Terry Jones
|
|
Greetings.
I created this page in early 1996. At that time it was a small collection of my own experiences. These were almost all amusing and almost all involved the voluntary surrender of one's money. I also solicited stories from others. Over time, the contributed stories grew to greatly outnumber my own, and the tone has steadily changed from amused to something darker.
I find myself forced to re-do this page and to write this introduction. Yes, you can still be tricked in an entertaining way into giving people money on the Ramblas in Barcelona. But, you can also be attacked, have teeth knocked out, be set on fire, and be strangled, all in the process of having your bag snatched.
It doesn't matter whether you've spent time on the streets of New York, whether you've travelled in dozens of countries, or whether you consider yourself too experienced or too lucky to be a victim. The simple truth is that people with similar backgrounds and confidence are being robbed every day in the old center of Barcelona.
Below you will find both the youthful and naive beginnings of this page and the gritty reality that over 100 other people have faced here.
If you'd like to read more (admittedly highly non-representative) about Barcelona, check out my Calle Leona - Tales from the Barrio Gótico.
B O O K
R E C O M M E N D A T I O N
|
Two friends, Bambi Vincent and Bob Arno, have just published a great book, TRAVEL ADVISORY! How to Avoid Thefts, Cons, and Street Scams While Traveling. I highly recommend grabbing a copy before traveling. There's not much about street crime that they don't know. What's more, their knowledge is first-hand; gained through many years of extensive travel and remarkable interviews with pickpockets. They visit Barcelona several times a year, and the book even includes a good photo of a smiling Kharem (page 170), one of Barcelona's most prolific pickpockets. I've seen Kharem in action on the Ramblas here - something you will probably want to avoid as a visitor. You can read more about the extraordinary exploits of Bob and Bambi in the book and find out more about them at their web site: http://www.bobarno.com.
|
There are a number (any number) of ways to leave some extra cash behind when you visit Barcelona. For example, you could give it to someone on the street. Some of the people who will ask you for money, or be "performing", are true artists, though not exactly in the classical sense of the word... |
1. Watch for the sidewalk artists with the huge chalked picture of the Mona Lisa at their knees. Notice their studied faces, how they hold the colored chalk just so. With great deliberation, they add a few strokes here, maybe just a touch there. Then they sit back and look at the work with what is clearly an artistic spirit. If any street performers deserve some of your money, surely it these people, the true and pained artists.
What a sham. Once you know what's going on, it's incredible to watch these people. If you get up early enough, you'll see them arrive. They bring the Mona Lisa rolled up under their arm. They lay it out in a prominent place on the sidewalk and then tape it down. Then they sit by it ALL DAY with that incredibly good suffering-artist look, always about to add a little color here or there, pausing, considering, choosing another color etc. Perhaps they do deserve your money for being such great fakes, but certainly not for being artists.
2. A short, tanned, flustered woman with sunglasses and a big birth mark on her face approaches you and asks desperately if you speak German. Even though you say "no, not really" or can even manage "nur ein bissen", she manages to convey to you that her bags have just been stolen. Her papers are gone and she has no money whatsoever. She's a tourist and she needs to go to the police. She's very polite and perhaps somewhat disheveled. She says "entshuldigen" (excuse me) after every sentence and is generally very apologetic. You know about the Mona Lisa Scam, but this woman is in a desperate position and really needs your help. The right thing, the good thing, the Christian thing to do is to give her some money, maybe all your money.
She's lying! I know for sure because this woman approached me in Madrid and then, a few months later, approached Ana when we were walking to the office in Barcelona. There was no doubt it was the same woman, though she (very apologetically) denied having been in Madrid. You don't have to believe everything I say though, feel free to give her your cash. Since then I've seen her twice, always with that worried just-robbed look, wandering the streets: in search or her recently lost baggage, or yet another gullible tourist? You be the judge.
3. She's not the only only.
There are at least two other women doing more or less the same
thing. One is tall with long straight brown hair, silver (I think)
thin-rimmed glasses, and watery eyes. Your eyes would water too if
your bags had been stolen as many times a day as this women's have
been!
This one speaks English, and is often to be seen wandering the Ramblas around Liceu, or near the Jaume I metro stop on Via Laietana, always in search of her bags. I have been approached by her at least 4 times. I think she knows me now, because the last time I told her she'd already asked me several times, and since then we have not spoken. I should try to get an interview with her, to post to the world here.
After reading this page, Nick Farnworth was on the alert. He thought quickly and caught her on film! He sent me the image on the left and these words:
Thanks to your page I avoided being duped by the "robbed" woman near Liceu. She approached me twice in 2 days. Both times she had "just been robbed" and wanted cash for a meal. She has an American accent, about 50 years old, with long hair in a pony tail down to the middle of her back. and wears oval glasses and a "worried" expression. The second time I told her she had already approached me and I asked if I could take her photo. Needless to say she shot off. So I have a photo of her from the back if you want it for the page.It's taken from the rear, but is unmistakably her. At least you'll be able to tell if that was her. If you want the big version of this photo, here it is. For even more on this woman, see below.
The other woman I know of only from my good friend Emily, who got the royal treatment and came away 1,000 pesetas (about US$7) poorer, but feeling damned good about it. In this case, the poor woman, who Emily says was French, had suffered the same fate, and asked for money for a pension for the night, just for one night so she could get out of Barcelona the next day. They went to a pension, and bargained with the friendly owner (undoubtedly in on the deal) for a cheap room. They tried to get 2,000 from her, but in the end she only gave them 1,000. Emily said that afterwards she thought it might have been a scam because the man who ran the place started to haggle over room prices before they'd even told him what they wanted. Also, the woman's bags were plastic bags, from a supermarket. Smells kinda fishy to me too!
To what extent the petty crime rate in Barcelona would drop if all the con artists wandering the streets claiming their bags had been stolen were subtracted from the statistics. Maybe no-one in Barcelona has ever actually had their bags stolen.
4. You see an excited crowd of people gathered around a man who's hiding a pea under one of three cups on a table. A man wins 5,000 pesetas (US$40) and you knew where the pea was too. Another man plays and he wins too. Again, incredibly, you knew where the pea was. That's 10,000 you could have won in a few minutes. They play again, and this time when the shuffling man looks away briefly, a man lifts up a cup to make sure the pea is under there, it is. They put their hands on that cup and lay down more money. They see your curiosity and beckon you to join. You resist because you've heard this is really a scam. Hell, you even read about it on the web someplace before you left home. They win again. Another man comes up and he loses, but then he wins it back. Both times you knew where the pea was. This is plain crazy, how can anyone lose? You reach for your cash...
Keep your hat on. Unless you want to throw your money away, just watch the show but don't play. All the people playing are ringers who are in on the scam. If you manage to see a game like this being set up, they all come from different directions and arrive at the game as if by chance. They make lots of noise and many people get drawn into the circle of watchers. The enthusiastic ringers encourage everyone to play. Eventually someone comes along who does. The shuffler looks away, the ringer lifts the cup to confirm where the pea is and puts their hand on the cup, the innocent victim knows where the pea is, the shuffler looks back, apparently noticing nothing. For one reason or another, the victim looks away, there's plenty of ways to distract someone, the shuffler shuffles like crazy, the victim perhaps doesn't even notice this, the pea is gone. So too the money.
The aftermath of these games is also interesting. We're conditioned to associate some sense of permanence with such a game or with people selling things. I'm not sure what it is, but when you see one of these games disappear in about 3 seconds flat, you wonder what just happened. The victim gets angry and the shuffler simply puts the cups into his (her?) pocket and walks away swiftly. The "table" proves to be a cardboard box, which collapses. The victim goes after the shuffler but the ringers are on hand to dissuade and delay while the shuffler disappears down the steps into the metro. A few minutes later, another ringer walks off in another direction with the table top and cloth. One minute they're there, and a few seconds later they've simply vanished. There's no sign of any game, the noise has stopped, the onlookers are dispersing, the victim is wondering what the hell happened. Even when you're just watching and you know what's going on, it's still hard to believe how quickly the whole thing comes and then disappears.
5. You're wandering down the Ramblas, minding your own business, when some young attractive person thrusts a coupon into your hands. It's a buy one, get one free deal for Pans & Company, who make quite good fresh rolls and other things. Sounds like a good deal. You put it into your pocket and remind yourself that the next time you're feeling hungry, you'll visit Pans to have a heapin' helpin' of their hospitality.
A couple of days later, you arrive, starving, at the Pans restaurant and ask for two of their biggest, juiciest, offerings. "But this coupon has expired" they politely explain. You examine the coupon closely; it expired over three months ago! What's the deal? You explain in broken Spanish that you just got the coupon two days ago and that there must be some mistake. No, we're sorry, this coupon has expired. You change your order to one big juicy thing and hand over your money. You're paying just as much as you had expected to pay, you just missed out on the freebie. Bummer.
In fact, you've been had. They gave you an old coupon deliberately, and it got you into their store. When the deal didn't go through, instead of leaving, you cough up your money without thinking too much. It's a scam I tell you, and somebody should do something about it. Besides making a web page that is. I got stung by this one, but it wont happen again. I'll go to Pans when and if I feel like it. Not when they lure me there with a lie. Besides, Bocatta makes much better food.
6. OK. You're minding your own business sitting in a restaurant near the door. It's a corner seat and you can see out the window. Your bag is on the chair next to you where you can see it, because you've heard about street scams in Barcelona. A guy taps on the window outside and you look up. He motions to his watch and gives you a questioning look. Do you have the time?
At the same moment, by some unfortunate coincidence, another guy has appeared on your other side. He's reaching for your bag while you do a dumb-show pantomime to the guy needing the time, who (another unfortunate coincidence) turns out to be short-sighted, hard of hearing, and has no languages in common with you.
I nearly fell for this one. Ah it was so close, I couldn't believe it. I, the author of these fabbo Barcelona Street Scams pages. What did happen is another story, culminating in a spitting match of all things! Not only does this bastard try to steal my bag, but he gets mad at me when I catch him and tell him to fuck off, and, to top it all off, he spits at me.
7. Once again I nearly got done! It's amazing how good these people are.
I was on the metro with Ana coming back from a film at about 1am. We were only going 2 stations, so we stood at the doors, facing outwards. At Barceloneta, two guys got on and stood beside Ana (I was on the other side of her). One was just behind her right shoulder, and the other was to her right. I was immediately watching them very closely, because they looked exactly like the kind of people you see trying to steal bags.
I was really watching them! There was no-one standing anywhere near us. I was so careful I even looked to see if I could see all their hands. They were talking away, I suppose in Arabic, one guy touching the other's jacket and making some comments. I thought to myself, "hmmmm, that jacket looks out of place on that guy, I wonder if it was stolen." Then I thought "come on, just because these guys look like just another pair of petty thieves doesn't mean they are, they can't help how they look."
