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The altered credit card receipt scam
Dishonest merchants will often add an extra zero or two to a credit card receipt or extra numbers at the beginning of the amount when submitting their merchant's copy of the signed credit card receipt to the credit card provider. We recommend taking the time to write long horizontal lines before and after the charge amount on any receipt you write for a credit card purchase.
The money-drop scam
This is a common scam, particularly in less developed countries. What happens is a tough guy rushes past an obvious tourist and "accidently" drops a wad of hundred dollar bills. Another guy then begins to pick up the money at your feet and offers to share it with you. Whether you take the money or not, the original tough guy reappears shortly after the other one leaves and demands you pay the full amount back to him. Lonely Planet reports that this scam is particularly common in Moscow's Red Square.
The ATM receipt scam
How vacationers handle their ATM receipts is the source of an ongoing scheme. Scammers can spot vacationers in a heartbeat and when they see one at an ATM machine they look to see if they put their ATM receipts in a nearby trash can. If they do, the scam artists will retrieve the receipt to determine how much money was withdrawn and if there is an account balance on the receipt. They can then trail the man or woman until the right moment and rob them of their recently received cash or force them to withdraw the balance of their account or do both.
The pour scam
This is particularly common at hotels and casino chains. What happens is bartenders with ring you up for a premium liquor but bring you the house brand and use the premium liquors for a future customer without ringing it up and pocket the change, or charge you for a premium liquor, pour you the house brand and pocket the difference.
The spill scam
This scam usually involves two persons. The first one will spill a drink or something on you and then offering to help you wipe it off. While they are distracting you, his or her partner will go for your wallet, passport, camera, luggage or anything else that is easily obtainable in the confusion.
At Caribbean Cruise Line, we hope you have had -- or will have -- a great vacation this year and have avoided any unpleasantness such as travel scams. For more information on our services feel free to visit our website at http://www.caribbeancl.com/ .
The 6-Pack: 6 travel scams to look out for!
Travelers lose billions of dollars to scams every year. Unfortunately, many of those scams occur while people are traveling on vacation. Caribbean Cruise Line is pleased to bring you this list of 6 travel scams to look out for.
Currency cons
Cashiers at banks or money exchange bureaus have a variety of ways of scamming unsuspecting tourists out of their money. Often times when counting back money, cashiers will skip numbers (1-2-4-5) hoping the tourist is not concentrating or does not understand his or her accent. Also, they will sometimes give someone the wrong currency when exchanging money giving someone currency which has a lower exchange rate. To avoid such issues, find out about the currency and exchange rate before going to exchange it anywhere and always insist on counting back your money in front of the cashier before leaving.
Metal detector
This is typically a 2 person scam. You place your laptop or other valuable on the conveyor belt to for the security scanner while waiting for a couple of people to go through the metal detector. The first person goes through the metal detector successfully but the second person triggers the alarm and has to make multiple passes through the detector before getting all his or her jewelry, mobile phone, coins, etc. out of their pocket. By the time you get through the machine yourself your valuables are gone. The best way to avoid this scam is to wait until the metal detector is clear in front of your before placing your belongings on a conveyor belt.
Tire Scam
This scam is another one typically done by a 2 person team. You are driving down the road and a drive pulls alongside you and points to one of your tires and gestures to you to pull over to the side of the road. The other driver pulls over and you assume to offer assistance. He tells you there is something wrong with your tire and while you are discussing it, his partner grabs any valuables you may have sitting in the front seat, or somewhere easily accessible. The best was to avoid this scam is to never pull off at the side of the road unless there is an emergency. Always drive to the nearest services station instead. Also, be sure to keep any valuable you have secured somewhere not easily accessible to anyone outside the car and remember to keep your windows up and doors locked at all times.
Rental Car Return
Often times at the end of a vacation, people are in a rush to catch their flights so the hurriedly had over the keys to their rental car and dash off to return home. The problem is that when you arrive at home you find out that your credit card was charged for damages to the rental car that was not there when you returned it or for gas to fill the tank (which was full when you dropped off the car). This scam is particularly common in Europe these days. The best way to avoid this is to always give yourself enough time to return your rental car and stick around for the vehicle inspection and get a receipt showing "all clear".
Bump and Grab
Crowded streets, shopping centers, bus stations, subway and railway stations are common places for this scam. While moving through the crowd a passerby bumps into you. Only later you find you keys, wallet, phone, camera or other valuable has been taken from your backpack, pocket or purse. To avoid this, make sure your bag/purse is zipped and nothing valuable is located in an outer pocket. Also never carry your wallet in your back pocket in a crowded place. Better yet, you can carry your money in a money belt of leave it at your hotel safe.
Damages claim
This is a very basic, but effective scam. A person bumps into you in a crowded place and drops a pair of glasses or a camera or some other item. They then feign horror and make a public commotion demanding you pay for the damage. The best way to avoid this scam is to insist you find the nearest policeman, police station or security guard and resolve the matter. If it is a scam the person will typically give up the ruse and leave.
At Caribbean Cruise Line, we hope you have had -- or will have -- a great vacation this year and have avoided any unpleasantness such as travel scams. For more information on our services feel free to visit our website at http://www.caribbeancl.com/ .
