isn’t about race. It’s about keeping bad people out and keeping everyone else safe. When people do this or any violent-crìmes kick them out and don’t let them back in. Speak out and stop standing for this. I watched a video on Vice saying how bad the racist Italian right is, the narrative is absurd, you can’t even defend yourself anymore without being called a racist. Personally I don’t care what people say, this isn’t about race, non violent decent people of all races are welcome. Guys like in this video and violent people are not, kick them out!
@@stayawayfromthewoke3412 ahahhahaha go to Naples brother 😂 they will scam your family too 😂 in Italy you cant say if there are more native of import scammers...Italians did invent the scam..remember 😂
@@d716agq Who's blaming the tourist dodo? Unless LAWS are changed WORLDWIDE they will continue scamming knowing they're a protected class of the leftist. The police know those arrests will be thrown out or the scammer disappears to another location without showing up in court.
Was there last year. Amount of scammers seemed unreal to me.. nearly got in a fight with a wristband dude, and helped a women get out of the step on a painting scam.
Another thing to be aware of-- the subways of Italy are riddled with pick pocketers. Be especially aware if the escalator is out and you have luggage. Out of no where, "good Samaritans" will show up to lend you a helping hand getting up the stairs. Just realize that they want your wallet.
Never seen the escalator thing, but yes in Milan there are groups of 3-4 gypsy women who will swarm around tourists and elderly people to distract them while one steals from their purses.
I can confirm. 2016 in Rome main train station going into train with group of tourists. Some "nice helping men" came to help with carrying luggage because the train door would not be working, so you'd have to enter another wagon further away. Needless to say, some of the group got their wallets stolen there. My wallet wasn't stolen though because I stared into the gypsy eye like a psychopath and I already felt that they are pick pocketers. Same shit btw on Rome metro, some guy was trying to get into pockets of a friend on very crowded metro. I have spotted it and yelled at the guy so loudly that people started staring on what's happening and he didn't succeed. Also near Rome at the beach, parked our travel bus in the middle of day in big parking lot for the beach. When we came back 3 hours later, the bus was cracked open and all the luggage stolen like wtf. It was no shady area. It's sad how the local police didn't even care, saying it's just normal happens regularly. Unfortunate for the Italians but I'll never come back to Italy despite my huge admiration of ancient roman empire. I've never elsewhere met so many scammers and thiefs in my life.
So true there are swarms of (especially Gypsy) scammers hanging around the subway and main train stations. Some of them were quite obvious just hanging around and watching passengers getting on and off.
Ah yes the good old wrist band scam... When I visited Rome with my parents, I got a wrist band and my parents just walked on like they didn't know me.... Well I got a free wrist band from that 😂
Ye, it happened to meet tho, he asked where I was from and I just froze for a second. Then he put the wristband on me and demanded 20 euros for 4 wristbands.
I got hit with the wristband scam in Rome a couple of years ago. Dude said it was his wedding soon and he was celebrating it, the wristband, the "it's free" the picture of a kid, the good vibes, the goodbye then turn around asking for a donation for his kid, it all went exactly the same.. Scumbags.
They already care about tourists but they can’t really do much about it because this is happening because of who was let in… and if they try to do anything substantial to stop it, they will be labeled “racíst”. This is all orchestrated from the EU/US leadership.
It’s not a crime to be a scammer or a thief in most if not all of Europe. Those incidents have been decriminalized. Therefore law enforcement will not respond. It’s the same crap in LA, NYC, Chicago, New Orleans to name a few in the USA. Liberal policies have ruined Europe and for the last few years America!
as an italian this is very sad to watch. unfortunately these traps are also used on locals and you can trust me when i say that EVERY italian has fallen for at least one of these scams, especially the wrist band one, so we’re all just used to them now
@@lightimagay00 uguale, la tipa mi voleva far donare 20€ però almeno non sono stata così stupida da darne più di 5€. Userò questo mio sbaglio come lezione sul non essere troppo ingenua
You talk about scammers in Italy and in Florence. You are truly an unfair person and it shows that you don't know Florence at all. 1 - The "swindlers" were all African immigrants (probably also clandestine) but none of them are Italian. 2 - This type of scam is widespread in all tourist cities of the world, including the United States. 3 - The bars in Florence especially in the center are very expensive and then you have to see what wine you ordered... In any case, if you have no money, avoid luxurious places. 4 - I believe that New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc. do not guarantee the security that Italy offers. In the States you stayed at the time of the far west your police still do justice with guns in the streets, in schools... I also find that regarding the morality you boast about sexual orientation and racism you are a very hypocritical country, puritans and moralists... Bottom line, people like you better not post these nonsense videos.... Best regards from Tuscany.
As a person living in Florence, I'm so sad to see these scams affect the mood and joy of the tourists. Getting scammed on the street, Ponte Vecchio, or at the exchange office can destroy the mood for a whole trip. This video is great, hopefully, people visiting will know what is going on and not get caught by surprise anymore. The one positive about these scams is that they're rarely confrontational or turn violent. They want people to feel for them, and therefore they avoid being aggressive. The funnies thing to see is when the police come to Ponte Vecchio on bikes to disrupt the painting scams, they get away real fast.
My friends that tour Colombia, said that in some heavy tourist sites, they have dedicated Tourist Police to haul away these people. Italy should do the same.
@@reginapolo3357 I believe there is something similar in Florence, the police arriving on bikes are exclusively targeting the people selling printed posters on the ground, and other merchandise around the tourist spots. However I think the problem is much bigger than the "boots on the ground", dispursing them won't have much effect, they need to target the people organizing and making money off it.
I was already harassed with the slips of paper for signatures and the wristbands in exactly the same way 28 years ago in Barcelona. If at all, I only fell for it once when I was 21 years old. It's amazing that it still seems to work. Good that you @HONEST GUIDE point out that you don't have to expect any support from your environment. Apart from that, Italians are generally a very open, relaxed (often too relaxed), grounded and honest people. My tip: off the beaten tourist track, you will not only find real life and the beauty of the culture, but also many small family-run inns frequented by locals. These restaurants (trattoria, osteria) are recognisable because they are simply designed (paper tablecloths) without a lot of frills and without tourists. The food is authentic, tasty, uncomplicated and the prices are fair. If you honour this, you will quickly be accepted after initial scepticism. Viva la dolce vita!
I was a victim of the wristband scam too, when I was 16 years old and walking up the steps of Sacre Coeur in Paris. A black guy approached me and ask me what time was to put me a bracelet on my wrist and then demanded money from me. I said no but then 3 other guys approached me and one of them put a blade near to my back, so I gave them my entire wallet. The worst of all is that it happened in a fucking crowded touristy place and nobody gave a fuck. This makes me still mad nowadays.
Almost had the fucking same experience at the same place! 6 black guys sorrounded me and my GF and wouldn't let us go. I tried to keep her behind me while the guys grapped my arms and asked: "Are you scared white boy????". We got away but it still pisses me off to this day. 100s of people around who did nothing.
Same location, same scammers. Forced me and my 2 other friends to give them 20 euros each. So it is 60 in total. We were very upset because there were a lot of people but they didn't help, even 50 meters from the location there were police but they didn't do anything. At that time, it is our first time traveling to Europe, we are still very innocent.
As Italian, specifically from Florence, I can say: except from the "high price" (tourist traps) the other are all illegal. Many time police ignore them because they're unharmfull, sometimes the local police go on "patrol" and all the seller run and hide (without no one that really follow them) until police go away. It always amused me to see this patetic scene with scammer who run and police who just walk and look around then turn the corner and all the scammer coming out again. Some tips from a local: - Do not buy or sign anything on the street. Only real shop or market stall (here in Florence in example the ones in San Lorenzo) are legal and legitimate, anything else (donation, flying toys, art pictures, art audio guide etc) are pretty much scam. - Many, many, many restaurant and cafè in any italian city center are tourist traps. Not all, but many of them are traps. Best way to be sure to avoid traps is going further from city center (with the problem that is highly possible that there they do not speak english) or try to ask locals, if you can the best is ask to young people (from 20s to 30s) since they more likely speak english and usually hate and avoid like pest any tourist trap places. - Info points: if they are not from the city goverment, there is an high chance that they have "marketing" contract with cafè and restaurants. This also happen when you ask for information to your hotel staff, every hotel have "marketing" contract with restaurant and bars, so is pretty difficult that they give you valid information. - Look close any single price and fee on any menu, usually here in italy just because you sit on a table you get to pay the "coperto" fee, wich is usually 1 or 2€ but in city center can be even 4/5€. - In the city center restaurants ABSOLUTELY DO NOT choose any tipical or regional plate. They overcharge the price in absurd way for the tipical food. If you want regional and local food go outside the city center, the best place for regional food are in the suburbs or in the country side. - If you come from place with different currency do not change money, use your card instead, by law every single shop, bar or restaurant is forced to accept them. If you absolutely need to have cash for something (I know that many bar find excuses to not accept cards for a single espresso in example) use atm that are located in a bank or in post office (Poste Italiane). Avoid at all cost ATM and Cash Machine that are not from post offices or from banks, in the city center there is always plenty of both so you absolutely don't need to withdraw from ATM in some tourist shop and pay absurd fee on your money.
How about speaking out in Italy and getting rid of scammers, more importantly vìolent people? Seems to me people are afraid to be called racists, when this has nothing to do with race, it’s only about keeping out bad people.
I was in Florence 17 years ago and there were already this scammers around. I was strolling around with a friend, took a wrong turn and suddenly 5 of this wristband guys surrounded us. I was 17 years old at the time and got really scared. Good to see that the city got rid of them.....
I am Japanese and when I was traveling France and Italy, don’t know how many times I was called and yelled “Hey China!” from these scammers. Luckily I can speak English so I responded them just to make sure they understand not all Japanese is quiet.
Haha, Laughed so hard as you suddenly spoke some words in german. Love this channel, guys. Can not wait to visit prague again, but this time knowing your channel!
I spent two weeks travelling Italy with my sister a few years ago. We were scammed on the first day, very aggressively too (the wristband scam but they surrounded us and demanded money). I noted that the police stood by and watched. We also noticed that food prices were significantly higher than we had budgeted for, I guess “tourist prices”. We paid for breakfast included in all of the hotels we stayed at(a significant extra cost)- a slice of cake and an espresso was a little less than we’d hoped for. Overall I was glad we saw the sights but didn’t feel safe or valued as a tourist, thus am in no hurry to return.
There are plenty of beautiful places in the world you can travel to that are not overrun with scammers. Vote with your feet and your wallet. If tourists started staying away, maybe governments would actually do something about it. i've seen all the capitals once. Now I get a rental car and head for the countryside. Much calmer, cheaper, and free of Senegalese/Sudanese scammers.
@@gregoryschmidt1233 You are almost right , governament doesn't give a damn about tourism , they are doing nothing. Deep state is what matters , they don't care.
Sorry to hear what happen to you and Zero people came to help here because if it escalated into a fight, even for defense, the fight would described as “racist Italians attack blk immigrants”. I’ve actually seen this happen over and over, the sjw-crowd makes it so that defending yourself or others is now racist. The video would get out and be edited to make it look like the Italians were in the wrong. Personally, I wouldn’t just stand there and do nothing but I am the exception. Also, people really need to speak out and not let anyone silence you. This has zero to do with race, this is about keeping out bad people of any race that are a danger to everyone else.
