Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, is a fantastic tourist destination with its world-famous carnival, sandy beaches, vibrant culture, and unique architecture. However, the city also has an unflattering reputation as being a place where tourists usually become victims of various scams.
In order to avoid having your Rio De Janeiro experience spoiled, check out some common tourist scams that you might encounter while there.
Help At the ATM
This scam features a scammer approaching tourists that are withdrawing their money from ATMs. They will offer to help, saying they know how you can avoid fees. However, their only purpose is to get your card details or pin so they can scam you out of your money.
Photo Scam
This one you might encounter at almost all tourist hotspots. At some point, you might be approached by someone who will ask you to take a photo of them. After you do that and try to return the camera or smartphone, they will drop it and blame you. Then, they’ll ask some ridiculous amount for the repair charges.
Shuffle Game
There are several variations of this game, but it usually comes down to the same. The scammer will have either three cards or three cups in front of him. He will ask bystanders to guess the right card or a cup with a ball beneath it after he shuffles them for a money prize. But to take part in the game, they need to pay a fee. This includes an accomplice in the audience who will make the correct guess and get the money. But others will fail since the scammer uses tricks that make it impossible to guess correctly.