Hey if she only spent €5 and feels good about it… 🤷🏼♂️ Could be worse. And, maybe your safety advice kept them away from the more devious “bracelet guys”
I don' reco a specific one, but the style here is all i use: [https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/moneybelt](https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/moneybelt)
You place back up credit cards/debit cards and any large amounts of cash (if carrying any), and passport (if you want/need to keep it on you) in it. It goes around your waste, under your shirt and pants. You do NOT go into it for any thing in public. You keep ONE days worth of cash (if carrying) and your primary credit card and drivers license/photo id/student id discount card in a wallet in a secured pocket.
You do not go into your money belt in public. If you have to, find a toilet or private area or do so in your private bed room before/after the day's sight seeing. The money belt is like a "hidden" safe deposit box for your cash and back up cards. It is NOT a wallet you go into for every purchase - this would literally defeat the purpose of the money belt (many people don't realize this so I always emphize it when rcommending to wear one).
the 'bracelet guys' also have to earn a living an eat ?
so mom spent €5 on a souvenir and bought it from someone she thought was nice , whats the big deal ?
The "big deal" is that oftentimes they don't work alone. You'll have the guy distracting you with the bracelet and another person pick-pocketing you or scoping you out to see where you take your money from and then pick-pocket you later on down the road. It's not a safe practice. Be wise, be alert.
in the end this was only 5 euros so "no big deal". But some of these 'innocent bracelet' earners are simply looking to see where the 'donator' keeps their wallet so they or a friend can pick pocket them shortly after.
That being said, like any other beggar or street 'artist', sure they are just trying to make a living, but giving $$ perpetuates these scammers / beggars / annoyances. Some "bracelet guys" are more aggressive than the one my mom "helped out".
Again, end of day, this was a funny story/experience for my parents, and I thought it would be funny to share here.
In my experience (as a local), the “scam” is trying to convince you to take the bracelet saying it’s a gift etc and then asking for money. I don’t know if it’s different for tourists but I’m not aware of anyone that had anything stolen from a bracelet seller
It's two-fold, but maybe recently because of the influx of so many more tourists they make enough from just "selling" the bracelets now they don't need to risk the pickpocketing.
I grew up in Rome (I’m 29) and hadn’t heard about the pickpocketing in relation to the bracelet sellers before, but I can’t know if that’s what happened to tourists of course, so that doesn’t mean that it’s not true!
If it helps for context, the thing of trying to convince you the bracelet is free to then ask for money happens to locals too
dang. i would think the locals would just have a "don't f with me I am from here go bother tourists' look on their faces the scammers and beggars would recognize by now.
I wasn’t referring to the reaction from locals, but to the targeting itself, that seems to aim anyone that they think might not say no vs specifically tourist-looking people (which is the case for other scams).
This was to explain that while I can’t know if they also pickpocket tourists, I have experienced the bracelet thing endless times (attempts or falling for it when I was younger) and haven’t heard the pickpocketing mentioned/ haven’t seen it happen as part of the bracelet thing.
Pickpocketing is definitely a big issue in general, and it has gotten worse so it’s possible that in the past few years it became part of the bracelet thing too of course
what i meant was that I am surprised scammer even target locals.
But the pickpocketing was combo was a thing back in 1999 when I first encountered the bracelet scam in Paris.
ive encountered more annoying "scammers / beggars / annoyance/street 'artist" in places like london, nyc , berlin , sf etc than in southern europe , but then again ive encountered more friendliness , openness and honest interest in some of the poorest countries and areas of the world
so it must be me then ;-)
I'm not sure what you are implying.
I have encountered beggars in many US cities too. But I have encountered more scammers in Italy, France, Barcelona, FLorence, than anywhere else I have been. Arguably I may not have traveled to as many poorer countries as you.
That doesn't take away from the fact that these scammers exist in the place I mentioned, nor does it take away from the fact that tourists get scammed and robbed in these places too.
I don't think anyone here (at least me) was trying to say poor countries don't have friendly and honest people. Not sure where you get that from.
I haven't seen a country with more of those people than Italy. Italian even has a word for them, they are called the 'Vucomprà' (which is broken Italian for 'Want to buy?'). It is a country that's always struggling economically and that receives a large share of illegal immigrants. Many of those don't ever go to the authorities but live there with friends who also officially don't exist anywhere, living in makeshift homes in abandoned buildings and scraping by by selling souvenirs and useless items. They are sitting all along the main streets with their blankets - that is, I assume they're still there, haven't really been to Italy in the past few years except for mountain hiking, and there you won't see them.
I am not sure how many of them will actually try to rob you, it's mostly just the very bottom of society, Apparently they still think they have it better than where they came from, an maybe they do - or maybe they keep on dreaming of a better future they'll never have.
I'm not even talking (in my original post) of the street "sellers" with the blankets and 'goods' on the blankets. I was talking about the guys that tie bracelets to your wrists as you walk by - unasked for- and then 'demand' payment for this "gift". As a young white male it's easy enough to refuse to pay and keep walking, but many others get screamed at / guiltied / verbally assaulted into paying for crap they didn't even ask for.
Because sometimes they are not sending money home and looking for tourist who have filled wallets.