Once you've encountered a few scammers, you recognise their patter straight away. In Rome, about 5 years back, I kept on being told 'Nice shoes ' all the time, despite wearing the most worn, scuffed pair of work boots. After being told this for the nth time, in Vatican Square, I decided to see what the scam was and engaged. Was the wristband scam. He put a wristband son, said it was a 'gift'. Then got his phone out and showd me what was allegedly a photo of his kid 'back home ' and of course this is where he asks me for money. I just took the wristband off and gave it back to him before he realised what was happening and walked off with no bother. A more recent scam, was one someone tried on me last year. In Krakow Square, a man asks me the time, which of course I give him. He then proceeds to ask me where I am from and tells me he's from Ukraine and gives a sob story about how he and his family fled to Poland and now have no money. Pretty big scumbag move to try and make money out of something like that.
I plan on visiting Italy, if I am walking and the painting scammers try to get money from me for stepping in the “paintings” I will piss on the “paintings”
The wristband/bracelet thing is very common in Spain. I had to fight off a couple of african women who literally just randomly grabbed my 2 year old girls arm to put bracelet on and wouldn't let go of her arm. Made me so angry.
Oh shit, that really crosses the line. If anyone did that to my young kids I would be fuming too. Would probably take a lot of restraint not to nock them out. But you know the moment you do that, six others will jump you from behind...
Pretty out of date but a friend and myself went on a 1 month holiday through Italy, spending a week in Florence and the surrounding area. As South Africans, it was hilarious that we came thousands of miles to a foreign country, just to have the same Nigerian/Congolese guys trying to scam us there, that try it back home
@@gluarsabishvili1990 Do your own farts smell good? You're being replaced in your own country. Your kids are going to grow up strangers in their own lands. And you enjoy it. Cant wait for shit to kick off so we can waste people like you.
@@gluarsabishvili1990 I didnt say I had an issue with migrants, it just just funny that the same guys we have hustling in South Africa, were hustling the same stuff/way 10000km away in Europe
Me in Florence this January with my Canadian wife... A guy gift her a bracelets I said inmidiatly I'm not going to pay for it! my wife was surprised with the gift, I said I'm not paying for it no one pay for a gift. The "vendor" get angry so he trow to me one bracelet I give it back to him telling him to find a real job. I'm italian we have to deal with this Africans, est, middle est or Arabic scammers every day. Be careful when you're in Italy
5:57 as an Italian, I am truly ashamed that nobody came to your help. Italians are afraid to intervene, because there is a high chance that police would turn against them, not the scammers. This is the reality we live in. Scammers and thieves are tolerated, but if you react, you are in trouble. I live in Serbia now and if something like that had happened in Belgrade, five big Serbian guys would have made sure it never happened again.
@@alessandron1360 It's not true that Italian police would turn against someone defending himself. When did it happen? Do you have data to support your statement? Plus these kind of encounters do usually resolve without violence, why would police intervene?
Late to the party but the biggest scams in Italy in tourists restaurant are in my opinion: 1) "Would you like some truffle on your pasta?" followed by adding a little shed of truffle in your dish and a good 20-30 euro to your bill. 2) "May I suggest this wine?" or "The wine you ordered is out of stock, may I suggest this replacement?" Followed by 100-600 euro bottle of wine. (while usually 1l of house wine is 4-5 euro)
How are those scams? You are being given the option of additional value? Are the restaurant owners expected to give you entitled tourists their food and drink for free?
@@gregoryroth9638 In the first case, it's offered as extra seasoning, without mentioning price. You wouldn't expect to pay 2-3 times your plate value if, for example, offered some pepper. In the second case, you are offered a replacement for a product which is far more expensive instead of being of similar value. So you order a 10 euro bottle of whine and are served a 600 euro bottle. It's a scam as you are tricked into paying for something that you would have never asked if you knew the cost.
I love your channel, having traveled a little bit myself across Europe. I encountered all of these scams multiple times. So very very useful! Wish I found you a few years ago
Guys I'm Italian and we are pissed too, they are everywhere and they really harass you, you just need to say NO in a firm voice, don't worry not being nice to them. Also people didn't help you because they didn't understand what you were saying and you were just talking, it happens so many times that someone argue with scammers that we got used to it
Honestly I love Italian food, Italian weather, Italian people (there are a lot here in Germany, they are all great lovely people), Italian landscapes and so on, but the scammers are the reason 37 old me has never put a foot in your country so far.
@@MesoScale chill, If you use your brain and understand the language nothing it will happen to you. It's Just an excuse and If you go away from the center of the city youn can find a lot of rural areas with better food, prices and people. Its normal to find scammers in the centre of the cities or near the stations, it happens everywhere
Its just like you say. Just yell NO. I am from Argentina, taking money from me its a pretty hard job. I suffer the wristle scam attempt in Brazil, Paris and Florence, the force sell of a rose to my wife in Venice, they are everywhere. Anyway, the worst thing happen to me in Italy was dealing with taxi drivers. What a bunch of thieves (at least all I had to deal with)
I went to Jamaica years ago and they played the same scams … they will fill your hands with souvenirs telling you they’re all free and if you walk away, they start asking for money. In my situation it gets to a point that I was very afraid … thanks God someone from Jamaica notice I was getting very upset and nervous. I will never forget his name he got me out of the situation and stay by my side for more than 15 minutes😢
I have been scammed with the "wristband scam" in Paris. About 8 Africans surrounded my wife and me at Sacre Coeur, demanding money. After they steal the money from me, I talked to the police who were 10 meters away, and they said there was nothing they could do. It´s so sad that local police in Tourist cities just don´t care if the tourist is being robbed.
@@peachpink123 Just like the video shows, nobody cares. It was raining at the time, but even though we saw four couples and a small Chinese group passing by, no one cared. There was also this other time, in Parma, when my family and I were surrounded by a group of Africans. No one said a word, even though we had a 9-month-old baby along. I can't blame anyone, it is scary...
Thank you for the advice, it's a shame that this problem is not taken as seriously as it should. I went to Turin with my family on vacation and we stopped in a square to have lunch. Suddenly we noticed a apparently-poor man who started searching in trash bins . My father felt bad for him and gave him 10 euros to go eat something. We later found out that the guy was used to search bins right in front of tourists, pretending to look for food, just to use all the money on beer. That's because of people like him that I, and probably lots of people, struggle to trust the ones in need
I saw the "paintings" laying flat on the ground/sidewalk scam in Florence near the entrance to the museum we went to to see Michaelangelo's David. I could not understand why the stuff was just laying on the ground in such a crowded space. Now it all makes sense.
I called out the bracelet scam in Rome when it was happening to a woman. I told her to throw it on the ground and just leave. She listened and walked away. The scammer turned on me and started yelling profanities and wouldn’t stop following me. I had to buy some food at a nearby shop, and the owner kicked the harasser out.
I've been to eight different countries and while I had a lot of great times, there was always this tension of always having to be on your guard because of the non-stop scams people were trying to perpetuate. It's incredibly aggravating and exhausting to never be able to fully relax because if you do, someone will be right there waiting to take your money.
Same. I don´t enjoy going to these countries anymore. I also don´t understand why the authorities don´t stop it? Some are harder then others, but for example selling things illegally in places you are not allowed to sell things, must be a easy scam to stop (like those picture dudes, stupid flying things etc.). Also, fake charities are banned in my country, those scumbags would be in jail.
Which countries are you referring to? Cause i find it very hard to get scammed ,at least in Europe. All you have to do is to use debit/credit cards and go to the touristic areas only for sightseeing. There are dozens of websites and guides for eating ,drinking and walking like locals do
Not in Nordic countries. I've only seen beggars on the street (on bigger citys only) and they won't even approach you, all they do is stay on the ground trying to look miserable.
@@SuperGamli it's because we are satured with it, there are so many that even of they arrest them they Will be free in a couple of days because jails are full
My father just pointed at one of those pictures saying "this one looks nice" and the guy started running after us so we can buy the picture. He dropped the price from 20 to 5 euros.
The beginning of the video confirms the scammers were from the Czech Republic. For the rest of the video it's confirmed as well that the scammers in Italy are not Italians, I like that. Regarding the wine price you get in most big cities much higher prices for worst wine. Unfortunately Italy is the most beautiful country in the world, which as a consequence attracts tourist which themselves attract scammers from all over the world and it's the Italians that pay the price. this is sad
A girl from my high school in Germany experienced the wristband scam on a trip with her French class to Paris. The scammer started a long discussion with one of the two teachers (male; 1,85 m; a lot of muscles) who wanted to help her. After about 5 min. the other teacher (female; 1,50 m; not physically strong at all) approached the two arguing men and asked if there is a problem she could help solving. When the scammer started to tell her what happened, she quickly responded that she was willing to call the police to resolve the problem and took out her phone. That was the scammers sore point, because most of these scammers don't have the legal documents to stay in France forever and police doesn't care as long as they don't cause any trouble. The scammer ran away immediately and the whole class learned that you don't need to be physically strong to stand your ground. Sometimes it's just a good argument that helps you out.
It's also noteworthy, that this happens in all cities where tourist arrive by the busload. Italy just has more than average of those. I've been trick-robbed in Alicante, Spain, and scammed in Istanbul, Turkey, but never had problems in Italy.
My cousin went to Italy for her honeymoon back in 2002 & loved it. She decided to go back for her 20th Anniversary gift in 2022, but recalls the moment she stepped off the airport, herself & husband regretted it. During the 10 day vacation, not one day, someone or some establishment tried & at times, ripped them off. She thought to herself, never again. In fact, she said, Europe as a whole never again. She'll stick to the all-inclusive resorts from now on 😊
You can’t say Europe as a whole! It has over 30 countries! I’m Swedish and there are no scammers in Sweden, nor have I seen any in the other Nordic or Baltic countries. Switzerland, the Netherlands, most of the UK and several other countries are also scam free. In the Balkan countries (I’m currently living in Bulgaria) it’s just the taxi drivers, but there are ways around it (using an app or having locals call and order for you)
This is why Rome and Florence are not on my travel list. I think the cops ignore the problem because they know these creeps would turn into muggers and burglars otherwise.
As a Roman, I’m happy that you came in Italy to warn tourists about these scams. Wristband trick is the most popular scam. Harald Baldr’s video is hilarious and sad at the same time. Hope to see new abroad videos
I live there and I've definitely seen more people willingly buying the prints than accidentally stepping on them and buying them for guilt 😭 To the point that I always ask myself who in the world would want a printed JPEG file that's been laying on the super dirty ground. The fact that it's actually supposed to be a scam kind of reassures me though 😂
I am from Singapore, and I was scammed at Rome Itally by a taxi driver in 2011. First he purposely drove a much longer distance from train station to my hotel. Second, upon reaching my hotel, I gave him 50 euros and he took my money, turned around and said I gave him 10 euro. I had to top up additional cash to settle the shortage. I went to the police station and lodged a police statement with the car plate of the taxi. To my surprise, no action was taken against the scammer. As a tourist, I had a very bad impression of this beautiful country. If this happened in my country, these scammers will be arrested and jailed.
We fell for that bracelet scam when in Paris with my family. Again it was a group of africans that tried to be really friendly and told us about how friendly their people are and how rough the migration was. Then when we refused to pay they became agressive and gathered a circle around us and again, 0 people helping out.
