I have been caught in one so far. You can use Honk kong dollars in Macau and I was buying m&m's from a store in Macau. I gave a 50 Hong Kong dollar note and among the change returned, was a 20 MOP (Macauan currency) which i thought was 20 Hong Kong dollars.
Some simple rules that i can think of .
1. Trust no one.
2. Do not take help from strangers, if you can help it.
3. Stay off side alley's
4. Donot fall for the mysterious blond or brunette who seems to like you.
5. Keep your wallet safe. Wear a jeans with a tight front pocket or walk with your hands in the pocket at crowded places.
6. Verify the price of goods before buying/consuming it.
7. Count the currency at the counter so that fraudent claims are harder to make.
Other comments from readers
1. If you are in a bad neighborhood put up a face and make it look like you are a psychotic ruthless maniac yourself.
Another one hard to beat is this
I have only heard of this happening in Spain on the Costa del Sol, but it could happen anywhere. This scam depends on you paying a restaurant/bar bill in cash, usually with a €50 note. The waiter will take your payment, then return shortly after, apologetically telling you that the note is a fake and that you need to pay again. He will return the "fake" bill to you, and any change you're due. Of course, you gave him a REAL note, he gave you a FAKE note, and you gave him a second real note, so you paid €100 for a €50 meal. What I do now is write unobtrusively on all large notes I get, so I can challenge them if it happens to me.
That solution actually doesn't work. The waiter can hide the actual note and then produce a fake note.
Two posted solutions are interesting.
1. Stand up and make a scene. If it is a reputed restaurant, the manager will make sure that you that you will not be further harassed. It depends on the place, at some places it may not be a very good idea.
2. Pay in smaller denominations. This is by far the best solution I can see.
Happy touring!
2 comments:
:)
this was really interesting!!!
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