How to Avoid the 10 Biggest Tourist Scams & Rip-Offs in Paris

Tip number 1: Avoid ANYONE who is or looks Romanian.

Hi if anyone planning to go to Paris sees this comment : I used to work in the French subway and everyday people bought fake subway tickets for scammers so /!\ the only places you can buy tickets is at a machine in the subway and at the station with "service" written on it. If someone even in uniform wants you to buy tickets say no please

Are you guys familiar with RATP officers checking tickets in the subway? My brother and I have the navigo weekly pass. It was a Sunday afternoon(around 3 or 4 pm) so I am very sure our tickets are not expired yet. On our way to exit the metro, there were guys at least 5 guys in RATP uniform/armbands that are checking everyone's tickets. When they scanned ours, they officer said it's invalid and asked us to step aside and we have to pay 35 euros in cash as fine for using invalid ticket. and when we looked at all the people whose tickets are invalid, we are all tourists (British, Japanese, Indians, etc.). I kept asking why my ticket is invalid but they're not answering. I tried calling 112 but they queue for English was long. We were all shouting for help but no one bothered to help us. Until we all finally decide to just go up. They were intimidating us and blocking us but thankfully no one tried to hurt us until we just made it to the exit.

1. Vigilent and alert at all times
2. Keep your bag in front of you
3. Don't be loud
4. Use common sense
5. If you speak another language, speak that at all times. It helps when that language sounds super mean to a non speaker 😂.

good tips of whistle n pon number.thnx

Man! Paris is dangerous too

Thanks for all the tips I’m in Paris 2weeks ago good thing I watch all your Paris videos, it helps a lot specially alone traveller🥰

I’ve seen videos of the fake taxi scam before, doesn’t seem to bad to me

Skip Paris , go to not so hyped place

Your videos are very useful for first time Paris sightseers, I am looking forward to visiting Paris in July 2

You can tell who are the Americans with their LULULEMON belt bag…😂😂

just wanna say there are people on bus 72 called "rate checkers" and they search the bus and find a suspecting rich family and they look at the ticket and say "no that is not a good ticket" BUT ALL TICKETS WORK FOR ANY TRANSPORTATION BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL OPERATED BY RATP! and they charge 50 euros per person for a fine but if they call the police its 100 euros per person, its just a scam guys, if you people with an orange band on the any bus just leave

There’s the airport bus scam also. My brother & fiancé bought bus tickets at the airport & were so hurriedly pushed into the bus that they couldn’t frank their tickets even afterwards as they were packed in like sardines . The bus ticket inspector then fined them €70 each. It really put a sour taste in their mouths for what should’ve been a wonderful holiday. Do you have any knowledge of this ? Was it a fake conductor ?

A couple years ago visited Paris with my son and daughter. We dropped our bags at the hostel and walked over to Sacré-Cœur. In less than 5 minutes my daughter had someone tying a bracelet around her wrist. I immediately assumed it was a hustle but wasn't too bothered as I see this as part of traveling these days and at the least she would have something to keep out of the deal. They ran through their script and we joked a bit back and forth. Then, they asked for money. I smiled and handed over 3 euros. They immediately tried to tell me it needed to be 15 and I was clear that they got their 3 and they should be happy with that.

Then, things got weird. The 'head' guy smiles, guffaws and says something along the lines of "then I guess we will just have to kidnap your daughter" and while the others laughed good naturally, the head guy actually gave me a look. Like, a serious attempted intimidating look. I calmly gave him my "dude, I am a crazy ass American from Chicago so you decide where this goes next" look back and after a few short moments his demeanor eases and he laughs it off. This one really shocked me. Again, I have seen my share of scams and hustles but this was the first time that I had come even close to any kind of an even implied threat. I still agree that they only want the cash and have zero interest in confrontation or unwanted attention, but this one felt like it really came right up to that line.

I felt most vulnerable on the metro, so I put my hands in my pockets to check my purse and phone. Maybe I'm overreacting but that reassured me that no one can steal it

Thank you very much guys. I like your videos. They are informative and helpful. :)

Your videos have been really helpful! I'm going to Paris in August and have ordered myself an anti theft backpack with two zips so I can use a small padlock to lock it and then attach the keys to my ear ring 😂 These videos have made me really think far though, hehe.