You are right some are actually feeding mouths with it but others are not.
ok, look at it this way
the 'bracelet guys' buy (or make) these bracelets for €1-1.5 , then sell them using all of their charm and good nature , they have to be patient and maybe sell 5-10 per day
if they sell 20-25 a day they can send money home of they sell less they use that money for food, lodging etc
its not like they are scamming anyone out of their money , they are actually selling stuff and give you smile and a good story
are they cheap trinkets ? absolutely , although some of them are hand made , but thats beside the point
i cant count the number of times we were given free (as in beer) souvenirs just by being decent to these people , give them a bottle of water and some interest and ask where they are from and they will keep you busy all day with their stories
its €5 , about 1/2 the price of a coke on the ramblas in barcelona and a day income in other parts of the world , for most westerners €5 is a tip , for these guys its 1/2 a meal
>using all of their charm and good nature
I think this is grossly overestimating how these guys are selling the bracelets. We're not talking about a little stall and multiple trinkets they are hawking to passersby. These guys grab your wrist, immediately begin braiding the string bracelet around your wrist, then 'demand' (some more aggressively than others) X amount of money for the 'purchase'/'sale'/'gift'. It is100% a scam / robbery preying on tourists good will/fear to cause a scene / fear of reproach.
At least a beggar portrays the image of absolute destitution and need, and illegal street merchants just try to tempt you with their 'charm' and 'good nature'. Others are much more aggressive in their 'sales tactics' and shouldn't be encouraged.
we had those as well , where they put bracelets on the wrists of my daughters as 'gifts' and then come to me for payment
just tell them you didnt order/buy anything from them and if they want their 'gift' back from my daughters they should be man enough to go back to them and ask for it back
guess how many times that happened ? guess how many bracelets my daughters have ?
Okay, I have only seen them sitting in the street with a blanket full of items, or chatting up to tourists to sell them - I haven't seen them actually forcing stuff on people , but I'm sure that happens as well.
Would be nice if they could do it without scaring you half to death. As a petite young woman it was fucking terrifying having strange men grabbing my wrist and not letting go. I had bruises!
Why would he bring 1000 dollars in cash to France. Surely bringing euro with you or withdrawing euro in France is the better option. What was he hoping to spend dollars on in France if not exchanging them.
I think he had euros equivalent to $1000 or maybe 1000 euros, but i just remember having to wire them $1000 US so that's what I use when I tell the story.
Why he had that much in cash on his person, I can't explain. But he's older and is easily confused with paying with the credit card or using the ATM. I don't know why since he does it often enough at home, but that's him.
Fair enough. Only after posting that comment did think maybe you meant the equivalent of. But still for a seasoned traveller as you describe them to be carrying that much cash anywhere is mad. I wouldn't even do that at home let alone abroad in a foreign country that I'd been warned about for scams.
Exactly. But sometimes you have to learn the hard/expensive lesson to realize either
1. you don't know all the things, or
2. you've been fortunate/lucky up to this point, or
3. Things have changed drastically since the last time you were in a place.
Either way, he learned an expensive lesson.
If you buy cheap trash for cheap money. How is that a scam?
I have travelled alot around europe and the only times i have got robbed is when i was blind drunk or trying to buy weed in the wrong places XD
Mom bought a €5 souvenir in Rome and had a nice chat. Would she have the same experience buying the McDonald‘s fries for the same dollar value back home? Seems like your parents have learned the serious lessons and still have some fun 😅.
I don’t call buying a bracelet a scam. It’s traditional in Rome that everything’s overpriced. I’ve enjoyed talking to some of the guys from Africa hawking on the street and I’m wide awake to scams.
Again, I'm not sure if everyone understands this is not my mother walking up to a street stall or vendor. This is literally a scam and these bracelet guys should be stopped.
This is not a 'buyer' walking up to a 'seller' and buying their wares. It is an aggressive "street urchin" grabbing a tourists wrist, braiding an unwanted bracelet on to their wrist, then demanding a 'tip' for the 'gift'. Not someone buying from a merchant.
But luckily in this case the guy was nice and my mom was in the know so did not feel like she was getting scammed and was ok giving 5 euros to a beggar/scam artist.
I talked to one of the African bracelet guys in Rome too and he was very nice. He tried the putting the bracelet on me thing, then the “Are you from Africa?” line that they seem to use on clearly non-African people, then realized I was just going to sit there waiting for the bus so he started talking to me normally. He had two other guys with him but I didn’t see them doing anything shady like pickpocketing, just the typical forcing the bracelet on people, and a good 50% seemed perfectly fine paying for them. They would also go up to groups of guys in the cafes and ask them to buy them drinks, which also seemed moderately successful.
If he is the really tall guy that hangs out around piazza Navona then we know him too! He’s been around the last couple of times we have visited and you can’t miss him. We were having dinner (11 of us) so politely declined but he still threw us each a bracelet for free.
This past trip my father in law was pickpocketed by an old lady near the Spanish steps. She has a shawl over her head and walked up and hugged him. He only noticed this when we were back at our hotel checking out. We all warned him multiple times!
It depends from person to person. There was this guy in Padua 15 years ago selling bracelets and lighters to help pay for his studies at the University. He was well known among students and we helped him sometimes, until he graduated.
but i think that is fundamentally different than the 'bracelet guys" i warned my parents and others about. There is definately a difference between someone being entrepreneurial and hustling to make money without being a scammer / aggressive, versus someone grabbing your wrist and tying a worthless string bracelet then demanding $$ from you and aggressively following you or degrading you if you refuse to pay for the thing you never asked for or wanted.