So it went. I watched them quite literally every second of the trip to the next stop (less than 2 minutes).
as we went to get off at Jaume I, Ana jumped as though she had been bitten. Her black wallet fell to the floor of the metro. I couldn't believe it. She yelled at the two guys, who immediately looked extremely taken aback and said "what? what?" She grabbed her wallet and we got off. They stayed on.
It's SO hard to get around your upbringing and background and really see immediately that these guys are guilty as sin. As soon as they protest and claim complete innocence, you somehow feel in the wrong. Other passengers are just looking at you wondering what you're shouting about. You know you're right, but you have no strength of conviction. Then the train doors close and they're gone. Of course the realization soon sinks in that of course you were just being robbed. That wallets simply do not jump out of backpacks and onto the floor of the metro.
Once again, you've been had, or nearly so. I was amazed, simply amazed. I'd watched them, I'd even counted their hands (and I realized later that I had only counted to 3 and not worried about the 4th). Once again I had simply walked away from two blatant thieves. Once again I had been too shocked and somehow doubting (or something) to do anything about it when they started to protest their innocence. Unbelievable.
If you wear one of those simple in-fashion backpacks with a fold over top that clips down, you might want to watch it!
8. The other Saturday I was out walking around the bottom of the Ramblas around noon. I noticed a group of about 4 tourists ahead of me, obviously American, aged between 50 and 60. Probably enjoying their retirement. I also noticed a group of 2 or 3 young guys hanging around behind them. From the look of them I knew that something was about to go down.
The young guys were looking about, just wandering along behind the tourists. I stepped a few paces to the left to get a better view, and also to be out of the way.
Then it began. I don't have a very clear picture of what they were going to do, or even of what happened. I understand now why witness accounts of events are so unreliable. Briefly, I saw them come very close behind the tourists. One of them bent down very low, as if he was trying to touch his ankle, or one of theirs. They were going for some shopping bags carried by the tourists. At that point I knew that if I didn't do something quite fast it would all be over. So I shouted and moved towards them quickly.
They knew right off that the game was up. Two of them (or was it only one?) slinked off (or is it slunk?) behind some stalls. The third (or was it only the second?) gave me that barefaced "what are you shouting about?" look that I have come to know - that caught-in-the-act-but-hey-I'm-totally-innocent look. I shouted pretty loudly and aggressively, something I seem quite good at, and have an odd pride in - despite having nothing to compare it with.
Mainly my commotion seemed to get the attention of the tourists, who looked at me sideways. A man in the group said "See, that's what I was saying" which I took to mean he had been warning them of thieves (not of shouting idiots like me). A woman in their group looked at me oddly. I said "you need to be careful" (in English). She seemed then to understand and said thanks. I kept walking, thinking how easy it is to spot the people who perpetrate (or attempt to) these petty crimes. In my experience, they all look the same.
9. I was walking down Via Laietana the other night, quite close to my office. Towards me came two guys. Shortly after I passed them, they said something to each other and ran across the street (back in the direction they had come) towards the cars stopped at the traffic signal. They ran to opposite sides of a small white car. The one on the near side opened a door and tried to get in. The one going for the far side didn't make it in time. The lights went green and the car drove off. The guy on the near side only managed to get partially into the car and gave up the attempt.
Innocent as I am, I thought "Oh, they saw a friend and were jumping into the friend's car for a ride". I expected to see the car pull over and the friends to get in. Well, if you haven't guessed yet,
Of course the white car didn't stop. Of course they weren't friends. The car drove off and the two guys continued walking up Via Laietana in their original direction, on the other side of the street.
I have no doubt they had spotted someone who looked vulnerable in a car, surely a lone woman. Very likely they would have simply robbed her and nothing more.
Once again I prove to be naive. But this case seemed to go beyond the typical snatch and run petty crime around here. What could be safer for those guys? Simply get into a car, make the driver drive a few blocks and then pull over. Empty her bag at your leisure, get out and walk away. Brazen, simple, well hidden, and effective.
So I have another tip, something I hate to have to say: lock your car door when you drive!
10. Here's another car story, while I'm at it.
A year ago or so, I found the remains of someone's diary and address book outside my front door on Calle Leona. I gave it to Ana and she called a number she found inside. It belonged to a young French woman who lived nearby and who had recently been robbed (surprise, surprise).
I arranged to meet her to return her diary (which we'd all read in the meantime, it was great!). I asked her what had happened and she told me she'd stopped her car in Plaza del Pi (I wouldn't even know how to get a car in there) when two guys had come up to her. They said there was something odd with her back wheel, and that she might want to take a look. One of them even went around the back of the car to help her see where the problem might be....
Of course while she was there, the other guy was helping himself to the contents of the back seat, which included her handbag. He had surely walked off casually before the two at the back even got close to finding the problem. Some car problems can be so elusive.
11. Last weekend I sat and lay in the sun talking with Ana in the lovely Parque de la Ciutadella. It's not really heavily touristed, but there are clearly many people there who are tourists. Ana had her flat blue crime magnet of a backpack/purse with her, and was lying back on it. At some point I lay beside her and she sat up, so I made her tickle the inside of my ear with a stick. Then it occurred to me that she was no longer lying on her bag and that it was behind her (and I) and more exposed than it should be. So I reached behind her and moved it between us.
About a minute or two later, I became aware of two voices quite close by. I twisted my neck round and saw two guys sitting on the pedestal of a statue a few metres away. They spoke just a little, not in Spanish, in quiet and deep voices. How had they gotten there? Why hadn't I heard them earlier? It's all so obvious in hindsight of course.
A couple of minutes later they got up and casually sauntered off. One started to talk to two women near us, and then left them. Only at this point did it really sink in how close we had come (again), and that these guys were looking for unsuspecting people trying to relax in the park. They walked off in another direction and soon split up, one walking about 20 metres from the other. It became very clear that they were looking for opportunities to steal. The leading guy walked very slowly past and close to someone lying down near a tree about 50 metres from us while the other guy looked on. Then they continued their stroll through the park.
When someone comes up to talk to you in the park, it might be a good idea to look behind you. This advice probably applies to several places in Barcelona, definitely including Las Ramblas and Plaza Real.
|
In this section I have street scams that people have sent me. Some of these are not from Barcelona, but most are. Feel free to send me yours and I will add it. If you do send me mail with a scam, please let me know if you'd like it added to this page and, if so, whether I can include your name and/or email address. Although you may attract spam, it's good to have email addresses on this page (they can always be obfuscated). I occasionally get mail from people telling me that they live in Barcelona (as do I), that they've never seen any crime here, and that I must therefore have invented all the stories on this page. Please note that the great majority of these Barcelona stories take place in the old part of town, between The Ramblas and Via Laietana, the sea, and Plaza Catalunya. This is of course where the concentration of visitors to the city is by far the highest. Note too that being outside this area is no guarantee of safety. In fact, outside this area on the left (down the coast) of the Ramblas in the Barrio Chino is distinctly more dangerous. The same is true of a smaller section on the right (up the coast) of Via Laietana. |
12. I lived in Barcelona for two years as a missionary for the LDS (Mormon) church. I really loved the city and the people and when my two years were up, my parents came over to tour Catalonia. I had written for two years telling them how great Spain was, especially the low amounts of crime. During my mission, I hadn't seen any type of crime or scam, except the shell game, which I think most people are wise to. Anyway, when my parents came I was very disappointed with two scams that came happened while I was with my parents. The first happened at the Sagrada Familia. Just outside the magnificent building, a large Gitana (Gypsy) woman was pinning flowers on the shirts of tourists. She would then ask the person for "cinco duros" or twenty-five pesetas. As the person would reach into their wallet, the woman would quickly grab whatever cash appeared, not "cinco duros" but a bill of one-thousand pesetas. As this woman tried this on my father, I quickly intervened and told her in plain spanish to leave him alone. She was startled that a tall american could speak spanish and know the scam.
The second scam is even worse for the tourist. As I was walking with my parents along an escalator near the Olympic Stadium, a man either spit or threw lotion on my jacket. He tried to tell me in broken english that a pigeon had crapped on me. The man had a kleenex tissue and kindly offered to clean it off. I knew this was a scam and I told him in spanish to keep his distance. I knew that if I took off my jacket, he would reach into my pockets and steal my wallet. He, like the Gitana, was again shocked and surprised and quickly left just as two Guardia Civil officers drove by. I informed them of what happened, but by this time the man was long gone. I was very upset that this happened, especially while my parents were visiting. It seems like these predators were targeting tourists, and unfortunately were having great success.
13. Now to my Barcelona experience. By the way, I love Barcelona. I first visited there in 1962 and 1963 but I was unable to return again for 30 years. It was much quieter in the 60's! I have visited three times in the last three years! My most recent visit was last July.
My wife and I were going to dinner at Planet Hollywood. On the way, I stopped at a pharmacy and bought a package of aspirins which I stuffed into my back pocket. We took the subway to the station nearest Planet Hollywood and the beach. We walked through the passages. There were lots of people around and there was a crowd going up the last escalator. Just at the top, the guy in front of me "dropped" his cigarettes on the moving stairs and he then bent over to pick them up. I, of course, came up behind him and the crush of other people was behind me. The guy had a great deal of trouble fumbling to pick up the package. When I moved to go around him he moved to block me. The light went on and I knew something was up. I now pushed him (hard!) out of the way and he stood up and immediately turned and went back down the regular stairs while I turned the other direction taking the final stairs to go out. I put my hand to my back pocket and my package of aspirins was gone! I had to laugh because I did not feel a thing and they (he had to have help) now likely had a headache anyway because they did not get the wallet (the bulge) they thought was there!
14. I was with my wife and two year old daughter about to enter a bank on Via Laietana to change money when two slim, somewhat bedraggled women in their 30's or 40's approached me mumbling a lot of Spanish (Catalan?) that I didn't understand. They were holding cardboard signs with some writing, probably saying something like "Please help...hungry...". Fortunately, I remembered that these signs serve another purpose. Pickpockets will sometimes thrust signs at you with one hand while the other hand rifles through your bags underneath. I quickly brushed them off, but not before one of them managed to partially unzip the small bag holding my camera. Luckily she didn't get anything.
15. I studied Landscape Architecture in Barcelona for two months in 1994 and witnessed more of these kinds of crimes than anywhere in Europe. The first day my Prof. arrived from Toronto, he had the "Sorry about spilling that mustard all over your shirt trick!".