We encountered this in Morocco 25 years ago when a kid pushed a bracelet into my daughter's hand and tried to take her baseball cap as payment when we didn't give him money. A large German woman in our tour group whacked the little punk good and he left us alone! Now, that's international diplomacy!
Aha not even surprised... this is Paris for ya , always the same type of people too ... like in this video... what a coincidence... :) People wouldn't help ya , unless they want to spend the day beaten up by 5 guys. Sadly nothing we can do
As an Italian (I'm from Como) i can confirm it happens in all the big cities. The best thing you can do is say you have no physical money with you, and that you only use your credit card, and most of them will just walk away.
I’ve been to Italy twice. I don’t care what anyone wants I say firmly NO! Some have got aggressive. I just stand my ground, look them in the eye and firmly say NO.
These scammers have all one thing in common and are easily and visually recognisable, even from a distance. Unfortunately, both youtube and current social norms and laws prevent me for explaining what it is, but anyone with a grain of common sense will know what I am talking about (which, if asked, I will deny because I do not want to get in trouble with the thought police). Whenever I travel, specially around europe, I keep an eye for this "special trait". If I use public transport I check other passengers upon my entrance, and then I proceed to put myself far from the doors and against a wall If I can spot one. If I see such "traits" I make sure they know I know, for example by taking out my wallet and clearly placing it at my front jeans pocket with my hand clearly on it. If I am out and about and someone approaches me I first see if the "special trait" is present, and if so I walk away fast, not letting them even start a conversation. If I am caught by surprise I do not hesitate and, without a word, walk away. Sad as it is, I prioritise being safe over being politically correct.
I had that wristband scam in Rome and it was exactly the same scenario. African guy asks a quick question, then gives a couple of wristbands, asking where you are from and "oh that's great and says whatever he knows about that country", shows his kids, asks for money. If you reject or don't give him enough money, he just takes them back.
@@leelegad2641 it's sad that you can't even walk in a big city without being stopped by scammers. Most of the times they try really hard, they don't leave people just easily. I wonder what all the police do. In front of Eiffel is also full of scams.
I was outside the Pantheon and got the whole 'I like your shoes routine' even though I was wearing flip-flops. After him badgering me and my elderly mother for a few minutes I gave him five euros just to go away, even though he wanted ten. Snatched the money and walked off, no thank you or anything.
I dont ever respond to anyone asking me anything on the streets in Rome. But the best was when I didnt answer an African guy he asked if I didnt like black people.
As an Italian I can attest to Florence being particularly bad in terms of tourist traps. It's one of the more "commercial" cities in Italy, filled with tourists the entire year. Definitely not an accurate picture of the entire country.
Having travelled extensively throughout Italy, (and the whole of Europe) I agree, most of the smaller places are really nice, but it is common in just about every large city. I think Venice is the worst. Especially where it comes to price hikes for tourists, my time in Italy has always been working, so generally visit restaurants etc with the locals I am working with, and always pay local rates, but when on my own, they will always try to charge me tourist prices, but I stand my ground, and only pay the correct amount. I love Italy, but hate visiting any large city, just because of everyone wanting to run a scam.
Le chiamano tourist trap in inglese le città come Firenze. Io ci lavoro e devo dire che la città dove vivo che è a un'ora di macchina da Firenze è molto meglio.
@@waldirsegundo No, Florence is especially bad believe me. There's a stark difference between even a city like Rome compared Florence. And Rome is already bad in its own right with overtly tourist-catered attractions. Florence however truly takes the cake.
One of the weirdest things in my life was noticing how incoherent was police in Italy. 4 y ago I went to study for 6 months in Slovenia, I had a stop for taking a bus in Italy at 5 am and well, a guy full of winter clothes and baggages speaking in english to every local trying to get instructions for where to buy a bus ticket was enough for "carabinieri" car to stop in front of me, ask many questions and for my documents. It took them some minutes to check in their system if everything was alright, anyways it was a bit weird some months later visiting Italy for tourism and realizing how these guys operate totally free, in huge groups, get aggressive and annoy/scam tourists without any police action.
@@alexlanyi2329 the police in other countries just give a damn. Police here have a job for life and there's little incentive for them as individual police officers to bother. The system promotes those who are politically connected not those who try to do a decent job. This particularly discourages those who do want to do a good job.
Cops can't keep arresting people that don't get indicted. Unless a violent crime is reported you'll hardly see any action. Larger cities currently are run by leftist admins that don't care if we are flooded by low level criminals harming tourists and regular tax-payers.
@@mesteme sure it's not just the police that is at fault. The justice system is glacial. I've heard of cases where people went to prison 10+years after they comitted the crime. As for electing the wrong politicians, start electing politicians who do care, who are honest, who don't promote their friends, who fire public officials who are bad performers. I don't know quite how dishonest a candidate needs to be in Italy for them not to be elected. Other counties have a far better situation with regards to scammers.
I had the exact wristband scam happen to me when I visited the Bahamas. Some woman just fronted the wristband for me and asked for a donation, I very tediously unknotted the band before she could tighten it and gave it back to her to avoid that kind of pressure. I don't travel internationally a lot but I'm glad my intuition was correct
A few years back, a deaf-mute guy came to my door, he held up a sign saying he was a deaf mute, and tried to sell me stuff I didn't need, As it happened I didn't have any cash, so I wrote on a bit of paper, "Sorry, no cash" without thinking he said "I can take a cheque"
I heard stories of people being physically attacked by scammer during the day and in plain sight, and this video just confirms it is possible.... Those passerby are truly spineless... A whole freaking crowd of it.
@@witebatman Links? Only from Italian newspapers possibly. That the judiciary is left wing is known by everybody in Italy, unless they have been living under a rock. Why do you think these scammers are let go around and scam people or threat them with violence? They know the system is on their side. Same in America and other countries. Believe your eyes.
I remember when I visited Italy, I was constantly targeted by the wristbands scammers. Several of the people in our group found out the hard way on that. It went as far as them following me for an small time around a fountain behind me. This was in Milan.
As someone who loves travel this break my heart, i have meet someone who very kind and someone who is mean. The world is so huge so that we often meet different people. Hope we can respect each other.
Excellent work team, thanks for the alerts, these scammers are getting ever more creative. I don't get paranoid but in these situations I remember ABC - Accept nothing, Believe no one, Challenge everything.
When I was in Rome early in the morning, I literally saw someone arrive well dressed, with a backpack, they pulled out there cardboard, put some junky clothes on overtop and then rubbed coal on their face before starting to beg that they were a homeless poor person... It is so hard that we are supposed to give to the needy and yet there are fully capable people who could work, but are taking begging money away from the truly disabled.
Yeah fake homeless people also exist in America. It can be pretty obvious to distinguish them though, since the fakers show up looking healthy with a t-shirt and jeans, while the real ones look like they're about to die, with a backpack.
@@alessandroferrari5755 : well well well, in Italy governmental help does exist and is powerful. There’s a large multitude of scammers named M5stars. Government loads a special bank card for each one of them. Every month. In scammers’ Italy, this is called “citizenship revenue”. A scamming worldwide record.
Truly disabled? The truly disabled are generally well taken care of in the EU. People who are truly disabled on the streets have been brought into richer countries (particularly from Romania) as part of an organized effort to scam tourists and locals alike. You'll see their handler not so far away smoking a cigarette and keeping an eye on them. They have their designated areas and I have seen the same beggars in the same place for decades where I live. They rotate regularly because they go back to their homes but you get to know who they are.
My scam experience in Italy (Roma): Sat down in a restaurant, server came introduce the dishes, picked different dish, server asked if I want to change the sauce without telling me the price, changed it, bill came, sauce cost 25 euro.
Approaching turists to sell can be even worst than a scam as it in many cases envolves stealing people's belongings such as purses and other small things while negotiating.
@@younot-ez3xr maybe because they don't have papers so the only way that they know is to scam people, or maybe sell drugs and i think it's better to be a inoffensiv scammer than a drug dealer
Man it makes me mad to see and hear stories about scammers in my city. It's a travesty that our law enforcement does not speak a lick of English thus being next to useless when a foreigner approaches them
Same here in Spain, where mostly anyone speaks even english, not speaking of "rarer" languages like german, italian, japanese, korean... or french! So tourists are just defenseless against scammers, problems, or accidents. Like 40% of our income is from tourism...
It happened to me just last week in Paris, at 7am! 2 girls came to me and asked where was I from, I told them, and they were super hyped(which was concerning for me), asked me to donate money for the deaf people, alongside showing with the sign language (I guess) that she's deaf. The second girl was too close behind me and I thought that she would pickpocket me and I just run away😅
In 2016 I started warning other tourists because I knew Rome pretty well at this point (been there over 20 times for weeks at a time) and they were soooo angry
I went to Florence and the painting scam was everywhere. After the 5th time of encourntering it i went out of my way to intentionally walk on the painting with my group and we all shuffled on them and destroyed them and ran off.
One of the dudes was setting one up and a police officer just stomped all over it, and started yelling things at him in Italian as he scurried off. I only know basic Italian, but I think he said some very choice things because literally every Italian gasped at one of the things he said.
@@NCSGaming15 Thanks for giving me a good laugh! I didn't know that the police cared! Now, I know that the police do care! Thank you. There is hope for Western civilization, yet!
I happened to be in Rome earlier this year, and these guys were so annoying. You couldn't sit down on a public place without them trying to "gift" me or my girlfriend something every 5 minutes even tho we always declined right away. One of them tried to take my girlfriends arm to put the bracelet on. That was when I got really loud, and they got aggressive as well. Luckily, there were Karabinieri right around the corner, or it could have ended badly.
When I was in Madrid, on Plaza Mayor, we were constantly getting hassled by people in costumes trying to get in photos. Just stayed away from there after that.
yeah, unfortunately you saw the main reason why i hate my own country, everyone knows they are scamming people and eventually they get aggressive, but nobody does anything. they look away and keep walking. such a shame.
I fell victum to the dropped shoe brush scam in Istanbul. A teenage youth dropped his shoe polishing brush in front of me as we walked along a sidewalk. I picked it up and proceeded to catch up with him and I gave him his shoe brush back. He thanked me and then said that he would polish my shoes in return for the return of his brush. I fell for it and let him polish my shoes. When completed he demanded 20 euros. I refused and walked away, but he had a group who surrounded me and demanded payment. I ended up giving him 5 euros. Next time I'm going to just keep the brush.
Not a single Italian helped you...that says alot. I would not want to go to a place where the locals take the tourists for granted and dont want to protect them from scammers.
I can't speak for Italians, but I am from Sweden, and probably there nobody would help you either. There is a small but still existing chance these guys are extra crazy and might carry knives or something, and even if they don't, if it becomes a scene, they will skillfully make it look like you caused the scene, and leftist/woke morons around you will think you are the bad guy and say you are racist etc.
The big regional body and most governments in the block essentially value their precious imported doctors/engineers/scientists/it experts/rocket technicians infinitely more than mere full-paying and law abiding tourists. The locals know this and obviously makes sense for them to stay away from trouble.
@@kenlee1416 Hahahaha this ironic comment on doctors etc makes me instantly think you are from greece (judging from the nick it seems rather not though) since it's being played here a lot since the pseudo liberal government 2015 - 2019 were trying to convince us that those people are investors...
As an Italian I would like to thank you.Not even italian understand what a beautifull country we have and how important tourism is for us , and those scammers are destroying it.