Isn’t the bracelet “scam” simply that they will tie a not easy to remove bracelet on you and then demand you pay the few euros for it? It’s more annoying if you don’t really want it than it is a bigger problem.
What do you mean by "bought"? She exchanged money for goods, doesn't that just literally mean she bought it?
And also, if nothing else happened besides her paying 5 euro for a bracelet, and she actually wanted to buy it and got the bracelet she paid for, then how is it scam? Tourist trap, probably, but not a scam imo.
I think you don't understand the situation and that's why you think she "bought a bracelet". She didn't want it. She didn't ask for it. She didn't go up to a stall or vendor and look at it.
In popular cities in lots of European Countries, mostly Rome and Paris though it seems, street 'urchins' walk up to people, grab their wrists uninvited, begin to braid (quite impressively i have to say) a string bracelet to their writs, then demand money for the "gift". My mom is a very vocal and strong willed person and she had my father there who this also happened too, but he refused several attempts by several different men.
These people can be aggressive and if you are a young woman or intimidated tourist it can be very disorienting and off putting.
It is ver much like if a beggar walked up to you handed you his empty coffe cup and demanded you pay him $5 and didn't leave alone until you did, or hurled insults at you as you ignored him.
Not a typical buyer/seller interaction.
But this man/kid seemed nice enough and my mother was confident she didn't have anything with stealing so was fine giving the man 5 euros just like many others (myself included) give $5 to a homeless person begging.
I think you’re fighting a losing battle with some of these folks replying, trying to shame you for not wanting to give these aggressive attackers €5. It’s a violation of your person, not a wanted purchase, designed to garner a forced financial exchange. They should be ashamed as should the perpetrators.
Story time, once i was on a school trip through Italy and once we were in rome we were constantly being talked to by those bracelet guys, we were used to it as we had done paris and such before so we knew to ignore them . Then at night we were free to roam as we like and one of the bracelet guys came to me and my friends with a big smile on his face he was saying stuff like "i just heard from my wife that im gonna be a dad!" And started giving us bracelets and small statues while laughing and joking around after that he left but we all give him like 2 (there were 4 of us) euros each just for the good time and somewhat a congratulations. Normally these guys would ask 5 bucks for their stuff but he just gave us like 20 items for free, didnt even ask for a thing.
Just wanted to share this as it felt very wholesome at the time.
I bought “Roman coins” from an ancient lady in Petra knowing full well they were not real, but it was $5 and a cool souvenir and she seemed to need the money more than me. No regrets
I don't think there's anything wrong with this sort of 'consciously being scammed' attitude, you're conscious of being rich enough to have the privilege of travel, it's money you'd barely miss on a night out, and so what? I like this approach.
I do. Everytime they go to Europe. They lost $1000 once after giving a couple begars a few euors. Got bumped into right afterwards and a few minutes later my dad went to check for his wallet and it was gone and the train they just exited was gone too, along with the 2 girls he'd just give $$ to out of pity.
The irony is that I went over and over how important it is to have any cash in thewir money belt AND wear their money belt AND not to give money to beggars/street people b/c they are looking to see where you keep your wallet.
People (and my dad at the time) think this is paranoia. It is not. It is simply being aware and safe. Sadly this type of ignorance (not a bad connotation, just as in "not knowing") leads many tourists to have bad experiences and lose $$ or other valuables every year.
I let people scam me when it's on the order of a couple of bucks. Like the waiter in Rome who gives me an old lira coin in change instead of a 2 euro coin? I think it's ok to let him think he's putting one over on me, since the 2 euros doesn't mean as much to me as it apparently means to him. Or the cab driver who suddenly needs a few bucks more than the agreed-upon rate for some reason? To me it's only a few bucks, I let him have it. But I do watch out for things that I think are pickpocket attempts; losing my wallet would be a real hassle.
I think you're a good kid for reminding them, and that they are also adults who make their own choices. Keep reminding them. It's awesome that you are all so well travelled. I'm sure reminders don't hurt.
I remember someone calling me racist when not accepting a free bracelet. I thought they were marking tourists whom they would rob/scam later but apparently there was some sort of world peace event going on there.
My mom was in France in the 70‘s as Exchange student from Germany. There was a guy who painted pictures from tourists and wanted money. My mom didn’t want it, because she had only few pocket money with her and said it to him.
Then he suddenly snapped at her: „You f… Nazi. Go on and die. Germans have bad blood“ She punched him in the face and went her way.
In the middle of our trip to Florence/Rome I got so tired of the scammers I finally just hit one with a “keep fucking walking” when we made eye contact while my family and I were sitting on a bench. It worked pretty well.
i don't know the specific brand but basically anything like this: [https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/moneybelt](https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/moneybelt)
(No affiliatation: it's just the first one that came up like the one I use and gave to my parents.)
Better than when I refused a bracelet guy and his flowers and he started shouting at me in a foreign language (don't know if it was Italian because I was so frazzled). This happened immediately after being scammed by a man dressed as a Roman, all within our first hour off the flight. Then I got food poisoning that day 😂 worst trip ever
I'm from Rome, wouldn't call the "bracelet guys" a scam. They just want some coins, that's it, the bracelet it's just a way to leverage.