The morning after the first night I arrived in Barcelona I was sketching along the Moll de la Fusta. As it was a work day in October, not many people were around. All of a sudden, out of nowhere (and I could see a great distance in all directions where I was) a guy comes up to me anxiously asking directions to a landmark that was vaguely familiar sounding. Being extremely naïve and wanting to help I pulled out my map and pointed to what he was asking about (remember this was my first morning in Barcelona and I had not heard about the petty crime). As soon as I would point to the place he was asking about in his broken whatever language, he would become more frantic and then point to something else. After about the third instance of this (mere seconds) warning bells went off and I thought of my daypack sitting on the ground behind me containing my camera! I quickly turned around to see another guy crouching beside my day pack. I quickly grabbed it, looked really pissed off and yelled something. Just like they had arrived, they vanished in seconds (once again, not an easy feat on a deserted Moll de la Fusta). Miraculously, I didn't lose a single thing.
I loved your description of the typical thief because thy do all look the same!!! The only thing you didn't mention is that if they're not in a tired old sport coat, they're wearing those weird nylon gym suit things!
16. Your scam experience near the Olympic Stadium was significant to me because I had the very same happening on my visit to the Stadium. I believed it to be a possible scam but since I was successful in watching my possessions none were relieved from me and I chalked the deed as a kindness offered to a visiting tourist. I was amused and enlightened to read of your experience and the confirmation that it was indeed a scam. The male that attempted the scam in my case was oriental, about twenty and had plenty of napkins to help me wipe a brownish liquid from my jacket. There was plenty to remove. I hope others read of these experiences and avoid them.
While I'm at this let me tell you of another scam that happened in Mexico City. It was the first day of our arrival and my wife and I wanted to go to the stadium to obtain tickets for the Sunday bull fight. We decided to take the Metro and were astonished to see the numbers of people in a snaked queue waiting for the train to arrive. When we were boarding along with a large mass attempting to fit through the open doorway of the train, I was pushed rather hard from my right side and stumbled half way to the floor. I picked myself up and immediately reached to my side pocket that contained my wallet loaded with all of our money since I hadn't taken my usual steps of protection nor those that I always take of never placing my wallet in my pants pocket. I panicked when I did not feel my wallet and I immediately looked at the men standing around me. None looked guilty. I turned and looked at the platform adjacent to the open doors and saw a young girl with a severe scar on her face and a sweater bundled in her hands as though it were a muff. I grabbed for the sweater and a young boy jumped from the train onto the platform at the same time. The metro doors closed and I felt all was lost but looking down on the floor my wallet had appeared. I picked it up safe and sound and was intensely relieved, as you can imagine.
I put the scam together later. The young boy had pushed me as I entered the doors and picked my pocket as I fell. He transferred it to the girl standing on the platform and was ready to get off the train immediately. My wife had held the door from closing delaying the train for just a moment but long enough for me to grab the sweater at which time the girl simply threw the wallet at my feet. I feel I must have sensed or perhaps even seen the wallet being thrown back which led me to look on the floor again. I also simply was aware that many pick pockets work in pairs and this young female accomplice looked the part of a toughy to say the least. My rush in not preparing properly as a tourist lead almost to a disastrous outcome that would have cut into any enjoyment I might subsequently have in Mexico. I might add one more bit: this scam took no longer than a few seconds to complete. The skill and swiftness I witnessed was amazing. In a way I had to admire the two and mused at the thought that if they had succeeded they could have waved goodbye to me with my own wallet as the doors closed and the Metro rolled. I think reading about scams earlier in my background indeed set my thinking and quick reaction so I felt obligated to add to your interesting experiences in hope that it may be helpful to others.
17. I had just had dinner at a restaurant about halfway down Las Ramblas. When I had finished I noted that I had 15 minutes to get to the station at Plaza Catalunya where I had to catch the train back to the hotel. Since it was a moderate walk to get there I decided to take the subway, which would get me there much quicker - I didn't want to miss this train as I would have to wait another 30 minutes for the next one, and it was already almost 10 pm.
Fate has strange twists, and I ended up losing far more sleep than if I had simply missed the train. As I was getting on the subway train somebody who I took to be some demonstrator or mentally deprived person or some other weirdo bent down beside me, started shouting and grabbed my ankle, shaking it up and down. There was quite a crush of people at the time and I was completely taken aback, not knowing what to do. This wasn't helped by my slightly inebriated state either. He stopped just as the train was about to go and stepped back onto the platform. 5 seconds later I realised my wallet was missing. It had all been a carefully planned operation to pick my pocket.
Luckily, my passport was back at the hotel, but I lost all the cash I had plus the credit cards, plus all those other cards and things that cost time to get replaced. Since I had cancelled the credit cards as soon as I could, the week after that the bank phoned me to see what, if any, of VISA charges made that day were fraudulent. These robbers were professionals. In the hour between 10 pm, which was when the robbery occurred, and 11 pm, which was when I was able to phone VISA and cancel the card, they notched up over $1000 at a bar/nightclub! Goodness knows what they did, but my suspicion is that the nightclub owner was in cahoots with them and they shared some large cash withdrawal.
18. I, too, was a victim in the Ramblas. This event occurred in broad daylight. 2 young men walked up to me, smiling, one guy wearing a nylon sports outfit, and started to say something regarding "Futbol", which got my attention since I play soccer and know that soccer is really popular in Spain. He proceeded to show a soccer-like move (a ball-dribble move), which put his body close to mine. This quickly alerted my instincts, as well as my friend. In a matter of seconds, I saw my wallet dangling from my jeans. Fortunately, I was wearing a wallet with a chain connected to my belt loop. Having noticed that the wallet wouldn't budge, he left with his partner and brazenly approached an older couple. At this time I was just astonished at the boldness with which they try to commit this crime. This was my first time in Barcelona and this experience has really soured me. Can the US State Department do something about this?
19. In reference to the thin woman with long hair who claims that her bags were stolen..your photo is correct. I have been going to Barcelona for over 15 years. She has approached me numerous times, in fact 4 times in one day last Feb. I started a conversation with her. Her name is Susan, and she is very intelligent. She no longer approaches me for money. Now she just waves, & gives me the peace sign. She is a part of local life.
20. My wife recently witnessed a pickpocket with a different technique in Seville. She was in Rota on business last week and went with a group of colleagues over to Seville to shop, see a bullfight & dine. While they were walking near the bullring, they saw saw a man move up behind another and reach into the pocket. The pickpocket utilized some sort of thin plastic tweezer about 10 inches long. The group my wife was with all yelled, the thief dropped the wad of bills and he ran. The startled the victim chased him out of sight after picking up his money strewn on the sidewalk. The pickpocket was an older gentleman who was tall, dark and thin and was very well dressed in a suit and tie.
21. We just returned from a visit to Barcelona just two weeks ago and the scams you describe here are very familiar to us. One day four of us took the metro to the Picasso Museu in Barrio Gotico. When the train arrived, we lined-up two-by-two to board the train. Two of us got on the train, however when our friend Ken tried to get on behind Virginia, two gypsy women cut in front of him, forcing him to slow down. In the mean time, two other gypsy women got behind Virginia and tried to unzip her backpack. Fortunately, Virginia felt the bag being unzipped and glared at the women. Because Ken was concerned about getting on board, he didn't see the commotion in front of him. Once we were all on the train the four women made such a show, as if Virginia hurt them or something. Needless to say, the four women got off at the next stop. Surprisingly, the women who tried to pick pocket Virginia were very young. I believe one of them was as young as 16 or 17 years old.
We had another incident that day involving gypsy women in the Gothic Quarter, however, I'm now sure which scam it is. I remember reading your website about scams in Barcelona before I left, but I don't remember this one. It was the day before the St. George festival in Barcelona and we were walking down a street in the Barrio Gotico when a band of three or four gypsy women with flowers were trying to offer one to us and saying the flowers were for the "festival". Because of your warnings, I told everyone in our group not to accept and I said in my broken spanish to the women that the festival was "mañana". They kept repeating that the flowers were for "no money". What would they most likely have done to us if we did accept the flowers?
[See elsewhere on this page...... Terry.]
Your website and your effort to warn people of these scams have actually helped us enjoy our vacation more rather than scare us off. It just made us more aware of our surroundings so much more. Even though we are on vacation doesn't mean robbers are as well. Thank you once again.
22. I would like to confirm the scam that has appeared on your page involving the gypsy women offering the flowers. My girlfriend and I went to Barcelona from 4/17/98 - 4/25/98 and had the time of our lives. As it happens, the festival of St. George falls on 4/23 so we drank it all in. We were walking on Passeig de Gracia near our hotel when we were approached by 5 gypsy women offering carnations. The one woman holding the flowers approached me and tried to stick a carnation in my lapel. I tried to refuse but at this point they had surrounded us. She asked for 1 peseta and I tried to give her a 100 peseta coin but she kept refusing. She insisted it had to be one peseta. I knew I didn't have a single peseta in my wallet so I didn't bother to take it out but my girlfriend tried to find one. As soon as she made a move toward her pocket, she was surround by them. I started to get alarmed and in hindsight I probably should have taken off with her but they all seemed so nice and my New York instincts were so relaxed that I just watched. While she was looking in the change portion of her wallet for a single peseta, one of the women tried to "help" her. With her right hand, she took her index finger and started poking around. Her left hand, shielded by a piece of paper, was up by the wallet. When my girlfriend couldn't find a peseta we gave back the carnation and started walking. They also started walking away and I suddenly realized what had happened. I asked my girlfriend to check her wallet and sure enough they had stolen 25,000 pesetas (approx. 170 american dollars). I was so infuriated that these people had just ruined our perfect week that I lost it. They were only 20 feet away and hadn't noticed that we realized what had happened. I ran up to the one with the flowers and grabbed her by the shirt. she spun around and almost hit me but stopped. She must have realized I was about to pummel her. One of the other women then thrust a wad of bills into my hand and told me in broken english that I had "dropped" it a few feet back. As I discovered later it was only 20,000 pesetas but I was so relieved that I let it go. They quickly hopped into a taxi and left.
23. Yes even as long ago as 1985 when I was travelling in Spain I fell prey to a scam in Barcelona. In an American Express office - no less...
I was checking mail, leaving a message for a friend, etc at the front counter. My bag (in retrospect very stupidly) was on the counter. Someone tapped by back. I turned around and found an innocent looking girl pointing at my back to indicate some gooey liquid on my jacket(oldest trick in the book - often adapted to backpacks, etc I found out later).
Within seconds after the girl has engaged my attention (the pigeon English helped distract me) it dawned on me that something wasn't right. By the time I turned around to the counter, a man had grabbed my bag and was making for the door. I ran after him but he ran on to the road and into heavy traffic. Not even the bag was worth my tangling with Barcelona traffic.
That was the last I saw of him.
The really important part of the story, however, was the reaction of the AmEx staff.
- Even after I ran after the guy, nobody in the AmEx office took any
action, eg grabbing his accomplice.
- When I went back to the office, I found the staff standing
around like a pack of zombies saying "Yes, they looked
suspicious. They had been hanging around in here for about half
an hour". It was most reassuring to know how vigilant they
were.
- AmEx took no action to assist me - even though I was using their
travellers cheques and therefore was a customer. They just pointed me
in the direction of the police station.
