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Italy
47 scams
Besides being home to the most number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites globally, Italy also offers delicious cuisine, trendy fashion, stunning coasts, lakes, mountains and more!
Unfortunately, huge crowds of tourists have also attracted opportunists who rip tourists off with many well-polished scams.
Emergency numbers
- Emergency number in Europe: 112
- Police: 113
- Fire: 115
- Ambulance: 118
Venice water buses/vaporetti scams in Italy
3 0How it works: Version 1: touts here resell tickets for an inflated price. Version 2: a tout asks where you are headed. If you mention the the public Vaporetto dock,…
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Fake police in Italy
3 1How it works: Besides fake tax police, there are fake police officers as well. They will ask to check your valuables on the pretext of checking for counterfeit currency or…
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Horse drawn carriage/botticelli scam in Italy
3 1How it works: Not all are scams, but if you don’t know the price, you can be taken for a ride. It is about €150 for a one hour ride,…
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Pigeon feeding photo scam in Italy
3 0How it works: Version 1: a stranger grabs your hand, places some grain or corn in it and then whistles. Pigeons fly over, eat the bird food, and a fee…
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Dancing cartoon cutouts scam in Italy
2 0How it works: Opening: Along the streets, you may see paper cartoon character cutouts dance as music is played from a cassette player just beside. Touts, with PhDs in bullshitting,…
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Cattedrale di San Pietro catacomb scam in Italy
2 0How it works: You may encounter a tout at the entrance who will charge you €5 to enter the catacombs. Note: there are no catacombs here. Places to beware: Bologna:…
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Alcohol tout scam in Italy
2 1How it works: Opening: women (especially those alone) are targeted by men who try to chat you up for a while. Set-up: once the conversation gets going, he will then…
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Unlicensed taxis in Italy
2 0How it works: There are unofficial cabs which operate without license and without the appropriate insurance coverage. Some are also blatant rip-offs, where they charge a high flat fare. Some…
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Sob story scammers in Italy
2 1How it works: Opening: claiming to not have money or to have been robbed. Set-up: you may encounter them on the streets or at train stations who ask if you…
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Drink, food spiking in Italy
2 0How it works: Version 1: there have reports of thieves befriending tired travellers at train stations at night and then offering spiked food/drinks. Version 2: this can happen at bars…
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