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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
Unofficial luggage porters in Italy
1 0How it works: At train stations or on the train, you may encounter touts snatching your luggage to “help” you carry a short distance to the train or boat. A…
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Tour group bus break-ins in Italy
1 0How it works: In 2013, a group of 26 Singaporeans had $50,000 worth of belonging stolen from their bus in Rome as they were having dinner. In 2017, another group…
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ATM skimming in Italy
1 0How it works: Situation: the vast majority of tourists would probably not fall for this but on the off-chance that you do, you need to know how to spot the…
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Airport baggage handler theft in Italy
1 0How it works: Corrupt baggage handlers either steal entire suitcases, or break into your luggage for valuables in it. Night flights with inter-continental connections are the favoured target, as thieves…
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Vacation apartment scams in Italy
1 0How it works: Situation: fake listings on legitimate websites and fake websites. Red flags: cheap prices, copy-pasted description, dodgy sounding reviews, difference in photos and Google Street View pictures, payment…
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Currency switcheroo in Italy
1 0How it works: Version 1: the Lira is the old Italian currency (in use till 2001/2), and the Lira 500 coin looks like the €2 coin. Hence, there are scammers…
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Church fake donation collectors in Italy
1 0How it works: There are scammers (some even dressed up as priests/nuns) who wait outside churches and pressure you to put money into donation boxes seemingly from the church. Places…
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