As it was my last day in Spain, I lost little cash. The thieves spent Australian$500 (quite a lot then) on my credit card (it was difficult to put a stop on them in those days and shops did not have online authorisation systems) but got little else of value except my address book. My major valuables were in my security pouch fortunately.
And the lesson ... don't think you're safe in an AmEx office. But maybe times have changed.
24. My wife and I returned recently (June 8) from a two-week stay in Europe (Paris, Barcelona, Mallorca). Fortunately, I had scanned the web before going on our trip and came across your website. Other than being caught by the Spanish air traffic controller's strike which resulted in a 7-hour-plus delay at Charles DeGaulle airport our trip was relatively hassle-free. However, your information and that provided by Rick Steves (Europe Through the Back door) concerning various scams helped us out during our stay in Barcelona and Mallorca. In the Placa Reial in Barcelona I was approached by a tall, thin woman with long hair tied in a ponytail who asked, in unaccented English, "Excuse me, sir, but do you speak English?". I shook my head that I did not (I debated answering in German or Russian but decided not to do so) and she simply walked off. I turned around to watch her approach another couple but could not overhear their conversation. I took two photos of her, one from behind and a profile, using a telephoto lens and was trying to get a full frontal shot of her but she had disappeared by the time I was prepared (had to change film). Of course, she could really have been someone in trouble and with a legitimate concern, but I elected not to get started in a conversation.
The second incident, which was definitely a scam, occurred on our last day in Mallorca. While walking on the Paseo de Maritimo near our hotel (Hotel Mirador, an excellent hotel by the way) we were approached by two gypsy women one of whom attempted to put a carnation in my pocket, requesting a donation for "Santa Maria". I carried only a few thousand pesetas in my front pocket, which was deep and buttoned, but the woman was quite insistent (my wife was watching the other gypsy woman who had begun to work her way behind me--all of our other valuables and money had been left behind in the hotel safe so I was not concerned about an end run). She put the stem of the carnation in the left portion of my buttoned pocket while simultaneously putting two other fingers in the right portion (all this was done quite quickly, as you can imagine). I immediately brought my hand up and was successful from preventing her from taking anything out of the pocket, but I realize that had my pocket not been as deep as it was and buttoned, I could have lost a little money (I would have chalked it up to the tuition of life). In any case, having been alerted to such scams was a big help. The two gypsy women went on their way (my wife--who is fluent in Spanish-- threatened to call the police). Both incidents provided us with some amusement. I would also say that, as a general rule, we found the Spanish people very helpful and courteous. Many offered help without trying to carry out any scam. We hope to return. If you would like a copy of the photos I took of the "Barcelona Woman", let me know, but, again, she could really have had a legitimate problem. Perhaps next time, if there is one, I should hear her story.
25. I was lucky enough not to get anything taken nor to not really have any actual attempt of theft made but that was only due to the vigilance of one of my companions. We were there on a very busy weekend last September, U2's pop mart tour was playing at the Olympic Stadium and the Catalonian motor cycle grand prix was on on Sunday. Having been out all night Friday and intending to go to the concert on Saturday evening I needed some rest. We had planned to sleep on the beach but due to a woeful misreading of the metro ended up at Columbus on the Ramblas. We then decided to take refuge outside a Cafe just off the Ramblas on a side street leading to the Gothic Quarter. I soon fell asleep but kept my bag both strapped my shoulder and in my arms. When I woke up my friend told very quietly not to let go of my bag, in fact he had noticed a group of four young moroccans, each standing as if at separate corners of an imaginary square. I subtly caught a glimpse of them all over a couple of minutes and after about ten minutes they realised we had seen them and they started to move a bit but really only rotated position. Thankfully nothing happened but they gave us that look you talk about as we left the cafe. It just felt a little unnerving being watched like that but apart from loosing my bag I never felt in any actual physical danger.
The most unfortunate victim of petty crime I saw in Barcelona was a poor guy who at five in the morning fell asleep on a bench after all the night clubs closed down at the olympic port. Some guy came up stood beside him for a moment and then searched through his pockets till he found his wallet and then had the cheek to stay standing there and a minute or so actually wake the guy up and talk to him. I don't know if they knew each other or what but I couldn't believe such boldness.
Still I have to say that it is one of the most fantastic places I've ever been and having only been there for a weekend I fully intend to return and explore more, fully informed on heaps of scams of course.
26. Many thanks for your info on the website re Barcelona Street Scams. My daughter and I really enjoyed the couple of days we had, although our hire car (in an underground car park) was found to have been attacked - possibly the first night. The main other surprise entertainment came from being approached by the 50-year-old thin (American-sounding - maybe) woman near Placa Reial whose opening gambit was "do you speak English?" - by the second line of her story I said "do you know you're on the Internet?" and she walked off..I thought it was a great stunt to have this happen on the first evening, and am grateful for your warning.
27. Last trip to Barcelona, one of our usual 2-3 visits per year, I experienced a near miss with a pickpocket.
Here's how it went.
We were walking down the Diagonal, stopping in various shops. I had seen a large, Spanish looking man previously, although he had not made any impact other than being tall, with a beard and looking every bit of a foreign tourist due to clothes and map.
Roughly 10 minutes after I first saw him, he reappeared and spoke in Spanish, pointing to some terrible looking stuff that had "appeared" on my wife's dress. I looked like a cross between bird poop and vomit and caused me to become totally focused on how revolted I knew my wife would be if she could see it.
He suggested that we step around the corner to get water and also said that it was on me also.
The only time an alarm bell got through my revulsion with the mess on my wife was when I saw that there was no water and the building was closed for the day.
However, he produced a small bottle of water, suggested that I clean off my wife's dress while he cleaned off my shirt/trousers.
To make a long story short, he hit me very hard as he "cleaned" me and managed to remove my wallet without me knowing it as I was so distracted with the mess.
The ONLY reason that he didn't get away with my wallet was that my 12 year old daughter saw him holding it and asked why he had her dad's wallet.
This brought the scam to an end, he handled it over and left quietly on the assumption that he only wanted to help in the first place.
The whole incident made me sick and I felt so vulnerable, especially as I am quite an "experienced" visitor to Barcelona.
My advice is to stay aware, never let a distraction over-ride ones alarm bells and assume the worst.
Only a 12 year old child and some luck saved me the loss of credit cards, cash, my self esteem and possibly my life had he been violent.
28. I've just stumbled across your page and could not believe my eyes! I was trying to find a street map of Barcelona in order to find the Pellicer Joyeria Hospital because the thieves of my wife's VISA card used it there to the tune of UKL398.20.
Here is my story of 13th January 1999.
My wife and I were just off La Ramblas near the Cathedral when we were approached by two gypsy looking women wailing and crying. They were holding large pieces of cardboard with writing on and begging for money. One started bumping into me and the other focussed on my wife. Needless to say, my wife's purse (complete with VISA card and cash) was taken from her handbag which was zipped, secured by a flap and press-stud and carried across the front of her body. She felt nothing and the whole episode took less than 30 seconds. Within two hours, the credit card was fraudulently used at the Pellicer Joyeria Hospital and her signature was badly forged. Most places in Spain don’t even bother to check that signatures tally with the one on the card. No wonder there are so many robberies on the streets. The local police had a massive file of photos of suspects. Barcelona is a beautiful city, but until the police find a way of cracking the problem my advice is "stay away".
29.
BEFORE OUR FOUR-DAY TRIP TO BARCELONA I HAD ALREADY READ UP ALL
YOUR RECORDS CAREFULLY. THEN
I STARTED TO WORRY DUE TO ONE BAD EXPERIENCE I HAD
IN PRAGUE. THERE WERE ALTOGETHER SIX OF US
MAKING A FOUR-DAY VISIT TO PRAGUE IN 1997 AND, THROUGHOUT THOSE FOUR
DAYS, WE WERE TAILED BY A
GROUP OF THIEVES WHO DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH LUCK IN STEALING ANYTHING FROM
ANY ONE OF US. THIS TIME,
ONLY MY GIRLFRIEND AND I WERE TRAVELING TO
BARCELONA. I WAS HOPING FOR BETTER LUCK.
EVERYTHING WENT ON PERFECTLY AT THE BEGINNING; THEN IT FINALLY
HAPPENED, THE DAY BEFORE WE LEFT BARCELONA (APRIL 18, 1999). WE COULD
HARDLY FINISH
THE UNAPPETIZING DINNER IN A RESTAURANT ON THE
STREET (NEXT ALLEY TO PLACE RIEL) AT AROUND 10 P.M. SO WE DECIDED TO
GET SOME DONUTS FROM 'DUNKIN
DONUTS' LOCATED JUST SOME 100 METERS AWAY AND
WITHIN 3 MINUTES' REACH. MY GIRLFRIEND, KAREN,
WAS STANDING ONE STEP BEHIND ME. JUST AS I TURNED AROUND TO ASK HER
WHAT FLAVOR SHE LIKED, I HEARD
HER LET OUT A CRY AND SHE STARTED RUNNING OUT.
IT DAWNED ON ME IMMEDIATELY WHAT HAD HAPPENED.
A ROBBERY.
THE FIRST THING THAT FLASHED ACROSS MY MIND WAS
WHAT SHE CARRIED IN THAT BAG - PASSPORT, SOME CARDS AND-- FLIGHT TICKET
BACK TO HAMBURG TOMORROW. AND THEN THE FRIGHT OF BEING STRANDED IN AN
UNFAMILIAR PLACE.
"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP US!" I YELLED
DESPERATELY AS WE RAN AFTER THE ROBBER.
SEVERAL PEOPLE SHOWED UP FROM THE STORES ALONG
THE ALLEY WHEN THEY HEARD OUR SCREAMS AND SAW TWO HELPLESS ORIENTAL
WOMEN. THEY JUST LOOKED ON, PUZZLED. I WOULD LIKE TO BELIEVE THAT THEY
DID NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT TOOK PLACE RATHER THAN THAT THEY
DID NOT CARE.
SUDDENLY, SOME ONE WAS RUNNING AHEAD OF US
AND WE SAW HIM APPREHEND THE ROBBER. HE WAS
SMALLER BUILT THAN THE ROBBER BUT THIS DID NOT
SEEM TO DETER HIM. HE GRABBED THE ROBBER BY HIS
NECK TO FORCE HIM DROP THE BAG. WE QUICKLY
RETRIEVED THE BAG AND COULD ONLY SAY "THANK YOU!!". THE ROBBER FLED
WHILE WE EXCHANGED GREETINGS WITH
OUR HERO. BUT OUR HERO LEFT US AGAIN AND WENT AFTER HIM.
WE WERE STILL RECOVERING FROM THIS SEVERE
SHOCK WHEN TWO OTHER MEN WHO LOOKED LIKE TOURISTS
THEMSELVES APPROACHED US AND OFFERED HELP.
