 | Rome Beggars and Cons Reviews | Tips 1 - 10 of 84 |  |
 | |  |  | Beggars and Cons: Fake POLICE!!! | Tip Rating:   |  |  | |  |
Step 1: A man approached us asking for directions to the "Colosseo". I didn't speak Italian and told him so.
Step 2: A second man (well-dressed in a suit) appears about a minute later and shows us his POLICE ID, and asks for our passports. (What he doesn't know is that we'd been warned about this modus operandi...)
Step 3: He's jabbering away in Italian to someone else who just turns out to be the first man who'd asked us for directions (thereby confirming we were tourists). Then we are interrogated as follows, "U speak English? Good! do you know this man? You were talking to him... was he trying to sell u drugs? This area is where deals take place, so I have to check your documents and money"... More jabbering in Italian, and the first guy shows the plainsclothed "cop" his documents and money which are promptly checked and returned to him.
Step 4: The "cop" asks us for our documents and money so he can CHECK them!!!
(When it's happening, it's so smooth and so fast, that my brother was actually going to hand over his things to the guy. I actually yelled at him not to and told the "cop", "We don;t have our passports with us, but we just shopped at the UPIM store (a large department store), so if you wish we will come there with you and you can check the cash we paid there."
What freaked me out was how fast the guy's intimidating tone changed. He said it was ok and actually SHOOK HANDS WITH US before the two of them disappeared. We were left stunned and thanking our stars we'd bbeen warned that this could happen.
In retrospect, it seems so easy to figure out that it's a con-game, but at that moment, u tend to think "Drugs? no way!! here, take and check my papers, money etc. It's all in order..." No prizes for guessing that the money wouldn't be returned...
The sheer brazenness of these people scared me, esp. since it was in broad daylight with so many people around. Luckily for me, it was really my first day and I was 10 times as careful afterwards... Leave a Comment
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| | | | Beggars and Cons: Will Gypsies bother me? What should I do? | Tip Rating: | | | | |
Sometimes there are gypsies aggressively begging in or near the train station, on subways, etc. You need to pay attention if they are around, but don't worry obsessively. Most of the time, especially on my last few visits, I don't see them and am not bothered by them.
However, it can happen. It is especially disturbing if a young woman carrying a baby accosts you.
A good strategy is to say, "Vai via!", (vye VEE-ah!) It means simply "Go away" but they'll be surprised that you said it!
Polizia! (poh-leet-TSEE-ah!) - which means "Police!" - is another good word.
Also, it pays to be suspicious of anyone who offers to help you if you haven't asked for any help. This is especially true around train stations. Do NOT let anyone take your ticket to "help" you find your train. As my VT friend and Rome guru, Bill McCalpin, says, just put on your New York face and New York attitude.
Italians in tourist towns see so many tourists, it is possible, but unlikely they will try to help you unsolicited. Often, only a con artist is there to "help." Leave a Comment
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| | | | Beggars and Cons: street vendors | Tip Rating: | | | | |
Some of the street vendors in Rome have become very aggressive. Several times on our last trip we were approached by roving street vendors who actually put things in our hands and then insisted we pay for them. When we would try to hand the stuff back, they wouldn't take it, holding up their hands and still insisting that we pay for it. The first time this happened I was stunned. I though the man thought I had dropped something and was giving it back to the person who had dropped it. After several attempts to hand back the shirt that was thrust into my hand, saying it wasn't mine, being told he wanted 10 euros for it, I finally said I was leaving. That was when the man took back his shirt. After happening to us on several occasions, we decided that being polite is not the way to go. You have to play your own scam on them in order to get rid of them.. My sister just started putting the items in her bag and saying "thank you", and walking away. The vendor would follow her and ask her for money, saying that she must pay for the item that was given to her. She would say "No, you gave me this as a gift", then ignore them. At that point they would insist on getting their item back and leave. I guess the vendors would spread the word to their friends at that same location , becouse we wouldn't be bothered at that sight for the rest of the time we were there.
This happened to us at the forum, the spanish steps, piazza del popolo, and trevi fountain. Just be aware and don't be afraid to get aggressive in your response to them. They expect us to be to polite to say no not for us to give them a hard time. Leave a Comment Other Contact: monorail@zbzoom.net
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