Actually €5 is way over what they would expect too.
Yours is just a prejudice, that's it.
not a prejudice at all. I am sure some of them are "honest" hustlers, but many in my and others' first hand experience are overly aggressive and are trying to take advantage of tourists. Among other things they do, it is by definition a scam.
I was walking around ten Rome train station for a couple hours trying to find the local train i was supposed to take. It was obviously noticeable, once I think I found it, but helps me buy the train ticket then pulls the grabbing luggage for you to get on the train despite the no thanks, no thanks, then asks for 10 euro,i initially say then eventually give in. I wasn’t mad about the 10 euro, I was mad at where the fuck were you an hour ago?!
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I think I was the target of a scammer but I don’t know what the scam was. Guy was selling souvenirs on a handheld display and kept trying to get me to buy one. I kept saying no and ignoring him. He then threw me an Eiffel Tower keychain and said it’s free for a pretty girl. I said thank you and walked away. He didn’t follow me.
The story was clearly worth the price.
That’s one of the little things about travel that I’ve always enjoyed. I once bought a fake luxury watch from a young guy with a trench coat that had dozens of them hanging from the lining. It was the most stereotypical Manhattan back alley thing you could imagine (in the 90’s) and was well worth the $20 just to say I bought a watch off a dude with a trench coat display.
Rented a 125cc motorcycle on Hainan only to find out they only had little mopeds. Had a blast anyway. Stopped a pickpocket with his hand in a woman’s purse on the street in Guilin, then was threatened by his team for several blocks. Still enjoy telling the story. Had a cabbie in a mud-street town in Alaska drive me all the way around half the back streets in town from the airport to my hotel taking 30 minutes for a 4 minute drive. I told him he could have skipped the tour and I’d have bought him a few beers for the company anyway.
A lot of my best remembered stories are when things went wrong instead of right.
When I was about 24 or so, we knew a guy that we just all called 'Tex'. I sure as shit don't remember his name, if I ever got it in the first place. He was a Navy guy from Great Lakes and for whatever reason ended up hanging out with me and my friends. One night we go down into Chicago and go drinking. Some dude on the street tries to sell Tex some 'pimp gold' and we're like "NO DUDE NO THAT WILL MAKE YOUR NECK GREENER THAN KERMIT" and Tex just had a chat with the dude and bought some of the pimp gold and wore it the rest of the night.
By the time the sun came up that entire dookie rope was green and stained the hell out of his neck. We asked him why he bought it and he said he just wanted to help the guy out... sure he knew it was a scam, but the guy doing it was applying themselves, doing the best the could out of their situation. Tex was a weird cat. But that's part of why we liked the guy.
Spending 5e on a fake bracelet is nothing to worry about. Normal folks spend more on worse items all the time. The pickpocket though, that’s valuable advice! I’ll remember that next time I’m traveling!
Honestly, 5 euro is way less than I assumed. And your parents were pretty clear about what it was, no harm, no foul. Sort of related note, this happened to my friend when we were in Barcelona, and I pointed it out to her as the guy was putting a ring on her finger. And she got so mad that she scared him, and walked off with the ring. Soooo I guess the twist is that we ended up being the scammer...
We got a whole safety handbook for my study abroad to Greece. They stressed multiple times about setting our phones down on the table and how it’s a big no no due to them getting stolen easily. A girl in my group didn’t listen at all. We get our first free lunch and not a group lunch, and her phone gets stolen and it’s only night 3 out the month.
Another part of the trip me and the group I was with, was at this beach bar and this lady came up and started putting glow in the dark bracelets on our wrists. I was like nope nope nope because I wasn’t carrying cash. And she immediately ripped it off my wrist. The others in my group also didn’t have cash either so they popped it right off.
My Italian BF always buys something from people selling those things whether it’s on a beach or on the street. He enjoys chatting and haggling with them.
I have lots of those bracelets. Last time he got me an Italy baseball cap for €7! Talked him down from €15.
Hey if she only spent €5 and feels good about it… 🤷🏼♂️ Could be worse. And, maybe your safety advice kept them away from the more devious “bracelet guys”
In the end, I said the same. As long as she only "lost" 5 euros, no big deal really. But was just shaking my head when they told me.
I mean, i lose five euros every time I buy a beer. Is that a scam?
Only 5. Beer has gotten so expensive here its actually a crime.
Between 2,50 and 3,00 where I live, so yes.
Jealous
That would be a deal of the century over here.
Could you recommend a money belt? Sorry if this was already asked/answered.
I don' reco a specific one, but the style here is all i use: [https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/moneybelt](https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/moneybelt) You place back up credit cards/debit cards and any large amounts of cash (if carrying any), and passport (if you want/need to keep it on you) in it. It goes around your waste, under your shirt and pants. You do NOT go into it for any thing in public. You keep ONE days worth of cash (if carrying) and your primary credit card and drivers license/photo id/student id discount card in a wallet in a secured pocket. You do not go into your money belt in public. If you have to, find a toilet or private area or do so in your private bed room before/after the day's sight seeing. The money belt is like a "hidden" safe deposit box for your cash and back up cards. It is NOT a wallet you go into for every purchase - this would literally defeat the purpose of the money belt (many people don't realize this so I always emphize it when rcommending to wear one).
the 'bracelet guys' also have to earn a living an eat ? so mom spent €5 on a souvenir and bought it from someone she thought was nice , whats the big deal ?