THEY, TOO, HAD BEEN RUNNING AFTER US AFTER HEARING
OUR SHOUTS.
FINALLY WE REACHED THE STREET "LA RAMBLA"
FEELING A LITTLE RELIEVED BUT STILL SHAKEN.
THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE THAT I HAVE WITNESSED A REAL CRIME.
IN THE PAST THREE YEARS I HAVE BEEN TO OVER TWELVE COUNTRIES BUT HAVE
NEVER
FELT MORE THREATENED OR PITIFULLY HELPLESS.
THEN OUR HERO APPEARED AGAIN SUDDENLY, JUST LIKE WHEN HE APPEARED
TO HELP US. "SORRY, I CANNOT FIND HIM", HE SAID. "ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"
I ASKED HIM.
I WAS EAGER TO KNOW THAT HE WAS NOT HURT. THIS IS
FAR MORE IMPORTANT THAN CATCHING THE ROBBER. "I AM OK" - THEN HE JUST
LEFT.
WE COULD NOT SAY 'THANK YOU' ENOUGH FOR THIS
ACT OF BRAVERY. HE WAS ACTUALLY RISKING HIS OWN
LIFE IN FIGHTING WITH THE ROBBER. IN GOING OUT ALL
THE WAY TO HELP US HE ALSO RESTORED IN US THE
CONFIDENCE WE HAD IN PEOPLE.
WE WERE VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE MET A HERO IN
BARCELONA. AND THIS IS SERVE TO HONOR HIS CHIVALRY.
AMANDA
IN HAMBURG
30. I didn't see much in the way of actual bag-snatchings on this page, so I thought I'd throw one in.
Last year (1998) I was sitting with some Aussie friends in the Placa Reial, in the late afternoon, sitting on one of the many benches surrounding the square, peoplewatching. As we watched we slowly became aware of the brazen nature of the pickpockets operating in the square. They were being quite open about it all, obvious to everyone in the square except of course to the tourists who were snapping away and not at all aware of their surroundings. We of course were hardened, hungover backpackers, and were therefore above the tourists :).
Anyway, we were sitting over in the corner next to Kabul when halfway across the square toward the fountain one guy made his play, snatching a backpack off a middle aged woman and fleeing off in the direction of the Nine Cats. The Aussies paused a beat, looked at each other, and were after him in a flash. I was too muddled from my hangover so I sort of stumbled out after them, but they told me later that they caught up to him on Carrer Ferran, tackled him, and pretty much proceeded to beat hell out of him until a Guadia came up and pushed them away, screaming at them and demanding an explanation, to which they only picked up the backpack and dusted it off. The cop looked at it, looked at the guy on the ground, gave him a quick kick to the midsection, and walked away. The Aussies were laughing so hard they didn't even care that the guy got up and hobbled away. Pretty horrible story, I know, but the amount of stored up rage one develops toward the pickpockets is a dangerous thing once unleashed.
31. While in Vancouver, BC, Canada in 1998, I was in the Gastown district. There was a young chap who as casually dressed, well spoken and polite. He explained that he had just arrived from eastern Canada (Toronto) and had applied for social assistance in obtaining accommodation in Vancouver. He would not receive an answer until the next day and needed some money for a room. He had a printed paper with a letterhead on it and it appeared to have been photocopied. I declined and walked on. It nagged at me that I may have turned down a legitimate request until, two months later while visiting with a friend, I saw him again with the same piece of paper and the same request.
32. I've just returned from a week in Spain and wanted to thank you for your informative page. It helped us quite a bit in noticing all of the "local color" that was going on around us. During our stay in Madrid and Barcelona, we were extra careful everywhere we went, and did indeed see several things that you mentioned in your pages. In particular, on many occasions we noticed the "flower women" who were handing out flowers, and then asking for money (we walked right past them). There was also a guy putting stickers on people who was up to the same thing. We were also accosted by a pair of young girls thrusting cardboard at us, but we just pushed them away. Finally, at about 10 PM one night on Las Ramblas, a teenage girl came up to us and started speaking to us in Spanish. My girlfriend would only answer her in Hebrew, and she wouldn't leave us alone, so I turned around and glared at her looking like I'd smack her if she didn't go away (I'm a pretty big guy). She pointed to some guy across the street like it was her boyfriend who was watching out for her. I don't know what the deal was, but I was on vacation and didn't want any trouble, so we just walked away.
Having said all of that, I can also say that you provided us with our biggest disappointment. We were staying at a hotel near Liceu and were really looking forward to meeting the American woman who hangs out there with the hard luck story. Alas, with all of the times we passed by, we never did see her. Oh well, I guess that means we'll have to return to Barcelona someday.
33. The most outrageous scam I ever heard of was attempted on my mother who lives in Greece. After the collapse of the Soviet bloc, Greece received a very large number of migrants and refugees from Albania. Due to the nature of their former regime, many of these people had no qualifications and could do only unskilled labor or petty crime. They account for over 90% of all crime in Greece for the past ten years.
My mother (then aged about 70) was approached in the street by a man who emerged from a pickup holding a baby. He held out the baby to her and said: "Can you hold on to this baby for me a moment while I go into this shop for something? You look like a good-hearted person, I can't leave it alone in the car."
My mother, an incredibly good-hearted person, actually reached for the
infant but suddenly noticed two other people in the car.
"Why don't you leave the baby with them?"
"No, you hold the baby, here, take it."
There was some push and shove as my mother realized there was something quite wrong with all this, she stepped away as quickly as possible, with the man following and shouting at her. She immediately took the story to the police station around the corner. The scam turned out to be as follows: The man (or other times, a woman) "gives" the baby to the unsuspecting good hearted passer-by, then vanishes. A moment later a woman appears, screaming that her baby has been stolen, and there it is in the hands of this person, an obvious kidnapper. The distraught mother is always accompanied by two others who are "witnesses" and "saw everything". In my mother's case they were the ones sitting in the car. The only way out is to pay them off, because it is not possible for a normal person to simply put the baby down and move off.
This particularly cruel scam has been operating for years, and the police are quite familiar with it. If it is attempted on you, act sensibly. Do not hold on to a total stranger's baby, no matter how cute, without a real and unmistakable emergency.
34. My name is Mike McCready. I'm an American and have lived in Barcelona/Catalunya for about 9 years. I've seen your page about street scams and wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed it. I was once taken by the three cups and the pea. It happened just as you describe. I have trouble believing the Pans & Company scam however. Do you think this is a company wide policy or simply a renegade franchisee?
35. I came across your web site the other day and enjoyed reading about the scams particularly in Barcelona. Some of them really made me laugh. I too was in Barcelona last year. My husband was involved in a job rotation which brought our family to live in Spain for 1 year. We visited Barcelona many many times. On two occasions I visited Barcelona alone. I walked all over Barcelona carrying a video camera. I never had any trouble with anyone. In fact I was very surprised that no one had approached me, since I looked like the tourist with the video camera. My opinion of Barcelona is it's an extremely safe city. Barcelona has the most beautiful architecture we have ever seen. The churches are breathtaking. The people are very conservative and very family oriented. We thought Seville was more dangerous than Barcelona. I truly hope that we will be able to visit Barcelona again.
36. I haven't seen any mention of this particular scam that happened in Madrid, perhaps it was just a crime of opportunity. I was with a group a people who flew into the airport at Madrid. Since only one man in the group spoke much Spanish, he approached a taxi driver and told him we would need enough cabs for everyone, and negotiated a price. We all piled into the different cabs, there were five I believe. When we got to the hotel, our leader gave our money to the taxi driver he had originally talked to, intending for him to distribute equally among the drivers. Of course, he promptly hopped in his cab with the money and drove away, and we were faced with four other angry cab drivers demanding their money, so we had to pay twice. Of course, I'm sure that was probably an act for our benefit, they probably knew the first driver well and split up everything. Not a good start to our vacation, beware, travelers!
37. We arrived Barcelona last Friday, August 20th, 1999. On Saturday, near the Cathedral, three young women came rushing up to us with newspapers extended and speaking in Spanish. They had us cornered before we knew it. I had my wallet and passport in a "fanny pack" around to my front. I quickly thought and pushed the newspaper down and away and found that they had already unzipped my fanny pack but I was fast enough to keep them from getting anything from us. They retreated and awaited the next victim.
On Sunday, we were transferring from the Northbound L4 line at the Verdaguer Station. In front of us on the up escalator a tall man dropped his cigarette at the top of the escalator. He bent over, then grabbed hold and would not let me pass. As soon as I passed I grabbed for my wallet and passports which were in my back buttoned pocket and they were gone. I yelled as load as I could "Police - Police". A young woman behind us pointed out the man who had put my wallet in his pocket. The blocker and the pick pocket looked at us and smiled as if saying what is bothering you. TMB security then quickly approached from down some adjoining stairs which lead to an exit at which time my wife grabbed the man that had our wallet and I went after the "blocker" who started running when security approached. In the chase he got away however he dropped his back pack which I turned over to security. The first security guard had quickly apprehended the man with our wallet and passports and gave them back to us. Security did not speak any English however a passerby translated that he wanted to know if we wanted to press charges. We said absolutely yes. TMB Security did a great job!
This took about two hours as we awaited for the Barcelona Police to arrive, we went with them to the police station, and we answered their questions and filled out the forms. We saw them take our pick pocket off in handcuffs. Hopefully he will be off of the streets for awhile.
38. I visited Barcelona in Spring of '99, and I got hit by the "Futbol" scam at the Plaza de Catalunya in front of the Hard Rock. As a precautionary measure, I never exchanged more than $20 US at any one time, so he only got 2,000 pesetas, and two credit cards. Unfortunately for him, he also grabbed my hotel key. Since I was on my way back to the hotel, I knew I had been picked in less than 10 minutes. He was so smooth, I still laugh about my own carelessness.
I experienced another scam that I haven't seen addressed on your website. This one is focused on lone males. I was walking down Las Ramblas about 8:30 in the evening (20:30) when a well dressed man in a blue blazer came along side of me and declared in clear English, "I know you from the hotel!"
Since everyone was new to me (including the people I had come to do business with), I had no reason to doubt him. He pointed to his watch and said, "Time to get off." He asked me what I was doing, and I replied that I was going to eat. He tapped his watch again, and said that it was still too early.
He told me he knew the people at one of the better restaurants, but we would have to go through the back door. We turned at a road (Escudellers Street?) across from the theater, into an area I later found out to be the Barrio Chino - a sort of red light district. We passed a restaurant (that had actually been recommended to me by business associates) with a line of people in front of it, and I followed him through a door covered by a beaded curtain into a bar. At first glance, the door seemed adjacent to the restaurant.