Tourism is not that important to us, stop begging for a job as a waiter, for fuck's sake, it's pathetic. Italy is a big country with lots of tech companies, and export and tourism is a small percentage of our GDP. Worry about all those fucking houses for tourists that are making it fucking impossible to find accommodation.
Italy really is beautiful and I come there very often because of that reason. Italians and the rest of EU, need to say stop to illegal immigrants coming on „banana boats” and welcoming them. Immediately sending back those who commit crimes. Italians are lovely people but those pesky imigrant scammers and criminals are ruining the whole visiting experience.
Btw - in Israel you pay 9€ for a glass of wine completely legally. The whole bottle of the same wine would cost in supermarket - 15€. But in a restaurant the price goes up 5 times. The same is for beer. 0.5 bottle of Goldstar beer -7₪ NIS in the shop (1,7€) and 35 in the bar (9€).
I find it sad that nobody cares when people get aggressive. As a fellow tourist or local, even if you cannot directly interfere, maybe you can help the victim get some distance between themselves and the bad guys. We don't have that type of scammers here, but we do have plenty of beggars who all seem to mysteriously own the same kind of expensive phone, or flashy key chan. Odd coincidence huh?
Wow! Seeing the Italian police blatantly ignoring the ripping off of tourists has changed our minds about wanting to visit Italy and spend money there. Thanks for this valuable information.
Police can't do anything, they literally gave up trying. You cannot arrest those scammers, you cannot sue them, most of them are illegals with not even documents. Good luck kicking them out of the Country either.
They have orders to do so, in order to avoid making a scene. The local governments don't want videos of the police restraining and arresting these vendors in social media, because they are always taken out of context for easy clicks. It ends up hurting the local PD and the city's image more than it helps them in the long run.
I've lived all across, In Italy the police are passive but effective at the same time, where as the ones in most places of the world are agressive and entitled, "hunting" you to fill quotas and pockets. The only other place where i've seen such passive cops, believe it or not, wass in Shanghai back in 2008 - that is not how things are anymore tho, not with hongkong, taiwan, XinJiang, lockdowns..
They rely on politeness, someone used to ask me to drive him places and my ex heard it and said "it's for his kid" I yelled 'F his kid, I don't want to give him a ride; he's a scammer' and she was upset that he heard it; but he stopped calling after that. He also asked me to be his kids godfather, I said "F no, you junkies might die and then I'd be stuck with the kid" but that didn't stop him from calling me asking for rides until the other statement because he thought I'd be polite in front of others to save face.
![[Watch Party] RoV Pro League 2024 Winter | with Moowan ( Bacon Time Vs Talon )](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/CCEDhu6dPN8/mqdefault.jpg)
I was adressed by a Deaf/Mute scam once in Malaga. I wrote "IT'S A SCAM" in capital letters on the paper. The man suddenly was neither deaf nor mute
I was in Prague a few years ago and got one of those scammers. My friend(metal vocalist for 4 years) pretended to go do something while the guy talked to me. He snuck up behind and gave his heaviest, most disgusting low growl into the guy's ear and he jumped like I've never seen before. Deafness went away instantly
I actually fell for this once so I'll do this next time I find one of these.
@@BlueRazor69 they arent deaf or mute, the point is to ruin at least one sheet of paper but even better if they don't take the time to read it
You legit cured him 😄
Had that happen a few times in Thailand be sitting at a bar or eating in a restaurant and get approached by an individual they place a business card in front of you asking for a donation as they’re deaf.
As an Italian I sometimes feel ashamed of how Italian cities are plagued by these scammers, particularly illegal sellers. In my hometown of Bologna there rose sellers enter so many times in restaurants and they are soo annoying
Salvini help us.
Hi. Do you recommend living in Florence, or in Italy in general?
@@soloataraxia yes. I mean, there are more localities that are worth living all over Italy
@@enricomonti156 I Imagine! Would you mind name a few?
@@soloataraxia there are smaller places like Ravenna, Rimini, Siena, Sanremo, and the list can go on
I have traveled extensively in Europe while living in Austria for close to 10 years. I learned early on, “Do not accept anything or sign anything from people canvassing on street corners, 100% scam.”
Funny side note since you lived in Austria.
Just speak in a stereotypical aggressive german (either per accent or just staight up talking german). Start with a "Entschuldigung, wie bitte?!?!"
People will most likely stop trying it.
The real shame here is the italian police. They do nothing. Once i was there with a group, one of us got robbed at the metro (kids do it at plain sight) and when we found a police car, they literally roll their tongues talking with us just like they could not speak or understand us talking in english. That was truly ridiculous! When we found the nearby police station, the same cops were there, warning the others about our arrival, so the others didnt open the doors. When finally a car drove out their garage, we enter there. Instantly the cops rush from the station, saying "you cannot be here!". Keep it in mind, if you need some help, you wont get it. This is what i remember from Italy, bravo!
@@Coconut2050llWell, you can decide the name of the movie but keep in mind that it is definitely in the horror genre.
They usual don’t speak English. If the zio DIDNT run Italy im sure they would care more!! Carabinieri are the ones to look for in case you go again. Sorry u went through this
There’s no chance the police are in on it.
From what I’ve read these scams or being a thief is not a crime.
Italian police go to arrest good people that plant medical cannabis for their illness or health conditions , and don’t care about real criminals, dem a bloodclaats
I once became a 'victim' of this wrist band scam ..... I stood my ground and walked away with the gift keeping to say 'thanks, thanks for this beautiful gift' .... the nice person who gave it to me shouted something in a language I did not understand. I assume he was saying something like 'I love you'
Undoubtedly, they wished you lots of love. :-D
yeah. Too bad you don't speak Senegalese.
@@gregoryschmidt1233 true but it is called Wolof by the way …the language.
Haha, same 😂
For some reason mine ran away when I started walking toward a cop. I wonder why? 🤔
Oh holy shit! I think I got scammed with the wrist band scam too! Two “monks” literally came on to me and wrapped this bracelet around my wrist.
Unfortunately I didn’t stand my ground like you tho. On the bright side, I only had coins on me, so that’s what I gave and ran away when the “monk” started gesturing.
It pisses me off now thinking about it. I could’ve bought atleast two candy bars with the coins I gave away. Damn it.
I'm from Italy, I worked 10 years in tourism in Florence. Thanks for this. Italians know how bad it gets with these and many more tourist traps (most of them affect also the locals as well as italian tourists), but way too many people and institutions passively accept that there is nothing more they can do about them as the solutions are complex, costly and difficult to execute. We need people like you giving more visibility to the issues, sadly the only thing that moves us to action is international shaming.
a few patroling policemen would easily stop it, without any action even, these people run as soon as they see police.
The only thing the police is doing, is to wait the end of the month to get their salary!!!!
Pizza, calcio e Aperitivi!!! Ma dove cazzo devono andare i poliziotti?! Si mettono la divisa tanto per avere il posto fisso!
Do you recommend living in Florence, or in Italy in general?
@@soloataraxia in general I absolutely do, it's a great place to live. We do have issues as any other country and it can be conplex to live in certain areas but most definetly living in Italy is much better than many other places imo.
@@YouRegolo I imagine, that's right! Which places do you recommend 😁?
One scam I caught onto quickly was the "return half you change, then wait to see if you leave" scam. This happened a couple of times, so I know it wasn't a fluke. You go to pay for something, wait for your change and they at first give you half of it, then pause. Many people think they've gotten it all back and leave. Luckily, I can be a bit particular in making sure I get the correct change back, so I start counting it...then the scumbag owner says, "Oh, here's the rest."
That happened to my mom and I in Colombia. One of the ladies was talking to us too -- but my mom was paying close attention to her money and wasn't having it.
That happened to me in Germany with a scammer being a native German ( at a gas station) while I myself am Italian.
Just yesterday my family and I were visiting the pantheon and there were so many guys carrying bracelets and throwing them at people. I was over by the fountain when 2 tourists were stopped by one of the bracelet scammers and I was roped in. He threw the bracelet at me and I jumped out of the way and told the guys to drop the bracelets and walk away. The bracelet scammer got more aggressive and started cussing me out and telling me to go back to my country (I was born in Italy) I walked away back to my family and the guy followed me and started cussing me out. My dad told him to buzz off but he didn’t until pantheon security walked by. The whole time I was in line for the pantheon they were circling us. A few hours later my family and I were riding some electric scooters through Rome and we ended up back in the pantheon we’re we saw the same guy, this time he was going home and he saw me. He pointed me out to his friends and started running after me. Of course he couldn’t out run the fully charged lime scooter I was on so since I have brain cells I drove away. Don’t take anything from anyone in Rome. Please. (Thank you for reading through my essay)
It looks like a tourist must bring a pepper gas with him, to such places. Why don't you call police immediately ??
Why your family didnt take a photo of that guy ?
Thank God I lived in Rome (Campo dei Fiori) in the 1980s. I was very happy there, and none of these scans existed - nor were there any Africans!
Scams
@@Korozzz the police dont care.
Do not hesitate to call the police. Of course these guys are not Italian at all, working for kind of gangs of illegal migrants. That’ s a shame…
Wait, what? A video outside Czech Republic? Omg! So nice to see you 2 expanding the channel. I hope to see you guys around all europe.
They’ve also done Slovakia
They have done a video in Helsinki too
I mean theay had like 5 or 6 videos from NYC but they had to delete them as any other old video
@@marekpuskac5282 why tho
@@firewhite i think it was because of that company (seznam) they worked for. Because Seznam is basically google of Czech Republic, so they also have their own youtube (called stream, its actually older than youtube) and i guess the company demanded from them to delete those videos because of the its claims on those older videos
It's the same deal in Rome but 1000 times worse. The 'wrist band' scammers are really agressive and you can't go more than a few min without someone trying to slap a wristband on you.
I'm from Rome every time someone has tried that on me I walked away with a new wrist band!
Pepper spray them. Problem solved.
@@fb55255 Rome used to be one of my favourite cities, but after the last visit...nope...it's been swarmed with scammers.
EU & political correctness caused this shit to grow bigger, if you break the law then you fuck off, it’s plain and simple.
@@Jut1233456 sorry to hear your bad experience. Although scammers are nothing new, they've been there since I can remember. Plus that's not just a Rome thing every major city I've been to in Europe have scammers it's a consequence of turism. Hope to welcome you back in Rome soon!
Take note: not a single scammer in this video was actually Italian
Why don't they deport those Africans?
Yes. Most were black people. That should tell you something...
who allows them to scam people? italians...
@@biran44r The woke European Comission allowes it...
@@biran44rif it was for the people things would be handled differently
The wristband scam happened to me and my wife in Italy too. We were in Milan and four african men came up to us and tied wristbands on our wrists saying it's a gift and that it's good for fertility (wtf!). Asking us where we're from, saying they love Zlatan when they hear we're from Sweden, then showing pictures of their "families". They got very agressive when we said we don't have any cash and said we stole from them... We couldn't take the wristbands off to give back as they were tied. It was a scary experience. We were out sightseeing in a ruin and we were all alone with these people. It's so sad that this is the first thing I think of when I think back to our vacation there. :(
Oh dear God, hearing on the spot "We are from Sweden" feels instantly like hyenas on wounded antelopes
how did the situation end? did they attack you ?
The really sad thing if you speak out you are labeled a racist, this whole situation is absurd. People need to stop accepting this behavior and letting people get away with the narrative that it’s about race, because it isn’t about race. It’s about keeping bad people out and keeping everyone else safe. When people do this or any violent-crìmes kick them out and don’t let them back in. Speak out and stop standing for this.
