Fraudsters are adapting and becoming more sophisticated. In today's world, efficiency is improving across the board, and unfortunately, scammers on no exception. A deceptive scammer ruining your holiday by tricking you out of your well-earned money is a quick way to spoil the festive spirit. It's important to be aware that there are some highly crafty individuals out there. Here we'll explore the lesser known travel scams that catch people off guard on a daily basis. Number 7 The Full Venue Scam Imagine discovering the perfect restaurant, bar or club for your vacation, only to find a uniformed man stationed outside holding a menu. As you approach, he engages in a conversation on his earpiece, waki toki, with supposed staff inside. He then informs you that the venue is fully booked, but luckily the assistor establishment is conveniently located nearby, and happens to be offering a special, on inexpensive drinks that night. Given the seemingly official recommendation, you might assume the alternative venue is trustworthy. However, the man in uniform equipped with a fancy waki toki is not actually an employee. He's a street tout in disguise. In the best case scenario, he's redirecting traffic to another location and the deception ends there. There have been numerous reports of this happening in Japan among other places. However, in a worst case scenario, the new venue might engage in a price which arue, presenting an inflated bill and pressuring you to pay a significantly higher amount. This scam illustrates the importance of staying vigilant while exploring unfamiliar places. Number 6 The unofficial Officials Scam Let's imagine that you're out exploring the vibrant streets of Medellin, Colombia, enjoying the night out with friends, partying and reveling in the festivities. Perhaps the celebration becomes a bit too exuberant and suddenly, a police officer approaches you. They request your ID and you complied by handing over your passport, explaining that you're not a local and unaware of any wrongdoing. Despite your explanation, the officer refuses to return your passport. Instead, they demand money before releasing it. In some countries, police officers receive mega-salaries, leading them to resort to corruption and extortion for additional income. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident limited to Medellin. A similar unfortunate occurrence happened to a friend of mine in Japan, travelers have reported analogous situations, where individuals, not actual police officers, impersonate law enforcement to extort money. To protect yourself, it's advisable to keep your passport secure at your accommodation, avoid excessive drinking in public spaces, stay vigilant and, most importantly, exercise caution. It's a sad reality that incidents like these can happen, emphasizing the need for travelers to be mindful of their surroundings. Always prioritise your safety and well-being while exploring unfamiliar destinations. Number 5, but before that, make sure to click the subscribe button if you feel that you've got value so far. So number 5 is the booking.com scam. Specifically targeting users of the booking.com app, which we frequently use for accommodations, the app features a messaging system for direct communication with hotels and sometimes hotel send automated messages with special instructions. You will receive a message within the booking.com system stating that your reservation was not fully confirmed due to a rejected card. The message will instruct you to click on a link to verify her card within 12 hours or the reservation will be cancelled. What makes this scam particularly deceptive as that message came directly from within the booking.com app, rather than as an email. It seems scammers are infiltrating hotel accounts, sending messages to guests without the hotel to knowledge. Number 4, the restaurant credit card scam. The process of settling the bill works a bit differently in various countries. In the United States, for example, after finishing your meal, the server brings you the bill and you place your credit card in those small black books. The waiter then takes the book to the cash register to complete the card transaction, a routine and seemingly normal practice. However, my friend had a different experience when she travelled to Panama. After giving her credit card to the waiter, she noticed strange charges on her card later that evening. It turns out that in many countries, it's not customary to hand your credit card to the waiter. Instead, they're supposed to bring the credit card machine to your table. This allows you to observe the transaction ensuring nothing suspicious is happening. If you do find yourself giving your credit card to someone while abroad, it's crucial to watch closely to prevent potential scams like unauthorized photos of your card information or the use of handheld credit card skimmers, which can be as small as a tuba flip stick. This precaution is not exclusive to international settings. Even in the United States, incidents of card information theft, especially in fast food drive thruves are not uncommon. Number 3, the contactless ATM scam. The ATM scam landscape has evolved beyond the well-known skimming machines, with scammers adopting new tactics. In some instances, scammers introduce literal glue inside the card slot, causing a jam that prevents users from inserting their cards. Here's how the scam works. Many ATM's today offer a contactless feature, allowing users to simply tap their cards to initiate transactions. The crucial distinction is that, when you insert your card, the ATM returns it and machine automatically logs you out. However, with contactless transactions, the ATM may not be aware of when you finished, as it doesn't log you out automatically. This vulnerability is exploited by scammers, who, after someone has used a contactless feature, claimed that the card slot is malfunctioning. If a person nearby ones you that the card slot is not working, but encourages you to use contactless, it's a significant red flag. The danger lies in the fact that unaware that your account is still open for a few seconds, scammers seize the opportunity to strike. Number 2, the SIM card travel scam. Buying physical SIM cards abroad can be a potential source of scams. In Cambodia, you will encounter a tuk-tuk driver, whom you'll be led to believe as arranged by your hotel. He will suggest something like stopping to buy a SIM card. They sell you to pay you a bigger plan only to discover the next day that the data plan has expired. Another situation could be like this, where you seek a SIM card from an official carrier store in a mall, wanting a trustworthy option for your three months stay. The store worker recommended a monthly recurring plan, assuring you that you could cancel it by sending a WhatsApp message. However, after leaving the country, your attempts to contact the worker will go unanswered, and your credit cards will be continuously charged. The worker won't use your name or ID to sign up, making it impossible for customer service to assist. Ultimately, the only solution will be to cancel your credit card, and wait over a month for a replacement. To protect yourself from these experiences, you should use travel e-SIMS for your data needs while traveling. These e-SIMS allow you to set up an international data plan on your phone before departure, eliminating the hassle of dealing with physical SIM card scams. Number one, the Daily Special Scams. Taurus could be a scammers' prime target because in many cases, they may not be familiar with local practices and might not realise when they're being scammed. This is a specially prevalent in restaurants, where the Daily Special, not listed on the menu, turns out to be far from special when the bill arrives, and is five times more than expected. Some deceptive restaurants even provide one menu when you order, and then swap it with an identical menu showing higher prices when it's time to pay. Taking a picture of the menu can be a good precaution, especially in areas known for scams. While it might sound a bit paranoid, this practice became a valuable lesson for us after experiencing it hard way in Egypt. It's a reminder that scams can happen anywhere, and if you want to learn more about avoiding scams, check out our video on the scams we encountered in Egypt. Successfully navigating scams in Egypt can make dealing with them elsewhere, seem like child's play. Well, that's it for now. Make sure that you subscribe and leave a comment below saying, I subscribed and we'll try our best to reply to your comments. Also, feel free to share your scams stories in the comments to help fellow travellers avoid similar situations. I hope you find this information helpful. Thanks for watching the video and see you at the next one.