Immediately, the barmaid put two beers on the bar, and a woman slid into the seat next to where I was standing (I didn't even have time to sit!) and asked me to buy her a drink. Lights and sirens went off in my head. I had seen this same scam as a Marine in Okinawa in the '70s. When I asked how much three drinks were, she said "Only 5,000 pesetas." Roughly $ 35 US. I was saved by my policy of never exchanging more than $ 20 US, because they did not stop talking long enough for me to think. The only thing I was sure of was that I did not have 5,000 pesetas.
Frustrated with the incessant chatter, I slid the untouched bottle of beer that had been set in front of me over to the girl, and quickly (and rudely) left the bar.
39. Not sure if you are still updating your page on Barcelona scams, but here is one that I have seen twice, 3 years apart. On the escalator coming up from the metro, two young men, one in front, one in back. At the top of the escalator, man in front pretends to stumble, drop something, etc., causing you to stop, man in back picks pocket and both are gone.
The first time, I was with a group and we were scattered on the escalator. The victim realised what had happened and grabbed the theif, who dropped the wallet and ran. The victim picked up the wallet and after a few seconds opened it and noticed that the theif had already taken out the cash.
The second time, I was alone, and noticed the scenario, so I turned sideways on the escalator, back to the railing. (not that I had anything in my back pocket worth taking ) Sure enough, at the top, the guy in front of me dropped something and paused for a second, but the guy behind me muttered something to him in catalan and he quickly picked it up and they were off, glancing back at me, grinning at them.
40. I just read your street scams. I was hit by the two gypsy women in 1993. I lost $35, but my husband said it was worth it just to be able to tell the story. Plus it taught us to be more careful, probably saving us alot more money in the long run. We did report it to the police. A young man from Belgium was there who also had been hit by the same women. I honestly feel like the police don't care or they would do something about it. How hard would it be to send a decoy out and begin to catch these thieves? I felt much safer in Italy because the police were all over. I love Spain, and we are returning there this summer, but it is frustrating to hear so many similar stories and see so little to correct the situation.
41. I was just reading your page about the streets scams of BCN (you've got a cool "pedagogical" web page here, mate!) and I felt like I could contribute with another experience.
I am living in Helsinki (Finland) due to work reasons but I am from Cambrils (Tarragona). Last Christmas holidays I went to visit my family. Usually when I go there first I spend at least one day with my sister who lives in BCN and then we take a train down to Cambrils. That time we took the train at Passeig de Gràcia Station. I was carrying a big suitcase with me. When the train arrived, there was the usual crowd near the doors and, because I am from BCN and I am suppose to know that people use to get robbed at this precisely moment when they are about to get into the train, I was holding my suitcase and I wait for being the last one getting in. But somehow I forgot to check on my backpack..( I know, I know.First rule: never put your wallet in a backpack.) When it was my turn to get into the train a Moroccan guy asked me very politely if I wanted him to help me with the suitcase. While I was saying "no thanks, it's ok" and he was still insisting to help just to keep me busy and distracted, a black guy tried to take my wallet from my backpack. I swear I never noticed him behind me. I didn't even see him. But a girl from the station saw what was happening and started to shout. Then I turned over and caught the guy with his hand already holding my wallet. I pushed him away and somehow he dropped the wallet and started running along with the other guy. Everything happened in few seconds and this time I was lucky.Then the ticket inspector came and told me that they know those two guys but they're so good in vanishing and they haven't been caught up yet!! So, if anyone is planning to take a train in BCN check out if you see a thin and tall Moroccan-looking guy with glasses and a round-faced black guy nearby...and don't be as naive as me and hang your backpack on your chest instead!
42. I read your homepage because we are going to Barca soon. My twin-sister has already visited it and almost got robbed. Here's the story, see if you want to put it on your page.
She was drinking a drink on the Ramblas with her friend. She had put her little foto-camera-purse in front of her on the table so she would be able to keep it in sight. (As an Amsterdammer she knows something about tourist being robbed). A map-vendor approached her and her friend to sell them a map of Barcelona.He spread a fan of maps in front of them. She refused, he persisted but as she refused he went away. In the process he dropped one map and my sister naievely wondered why he didn't come back when they called out to him to give him his map...
she saw the shoulder-band of her little camera-purse dangling from underneath the maps... She went after him shouting and simply grabbed her purse back and said some nasty things in various languages. So: when approached on the Ramblas by a person selling maps, be careful and watch what he is doing underneath the fan of maps.
I live in Amsterdam, also a tourist-attracting and thus tourist-robbers attracting place. A few tips on Amsterdam:
Watch your wallet (put it in your inside pocket) and bags very carefully at all times in the following places:
- In and near Central Station - even if some humbugs attract you attention by a fight or a street-show.
- On the Leidsenplein (also when watching a street-show), Damrak and Dam.
- On the Albert Kuyp-day-market
- On every tram or metro - the busier the better for pickpockets- special care in tram number 5. Always keep your luggage in FRONT of you were you can see and reach it, and do NOT politely put it out of the path so no-one will stumble over it in the metro, tram or train.
I once escorted an american tourist to the police: she was on her way to the airport by train and put her suitcase (tickets and money) behind her between the seats, out of the path. That was the last she saw of it. On another occasion I was waiting at a tram-stop in the center when I watched a man boarding a tram. Because you have to go up a few steps he reached with both arms to the grips on both sides of the steps, leaving his trouser-pockets very open to the (last- boarding) man behind him. This man already had his hand in the trouser pocket when I yelled something at him. His reaction was "what,what, what" and a spit in my face. I warned the tram-driver who called out a general warning for pickpockets in the tram. So watch your stuff when entering a tram. Pickpockets often are slim young men, slightly tinted skin, with short black curly hair and a (black) leather jacket. BUT not ALL pickpockets look like that AND not ALL people looking like that are pickpockets!
I don't hope to become a victim of a Barcelona-scam but if I do I will certainly tell you about it. Thanks for your info and the nice text about Calle Leona (very atmosphere-full).
43. I was in Barcelona for 2 days before cruise. Walking the Ramblas at 10 in morning looking for an optometrist to repair glasses, I was approached by gypsy woman carrying a flat box in one hand and a wrapped up "baby" in the other. It was chilly and I was wearing a carcoat with front unzipped, a fanny pack zipped and in one hand I had a plastic bag with articles bought at pharmacy (mirror and brush). the woman pushed the box against me under my bust and begged for money for the baby. I asked to see the baby and she said NO. I said NO loudly and backed off from her. She kept pushing me and I turned and walked across the street to where the flower stands were. A vendor had watched and said to me "No baby, just rope, be careful". Then the gypsy was back with my mirror, brush, room key and 2 pairs of glasses in her hand. She said I had dropped them on the sidewalk and wanted a reward for returning them. Now she had retrieved them from my fanny pack (zipped) and the plastic bag (in my right hand). She could not get to my wallet because it was in the bottom and too large for fanny pack and she would have had to wiggle it out rather vigorously which I would have felt. I screamed "BASTA", the vendor screamed "POLITZIA" and she left. I usually travel with a metal whistle around my neck and when I feel the least uncomfortable in a situation, I blow as loud as I can. People usually ignore a yell, but a shrill whistle gets everyone's attention. I will be going back to Barcelona soon WITH MY WHISTLE. This woman works the street everyday according the flower vendor. I you see her, don't let her within 10 feet of you. She is GOOD.
44. Having returned from Barcelona a week ago, I pulled up your website on street scams today. In my case, violence DID result. It was about 11 p.m. on 6/25/00 and my husband and I were walking back to our hotel after a lovely dinner at Los Caracoles on Escudellers. I was being "careful", having my bag in front of me with the shoulder strap across my body. Next thing I knew I was face down on the street, spitting blood, with 4 loose and broken upper teeth. The purse snatcher (we think there were 2 of them) had apparently knocked me to the ground in hauling the bag off over my head. The police were very helpful and took me to the hospital for head X-rays. We were able to leave town a little later than planned the following day, and I am now sporting a set of orthodontic braces on my broken upper teeth in an attempt to reposition the loose ones, with plenty more dental work ahead of me. Needless to say we had too many documents in the bag, and will know in future to leave most of them in the hotel safe. My advice would be not to even carry a purse in the evening if you can avoid it -- just put a few essentials in a pocket. The thieves didn't know whether my bag contained valuables or only make-up, etc. but that didn't deter them from robbing me.
PS The rest of our visit to Catalunya was great.
45. Hi Terry! I just came across your Barcelona crime web page -- what a great idea. I, fortunately, have no such stories to share about Barcelona (though I was ripped off by a Gypsy in Cordoba, completely due to my own stupidity and was completely avoidable!), but I would like to tell everyone my good news. I travelled all over Spain last summer. I was hearing a new "I got ripped off in Barcelona" story every day from other travellers I'd meet along the way. When I got to Barcelona, I was a little paranoid, but I always kept me backpack on my FRONT, with little travel locks on the zipper. Yeah, it takes a few more seconds to open when you need something, but in the long run, you save a LOT of time and peace of mind. At one moment, however, I came close -- I was in that beautiful park near the Arc de Triumf, (I can't remember what it's called) in broad daylight; I was a little tired -- I was trying to shove my wallet into my pack and I must have looked slightly vulnerable -- a man almost fitting your description, except a little shorter and fatter, quickly approached me. I zipped my bag, and looked straight at him as if to say, "yes, can I help you? Perhaps you wanted my wallet? Better luck next time!" HAHA! So there you have it. Wear your bag on the front, lock it up, and be aware of your surroundings. I absolutely loved Barcelona, and I'm planning to move there in January. Happy travelling, everyone!
46. hey good web page. All people should read it before coming to Barcelona.
I have been in Barcelona for a bit and have seen 3 people robbed (too late to catch them). But the latest one I have seen happen also happen to me, but I´m very careful so I was not robbed.
The large intersection at the top of the La Rambla to the left, I was in the car waiting at the lights (my doors are always locked). In front of us about 6 cars up, with in 3-4 seconds a guy walkup to a car open the back door and stole a bag, that fast. In 5 lanes of cars with cars all around you what can you do. So people chased the guy but I don't know what happen.
A week later at 11pm I was driving along the beach front (cars all around) just before the bottom of the La Rambla. At the lights waiting to go green (doors locked always). There was 3 of us in the car. 1 guy walked up to the front passengers door and one guy walk up to the back door and try to open them. No luck, I beeped my horn on and off, they walked away slowly, with a look of (how dare you not let us rob you). I felt like getting out and smashing there f#@ing faces in and I could have if I got hold of them. But this does not help you at all. Instead I continue on knowing that because I´m careful and always lock my doors I will not be robbed in my car. People have to be more careful when traveling, trust no one you don't know, and any one who comes near you tell them to F#$% OFF, ALWAYS.
If you are walking around at the top of the La Rambla you will see a group of guys watching the cars till they see one and then, BANG rob them. Remember trust no one you don't know.