I watched a video on Vice saying how bad the racist Italian right is, the narrative is absurd, you can’t even defend yourself anymore without being called a racist. Personally I don’t care what people say, this isn’t about race, non violent decent people of all races are welcome. Guys like in this video and violent people are not, kick them out!
@@GhostSal 100% agree. Bad and good people come in all colours and people calling others racist to protect these scum bag predators are just as bad.
Damn, thats terrible.
As an Italian I can say these scams happen almost in every big city here, so if you are a tourist watch out for that.
Thanks, we wouldnt have if you hadnt told us...duh.
But the scammers are not italian so it doesn’t give a bad impression
@@stayawayfromthewoke3412 ahahhahaha go to Naples brother 😂 they will scam your family too 😂 in Italy you cant say if there are more native of import scammers...Italians did invent the scam..remember 😂
Not only in Italy ..
@@d716agq Who's blaming the tourist dodo? Unless LAWS are changed WORLDWIDE they will continue scamming knowing they're a protected class of the leftist. The police know those arrests will be thrown out or the scammer disappears to another location without showing up in court.
Was there last year. Amount of scammers seemed unreal to me.. nearly got in a fight with a wristband dude, and helped a women get out of the step on a painting scam.
Big props for always throwing yourself between the scammer and the camera as protection
Those guys aren’t “friendly”, that’s all an act and that could have gone very badly for them both.
Another thing to be aware of-- the subways of Italy are riddled with pick pocketers. Be especially aware if the escalator is out and you have luggage. Out of no where, "good Samaritans" will show up to lend you a helping hand getting up the stairs. Just realize that they want your wallet.
Never seen the escalator thing, but yes in Milan there are groups of 3-4 gypsy women who will swarm around tourists and elderly people to distract them while one steals from their purses.
I want to go to Italy,... I will cross Rubicon where Caesar crossed it and I will rip all the scammers along the way... AVE CAESAR! \o/
I can confirm. 2016 in Rome main train station going into train with group of tourists. Some "nice helping men" came to help with carrying luggage because the train door would not be working, so you'd have to enter another wagon further away.
Needless to say, some of the group got their wallets stolen there. My wallet wasn't stolen though because I stared into the gypsy eye like a psychopath and I already felt that they are pick pocketers.
Same shit btw on Rome metro, some guy was trying to get into pockets of a friend on very crowded metro. I have spotted it and yelled at the guy so loudly that people started staring on what's happening and he didn't succeed.
Also near Rome at the beach, parked our travel bus in the middle of day in big parking lot for the beach. When we came back 3 hours later, the bus was cracked open and all the luggage stolen like wtf. It was no shady area. It's sad how the local police didn't even care, saying it's just normal happens regularly.
Unfortunate for the Italians but I'll never come back to Italy despite my huge admiration of ancient roman empire. I've never elsewhere met so many scammers and thiefs in my life.
So JoJo Golden Wind is real :o
So true there are swarms of (especially Gypsy) scammers hanging around the subway and main train stations. Some of them were quite obvious just hanging around and watching passengers getting on and off.
Ah yes the good old wrist band scam... When I visited Rome with my parents, I got a wrist band and my parents just walked on like they didn't know me.... Well I got a free wrist band from that 😂
Ye, it happened to meet tho, he asked where I was from and I just froze for a second. Then he put the wristband on me and demanded 20 euros for 4 wristbands.
Hope you didn‘t get any skin disease on your wrist 😅
@@balalunga1 What?
@@dragon.academy well they put those wristbands on dozens of different people, there is some risk associated with that from the health perspective.
@@BohdanMelnychuk there isn’t. You touch shit that people touch more than a thousand people touch every time u go out.
Racist mfs I swear
I got hit with the wristband scam in Rome a couple of years ago. Dude said it was his wedding soon and he was celebrating it, the wristband, the "it's free" the picture of a kid, the good vibes, the goodbye then turn around asking for a donation for his kid, it all went exactly the same.. Scumbags.
If everyone stopped visiting Italy for a couple years- I guarantee the government would miraculously start caring about the tourist scams/abuse.
Lmaoooo, you think this only happens in Italy? This happens in every city.
@@veksone77 lmaoooo nobody said this “only happens in Italy”.
Keep up with the rest of the class, please. 👍
👍👍 It would only require one season, not years.
They already care about tourists but they can’t really do much about it because this is happening because of who was let in… and if they try to do anything substantial to stop it, they will be labeled “racíst”. This is all orchestrated from the EU/US leadership.
It’s not a crime to be a scammer or a thief in most if not all of Europe. Those incidents have been decriminalized. Therefore law enforcement will not respond. It’s the same crap in LA, NYC, Chicago, New Orleans to name a few in the USA. Liberal policies have ruined Europe and for the last few years America!
as an italian this is very sad to watch. unfortunately these traps are also used on locals and you can trust me when i say that EVERY italian has fallen for at least one of these scams, especially the wrist band one, so we’re all just used to them now
io ci sono cascata a quella dei finti muti/sordi era la prima volta in vita mia che mi succedeva è stato proprio brutto
@@lightimagay00 uguale, la tipa mi voleva far donare 20€ però almeno non sono stata così stupida da darne più di 5€. Userò questo mio sbaglio come lezione sul non essere troppo ingenua
You talk about scammers in Italy and in Florence.
You are truly an unfair person and it shows that you don't know Florence at all.
1 - The "swindlers" were all African immigrants (probably also clandestine) but none of them are Italian.
2 - This type of scam is widespread in all tourist cities of the world, including the United States.
3 - The bars in Florence especially in the center are very expensive and then you have to see what wine you ordered... In any case, if you have no money, avoid luxurious places.
4 - I believe that New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc. do not guarantee the security that Italy offers. In the States you stayed at the time of the far west your police still do justice with guns in the streets, in schools... I also find that regarding the morality you boast about sexual orientation and racism you are a very hypocritical country, puritans and moralists...
Bottom line, people like you better not post these nonsense videos....
Best regards from Tuscany.
and the police dont care
Why doesn't your police do anything about it? In my country all these scammers would be thrown away
As a person living in Florence, I'm so sad to see these scams affect the mood and joy of the tourists. Getting scammed on the street, Ponte Vecchio, or at the exchange office can destroy the mood for a whole trip. This video is great, hopefully, people visiting will know what is going on and not get caught by surprise anymore.
The one positive about these scams is that they're rarely confrontational or turn violent. They want people to feel for them, and therefore they avoid being aggressive. The funnies thing to see is when the police come to Ponte Vecchio on bikes to disrupt the painting scams, they get away real fast.
We live in a weak society where the criminals don´t get punished properly so we deserve it.
@@PROVOCATEURSK true, I wish these organized groups would get penalized by the law. Unfortunately nothing seems to happen in that area…
Nah, they are so many dumb tourists that accept to pay that these scams will go on forever
My friends that tour Colombia, said that in some heavy tourist sites, they have dedicated Tourist Police to haul away these people. Italy should do the same.
@@reginapolo3357 I believe there is something similar in Florence, the police arriving on bikes are exclusively targeting the people selling printed posters on the ground, and other merchandise around the tourist spots. However I think the problem is much bigger than the "boots on the ground", dispursing them won't have much effect, they need to target the people organizing and making money off it.
I was already harassed with the slips of paper for signatures and the wristbands in exactly the same way 28 years ago in Barcelona. If at all, I only fell for it once when I was 21 years old. It's amazing that it still seems to work.
Good that you @HONEST GUIDE point out that you don't have to expect any support from your environment.
Apart from that, Italians are generally a very open, relaxed (often too relaxed), grounded and honest people.
My tip: off the beaten tourist track, you will not only find real life and the beauty of the culture, but also many small family-run inns frequented by locals. These restaurants (trattoria, osteria) are recognisable because they are simply designed (paper tablecloths) without a lot of frills and without tourists. The food is authentic, tasty, uncomplicated and the prices are fair. If you honour this, you will quickly be accepted after initial scepticism. Viva la dolce vita!
There is a very simple way to avoid most of scams: ignore any chat attempts with strangers
I was a victim of the wristband scam too, when I was 16 years old and walking up the steps of Sacre Coeur in Paris. A black guy approached me and ask me what time was to put me a bracelet on my wrist and then demanded money from me. I said no but then 3 other guys approached me and one of them put a blade near to my back, so I gave them my entire wallet. The worst of all is that it happened in a fucking crowded touristy place and nobody gave a fuck. This makes me still mad nowadays.
Almost had the fucking same experience at the same place! 6 black guys sorrounded me and my GF and wouldn't let us go. I tried to keep her behind me while the guys grapped my arms and asked: "Are you scared white boy????".
We got away but it still pisses me off to this day. 100s of people around who did nothing.
They tried that on me in the same spot around 15 years ago, but I just kept walking. Long running scam.
Same location, same scammers. Forced me and my 2 other friends to give them 20 euros each. So it is 60 in total. We were very upset because there were a lot of people but they didn't help, even 50 meters from the location there were police but they didn't do anything. At that time, it is our first time traveling to Europe, we are still very innocent.
That's not a scam, that's a robbery.
Welcome to multicultural France! 🙈👎🤮
As Italian, specifically from Florence, I can say: except from the "high price" (tourist traps) the other are all illegal. Many time police ignore them because they're unharmfull, sometimes the local police go on "patrol" and all the seller run and hide (without no one that really follow them) until police go away. It always amused me to see this patetic scene with scammer who run and police who just walk and look around then turn the corner and all the scammer coming out again.
Some tips from a local:
- Do not buy or sign anything on the street. Only real shop or market stall (here in Florence in example the ones in San Lorenzo) are legal and legitimate, anything else (donation, flying toys, art pictures, art audio guide etc) are pretty much scam.
- Many, many, many restaurant and cafè in any italian city center are tourist traps. Not all, but many of them are traps. Best way to be sure to avoid traps is going further from city center (with the problem that is highly possible that there they do not speak english) or try to ask locals, if you can the best is ask to young people (from 20s to 30s) since they more likely speak english and usually hate and avoid like pest any tourist trap places.
- Info points: if they are not from the city goverment, there is an high chance that they have "marketing" contract with cafè and restaurants. This also happen when you ask for information to your hotel staff, every hotel have "marketing" contract with restaurant and bars, so is pretty difficult that they give you valid information.
- Look close any single price and fee on any menu, usually here in italy just because you sit on a table you get to pay the "coperto" fee, wich is usually 1 or 2€ but in city center can be even 4/5€.
- In the city center restaurants ABSOLUTELY DO NOT choose any tipical or regional plate. They overcharge the price in absurd way for the tipical food. If you want regional and local food go outside the city center, the best place for regional food are in the suburbs or in the country side.
- If you come from place with different currency do not change money, use your card instead, by law every single shop, bar or restaurant is forced to accept them. If you absolutely need to have cash for something (I know that many bar find excuses to not accept cards for a single espresso in example) use atm that are located in a bank or in post office (Poste Italiane). Avoid at all cost ATM and Cash Machine that are not from post offices or from banks, in the city center there is always plenty of both so you absolutely don't need to withdraw from ATM in some tourist shop and pay absurd fee on your money.
Good tips !
How about speaking out in Italy and getting rid of scammers, more importantly vìolent people? Seems to me people are afraid to be called racists, when this has nothing to do with race, it’s only about keeping out bad people.
