For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here. (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation) |
---|
What a nice post!!!A good Spanish phrase I learned from a Spanish friend who sells roasted chestnuts in the Pamplona city center. No es no. A woman was following me in Ponaferrada, begging I think, I turned to her. And firmly said no es no and she laughed and said Buen Camino and left me with a smile. At a cafe table I turned away an insistent bracelet seller with the same words and I got a frown but he stopped talking and left.
Stop and buy some chestnuts from Josemi in Pamplona. He is very kind and you have to ask him for chestnuts. No sign but a lovely umbrella covered cart complete with a fire oven.
Leaving Sarria there are 2 women claiming to be part of a deaf-mute association asking for money. I gave them 2 Euro and as I handed it over I got a feeling it was a scam. I texted a pilgrim ahead of me who said it was a scam, and to check pockets. Heads up!
old one indeed. I remember a brilliant move from a shopowner who just politely shrugged and told " Yes I know this trick ".
Now when these " entrepeneurs " ask me something I repeat that quote....in French, Spanish or English depending where I am....
It’s not always the same two, no. It is a family, so the faces change. The men are never out there running the scam, just the women. The men are sometimes close by, with a vehicle to drive them on to the next spot if things get too complicated there.Are these always the same two women? I was approached as well, but didn't think they looked "old", and I felt guilty ignoring them if they really were deaf as I hadn't yet heard of it being a scam. If they have been soliciting for years as some here are saying, why do they still look youngish? Maybe it's a big racket that has many "volunteers" over many years. ?
They were there both times I walked the Frances. In 2017 the man at a bar nearby told me that he saw them on their cell phones while they were taking a break, (from being deaf-mute?).Leaving Sarria there are 2 women claiming to be part of a deaf-mute association asking for money. I gave them 2 Euro and as I handed it over I got a feeling it was a scam. I texted a pilgrim ahead of me who said it was a scam, and to check pockets. Heads up!
That is so crazy. I saw these women with the clipboards both times on the CF, too. They are so ubiquitous!
The best scam I ever encountered was in my bank in the US. While I was up at the teller counter, I could hear a man talking on a cell phone in the bank lobby. He was telling somebody that he came into town to pick up his wife at the Heart Hospital and had car trouble and needed a little financial help. He didn't want to upset his wife, so was trying to take care of it before he went to get her and was ashamed to be asking for money. He ended by saying, "That's okay, I understand. Thanks anyway. Do you have any suggestions about who else I might call?"
He was dressed nice and seemed to be a bank customer. He never approached or asked anyone there in person for money; he was just talking on the phone and could be overheard. Since I was at the teller anyway, I asked for an extra $20 cash back and handed it to him as I left the bank.
Two weeks later, I was back at the bank and so was he, making the same phone call! I thought it was ingenious. He was breaking no rules, not begging, just letting himself be overheard by people who had access to ready cash and kind hearts. (Anyway, I snitched on him to the bank manager, who threw him out).
Incidentally, when too many people are on to these young ladies and their scam at Sarria, they drive into Santiago and work the same scam all over the old city. I see them there every summer. After four years, they usually recognize me and turn away as I approach...go figure...
They work in teams - have seen them switching. And that faked voice? The speak perfectly normally when there isn't a "Mark" around!Are these always the same two women? I was approached as well, but didn't think they looked "old", and I felt guilty ignoring them if they really were deaf as I hadn't yet heard of it being a scam. If they have been soliciting for years as some here are saying, why do they still look youngish? Maybe it's a big racket that has many "volunteers" over many years. ?
They work in teams - have seen them switching. And that faked voice? The speak perfectly normally when there isn't a "Mark" around!
They move around each day. We passed them three times, on three separate days, just over a week ago. On the first occasion I nearly paid up but was quickly suspicious. On the second occasion they were being dropped off at the roadside by their gang master for their days work. The next day we were approached and I told them in no uncertain terms to clear off, which they did. They are not deaf.Leaving Sarria there are 2 women claiming to be part of a deaf-mute association asking for money. I gave them 2 Euro and as I handed it over I got a feeling it was a scam. I texted a pilgrim ahead of me who said it was a scam, and to check pockets. Heads up!
I have two hand signals, should the occasion present itself. The first would be the extension of the middle digit of the right hand followed by the signal for, "L," provided in a dramatic way, to punctuate. They do not want my staff to take over the converasation. It can make itself understood before first aid would be required.I once worked with somebody who was profoundly deaf and even my sad attempts at BSL were accepted with grace - he'd been there for two years and everybody else used to write him notes (he's a computer drafting technician). If anybody would like to learn some genuine sign language then THIS can be useful.
I can spell in BSL and ASL (Spanish SL uses similar, one handed, spelling to ASL - the accents make a slight difference) but that's a tedious way of communicating - imagine "speaking" to somebody and spelling out every word!