47. Hi, Terry.
You are exactly who I've been looking for! My name is Radislav, I am from Moscow Russia. One month ago I returned from all-Spain trip (Barsa-Tarragona-Valencia-Kartahena-Granada-Malaga-Tarife (Gibraltar)-Heres-Sevilia-Madrid-Barsa) where I was robbed by three young bastards.
It happened in Barcelona, I stood on my rented Seat Ibisa on the square near Barcelona port (if it matters I will check the map and give you the exact place) on the red light when young guy came and pointed under my car saying "You have a leak down there". I unlocked my doors (damned system which unlocks all 5 car doors at once by one button!), left the car and looked underneath. In that moment my girlfriend start crying "Radik, the camera!!!" Then I saw 3 thieves running away with my camera bag. (Notice: there were lots of cars around, daylight, July 1, 2000, 15:00). I felt impossible to run after them three, leave my unlocked car on the road, and fight them in dark&narrow streets to catch knife there, my plane would take off in 2 hours, so I let them run.
There was no camera in the bag, just its power adapter and remote control, three video cassettes and my old pants (!) as a present to the fools! After that I parked the car and searched for all the trash cans around trying to find my empty bag thrown by the thieves (with a hard iron thing in my hand). Tourists jumped away from me! No-one saw anything, nothing was founded. My plane was about taking off so I did not claim the robbery in police nearby and drove away.
Now I am very upset because of 3 Hi8 videocassettes filled with Spain.
48. I have two interesting personal experiences to tell.
In Italy I was met by two gypsy ladies in front of Castel St. Angelo, they told me they wanted to read my palm and tell me my future, I told them NO but they told me it would cost me just pennies so I tried, One of them was young and grabbed my right hand while the other, who looked like her mother, was carrying like a baby under covers and got close to my body, she started to say: you will have a bright future, you will have a great and long life you will have a great fortune, suddenly I feel her hand in my right pocket and I grabbed it and took it out and started to walk away and she began saying, come I haven't finished telling your fortune and I yelled, sure what you want is to take my fortune.
Three years ago I was in Paris waiting for the train to arrive at Opera station at10PM when the door opened, my brother went in, then I and then a tall , dark skinned,curly hair Moroccan young guy dropped like a piece of paper in the floor and started looking for it and grabbed my legs and reached inside my socks and run out just before the doors closed, just a matter of few second. Thanks God I always carry everything inside the front of my trousers where nobody except my wife can stick their hands in.:)
Rule Number One for tourists: Never carry money, cards nor passports in a bag, socks nor pockets. carry them inside your clothes where nobody can reach them. You will have peace of mind and will enjoy your trip without worries. When you are taking the metro,just have your ticket ready before going inside. I congratulate you on your web page, because it warns the tourists of the real dangers they will encounter on their visit to any mayor city and I hope they never say "That won't happen to me".
49. I have just been reading your scams page prior to travelling to Barcelona tomorrow with my 80 year old mother and my sister. I have been before and came across such a situation.
My husband and I were walking mid-afternoon back to our hotel situated a very short distance off the Ramblas. A white van was parked half on the pavement, half on the road with the bonnet up and a collection of your tall curly haired friends about making it very hard to pass. As we walked passed one went in front and one behind my husband and jostled him. I was behind and saw what was about to happen and screamed a warning. He rose up to his full height (he is 6ft and fairly large and powerful looking) and roared at them. They scampered down another side road. If we hadn't been walking in single file we would not even have noticed that the wallet had gone! It gave us a fright but fortunately we escaped with our valuables and safe!
50. I stumbled upon your page while looking for a map of Spain and I have to hand it to you, its excellent. Its something everyone should read before going to Barcelona. I spent the Summer of 2000 in Barcelona and I had two unfortunate experiences.
The first was the peas scam. I was caught, I was a naive tourist and it didn't take much beckoning before I handed out money, the adrenalin pumping through me because I was sure where the pea was and was only thinking how much money I will make. Its easy I thought but suddenly my money was gone, I was in a state of confusion, anger, tears rolling and your man was gone in a second, everyone dispersed very quickly.
My second experience was even worse. I had a small purse and on one particular day I had 8,000 pesetas in it (about £40 irish money). I was going into the city to buy gifts. I was on my way to the metro station in Catalunya square at 10a.m. when this boy poked my shoulder from behind. He asked me in Spanish what time it was. Even though I could have answered him in Spanish, I stupidly said 10 o clock in english pointing to my watch. The boy was young 14, 15 yrs.? I walked down the stairs to the metro station not passing any heed on him even when he followed me down the stairs quietly. There were not many people around, the metro station was dead quiet. Not a bit uneasy or wary I went to the ticket machine to buy a ticket for the metro. I was taking money from my purse, when the boy in a split second ran up to me grabbed my purse and sped off. I stood in shock. It was the first time I was robbed in my life and it all happened so fast and it was so easy for him when I look back on it. I ran out but he had disappeared. I was left with an old lady trying to console me in Spanish and I couldn't believe it. As well as being upset I was very angry that this boy got away with it. Don't let it happen to you.
51. I really enjoyed your web page on Barcelona street scams. I lived in Madrid for awhile, and most of the same scams seem to be operating there. Here's one that isn't really a scam, but is certainly something to watch out for! If you are carrying anything like a purse, camera bag, etc. on your shoulder watch out for someone-usually riding a motorcycle-to pass by, swerve over by you, and grab the bag off your shoulder. It almost happened to me in Seville. Luckily I had my hands stuffed in my pocket and the camera bag didn't fall away easily. It threw the motorcyclist off balance and he was forced to let go.
I've been to Barcelona several times and fortunately never had a problem there. The worst experience I've had in Spain was in Seville. Besides the motorcycle guy I had two others grab my camera bag also, but luckily no one ever got away with it. One trick I use that helps a lot is that whenever I sit down and take off by camera bag I put my leg through the strap and wrap it completely around. That way I'm not relying on my eyes alone to alert me. Spain is definitely one of the countries where I would never put any bag or backpack down and "watch" it. The thieves are just too quick and too good. That includes children also. I had a friend who was robbed by two little girls in Madrid. They were about 6 years old. She managed to grab one of them, and instantly was surrounded by several older women who had been watching the little girls. Even though she had the thief in her hands her wallet was immediately passed off to an older woman who disappeared. The other women hit her and yelled at her until she let go of the little girl.
Hope all your collected stories don't scare anyone off. I've been to a lot of places, and Spain is one of the ones I enjoy the most, especially Barcelona. My advice is leave your jewelry at home, carry your money and credit cards in a neck pouch under your clothes, and enjoy!
52. Your scam page is very interesting. This is what happened to me last week.
We've just returned from Barcelona. I had my handbag stolen from a The Tucan Bar, a very small bar just behind Placa Real. It was on a hook attached to the bar in front of me with my coat over it and I was on a bar stool - my partner was next to me. I went to go home at 2 am and my bag was not there. I cancelled my cards the next morning but the strange thing was although my bag had been stolen on the 8th, the withdrawals from my credit cards had been made on the 6th and 7th at a place called ARUAL (my credit card company tells me it's a massage parlour!!) I don't know how the withdrawals had those dates unless they were taken from my wallet earlier than my bag had been stolen, but I don't think so. Anyway, the police were very helpful and the credit card companies, but the thieves had managed to take out £6,000.
53. We got off tourist bus at Port Olimpic . We had to waste time waiting for restaurant to open. Walked over abandoned parks towards Zoo. Man called us, said we had problem. Problem was smattering of food substance over husbands coat and trousers. Helped us go to nearby bar which unfortunately for him was run by guy from UK. When his 'help' became too obvious, had someone to call for assistance. Not end of story. Waiting at nearer Tourist Bus stop, much shaken, was approached by two men in smart suits and raincoats who said they were Passport control. No-one around, (December) Yelled at my husband to move away. Both men, together with man who sought our help with his Map, melted away. Glad none of our 'friends' were violent in any way.
54. I was in Madrid this Summer and was approached in the Plaza Mayor by two Gitanas who said they were selling carnations for a festival which was taking place that afternoon. Apparently to attend the festival you REALLY needed one of these carnations and they offered to sell them to us for English coins. This sounded a little bizzarre but I gave her a couple of English coins in exchange for this carnation. I looked round to see the other Gitana rummaging through my friend's purse (as she protested) looking for english coins. My friend gave her some english money and we went on our way. Surprise, surprise, there was no festival and my friend discovered that a 5000 peseta note was missing later on in the day. Also, in Seville, we were approached by another gitana who offered to tell our fortunes. She then grabs onto your hand so tight that you can't get away, tells you a lame account of your future, (you will have two children and marry a tall, rich man, etc) and then demands 2000 pesetas. She then got quite offensive when we said she could have 200 pesetas and like it, shouting and screaming and the like. This also happened in Cordoba and Granada but luckily we were a bit more wise to it by then.
55. I just read your web page and didn't see the scam that happened to me, so I offer this story:
John and I were driving our rental car by Las Ramblas and decided to pull into an underground garage of a nice hotel so we could check into our hotel on a nearby pedestrian street. We didn't know how parking garages work in Barcelona and it was an expensive lesson. We had not yet even set foot on Spanish soil, since we had driven in from France.
Inside the garage I saw two men hovering in the back, and initially thought they worked there. But quickly I got a bad feeling and insisted that we leave the garage immediately. There was no uniformed attendant. When we tried to leave we were stopped by an automatic gate. In order to get a ticket to get out, you had to go by foot, up the stairs to the second floor, to a machine that dispensed tickets and took payments.
We backed out of the exit way and meanwhile one of the men was gesturing to us. He didn't speak English and we didn't speak much Spanish, but he said we had a flat tire. I said to John that we certainly didn't have a flat tire, but soon he confirmed that we did. I was very wary and locked my door and kept the window up while John got out of the car. He carefully removed our luggage from the trunk to get the spare tire and put it immediately in the back seat. The man stood talking to us and held the flashlight for John, since it was dark in the back of the garage. After awhile I became less wary and rolled down my window about 1/3rd of the way. Then the man said I'd have to hold the flashlight because he had to go. I got out of the car, stood next to my door, but had my back slightly turned. I thought I watched the man leave but I may not have. When I got back into the car my purse, which had been flat on the floor of the car, was no longer there. I don't know how the man got my bag through the partially opened window and walked away with it!
Needless to say, he got my wallet, credit cards, passport, registration papers for the car, a spare set of keys, camera, etc. Within the hour before we notified AmEx and Visa about the credit cards (we felt compelled to move the car), several hundred dollars' worth of cash withdrawals were made on my cards, though they didn't have my pin numbers! And our tire had been slashed -- it was no accident.
People really should know about the parking garage situation. It is common to have no attendants. Every 20 minutes or so a guard walks through, but the thieves probably know the schedule, and garages take no responsibility for robberies.
We experienced two other robbery attempts (of the types described in your examples) in the next two days, but fortunately neither was successful. It made us very uncomfortable for the rest of our time in Spain.
