Carpet Sales/Letter in English
How the scam works:
Countries like Egypt, Morocco, or Turkey have very aggressive vendors when it comes to their carpets. These are not really scams but tricks they use to get you into their shops to buy their merchandise.
The most common scenarios are the “write a postcard for me in English” and the “broken car”.
Scenario 1. You are asked by a friendly local person for help, to write a short post card in English, intended for a friend, located in the US. You are invited to come into his shop, just so you sit down, have a tea, and write the few lines. Many tourists don’t mind that, as they think they are making new friends.
The whole trick is to take a look at the “beautiful” carpets for sale in that shop, which are actually overpriced.
Scenario 2. You are driving your rental car in the beautiful suburbs and see a broken car on the side of the road. The owner of the car waves at every car, but he is really focusing on rentals. You stop by and all he needs is for you to contact his brother, who actually lives not very far. You don’t mind, since you are on vacation. He gives you the address. As it turns out the “brother” can be found at this carpet shop also, which he owns!
How to avoid:
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