Scams and Swindles

The days of black market money changing, and Western currencies being worth twice as much on the street as in the official exchange rate have gone the way of the hoop skirt. Money-changing con men, however, have not. Rest assured, there are plenty of people in Europe who would be happy to separate you from your cash. Take this handy quiz:

(1) How do you say “legal tender” in Czech?
(2) How is a Polish 10-zloty note different from a Hungarian 10-forint bill?
(3) How does a magician change a coin into an egg right before your eyes?

If you answered “I don’t know” to any one of those three questions, you shouldn’t be changing money on the streets of Europe.

The most common scam, especially in Eastern Europe, is very simple. A guy greets you on the street and offers you a terrific rate on changing money, especially dollars. He then gives you worthless bills in exchange, either old notes from before the fall of Communism, or bills from another country entirely. The Polish Zloty (which used to trade at 25,000 to the dollar) is a favorite for this sort of scam, since ten-zloty notes are virtually worthless. If the con man is a bit more skilled, he or she doesn’t bother with other currencies - he counts out the real thing, then palms it while you’re distracted. Bottom Line: don’t trade money on the street or with individuals. Use a bank.

Along with the obvious stuff, like having a purse cleaned out while dancing with “new friends” at a night club, also be careful of “great deals,” especially on art work or cultural items such as jewelry, Russian icons, or “antique” anything. As a general rule, anything that seems too good to be true probably is. Anything that requires you to give money to someone to “hold,” or “invest,” or any venture that requires you to bring something back to your home country, is nothing but trouble. Basically, if you give money to a new acquaintance, consider it gone.