Phone texting has revolutionized things of course and finger spelling "text speak" can speed things up.
I'll confess some self interest here - after 45 years as an engineer on heavy construction sites I now wear two hearing aids
I wonder what the reaction would be if you signed to these scam artists?View attachment 40939
View attachment 40937
The French can be truly romantic - you may well have passed up on your life long partner and father of your children . . . . nah!I was just in Paris and had a guy approach me with the ring thing, but I didn’t really understand. As a rule I don’t talk to pushy strangers in touristy cities, so I firmly said no to him, but he seemed genuinely willing to give me the ring for a Euro. What is the scam? Is the ring cheaper than it appeared? Does he take it back? He had put it on my finger, but I took it off and gave it back.
The French can be truly romantic - you may well have passed up on your life long partner and father of your children . . . . nah!
https://europeforvisitors.com/paris/articles/paris-gold-ring-scam.htmI was just in Paris and had a guy approach me with the ring thing, but I didn’t really understand. As a rule I don’t talk to pushy strangers in touristy cities, so I firmly said no to him, but he seemed genuinely willing to give me the ring for a Euro. What is the scam? Is the ring cheaper than it appeared? Does he take it back? He had put it on my finger, but I took it off and gave it back.
Leaving Sarria there are 2 women claiming to be part of a deaf-mute association asking for money. I gave them 2 Euro and as I handed it over I got a feeling it was a scam. I texted a pilgrim ahead of me who said it was a scam, and to check pockets. Heads up!
I had a similar experience in Seville last year and it was rosemary too!They have been at it for years in the woods, normally two women - it's a scam. Don't give them money and don't sign the 'petition', just walk away. The same goes for the women selling twigs of rosemary in Santiago (and get a bit confrontational if you get roped into a conversation). Not sure why they are still doing it; it must mean it is worth the trouble for them and that someone actually gives them money?
She caught me too, I just couldn't remember where it was.I miss the "Fonfria crepe extortion lady" from my early Caminos. Offering a free snack then aggressively insisting on a euro payment. But at least I did get a crepe and it all seemed to fit with the Camino experience. No so with the fake deaf-mute scam!!
Leaving Sarria there are 2 women claiming to be part of a deaf-mute association asking for money. I gave them 2 Euro and as I handed it over I got a feeling it was a scam. I texted a pilgrim ahead of me who said it was a scam, and to check pockets. Heads up!
The scam is either for you to get your wallet out for a “grab and dash”, or when surrounded by a multitude of children, the ring acts as a distraction while you are being pickpocketed by little hands.I was just in Paris and had a guy approach me with the ring thing, but I didn’t really understand. As a rule I don’t talk to pushy strangers in touristy cities, so I firmly said no to him, but he seemed genuinely willing to give me the ring for a Euro. What is the scam? Is the ring cheaper than it appeared? Does he take it back? He had put it on my finger, but I took it off and gave it back.
Desert Bruce said:She caught me too, I just couldn't remember where it was.[/QUOTE
Me too, last Fall.
e
Same scam happen to me and my wife. But miracles happen on the Camino. The police happen to show up and the two ladies could suddenly hear and talk: very loud and very fast. I was told they were professional pick pockets. Keep your distance and don’t stop walking.Leaving Sarria there are 2 women claiming to be part of a deaf-mute association asking for money. I gave them 2 Euro and as I handed it over I got a feeling it was a scam. I texted a pilgrim ahead of me who said it was a scam, and to check pockets. Heads up!
I miss the "Fonfria crepe extortion lady" from my early Caminos. Offering a free snack then aggressively insisting on a euro payment. But at least I did get a crepe and it all seemed to fit with the Camino experience. No so with the fake deaf-mute scam!!
"found ring" in Paris -someone shows you a ring, said you must have dropped it, no not mine you say, then they say they can't keep it, it is against their religion to keep something that isn't theirs, you keep it. if you say okay, then they want a reward! this was explained to me by a Parisian, don't talk to them, don't touch or take the ring.I was just in Paris and had a guy approach me with the ring thing, but I didn’t really understand. As a rule I don’t talk to pushy strangers in touristy cities, so I firmly said no to him, but he seemed genuinely willing to give me the ring for a Euro. What is the scam? Is the ring cheaper than it appeared? Does he take it back? He had put it on my finger, but I took it off and gave it back.
I saw them yesterday on tbe walk outside Sarria. They approched me. I was on my own and when I looked at the clipboard and realised the scam as had read this thread, I walked off with them making aggressive noises. About time the police do something.Incidentally, when too many people are on to these young ladies and their scam at Sarria, they drive into Santiago and work the same scam all over the old city. I see them there every summer. After four years, they usually recognize me and turn away as I approach...go figure...
The best scam I ever encountered was in my bank in the US. ... .
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?