How to avoid some scams when you are in Istanbul
Dear members,
I made a compilation of some scams which get you ripped of or purchase stuff over priced. Please see the info below;
1. Let's Have a Drink" Scam
One of these is the "Let's Have a Drink" Scam which results in your paying a drinks bill of hundreds or even thousands of dollars or euros.
Robbers love it because it's easy, and their risk of identification, arrest, trial and punishment is almost non-existent. This is why it happens in many cities (even London), and certainly in Istanbul.
Here's how it works and how to avoid it:
In Istanbul, Sultanahmet Square, and Beyoğlu's İstiklal Caddesi and Cumhuriyet Caddesi are common places for this to happen. After the terrorist incident on İstiklal Caddesi in March Protected content , many of the con artists moved to Sultanahmet because far fewer people were walking on İstiklal.
Here's an example of one variation (there are many): while you wander around on your own in the evening, you're approached by a well-dressed man who addresses you in Turkish. You respond that you don't speak Turkish, and he says "Oh! I thought you were a Turk." Or perhaps he asks you to take his photo with his mobile phone, then offers to do the same for you.
This is an opener to establish his "innocence"—that he is not looking for a tourist to rob.
You discover that he speaks English well. He chats with you, then he suggests you have a drink together. He might lead you to a normal, innocent place first in order to gain your confidence, then afterwards go to the scam location. The innocent place may be a restaurant, where he may pay for your dinner, even if you don't want him to—he wants to make you feel obligated to do what he wants.
He will probably want to go to the scam location by car. Don't get in the car!
At the scam location, as soon as you sit down, women and perhaps other men also sit at your table and order drinks (usually, but not always, "champagne"). Sooner or later the bill will come, you will be expected to pay it, and it will equal or exceed the total amount of money you have with you; or your credit card will be forcibly taken and charged for a huge amount. Typical "bills" presented to victims are between TL Protected content TL10,000. In fact, they will usually take all the money you have or have access to.
If you protest the scam, you may be taken into a backroom "office" and beaten or even threatened with death until you agree to pay. You may also be forcibly taken to an ATM and ordered to take as much money as you can from it.
You can see it all happen here in this video:
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How to Identify the Scam
Here are the giveaways that you're being scammed:
1. The con man often begins his chat with "I just got off from work in [nearby hotel]." This is to convince you that he knows and is friendly with foreign visitors.
In Protected content 2016, this angle is joined by "I'm a Turk working in Dubai/Oman."
2. He will suggest that you go for a drink not to just any bar but "to a place I know." At first he may take you to one or two normal places, perhaps for tea or coffee, but eventually he will insist on going by taxi to a particular bar/nightclub that's in on the scam.
3. Your conversation will not seem normal. You may ask a question about Turkey, and he will say something on another topic entirely. In fact, he's following a script to lead you to the point of agreeing to go have a drink (and be robbed).
How to Avoid Being Scammed
A. Mention that you're with two or three other male friends who have gotten ahead of you. "Let's go find them and all go," you can say. A Turk who's just interested in having a friendly drink and chat would probably welcome the suggestion. A scammer will pressure you to come alone.
B. You suggest another place for a drink, a very public one, such as a hotel lobby bar or sidewalk café. A polite Turk will agree—the point is to sit and chat, and it doesn't matter where. A scammer will insist on going only "to this place I know."
C. Say that you're meeting others in a few minutes (give no details, even if he asks), and offer to meet him for a drink some other time (say tomorrow) "with my other friends." The scammer will not want that.
D. Here's an ingenious and innovative way of extricating your
