Camel/Rickshaw Rides
How the scam works:
If you are visiting countries such as Turkey, Egypt, or India, you might come across unique experiences of being taken for a ride on a camel, horse-drawn carriage, or in a rickshaw – which are all awesome adventures!
Let’s say you are in Turkey and really want to take that 15-minute camel ride. You exchanged some of your money into Turkish Liras this morning, so you have enough cash for the ride.
Asking the owner how much it costs, he says “50”, pretending not to speak much English. You want to make sure it is Liras, not dollars, count the banknotes in front of him, and try to hand them to him. He refuses and politely says: “No problem, no problem – after”. He invites you up, you go for the ride, and 15 minutes later he is asking you for the charge: 50 EURO!
Let’s see what that means:
Initial price: 50 Liras = 22EURO = $31US
You pay: 50 EURO = $70US = 113 Liras
You really thought you had a good deal…
Another example comes from Cuba: the horse-drawn carriage driver will give you a price and at the end of the ride will tell you the price was per person.
How to avoid:
NEVER leave out any details before closing a deal.
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