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Single
male travelers are
targets for several sorts of scams
that end in robbery.
One of these is the "Let's
Have a Drink" Scam which
results in your paying a drinks bill
of hundreds of dollars. Here's how
it
works and
how to avoid it:
In
Istanbul,
Sultanahmet
Square, and Beyoglu's
Istiklal
Caddesi, are common
places for this to happen.
While
you wander around on your own in
the evening, you're approached
by a well-dressed, early-middle-aged
man who speaks good English.
He chats with you, then he suggests
you have
a
drink
together, and leads you to a bar
or nightclub that's in on the scam.
As
soon as you sit down, women and perhaps
other men also sit at your table
and order drinks (usually "champagne").
Sooner or later the bill will
come, you will be expected to pay
it, and it will equal or exceed the
total amount of money you have with
you; or your credit card will
be forcibly taken and charged for
a huge amount. US$1000 is
not impossible. (In fact, they will
usually take all the money you have.)
If
you protest the scam, you may be
taken into a backroom "office" and threatened
or beaten until you agree to
pay. It's robbery, plain and simple,
but it's difficult to prove to the
police: the nightclub owner may protest
that you ran up a big bill, got drunk,
caused a ruckus and didn't want to
pay. It's his word against yours,
and he speaks the local language
and knows how to work the scam. He
knows that if he's arrested and charged,
the chances of your waiting around
(or returning) for a trial are nearly
nil.
To
read a first-hand
account of a (lucky)
victim of this scam, click
here.
A
variation: you're sitting alone
in a bar, cafe, taverna (meyhane) or
restaurant area (perhaps Beyoglu's Çiçek
Pasaji). Two or three men sit
down near you or next to you and
strike up a conversation. You chat
amiably. After awhile they suggest
you all go to another place, perhaps
because it's got "a good view," or "music," or "great
food." In the car or taxi
on the way there, they relieve
you of your wallet, dump you in
the street and speed off to parts
unknown.
Here
are the giveaways that you're being
scammed:
1. The con man often begins his chat
with "I just got off
from work in [nearby hotel]." This is to convince
you that he knows and is friendly
with foreign visitors.
2. He will suggest that you go for a
drink not
to just any bar
but "to a place I
know." He will
insist on going to the particular
bar that's in on the scam.
3. Your conversation will not seem normal.
You may ask a question about Turkey,
and he will say something on another
topic entirely. In fact, he's
following a script to lead you to the point
of agreeing to go have a drink (and
be robbed).
Here's
how to avoid being scammed:
A. Mention that you're with two
or three other male friends who have gotten
ahead of you. "Let's go find them
and all go," you can say. A Turk
interested in treating you will probably
say "The more, the merrier." A scammer
will pressure you to come alone.
B. Suggest another place for
a drink,
a very public one, such as a hotel
lobby bar or sidewalk cafe. A polite
Turk will agree—the point is
to sit and chat, and it doesn't matter
where. A scammer will insist on going
only "to this place I know."
C. Say that you're meeting others
in a few minutes (give no
details, even if he asks),
and offer to meet him for a drink
some other time (say
tomorrow)
"with
my other friends." The scammer will
not want that.
If
you think you're being scammed, excuse
yourself and get away. "Sorry,
I can't right now. Bye!" "I gotta
go!" "Some other time." Most of the
time this will work. The scammer
usually chats you up on a public
street, and won't want to be seen
as part of a ruckus or scuffle.
Another scam is "New Traveling Companions."
Don't
let these scams scare you. Now
that you're aware of them, you
won't let them happen to you.
"New
Traveling Companions" Scam
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