Scams we ran into in France

Prior to our trip to France, we took note of the popular scams that tourists can fall pretty to and read about the ways to avoid them. It all sounded funny to me because despite a fairly decent amount of traveling, I don’t think I’ve ever been scammed. Or really even noticed that I was being targeted. Luck, I suppose.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been targeted as a tourist to buy some cheap crap or service. However, I cannot remember ever witnessing an intentional, we’re going to rob you blind type scam.

Well, we must have had targets painted on our foreheads because we were hit with and/or witnessed literally every single scam we read about in the guidebooks.

The first scam we witnessed was on the Champs Elysees. A few innocent looking teenage girls were standing around with clip boards. They asked us to sign petitions and read over their important information. The trick here is that they bait you with this seemingly innocent request to look over the petition – while a partner steals your wallet/phone/etc from your pocket. We excused ourselves from their clipboards and headed to the other side of the walkway.

Scam number two was perhaps the funniest one. We took a stroll down the another ritzy area. Lots of luxury shops. The kind we didn’t even bother walking into because you could tell the area was for serious my-yearly-shopping-trip-to-Paris-type customers. The streets were moderately crowded and we were peacefully window shopping when suddenly a man stopped short in front of us. He reached down and grabbed a gold ring from the ground. “Is this yours?” he asks. “No…”

This scam involves him telling you that it is a very expensive ring … but he would be willing to let you keep it for a greatly discounted price. And, of course, after forking over money, it turns out to be made of tin. We didn’t stick around long enough for him to make any gracious sales offers to us. I wonder if anyone actually did.

Now the third scam actually made me feel uncomfortable. We had read that Notre Dame was notorious for pickpockets. I suppose it shouldn’t be surprising because so many tourists stand around gawking at the cathedral and paying little attention to their backpacks and purses. We were on guard because of this and knew we needed to watch our belongings even INSIDE the cathedral. Sure enough, signs were posted everywhere, asking visitors to keep a watchful eye for pickpockets.

As soon as we arrived outside Notre Dame, we could see why it was such a popular place for misdeeds. Hundreds of people, staring up at the architecture, laying their backpacks on the ground so they could adjust their camera angles. The cathedral is so beautiful that it’s hard not to be distracted.

I was on high alert and noticed a particular group of three teenage-ish boys who seemed to be casing everyone. Intuition just told me that they could be pickpockets. My jacket had zip pockets so it wasn’t easy to get to my wallet and I was wearing a backpack with no money in it so I felt like I was secure. We walked around taking photos and discussing the cathedral.

All of sudden, I was surrounded by these three boys. Two in front, one behind. One of them had a shirt that I immediately recognized. I spun around fast and took a step out of their little web, yelling to Mike to hold on or wait up, just to get his attention.

And then they vanished. All three of them, all walking in three separate directions away from me. Gone.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think they meant me any bodily harm, I’m sure I just looked like someone who had a loose wallet in a pocket. But, still, it was a little unnerving. And when I pointed them out to Mike later, he was like… oh yeah, they are totally trying to look “casual” but also staring down every tourist.

Unfortunately, after that I was suspicious of every person I accidentally bumped into inside the cathedral. Perhaps there were more pickpockets inside the church, but I didn’t see any of them. I fear I might have given some innocent people the evil eye just to ward off any other scammers.

It’s just one of those funny travel stories that everyone has. And, really, it was a good lesson that the way we pack and handle our wallets is important. This could happen absolutely anywhere, but in a foreign country, it’s a good idea to keep your hands on your wallet or passport and be vigilant. Don’t let fear be your guide, but just use common sense and trust intuition.

Any funny scam stories out there? Please share!