I'm guessing you don't work for the chamber of commerce.
Man i miss florence was born and raised there and when i was 11 we immigrated to another country. Still miss florence even now.
i vigili si prendono la loro percentuale
I was in Florence 17 years ago and there were already this scammers around. I was strolling around with a friend, took a wrong turn and suddenly 5 of this wristband guys surrounded us. I was 17 years old at the time and got really scared.
Good to see that the city got rid of them.....
I am Japanese and when I was traveling France and Italy, don’t know how many times I was called and yelled “Hey China!” from these scammers. Luckily I can speak English so I responded them just to make sure they understand not all Japanese is quiet.
Haha, Laughed so hard as you suddenly spoke some words in german. Love this channel, guys. Can not wait to visit prague again, but this time knowing your channel!
It's called the Hans Landa move 😂
And the scammer indeed answered with fluent German.
Difficult to say which one spoke fluent German.. 🤔
Suddenly? The guy literally said he was from Germany.
@@dodatrodaThe guy is speaking about Honest Guide which is Czech
I spent two weeks travelling Italy with my sister a few years ago. We were scammed on the first day, very aggressively too (the wristband scam but they surrounded us and demanded money). I noted that the police stood by and watched. We also noticed that food prices were significantly higher than we had budgeted for, I guess “tourist prices”. We paid for breakfast included in all of the hotels we stayed at(a significant extra cost)- a slice of cake and an espresso was a little less than we’d hoped for. Overall I was glad we saw the sights but didn’t feel safe or valued as a tourist, thus am in no hurry to return.
Go up to the Dolomites. Beautiful scenery, interesting history, no scammers and no rip offs.
@@kevindennehy7105 Dolomites are luxury places , but hey unfortunately here in Italy people always want to rip off tourists ... it's a shame.
There are plenty of beautiful places in the world you can travel to that are not overrun with scammers. Vote with your feet and your wallet. If tourists started staying away, maybe governments would actually do something about it. i've seen all the capitals once. Now I get a rental car and head for the countryside. Much calmer, cheaper, and free of Senegalese/Sudanese scammers.
@@gregoryschmidt1233 You are almost right , governament doesn't give a damn about tourism , they are doing nothing.
Deep state is what matters , they don't care.
Sorry to hear what happen to you and Zero people came to help here because if it escalated into a fight, even for defense, the fight would described as “racist Italians attack blk immigrants”. I’ve actually seen this happen over and over, the sjw-crowd makes it so that defending yourself or others is now racist. The video would get out and be edited to make it look like the Italians were in the wrong. Personally, I wouldn’t just stand there and do nothing but I am the exception.
Also, people really need to speak out and not let anyone silence you. This has zero to do with race, this is about keeping out bad people of any race that are a danger to everyone else.
Once you've encountered a few scammers, you recognise their patter straight away.
In Rome, about 5 years back, I kept on being told 'Nice shoes ' all the time, despite wearing the most worn, scuffed pair of work boots.
After being told this for the nth time, in Vatican Square, I decided to see what the scam was and engaged.
Was the wristband scam. He put a wristband son, said it was a 'gift'. Then got his phone out and showd me what was allegedly a photo of his kid 'back home ' and of course this is where he asks me for money. I just took the wristband off and gave it back to him before he realised what was happening and walked off with no bother.
A more recent scam, was one someone tried on me last year. In Krakow Square, a man asks me the time, which of course I give him. He then proceeds to ask me where I am from and tells me he's from Ukraine and gives a sob story about how he and his family fled to Poland and now have no money. Pretty big scumbag move to try and make money out of something like that.
If they spoke English they are probably not Ukrainian.
I plan on visiting Italy, if I am walking and the painting scammers try to get money from me for stepping in the “paintings” I will piss on the “paintings”
The wristband/bracelet thing is very common in Spain. I had to fight off a couple of african women who literally just randomly grabbed my 2 year old girls arm to put bracelet on and wouldn't let go of her arm. Made me so angry.
Oh shit, that really crosses the line. If anyone did that to my young kids I would be fuming too. Would probably take a lot of restraint not to nock them out. But you know the moment you do that, six others will jump you from behind...
Pretty out of date but a friend and myself went on a 1 month holiday through Italy, spending a week in Florence and the surrounding area. As South Africans, it was hilarious that we came thousands of miles to a foreign country, just to have the same Nigerian/Congolese guys trying to scam us there, that try it back home
They're the same everywhere. Even here in USA. Cultures and not meant to be intertwined like this. They prey on the good nature of the Europeans.
The irony of this 2 guys. Ones ancestors probably from the Nederlands and the second probably from Britain. Complaining about migrants.
@@gluarsabishvili1990 Do your own farts smell good? You're being replaced in your own country. Your kids are going to grow up strangers in their own lands. And you enjoy it.
Cant wait for shit to kick off so we can waste people like you.
@@gluarsabishvili1990 I didnt say I had an issue with migrants, it just just funny that the same guys we have hustling in South Africa, were hustling the same stuff/way 10000km away in Europe
@François Jean Jacques is it migrating or invading
Scammers aren't native European
Exactly, that’s what I’ve been trying to make ppl understand. The major exception is some Eastern Europeans.
bruh they are east europeans.. wdym??
@@WolverineXOXO you are definitely one of them
@@KayaChoo They are Gypsies. Hardly European.
Me in Florence this January with my Canadian wife... A guy gift her a bracelets I said inmidiatly I'm not going to pay for it! my wife was surprised with the gift, I said I'm not paying for it no one pay for a gift. The "vendor" get angry so he trow to me one bracelet I give it back to him telling him to find a real job. I'm italian we have to deal with this Africans, est, middle est or Arabic scammers every day. Be careful when you're in Italy
5:57 as an Italian, I am truly ashamed that nobody came to your help. Italians are afraid to intervene, because there is a high chance that police would turn against them, not the scammers. This is the reality we live in. Scammers and thieves are tolerated, but if you react, you are in trouble. I live in Serbia now and if something like that had happened in Belgrade, five big Serbian guys would have made sure it never happened again.
Serbians don't share "European values" (= leftism and extreme political correctness).
👍👍👍
@@jirislavicek9954 tough people
"As an Italian" what you said it's not true
@@leolle5659 explain
@@alessandron1360 It's not true that Italian police would turn against someone defending himself. When did it happen? Do you have data to support your statement? Plus these kind of encounters do usually resolve without violence, why would police intervene?
Congratulations for 1 million subscribers! Keep up the good work, love from Australia 🇦🇺 🇨🇿
Late to the party but the biggest scams in Italy in tourists restaurant are in my opinion:
1) "Would you like some truffle on your pasta?" followed by adding a little shed of truffle in your dish and a good 20-30 euro to your bill.
2) "May I suggest this wine?" or "The wine you ordered is out of stock, may I suggest this replacement?" Followed by 100-600 euro bottle of wine. (while usually 1l of house wine is 4-5 euro)
How are those scams? You are being given the option of additional value? Are the restaurant owners expected to give you entitled tourists their food and drink for free?
@@gregoryroth9638
In the first case, it's offered as extra seasoning, without mentioning price. You wouldn't expect to pay 2-3 times your plate value if, for example, offered some pepper.
In the second case, you are offered a replacement for a product which is far more expensive instead of being of similar value. So you order a 10 euro bottle of whine and are served a 600 euro bottle.
It's a scam as you are tricked into paying for something that you would have never asked if you knew the cost.
I love your channel, having traveled a little bit myself across Europe. I encountered all of these scams multiple times. So very very useful! Wish I found you a few years ago
Guys I'm Italian and we are pissed too, they are everywhere and they really harass you, you just need to say NO in a firm voice, don't worry not being nice to them. Also people didn't help you because they didn't understand what you were saying and you were just talking, it happens so many times that someone argue with scammers that we got used to it
Honestly I love Italian food, Italian weather, Italian people (there are a lot here in Germany, they are all great lovely people), Italian landscapes and so on, but the scammers are the reason 37 old me has never put a foot in your country so far.
@@MesoScale chill, If you use your brain and understand the language nothing it will happen to you. It's Just an excuse and If you go away from the center of the city youn can find a lot of rural areas with better food, prices and people. Its normal to find scammers in the centre of the cities or near the stations, it happens everywhere
Its just like you say. Just yell NO. I am from Argentina, taking money from me its a pretty hard job. I suffer the wristle scam attempt in Brazil, Paris and Florence, the force sell of a rose to my wife in Venice, they are everywhere. Anyway, the worst thing happen to me in Italy was dealing with taxi drivers. What a bunch of thieves (at least all I had to deal with)
@@hugolatra yeah we don't even use taxi, way too expensive
@@MesoScale I can understand that, even many Italian restaurants scams tourists making them pay more, we hate that
Thanks for exposing those scammers, they are a plague to our society, love from Italy!
I went to Jamaica years ago and they played the same scams … they will fill your hands with souvenirs telling you they’re all free and if you walk away, they start asking for money. In my situation it gets to a point that I was very afraid … thanks God someone from Jamaica notice I was getting very upset and nervous. I will never forget his name he got me out of the situation and stay by my side for more than 15 minutes😢
Rome does have scammers around and pick pockets but still don’t let that stop you from visiting! Thank you for the heads up!
I have been scammed with the "wristband scam" in Paris. About 8 Africans surrounded my wife and me at Sacre Coeur, demanding money. After they steal the money from me, I talked to the police who were 10 meters away, and they said there was nothing they could do. It´s so sad that local police in Tourist cities just don´t care if the tourist is being robbed.
Was it possible to scream for help? Scream loud
@@peachpink123 Just like the video shows, nobody cares. It was raining at the time, but even though we saw four couples and a small Chinese group passing by, no one cared. There was also this other time, in Parma, when my family and I were surrounded by a group of Africans. No one said a word, even though we had a 9-month-old baby along. I can't blame anyone, it is scary...
Europeans are suicidal to tolerate those parasite in to their lands, should have sunk their boats in the Mediterranean sea
I can't get over the way the deaf guy could hear questions softly spoken through a mask and answer them. Must've been a bloody miracle! 🤣
Thank you for the advice, it's a shame that this problem is not taken as seriously as it should.
I went to Turin with my family on vacation and we stopped in a square to have lunch. Suddenly we noticed a apparently-poor man who started searching in trash bins . My father felt bad for him and gave him 10 euros to go eat something. We later found out that the guy was used to search bins right in front of tourists, pretending to look for food, just to use all the money on beer. That's because of people like him that I, and probably lots of people, struggle to trust the ones in need
I saw the "paintings" laying flat on the ground/sidewalk scam in Florence near the entrance to the museum we went to to see Michaelangelo's David. I could not understand why the stuff was just laying on the ground in such a crowded space. Now it all makes sense.
I called out the bracelet scam in Rome when it was happening to a woman. I told her to throw it on the ground and just leave. She listened and walked away. The scammer turned on me and started yelling profanities and wouldn’t stop following me. I had to buy some food at a nearby shop, and the owner kicked the harasser out.
This is awful! Sorry to his happened to you
My friend has the habit of pretending to be a tourist on purpose and saying goodbye you said it's free it's mine now. 😅
Yes, I've had to run into a hotel or shop for protection from street criminals, too. Only in Europe. Nowhere else.
It’s crazy how fast they turn from pleasant to complete scum
Where are the police?