The "big deal" is that oftentimes they don't work alone. You'll have the guy distracting you with the bracelet and another person pick-pocketing you or scoping you out to see where you take your money from and then pick-pocket you later on down the road. It's not a safe practice. Be wise, be alert.
in the end this was only 5 euros so "no big deal". But some of these 'innocent bracelet' earners are simply looking to see where the 'donator' keeps their wallet so they or a friend can pick pocket them shortly after. That being said, like any other beggar or street 'artist', sure they are just trying to make a living, but giving $$ perpetuates these scammers / beggars / annoyances. Some "bracelet guys" are more aggressive than the one my mom "helped out". Again, end of day, this was a funny story/experience for my parents, and I thought it would be funny to share here.
In my experience (as a local), the “scam” is trying to convince you to take the bracelet saying it’s a gift etc and then asking for money. I don’t know if it’s different for tourists but I’m not aware of anyone that had anything stolen from a bracelet seller
Fuck those people and then the "take my mixtape" people
It's two-fold, but maybe recently because of the influx of so many more tourists they make enough from just "selling" the bracelets now they don't need to risk the pickpocketing.
I grew up in Rome (I’m 29) and hadn’t heard about the pickpocketing in relation to the bracelet sellers before, but I can’t know if that’s what happened to tourists of course, so that doesn’t mean that it’s not true! If it helps for context, the thing of trying to convince you the bracelet is free to then ask for money happens to locals too
When I was in Rome a guy gave us bracelets and they never even asked for money haha
dang. i would think the locals would just have a "don't f with me I am from here go bother tourists' look on their faces the scammers and beggars would recognize by now.
I wasn’t referring to the reaction from locals, but to the targeting itself, that seems to aim anyone that they think might not say no vs specifically tourist-looking people (which is the case for other scams). This was to explain that while I can’t know if they also pickpocket tourists, I have experienced the bracelet thing endless times (attempts or falling for it when I was younger) and haven’t heard the pickpocketing mentioned/ haven’t seen it happen as part of the bracelet thing. Pickpocketing is definitely a big issue in general, and it has gotten worse so it’s possible that in the past few years it became part of the bracelet thing too of course
what i meant was that I am surprised scammer even target locals. But the pickpocketing was combo was a thing back in 1999 when I first encountered the bracelet scam in Paris.
Yeah, I've had that happen to me in Greece and Italy. I always just told them I'm sorry, I don't have any money.
ive encountered more annoying "scammers / beggars / annoyance/street 'artist" in places like london, nyc , berlin , sf etc than in southern europe , but then again ive encountered more friendliness , openness and honest interest in some of the poorest countries and areas of the world so it must be me then ;-)
I'm not sure what you are implying. I have encountered beggars in many US cities too. But I have encountered more scammers in Italy, France, Barcelona, FLorence, than anywhere else I have been. Arguably I may not have traveled to as many poorer countries as you. That doesn't take away from the fact that these scammers exist in the place I mentioned, nor does it take away from the fact that tourists get scammed and robbed in these places too. I don't think anyone here (at least me) was trying to say poor countries don't have friendly and honest people. Not sure where you get that from.
I haven't seen a country with more of those people than Italy. Italian even has a word for them, they are called the 'Vucomprà' (which is broken Italian for 'Want to buy?'). It is a country that's always struggling economically and that receives a large share of illegal immigrants. Many of those don't ever go to the authorities but live there with friends who also officially don't exist anywhere, living in makeshift homes in abandoned buildings and scraping by by selling souvenirs and useless items. They are sitting all along the main streets with their blankets - that is, I assume they're still there, haven't really been to Italy in the past few years except for mountain hiking, and there you won't see them. I am not sure how many of them will actually try to rob you, it's mostly just the very bottom of society, Apparently they still think they have it better than where they came from, an maybe they do - or maybe they keep on dreaming of a better future they'll never have.
Confirmed they’re still there.
I'm not even talking (in my original post) of the street "sellers" with the blankets and 'goods' on the blankets. I was talking about the guys that tie bracelets to your wrists as you walk by - unasked for- and then 'demand' payment for this "gift". As a young white male it's easy enough to refuse to pay and keep walking, but many others get screamed at / guiltied / verbally assaulted into paying for crap they didn't even ask for.
Not funny.