56. Hi Terry, Great web site by the way.
I was wondering if you would be interested in an incident that happened to my wife and I in a Chinese restaurant situated on the Ramblas at Easter 2000.
We visited the restaurant as we arrived on the Thursday evening, and had a very good reasonably priced meal for 2. During our meal we witnessed an argument between a solo German tourist and the Chinese staff, it seemed the argument was about the bill. Eventually the German left in an angry and flustered state. The young Chinese guy running the restaurant explained to me that they often had this kind of trouble with tourist. His English was excellent as during the conversation he mentioned that he was Hong Kong Chinese. We left thinking 'what a nice man' and ' bloody German tourists'.
On the Sunday we decided to eat at the restaurant again. After the meal our bill was presented it was around 7,500ptas, I dropped 2 x 5,000ptas notes onto the plate an awaited my change. After a rather lengthy frustrating wait my change arrived it was 1,500ptas. I told the waiter there was a mistake, the only English he seemed to know was "no mistake"! I called over the guy I had spoken to on the Thursday evening to explain to him the problem but to my amazement he could only speak Chinese and Spanish not English. After a heated and animated exchange in Chinese in which we were surrounded and intimidated by the staff, The penny began to drop that this is what had happened to the German tourist. I decided there and then to stand my ground and not get ripped off.The Chinese guy said in broken Spanish that I had paid with 1x 5,000pta note and 2x 2,000pta note and that the cambiar exact.I replied in my very poor broken Spanish that soy pagar 10,000ptas(diez mill) and that he was Hong Kong Chinese and could speak English( usted H.k. Chino y usted habla English)! and then in a very calm firm modulated manner I said in English "if you don't give me 1.000ptas I..WILL...PUT...YOUR..WINDOWS..THROUGH.( sorry to say typical English reaction) at this point he made a hurried till count said there had been a mistake, refunded my money and wished us goodnight.
It would have been explained to anyone in the in the restaurant that they often had this kind of trouble with tourists. But to me it was a well worked scam with all the hallmarks Intimidation, confusion and feigned innocence. The money involved wasn't much but the principle is the same
57. My wife and I went to barcelona in the summer of 1990. We were New Yorkers and thought we were something.
We were hit twice in our first hour.
We put our bags down in an empty part of the subway to look at the map. Not close to the entrance, by the way.
This space was empty when we got there.
It was empty when we left, one bag short and not a little upset.
It was empty except for us the whole damn time.
At least they hadn't got my walkman.
I checked again on the bus twenty minutes later (to hell with the subway!)
No walkman.
1. After that, we organized ourselves military style. We were going to be in B for five weeks. We needed to take action. We developed code words, which grew more sophisticated over time, describing the oncoming strategy, which we learned to discern. We had several different styles of walking, relative positioning, etc. and we didn't get hit again.
2. Happy ending: we believe that we saved ourselves on several occasions in London and New York, possibly saving our very skins, because we had learned what we needed to defend ourselves in the Barcelona nonviolent boot camp for the unsuspecting.
58. I just came back from France and here is my experience in Barcelona :
My wife and myself travel a lot and I also lived three years in France so I am well familiar with Europe (or at Least I thought so). Two weeks ago my wife and myself rented a car in Paris and started a journey to southern France. We then decided, unfortunately, to enter Spain and visit Barcelona, since we have never been there and were curious about this city. We arrived on Sunday at about 8 PM, we drove around looking for a Hotel, we also decided to take a look at the Ramblas while driving. There, stopping in red light in a well lit avenue full of cars, a guy approached my driver side, knocked on the window and pointed to the front left wheel,trying to keep us distracted, while his friend opened the back door and pulled one of our bags. They quickly disappeared in one of the side street.
Here is the outrageous part : There was no police in sight, we drove around trying to find a police station, we found one that was closed , and only after about two hours we managed to stop a police car who took us to an open station, where we waited another hour to report the crime. Later we understood that everybody in Barcelona, from the Hotel receptionist, to the policemen we talked to, the US and Japanese embassy employees, were well aware that tourists are being systematically targeted in Barcelona, especially at the Ramblas. The US embassy had detailed statistics on the walls, which said that 218 tourist were robbed at the Ramblas in the year 2000, in addition to other locations (shops, trains). I estimate the total by 400-500, which means more than one case per day !! We also heard a lot of horror stories while at the embassy, and cases much worse than us (including injuries).
My question is, why don't the authorities in Barcelona do something to protect the tourists visiting their city? Why don't they do the basic thing, and station policemen at that dangerous location?
Myself and my wife have visited may so called 'dangerous places' like certain areas of New York and Israel, but we never felt unsafe as we did afterwards in Barcelona.
In conclusion, this was my first and certainly last visit to Barcelona. The city after all wasn't worth it, but If you still want to visit Barcelona, keep the car locked while driving, don't get out no matter what, and don't stop in red lights at night.
59. Hi:
I found your interesting web site from a link on the Fodor's Europe message board. I don't know if you are still adding new stories but I read all your stories and what happened to us the last time we were in Barcelona (this was in 1996) were not mentioned on your web page (similar things but not all that close) I thought you might add our Barcelona pickpocket stories to your site. We were in Barcelona for 1 week and different pickpockets targeted my husband (never me) 3 separate times. I thought it was interesting that they always went after my husband who is a big man and not me (I'm petite ).
Briefly.........one night we were on the Ramblas (in Barcelona) and my husband bought some postcards (a tourist thing which probably alerted the pickpocket) then we walked away...he was walking ahead of me a few paces and a guy tried to stop him by speaking to him in various languages then actually pushing on his shoulder and spitting on him but my husband pushed him back, hard and we quickly left.
A few night later two guys followed us out of a subway car into what turned out to be a deserted underground subway station.........they first whispered things about drugs (in Spanish) then they said they want to help my husband with something but I was already running up the stairs by that point so he quickly followed up the stairs and back at the hotel found they had sprayed shaving cream all over the back of his pants.
Two days later my husband was wearing a big backpack (very top heavy) and we were just coming out of this small mom and pop type store with water bottles in our hands and I see this suspicious looking guy outside move over to the doorway. Before I could say anything he sticks out his foot and trips my husband who fell forward, but luckily didn't hit the ground. Then the guy starts screaming in Spanish at the top of his lungs at my husband and pushing him HARD.......Husband replies in Spanish and tries to sidestep the guy but he keeps getting in husband's face and screaming insults. I look behind me briefly and see the Filipino store owner with a *very* cold look in his eyes standing right behind me, clearly not interested in helping and seemingly in league with the thief. I felt SO scared.......I thought we would be robbed or worse for sure. But I guess there really are guardian angels cause *just then* a police car comes right down this small, quiet side street. The creep took off like a shot when the cops were a block away, and as we were in a rush to catch our train to Paris we didn't speak to the cops (who I doubt would have been of any help anyway).
60. Found your site regarding scams in Barcelona and I'm sitting here thinking I must be one lucky soul! My husband and I were in Barcelona in March 1997. We arrived in the city around 7 at night exhausted from a long drive from France in our rental car. Of course we had no idea were our hotel was and kept driving in what seemed like circles when a young man knocked on the car window while we were stopped at a light. I became very worried thinking the worse, but he kept pointing to our rear tires. With my limited Spanish I realized he was telling us we had a flat tire. I didn't want to get out of the car and didn't want my husband to either. The young man insisted and finally my husband got out and yes we did have a flat tire. The young man offered to help change the tire and also told us how to get to our hotel. The good Samaritan refused to take any money for all his help only wished us a good time in his city. I just wanted to share a good story, however, I do realize it could have gone the other way. We are going to Barcelona in September for only 2 days before we take a cruise. I'm even more anxious now then I was years ago. My son told me of the gypsies with the baby scam in Rome and his friend's wallet was stolen. They actually chased the gypsies down and retrieved the wallet.
61. I wish to take you for putting up those "universal " scams it helps to know your "enemy".
We travel every year to Europe and have been robbed only once in Madrid. To make a long story short so it can help others,here it is how it happened:
Our rented 5 doors car with French plates , was parked in a parking lot. When we left the parking lot we rode a few blocks along the Castellana, when we had flat tire. While changing the tire, someone came, and told us a lot of incoherent things ( we speak Spanish) , he checking what could be stolen, we asked him to leave, and he left.
Later he came and kind of push me, in order to catch my husband 's attention, in that very second another guy who we didn't see took whatever was in the car, not much thank you, but he got my husbands jacket and he could have gotten an elephant had we had one in the trunk of the car, ...the guy run, seeing him run I realized what was going on, ...too late!!! I saw him half a block down the street getting in a red car.
62. Hi there,
10 days ago I was in Barcelona with my sister. We had walked along The Ramblas and it was very busy, on a sunday, so we went into another street; The Carrer dels escullers. As we had walked that street for a bit, we were starting to feel uncomfortable somehow, later I thought that must have been because we had been watched. Just after that, a boy of about 15 years old came straight at me, tore a little bag that I had attached to a leather strap around my waist off me (I had no idea it could come loose like that, he really had to pull vigorously a few times) and ran off with it. It contained my money, credit card, passport. I got so angry, that I went after him. Then number 2 came out of the crowd, ran after me and let me fall. My sister saw it happening, that of the second person coming. Luckily they didn't take one of our rucksacks! I had bruises on my legs, and my trousers tore of the fall. We went to the police, but they couldn't care less. Us tourists are welcome to spend our money there, but we shouldn't expect anything back.
Compared to for instance Lisbon, where we went last year, I found the people of Barcelona very unfriendly on the whole.
63. wow good stuff. i was just reading all he theft stories in barcelona. lol. i love barcelona, it's the one of the most interesting cities in the world. i've bee there 7 times already. in 98 i stayed there for three months, i brought my motorcycle with me (kawasaki ZX7R) from Toronto Canada. i use to hang out on the las ramblas alot when i was bored. it was interesting watching scams being perfomed right in front of yours eyes, in true disbelief. in the summer of 97 my buddy and i went to bcn for two weeks vacation. cut a long story short we met these three girls from their at port olympic. the next day we hanged out with two of them. we ended up at the arcade upstairs next to the las ramblas. anyways i was playing a racing game against my friend and my fanny pack was in the way (containing my passport, camera and video camera) i handed it over to one of the girls (Susanna) thinking she would stand next to me and watch the game. she actually walked away and started playing air hockey. the next thing i knew was she was bending down and trying to look for my pack. then she darted off down the stairs (one way out) and i chased her and swearing like a sailor. we ended up in the alley and she did not see who took the pack. off course i was flipping out and pissed. then i thought to myself, if i was a thief i would stick around inside the arcade and unload the stuff. so as i walked back into the building, i saw a lot of people exiting off the escalator. then i noticed for some reason or another a middle age man on the stairs by himself with a large black bag. then i