I've been to eight different countries and while I had a lot of great times, there was always this tension of always having to be on your guard because of the non-stop scams people were trying to perpetuate. It's incredibly aggravating and exhausting to never be able to fully relax because if you do, someone will be right there waiting to take your money.
True, it is very exhausting need to be on guard every second. Can’t even enjoy the beautiful city
Same. I don´t enjoy going to these countries anymore. I also don´t understand why the authorities don´t stop it? Some are harder then others, but for example selling things illegally in places you are not allowed to sell things, must be a easy scam to stop (like those picture dudes, stupid flying things etc.). Also, fake charities are banned in my country, those scumbags would be in jail.
Which countries are you referring to? Cause i find it very hard to get scammed ,at least in Europe. All you have to do is to use debit/credit cards and go to the touristic areas only for sightseeing. There are dozens of websites and guides for eating ,drinking and walking like locals do
Not in Nordic countries. I've only seen beggars on the street (on bigger citys only) and they won't even approach you, all they do is stay on the ground trying to look miserable.
@@SuperGamli it's because we are satured with it, there are so many that even of they arrest them they Will be free in a couple of days because jails are full
My father just pointed at one of those pictures saying "this one looks nice" and the guy started running after us so we can buy the picture. He dropped the price from 20 to 5 euros.
The beginning of the video confirms the scammers were from the Czech Republic. For the rest of the video it's confirmed as well that the scammers in Italy are not Italians, I like that. Regarding the wine price you get in most big cities much higher prices for worst wine. Unfortunately Italy is the most beautiful country in the world, which as a consequence attracts tourist which themselves attract scammers from all over the world and it's the Italians that pay the price. this is sad
All this video showed were street scammers, not the ones that overcharge you, most of which are locals.
Italy needs to do undercover sting operations and deport all the scammers.
Agreed and anyone caught committing a víolent críme.
Laws need to change. Because now you may catch but if law says you cannot hold them, then what??
Yeah good luck 😂😅 I'm Italian, it won't happen because immigrants laws
If you try you'd have thousands of people calling for "Racism!!"
the police dosent care they act only if you call them
A girl from my high school in Germany experienced the wristband scam on a trip with her French class to Paris. The scammer started a long discussion with one of the two teachers (male; 1,85 m; a lot of muscles) who wanted to help her. After about 5 min. the other teacher (female; 1,50 m; not physically strong at all) approached the two arguing men and asked if there is a problem she could help solving. When the scammer started to tell her what happened, she quickly responded that she was willing to call the police to resolve the problem and took out her phone.
That was the scammers sore point, because most of these scammers don't have the legal documents to stay in France forever and police doesn't care as long as they don't cause any trouble. The scammer ran away immediately and the whole class learned that you don't need to be physically strong to stand your ground. Sometimes it's just a good argument that helps you out.
It's also noteworthy, that this happens in all cities where tourist arrive by the busload. Italy just has more than average of those. I've been trick-robbed in Alicante, Spain, and scammed in Istanbul, Turkey, but never had problems in Italy.
Id just threaten to beat them if they dont get lost.
@@eljanrimsa5843 Not really. It usually happens, where Africans can easily get
Sometimes you need to show your muscles work
That's what Africans in France do
My cousin went to Italy for her honeymoon back in 2002 & loved it. She decided to go back for her 20th Anniversary gift in 2022, but recalls the moment she stepped off the airport, herself & husband regretted it. During the 10 day vacation, not one day, someone or some establishment tried & at times, ripped them off. She thought to herself, never again. In fact, she said, Europe as a whole never again. She'll stick to the all-inclusive resorts from now on 😊
You can’t say Europe as a whole! It has over 30 countries! I’m Swedish and there are no scammers in Sweden, nor have I seen any in the other Nordic or Baltic countries. Switzerland, the Netherlands, most of the UK and several other countries are also scam free. In the Balkan countries (I’m currently living in Bulgaria) it’s just the taxi drivers, but there are ways around it (using an app or having locals call and order for you)
This is why Rome and Florence are not on my travel list. I think the cops ignore the problem because they know these creeps would turn into muggers and burglars otherwise.
As a Roman, I’m happy that you came in Italy to warn tourists about these scams. Wristband trick is the most popular scam. Harald Baldr’s video is hilarious and sad at the same time. Hope to see new abroad videos
I live there and I've definitely seen more people willingly buying the prints than accidentally stepping on them and buying them for guilt 😭 To the point that I always ask myself who in the world would want a printed JPEG file that's been laying on the super dirty ground. The fact that it's actually supposed to be a scam kind of reassures me though 😂
As a hungarian im familiar with this kind of scams, we have this particularly etnicity that favors things similar to this
I am from Singapore, and I was scammed at Rome Itally by a taxi driver in 2011. First he purposely drove a much longer distance from train station to my hotel. Second, upon reaching my hotel, I gave him 50 euros and he took my money, turned around and said I gave him 10 euro. I had to top up additional cash to settle the shortage. I went to the police station and lodged a police statement with the car plate of the taxi. To my surprise, no action was taken against the scammer. As a tourist, I had a very bad impression of this beautiful country. If this happened in my country, these scammers will be arrested and jailed.
We fell for that bracelet scam when in Paris with my family. Again it was a group of africans that tried to be really friendly and told us about how friendly their people are and how rough the migration was. Then when we refused to pay they became agressive and gathered a circle around us and again, 0 people helping out.
Ah les anglais encore
We encountered this in Morocco 25 years ago when a kid pushed a bracelet into my daughter's hand and tried to take her baseball cap as payment when we didn't give him money. A large German woman in our tour group whacked the little punk good and he left us alone! Now, that's international diplomacy!
Happened the same to me in Montmartre. Sorrounded and at some point grabbed by the jacket. I had to scream to allert people there and let me free.
@@davidcarroll9917 hahhahaha I love this!
Aha not even surprised... this is Paris for ya , always the same type of people too ... like in this video... what a coincidence... :)
People wouldn't help ya , unless they want to spend the day beaten up by 5 guys. Sadly nothing we can do
As an Italian (I'm from Como) i can confirm it happens in all the big cities. The best thing you can do is say you have no physical money with you, and that you only use your credit card, and most of them will just walk away.
Ohhh. I'll be in Como this summer. Can't wait. 3 days there to relax after almost 2 weeks of touring big and smaller cities in Northern Italy.
No best thing is to just ignore them. Literally do not aknowledge them or say a strong: NO
@@Kepps-ff3rg Exactly. Do NOT talk to them.
Terrible advice.
I’ve been to Italy twice. I don’t care what anyone wants I say firmly NO! Some have got aggressive. I just stand my ground, look them in the eye and firmly say NO.
These scammers have all one thing in common and are easily and visually recognisable, even from a distance. Unfortunately, both youtube and current social norms and laws prevent me for explaining what it is, but anyone with a grain of common sense will know what I am talking about (which, if asked, I will deny because I do not want to get in trouble with the thought police).
Whenever I travel, specially around europe, I keep an eye for this "special trait". If I use public transport I check other passengers upon my entrance, and then I proceed to put myself far from the doors and against a wall If I can spot one. If I see such "traits" I make sure they know I know, for example by taking out my wallet and clearly placing it at my front jeans pocket with my hand clearly on it.
If I am out and about and someone approaches me I first see if the "special trait" is present, and if so I walk away fast, not letting them even start a conversation. If I am caught by surprise I do not hesitate and, without a word, walk away.
Sad as it is, I prioritise being safe over being politically correct.
I had that wristband scam in Rome and it was exactly the same scenario. African guy asks a quick question, then gives a couple of wristbands, asking where you are from and "oh that's great and says whatever he knows about that country", shows his kids, asks for money. If you reject or don't give him enough money, he just takes them back.
Happened to me today at the Colosseum. Guy asked me where i was from i told him where and said some shit about gift so i said ok snd walked off
@@leelegad2641 it's sad that you can't even walk in a big city without being stopped by scammers. Most of the times they try really hard, they don't leave people just easily. I wonder what all the police do. In front of Eiffel is also full of scams.
I was outside the Pantheon and got the whole 'I like your shoes routine' even though I was wearing flip-flops. After him badgering me and my elderly mother for a few minutes I gave him five euros just to go away, even though he wanted ten. Snatched the money and walked off, no thank you or anything.
Genova is the worst!
I dont ever respond to anyone asking me anything on the streets in Rome. But the best was when I didnt answer an African guy he asked if I didnt like black people.
As an Italian I can attest to Florence being particularly bad in terms of tourist traps. It's one of the more "commercial" cities in Italy, filled with tourists the entire year. Definitely not an accurate picture of the entire country.
Having travelled extensively throughout Italy, (and the whole of Europe) I agree, most of the smaller places are really nice, but it is common in just about every large city. I think Venice is the worst. Especially where it comes to price hikes for tourists, my time in Italy has always been working, so generally visit restaurants etc with the locals I am working with, and always pay local rates, but when on my own, they will always try to charge me tourist prices, but I stand my ground, and only pay the correct amount.
I love Italy, but hate visiting any large city, just because of everyone wanting to run a scam.
Le chiamano tourist trap in inglese le città come Firenze. Io ci lavoro e devo dire che la città dove vivo che è a un'ora di macchina da Firenze è molto meglio.
This happens in Every major City in The world, dont worry
@@waldirsegundo No, Florence is especially bad believe me. There's a stark difference between even a city like Rome compared Florence. And Rome is already bad in its own right with overtly tourist-catered attractions. Florence however truly takes the cake.
@@PRODAt3 di dove sei?
Look into the bald and baldr dosier, since you linked him this might interest you
One of the weirdest things in my life was noticing how incoherent was police in Italy. 4 y ago I went to study for 6 months in Slovenia, I had a stop for taking a bus in Italy at 5 am and well, a guy full of winter clothes and baggages speaking in english to every local trying to get instructions for where to buy a bus ticket was enough for "carabinieri" car to stop in front of me, ask many questions and for my documents. It took them some minutes to check in their system if everything was alright, anyways it was a bit weird some months later visiting Italy for tourism and realizing how these guys operate totally free, in huge groups, get aggressive and annoy/scam tourists without any police action.
Everyone is afraid of the migrants.
What bothers me even more is that the police is always present but they just don't care
I guess cause there are thousands of these scammers all around. There is not much You can do
@@alexlanyi2329 the police in other countries just give a damn. Police here have a job for life and there's little incentive for them as individual police officers to bother. The system promotes those who are politically connected not those who try to do a decent job. This particularly discourages those who do want to do a good job.
@Max შემიწყალე unfortunately they would be free before the day ends! Law overprotect shitty people here
Cops can't keep arresting people that don't get indicted. Unless a violent crime is reported you'll hardly see any action. Larger cities currently are run by leftist admins that don't care if we are flooded by low level criminals harming tourists and regular tax-payers.
@@mesteme sure it's not just the police that is at fault. The justice system is glacial. I've heard of cases where people went to prison 10+years after they comitted the crime. As for electing the wrong politicians, start electing politicians who do care, who are honest, who don't promote their friends, who fire public officials who are bad performers. I don't know quite how dishonest a candidate needs to be in Italy for them not to be elected. Other counties have a far better situation with regards to scammers.