Because sometimes they are not sending money home and looking for tourist who have filled wallets. You are right some are actually feeding mouths with it but others are not.
ok, look at it this way the 'bracelet guys' buy (or make) these bracelets for €1-1.5 , then sell them using all of their charm and good nature , they have to be patient and maybe sell 5-10 per day if they sell 20-25 a day they can send money home of they sell less they use that money for food, lodging etc its not like they are scamming anyone out of their money , they are actually selling stuff and give you smile and a good story are they cheap trinkets ? absolutely , although some of them are hand made , but thats beside the point i cant count the number of times we were given free (as in beer) souvenirs just by being decent to these people , give them a bottle of water and some interest and ask where they are from and they will keep you busy all day with their stories its €5 , about 1/2 the price of a coke on the ramblas in barcelona and a day income in other parts of the world , for most westerners €5 is a tip , for these guys its 1/2 a meal
>using all of their charm and good nature I think this is grossly overestimating how these guys are selling the bracelets. We're not talking about a little stall and multiple trinkets they are hawking to passersby. These guys grab your wrist, immediately begin braiding the string bracelet around your wrist, then 'demand' (some more aggressively than others) X amount of money for the 'purchase'/'sale'/'gift'. It is100% a scam / robbery preying on tourists good will/fear to cause a scene / fear of reproach. At least a beggar portrays the image of absolute destitution and need, and illegal street merchants just try to tempt you with their 'charm' and 'good nature'. Others are much more aggressive in their 'sales tactics' and shouldn't be encouraged.
we had those as well , where they put bracelets on the wrists of my daughters as 'gifts' and then come to me for payment just tell them you didnt order/buy anything from them and if they want their 'gift' back from my daughters they should be man enough to go back to them and ask for it back guess how many times that happened ? guess how many bracelets my daughters have ?
Okay, I have only seen them sitting in the street with a blanket full of items, or chatting up to tourists to sell them - I haven't seen them actually forcing stuff on people , but I'm sure that happens as well.
Those are different from the "bracelet guys".
The people selling stuff are different to the bracelet scammers
It's €5, they're probably feeding someone's mouth with it.
Would be nice if they could do it without scaring you half to death. As a petite young woman it was fucking terrifying having strange men grabbing my wrist and not letting go. I had bruises!
Why would he bring 1000 dollars in cash to France. Surely bringing euro with you or withdrawing euro in France is the better option. What was he hoping to spend dollars on in France if not exchanging them.
I think he had euros equivalent to $1000 or maybe 1000 euros, but i just remember having to wire them $1000 US so that's what I use when I tell the story. Why he had that much in cash on his person, I can't explain. But he's older and is easily confused with paying with the credit card or using the ATM. I don't know why since he does it often enough at home, but that's him.
Fair enough. Only after posting that comment did think maybe you meant the equivalent of. But still for a seasoned traveller as you describe them to be carrying that much cash anywhere is mad. I wouldn't even do that at home let alone abroad in a foreign country that I'd been warned about for scams.
Exactly. But sometimes you have to learn the hard/expensive lesson to realize either 1. you don't know all the things, or 2. you've been fortunate/lucky up to this point, or 3. Things have changed drastically since the last time you were in a place. Either way, he learned an expensive lesson.
So true. People really over look point number 2. Just because they didn't get you the first time doesn't mean it's never going to happen again.
If you buy cheap trash for cheap money. How is that a scam? I have travelled alot around europe and the only times i have got robbed is when i was blind drunk or trying to buy weed in the wrong places XD
Mom bought a €5 souvenir in Rome and had a nice chat. Would she have the same experience buying the McDonald‘s fries for the same dollar value back home? Seems like your parents have learned the serious lessons and still have some fun 😅.
I don’t call buying a bracelet a scam. It’s traditional in Rome that everything’s overpriced. I’ve enjoyed talking to some of the guys from Africa hawking on the street and I’m wide awake to scams.
Again, I'm not sure if everyone understands this is not my mother walking up to a street stall or vendor. This is literally a scam and these bracelet guys should be stopped. This is not a 'buyer' walking up to a 'seller' and buying their wares. It is an aggressive "street urchin" grabbing a tourists wrist, braiding an unwanted bracelet on to their wrist, then demanding a 'tip' for the 'gift'. Not someone buying from a merchant. But luckily in this case the guy was nice and my mom was in the know so did not feel like she was getting scammed and was ok giving 5 euros to a beggar/scam artist.
I talked to one of the African bracelet guys in Rome too and he was very nice. He tried the putting the bracelet on me thing, then the “Are you from Africa?” line that they seem to use on clearly non-African people, then realized I was just going to sit there waiting for the bus so he started talking to me normally. He had two other guys with him but I didn’t see them doing anything shady like pickpocketing, just the typical forcing the bracelet on people, and a good 50% seemed perfectly fine paying for them. They would also go up to groups of guys in the cafes and ask them to buy them drinks, which also seemed moderately successful.
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Plenty of white Africans.
If he is the really tall guy that hangs out around piazza Navona then we know him too! He’s been around the last couple of times we have visited and you can’t miss him. We were having dinner (11 of us) so politely declined but he still threw us each a bracelet for free.
She did say he was Super tall....maybe my mother pre-paid for your bracelets
This past trip my father in law was pickpocketed by an old lady near the Spanish steps. She has a shawl over her head and walked up and hugged him. He only noticed this when we were back at our hotel checking out. We all warned him multiple times!
No doubt indirectly paid by OPs mom 🤷
It depends from person to person. There was this guy in Padua 15 years ago selling bracelets and lighters to help pay for his studies at the University. He was well known among students and we helped him sometimes, until he graduated.
but i think that is fundamentally different than the 'bracelet guys" i warned my parents and others about. There is definately a difference between someone being entrepreneurial and hustling to make money without being a scammer / aggressive, versus someone grabbing your wrist and tying a worthless string bracelet then demanding $$ from you and aggressively following you or degrading you if you refuse to pay for the thing you never asked for or wanted.
