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Here's another tax refund scam reported by two TTP users:

"During our visit in Istanbul in the end of March [2010] we met a salesman.... He runs [a shop on Divan Yolu in Sultanahmet, Istanbul.] He sold us two leather jackets, promising that we should get a tax free sales refund in the airport.

"We expected to get the proper papers to bring to the customs, but he ensured us that his company sends all such papers in time to the customs there, so that we only had to ask for the stamped form in that office to get our money.

"We were not convinced, so we asked in our hotel and searched in the Internet about the regulations, and found that we had to get the papers from the shop and bring them ourselves.

"We returned to the shop and demanded the signed form. [The salesman] refused, and ensured us once again that there were new rules and showed us a bunch of papers for the customs, that he told us was to be delivered to the airport.

"Of course - nobody there had heard of a procedure like that, and the company was not known either. We had recieved a card from the salesman] with his shop address, telephone number ... and a non-existing Internet site address. But we found a booklet containing addresses to all shops in Istanbul providing tax free refund service and pointing out that these have a special official Tax free refund sign.

"So beware, check out that this sign is visible and don´t trust shopkeepers assuring you that they take care of the paper works.

"Best regards,

"Hans and Gunnel, Sweden"