I had the exact wristband scam happen to me when I visited the Bahamas. Some woman just fronted the wristband for me and asked for a donation, I very tediously unknotted the band before she could tighten it and gave it back to her to avoid that kind of pressure. I don't travel internationally a lot but I'm glad my intuition was correct
You should have taken it and say her "thank you, you gave it yourself to me"
@@ilya1421 You make a good point
great camera work. we almost saw 1 frame
A few years back, a deaf-mute guy came to my door, he held up a sign saying he was a deaf mute, and tried to sell me stuff I didn't need, As it happened I didn't have any cash, so I wrote on a bit of paper, "Sorry, no cash" without thinking he said "I can take a cheque"
I heard stories of people being physically attacked by scammer during the day and in plain sight, and this video just confirms it is possible.... Those passerby are truly spineless... A whole freaking crowd of it.
where are the police?
The judiciary in Italy is left-wing. You risk getting in trouble if you defend yourself or defend others from illegal immigrants.
@@TheWeepingDalek as a local inhabitant, i would say that they are probably busy to stop some teens smoking joints.... those are their priorities
@@witebatman Links? Only from Italian newspapers possibly. That the judiciary is left wing is known by everybody in Italy, unless they have been living under a rock. Why do you think these scammers are let go around and scam people or threat them with violence? They know the system is on their side. Same in America and other countries. Believe your eyes.
@@damn_jaz9895 Police cant literally arrest them because of european laws on immigrants
I remember when I visited Italy, I was constantly targeted by the wristbands scammers. Several of the people in our group found out the hard way on that. It went as far as them following me for an small time around a fountain behind me. This was in Milan.
As an italian i can say to you that this is a good way to get free wristbands
As someone who loves travel this break my heart, i have meet someone who very kind and someone who is mean. The world is so huge so that we often meet different people. Hope we can respect each other.
Excellent work team, thanks for the alerts, these scammers are getting ever more creative. I don't get paranoid but in these situations I remember ABC - Accept nothing, Believe no one, Challenge everything.
"Here is my son, don't you want to help my son?"
No. You help your son. I help my son.
Here, a picture of my son, why don't YOU give ME money now?
When I was in Rome early in the morning, I literally saw someone arrive well dressed, with a backpack, they pulled out there cardboard, put some junky clothes on overtop and then rubbed coal on their face before starting to beg that they were a homeless poor person... It is so hard that we are supposed to give to the needy and yet there are fully capable people who could work, but are taking begging money away from the truly disabled.
Yeah fake homeless people also exist in America. It can be pretty obvious to distinguish them though, since the fakers show up looking healthy with a t-shirt and jeans, while the real ones look like they're about to die, with a backpack.
@@alessandroferrari5755 : well well well, in Italy governmental help does exist and is powerful. There’s a large multitude of scammers named M5stars. Government loads a special bank card for each one of them. Every month. In scammers’ Italy, this is called “citizenship revenue”. A scamming worldwide record.
No one needs to beg in Europe.
There are systems in place to help people in need.
DO NOT GIVE MONEY TO BEGGARS WHEN YOUR ARE A TOURIST.
Truly disabled? The truly disabled are generally well taken care of in the EU. People who are truly disabled on the streets have been brought into richer countries (particularly from Romania) as part of an organized effort to scam tourists and locals alike. You'll see their handler not so far away smoking a cigarette and keeping an eye on them. They have their designated areas and I have seen the same beggars in the same place for decades where I live. They rotate regularly because they go back to their homes but you get to know who they are.
I have a simple rule that's easy to follow. When strangers approach you randomly in the street ignore them and walk on.
I was in Rome last year and the bracelet scam literally happened to me as described here. They start getting annoyed when you keep saying no.
Here's my son, we are starving, proceeds to show pictures on a smartphone... okay.
I got the wristband thing in Rome. Didn’t give him any money though, so I have a free bracelet.
Same
I ran into this kind of scam in Mauritius. Didn't expect that Africa starts in Florence.
Nice.
My scam experience in Italy (Roma): Sat down in a restaurant, server came introduce the dishes, picked different dish, server asked if I want to change the sauce without telling me the price, changed it, bill came, sauce cost 25 euro.
disgusting how they treat tourist in some places wow
Bruh
I wonder if these restaurants are opened by locals there or some foreign scammers
@@peachpink123 Locals, because they know the rules and know you won't go back
At that point I would've just said "fuck this" and run away from that restaurant, lol.
Approaching turists to sell can be even worst than a scam as it in many cases envolves stealing people's belongings such as purses and other small things while negotiating.
Well done guys...one of the very few blogs working HONESTLY and for the tourist community
if you notice most of the scammers weren't actually italian :)
Scammers are 99% foreigners
Why are the foreigners so desperate?
@@younot-ez3xr maybe because they don't have papers so the only way that they know is to scam people, or maybe sell drugs and i think it's better to be a inoffensiv scammer than a drug dealer
@@maxxomilk5599 OK I get what you're saying
Believe me plenty Italians scamming people too, was scammed by few unfortunately.
Man it makes me mad to see and hear stories about scammers in my city. It's a travesty that our law enforcement does not speak a lick of English thus being next to useless when a foreigner approaches them
Same here in Spain, where mostly anyone speaks even english, not speaking of "rarer" languages like german, italian, japanese, korean... or french!
So tourists are just defenseless against scammers, problems, or accidents. Like 40% of our income is from tourism...
It happened to me just last week in Paris, at 7am! 2 girls came to me and asked where was I from, I told them, and they were super hyped(which was concerning for me), asked me to donate money for the deaf people, alongside showing with the sign language (I guess) that she's deaf.
The second girl was too close behind me and I thought that she would pickpocket me and I just run away😅
In 2016 I started warning other tourists because I knew Rome pretty well at this point (been there over 20 times for weeks at a time) and they were soooo angry
I went to Florence and the painting scam was everywhere. After the 5th time of encourntering it i went out of my way to intentionally walk on the painting with my group and we all shuffled on them and destroyed them and ran off.
Well done 🤝
Nice
good job dude
One of the dudes was setting one up and a police officer just stomped all over it, and started yelling things at him in Italian as he scurried off. I only know basic Italian, but I think he said some very choice things because literally every Italian gasped at one of the things he said.
@@NCSGaming15 Thanks for giving me a good laugh! I didn't know that the police cared! Now, I know that the police do care! Thank you. There is hope for Western civilization, yet!
I happened to be in Rome earlier this year, and these guys were so annoying. You couldn't sit down on a public place without them trying to "gift" me or my girlfriend something every 5 minutes even tho we always declined right away.
One of them tried to take my girlfriends arm to put the bracelet on. That was when I got really loud, and they got aggressive as well. Luckily, there were Karabinieri right around the corner, or it could have ended badly.
When I was in Madrid, on Plaza Mayor, we were constantly getting hassled by people in costumes trying to get in photos. Just stayed away from there after that.
Exactly. I only eat in private homes in Rome, and never at sidewalk restaurants. Too much harrassment.
yeah, unfortunately you saw the main reason why i hate my own country, everyone knows they are scamming people and eventually they get aggressive, but nobody does anything. they look away and keep walking. such a shame.
I fell victum to the dropped shoe brush scam in Istanbul. A teenage youth dropped his shoe polishing brush in front of me as we walked along a sidewalk. I picked it up and proceeded to catch up with him and I gave him his shoe brush back. He thanked me and then said that he would polish my shoes in return for the return of his brush. I fell for it and let him polish my shoes. When completed he demanded 20 euros. I refused and walked away, but he had a group who surrounded me and demanded payment. I ended up giving him 5 euros. Next time I'm going to just keep the brush.
Not a single Italian helped you...that says alot. I would not want to go to a place where the locals take the tourists for granted and dont want to protect them from scammers.
It is the same like with India, so many scams conning from there and the government does nothing
I can't speak for Italians, but I am from Sweden, and probably there nobody would help you either. There is a small but still existing chance these guys are extra crazy and might carry knives or something, and even if they don't, if it becomes a scene, they will skillfully make it look like you caused the scene, and leftist/woke morons around you will think you are the bad guy and say you are racist etc.
The big regional body and most governments in the block essentially value their precious imported doctors/engineers/scientists/it experts/rocket technicians infinitely more than mere full-paying and law abiding tourists. The locals know this and obviously makes sense for them to stay away from trouble.
@@kenlee1416 Hahahaha this ironic comment on doctors etc makes me instantly think you are from greece (judging from the nick it seems rather not though) since it's being played here a lot since the pseudo liberal government 2015 - 2019 were trying to convince us that those people are investors...
@@irondasgr Nowhere near Greece but thousands and thousands of miles away.
As an Italian I would like to thank you.Not even italian understand what a beautifull country we have and how important tourism is for us , and those scammers are destroying it.
Tourism is not that important to us, stop begging for a job as a waiter, for fuck's sake, it's pathetic.
Italy is a big country with lots of tech companies, and export and tourism is a small percentage of our GDP.
Worry about all those fucking houses for tourists that are making it fucking impossible to find accommodation.
Italy really is beautiful and I come there very often because of that reason. Italians and the rest of EU, need to say stop to illegal immigrants coming on „banana boats” and welcoming them. Immediately sending back those who commit crimes. Italians are lovely people but those pesky imigrant scammers and criminals are ruining the whole visiting experience.
Need to hold the politicians accountable and send those scammers back to their home countries.
Btw - in Israel you pay 9€ for a glass of wine completely legally. The whole bottle of the same wine would cost in supermarket - 15€. But in a restaurant the price goes up 5 times. The same is for beer. 0.5 bottle of Goldstar beer -7₪ NIS in the shop (1,7€) and 35 in the bar (9€).
I find it sad that nobody cares when people get aggressive. As a fellow tourist or local, even if you cannot directly interfere, maybe you can help the victim get some distance between themselves and the bad guys.
We don't have that type of scammers here, but we do have plenty of beggars who all seem to mysteriously own the same kind of expensive phone, or flashy key chan. Odd coincidence huh?
Wow! Seeing the Italian police blatantly ignoring the ripping off of tourists has changed our minds about wanting to visit Italy and spend money there. Thanks for this valuable information.
Police can't do anything, they literally gave up trying. You cannot arrest those scammers, you cannot sue them, most of them are illegals with not even documents. Good luck kicking them out of the Country either.
Exactly why I've been avoiding Europe for many years and going to private beaches in Dubai.
They have orders to do so, in order to avoid making a scene. The local governments don't want videos of the police restraining and arresting these vendors in social media, because they are always taken out of context for easy clicks. It ends up hurting the local PD and the city's image more than it helps them in the long run.
I've lived all across, In Italy the police are passive but effective at the same time, where as the ones in most places of the world are agressive and entitled, "hunting" you to fill quotas and pockets. The only other place where i've seen such passive cops, believe it or not, wass in Shanghai back in 2008 - that is not how things are anymore tho, not with hongkong, taiwan, XinJiang, lockdowns..
@@thomasmaresh5264 Hope you're joking
"What Time Is it?"
"It's time you get the fuck out of the way"
As an italian, i can assure that this Is the best answer possible 😂
4:25 "my son, my son, my son" bruh your son IS you
They rely on politeness, someone used to ask me to drive him places and my ex heard it and said "it's for his kid" I yelled 'F his kid, I don't want to give him a ride; he's a scammer' and she was upset that he heard it; but he stopped calling after that. He also asked me to be his kids godfather, I said "F no, you junkies might die and then I'd be stuck with the kid" but that didn't stop him from calling me asking for rides until the other statement because he thought I'd be polite in front of others to save face.