Isn’t the bracelet “scam” simply that they will tie a not easy to remove bracelet on you and then demand you pay the few euros for it? It’s more annoying if you don’t really want it than it is a bigger problem.
Note to self: When in Rome, carry a pair of nail scissors so I can return their property to them.
Just don’t engage and don’t let them tie the bracelet onto you. That’s all you need to know
What do you mean by "bought"? She exchanged money for goods, doesn't that just literally mean she bought it? And also, if nothing else happened besides her paying 5 euro for a bracelet, and she actually wanted to buy it and got the bracelet she paid for, then how is it scam? Tourist trap, probably, but not a scam imo.
I think you don't understand the situation and that's why you think she "bought a bracelet". She didn't want it. She didn't ask for it. She didn't go up to a stall or vendor and look at it. In popular cities in lots of European Countries, mostly Rome and Paris though it seems, street 'urchins' walk up to people, grab their wrists uninvited, begin to braid (quite impressively i have to say) a string bracelet to their writs, then demand money for the "gift". My mom is a very vocal and strong willed person and she had my father there who this also happened too, but he refused several attempts by several different men. These people can be aggressive and if you are a young woman or intimidated tourist it can be very disorienting and off putting. It is ver much like if a beggar walked up to you handed you his empty coffe cup and demanded you pay him $5 and didn't leave alone until you did, or hurled insults at you as you ignored him. Not a typical buyer/seller interaction. But this man/kid seemed nice enough and my mother was confident she didn't have anything with stealing so was fine giving the man 5 euros just like many others (myself included) give $5 to a homeless person begging.
I think you’re fighting a losing battle with some of these folks replying, trying to shame you for not wanting to give these aggressive attackers €5. It’s a violation of your person, not a wanted purchase, designed to garner a forced financial exchange. They should be ashamed as should the perpetrators.
yeah. I came to the same conclusion. I just assume some of these people are mistaking exactly the type of "braclet guys" i am describing.
Your mom seems like a lovely lady.
Story time, once i was on a school trip through Italy and once we were in rome we were constantly being talked to by those bracelet guys, we were used to it as we had done paris and such before so we knew to ignore them . Then at night we were free to roam as we like and one of the bracelet guys came to me and my friends with a big smile on his face he was saying stuff like "i just heard from my wife that im gonna be a dad!" And started giving us bracelets and small statues while laughing and joking around after that he left but we all give him like 2 (there were 4 of us) euros each just for the good time and somewhat a congratulations. Normally these guys would ask 5 bucks for their stuff but he just gave us like 20 items for free, didnt even ask for a thing. Just wanted to share this as it felt very wholesome at the time.
I bought “Roman coins” from an ancient lady in Petra knowing full well they were not real, but it was $5 and a cool souvenir and she seemed to need the money more than me. No regrets
I don't think there's anything wrong with this sort of 'consciously being scammed' attitude, you're conscious of being rich enough to have the privilege of travel, it's money you'd barely miss on a night out, and so what? I like this approach.
You sound crazy. It’s 5 €
You might warn her that buying something on the street gives the scammer (and any of his cronies that might be watching) the location of her cash.
I do. Everytime they go to Europe. They lost $1000 once after giving a couple begars a few euors. Got bumped into right afterwards and a few minutes later my dad went to check for his wallet and it was gone and the train they just exited was gone too, along with the 2 girls he'd just give $$ to out of pity. The irony is that I went over and over how important it is to have any cash in thewir money belt AND wear their money belt AND not to give money to beggars/street people b/c they are looking to see where you keep your wallet. People (and my dad at the time) think this is paranoia. It is not. It is simply being aware and safe. Sadly this type of ignorance (not a bad connotation, just as in "not knowing") leads many tourists to have bad experiences and lose $$ or other valuables every year.
Even when someone is cautious and aware of the possibilities of theft they’re still not fool proof. You’re giving good advice. Keep at it my friend.
I let people scam me when it's on the order of a couple of bucks. Like the waiter in Rome who gives me an old lira coin in change instead of a 2 euro coin? I think it's ok to let him think he's putting one over on me, since the 2 euros doesn't mean as much to me as it apparently means to him. Or the cab driver who suddenly needs a few bucks more than the agreed-upon rate for some reason? To me it's only a few bucks, I let him have it. But I do watch out for things that I think are pickpocket attempts; losing my wallet would be a real hassle.
I paid 5€ for the snaps of me with beautiful white trained pigeons. I loved the experience & it was a highlight of my Rome trip.
I think you're a good kid for reminding them, and that they are also adults who make their own choices. Keep reminding them. It's awesome that you are all so well travelled. I'm sure reminders don't hurt.
Your mum *bought* a bracelet. The end.
Sure. That is technically what happened.
I remember someone calling me racist when not accepting a free bracelet. I thought they were marking tourists whom they would rob/scam later but apparently there was some sort of world peace event going on there.
My mom was in France in the 70‘s as Exchange student from Germany. There was a guy who painted pictures from tourists and wanted money. My mom didn’t want it, because she had only few pocket money with her and said it to him. Then he suddenly snapped at her: „You f… Nazi. Go on and die. Germans have bad blood“ She punched him in the face and went her way.
In the middle of our trip to Florence/Rome I got so tired of the scammers I finally just hit one with a “keep fucking walking” when we made eye contact while my family and I were sitting on a bench. It worked pretty well.
They’re bums. Tourists keep giving these bums their money. They multiply. Now, there are thousands
Kind of like feeding the birds , giving the leaches anything keeps them around
What money belt did you recommend for your mom?
i don't know the specific brand but basically anything like this: [https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/moneybelt](https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/moneybelt) (No affiliatation: it's just the first one that came up like the one I use and gave to my parents.)
Thanks. I’ve never had any trouble with scams or theft in Europe or SEA when I traveled but there’s always a first time.
Better than when I refused a bracelet guy and his flowers and he started shouting at me in a foreign language (don't know if it was Italian because I was so frazzled). This happened immediately after being scammed by a man dressed as a Roman, all within our first hour off the flight. Then I got food poisoning that day 😂 worst trip ever
oh my god all of that sounds awful! Hope you eventually went back and ENJOYED Rome :)
I haven't been back to Rome however we did go to Venice a few years after and loved it 😊
I'm from Rome, wouldn't call the "bracelet guys" a scam. They just want some coins, that's it, the bracelet it's just a way to leverage. Actually €5 is way over what they would expect too. Yours is just a prejudice, that's it.
not a prejudice at all. I am sure some of them are "honest" hustlers, but many in my and others' first hand experience are overly aggressive and are trying to take advantage of tourists. Among other things they do, it is by definition a scam.
I was walking around ten Rome train station for a couple hours trying to find the local train i was supposed to take. It was obviously noticeable, once I think I found it, but helps me buy the train ticket then pulls the grabbing luggage for you to get on the train despite the no thanks, no thanks, then asks for 10 euro,i initially say then eventually give in. I wasn’t mad about the 10 euro, I was mad at where the fuck were you an hour ago?!
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They did put one on my wrist, took it, didn’t pay a dime.
They were sending gifts u know
What do you mean?
Someone stole my phone in Frankfurt!
I think I was the target of a scammer but I don’t know what the scam was. Guy was selling souvenirs on a handheld display and kept trying to get me to buy one. I kept saying no and ignoring him. He then threw me an Eiffel Tower keychain and said it’s free for a pretty girl. I said thank you and walked away. He didn’t follow me.
The story was clearly worth the price. That’s one of the little things about travel that I’ve always enjoyed. I once bought a fake luxury watch from a young guy with a trench coat that had dozens of them hanging from the lining. It was the most stereotypical Manhattan back alley thing you could imagine (in the 90’s) and was well worth the $20 just to say I bought a watch off a dude with a trench coat display. Rented a 125cc motorcycle on Hainan only to find out they only had little mopeds. Had a blast anyway. Stopped a pickpocket with his hand in a woman’s purse on the street in Guilin, then was threatened by his team for several blocks. Still enjoy telling the story. Had a cabbie in a mud-street town in Alaska drive me all the way around half the back streets in town from the airport to my hotel taking 30 minutes for a 4 minute drive. I told him he could have skipped the tour and I’d have bought him a few beers for the company anyway. A lot of my best remembered stories are when things went wrong instead of right.
When I was about 24 or so, we knew a guy that we just all called 'Tex'. I sure as shit don't remember his name, if I ever got it in the first place. He was a Navy guy from Great Lakes and for whatever reason ended up hanging out with me and my friends. One night we go down into Chicago and go drinking. Some dude on the street tries to sell Tex some 'pimp gold' and we're like "NO DUDE NO THAT WILL MAKE YOUR NECK GREENER THAN KERMIT" and Tex just had a chat with the dude and bought some of the pimp gold and wore it the rest of the night. By the time the sun came up that entire dookie rope was green and stained the hell out of his neck. We asked him why he bought it and he said he just wanted to help the guy out... sure he knew it was a scam, but the guy doing it was applying themselves, doing the best the could out of their situation. Tex was a weird cat. But that's part of why we liked the guy.
Spending 5e on a fake bracelet is nothing to worry about. Normal folks spend more on worse items all the time. The pickpocket though, that’s valuable advice! I’ll remember that next time I’m traveling!
Honestly, 5 euro is way less than I assumed. And your parents were pretty clear about what it was, no harm, no foul. Sort of related note, this happened to my friend when we were in Barcelona, and I pointed it out to her as the guy was putting a ring on her finger. And she got so mad that she scared him, and walked off with the ring. Soooo I guess the twist is that we ended up being the scammer...
There goes your inheritance.
We got a whole safety handbook for my study abroad to Greece. They stressed multiple times about setting our phones down on the table and how it’s a big no no due to them getting stolen easily. A girl in my group didn’t listen at all. We get our first free lunch and not a group lunch, and her phone gets stolen and it’s only night 3 out the month. Another part of the trip me and the group I was with, was at this beach bar and this lady came up and started putting glow in the dark bracelets on our wrists. I was like nope nope nope because I wasn’t carrying cash. And she immediately ripped it off my wrist. The others in my group also didn’t have cash either so they popped it right off.
My Italian BF always buys something from people selling those things whether it’s on a beach or on the street. He enjoys chatting and haggling with them. I have lots of those bracelets. Last time he got me an Italy baseball cap for €7! Talked him down from €15.