OK here is a good one. If you have bags on the metro. The escalator does not work, so you have to carry your bags up the narrow stairs. Out of nowhere appears a young woman who offers to help you. It's hot, the stairs are long and you can be tempted. Don't do it. The scam; the girl takes your bag and runs up the stairs. Realizing she is a thief, you run after her. On the way up two guys coming down the stairs 'accidentally' block your path. Meanwhile the bags you left behind, to pursue the girl, disappear. You are left with nothing. So, the escalators not working is the clue. Anyone offering to help you in Paris is the next clue, The locals do not. I noticed the girl had running shows and was very persistent. The guys on the way down, unfortunately got whacked with my bags as I went and yelled at them. The locals and police know about this scam. BTW if you are a couple, the thieves with split you up. Never get split up. There is a lot more, all first hand experience. Oh one more, stop grinning and smiling all the time. It is obvious you are a tourist from the USA. Parisians, like all northern Europeans, rarely smile.

It’s very bad that the tourists get robbed at the railway stations one of our friends got cheated and robbed of their money on arrival in Paris. Bad memories for ever for them.
There are groups of young girls pickpockets and pose to be innocent
Very bad.Even if people are aware these cheats and shameless robbers find new ways to scam innocent tourists. It’s a curse for these robbers

The vast majority of scammers in Paris, and the rest of Europe, are immigrants with no desire to work for a living. Most are Roma (gypsies) and Africans and Middle Easterners. Beg, borrow, and steal is their way of life. I have seen and encountered them on my travels. These scammers are skilled professionals. This is what they WANT to do for a living: victimize people!

I got scammed for 200 ero for a taxi at airport

I got scammed €410 at a metro when trying to buy weekly metro passes right beside an official metro service counter at a kiosk. He looked official and seemed official, but took my money and gave me a one-way ticket only. Beware!

Visited for 10 days recently and I got the sign petition and the bracelet scam at the Sacre Coeur. The bracelet guys ended up cornering me and pushing me to take the bracelet. A bit scary but I kept saying no and walked away.

If you carry a bag with zippers, loop a shoelace through the zipper handles and then tie it tight around the strap. Don't just tie the zipper handles together, they can still be opened and use a double knot.

Not just paris or france, the whole continent of europe is a scam and full of greedy people

I was so disappointed my last travel to Paris, I felt scammed all the time for the prices and quality of food, souvenirs, etc. Maybe my next trip to France will be to small towns.

agree Americans are generally loud and most of them are extroverts.

Don't give them money = scam avoided.

There I saved you eleven minutes. Just use your brain.

I wish I watched this video before going to Paris 😭 After 15 hours traveling, we were so grateful a kind man inside the airport offered us a taxi ride. He carried our luggage to his car and was chatty the whole way, didn’t even think to check if his car had the taxi label. After a 40 minute ride, he took us to the wrong street, charged us €90 and left. Had to pay for an Uber on top of that to take us to the correct address 🥲

That's so true you can spot the Americans in every country their the ones who think everyone they are talking to are deaf ... I dont understand the bracelet scam , I tell someone to F off if a stranger touched my hand

Confused by the champagne example—why do you consider this a scam? It sounds like they brought you what was ordered, it was just more than you wanted to pay for it, but did you not check the price before ordering? Or did they actually charge you more than what was on the menu?

Groups of kids "roaming" the metro 😂

You can easily get physical with them. The police knows the scammers and nothing will happen

The most common and aggressive scammers are the Roma women with the blatantly fake—often cardboard taken from rubbish—clipboards begging for a donation to some clearly fabricated charity. Steer way off their path if you see them anywhere. They have no shame and will get physical with someone they view as a potentially lucrative and vulnerable target. They’ll surround you as soon as you’ve begun to listen to their pitch, they’ll start to mess with your bags or luggage in an attempt to take anything they can and they’ll often act angrily towards you if you try to deny them. Just don’t pay them any mind if they approach. Give them a clear no, keep on walking if they persist and keep any backpacks or purses on the front of your torso so as to avoid being quickly pickpocketed. Geez, I hated the Roma so much during the time I spent in Paris. They made so many beautiful places into spaces in which my mindset needed to become necessarily defensive. Can’t the government do something to permanently block them from popular touristic areas?

At the top of the lift to the Sacre Coeur there are people asking for your ticket. They are not workers. They try to get free unused tickets to scam with later. I almost fell for that one.

Excellent video! Great tips!

I already thought a scammers don't wanna be seen and then avoid confrontation out a whistle and bringing it.

Someone asks for the time - what's to see what kind of watch you have - it's always 'half-past 8' - regardless of the time.

Just got scammed by the metro and looked on Reddit and it is indeed an issue. The metro “police” are targeting tourists and accusing them of forcing entry or using false tickets. I used brand new tickets and the machine accepted it. They are charging $60 per person and threatening if you don’t pay now you will have to pay $350 when you try to leave the country. It’s very official, I would’ve put up more of a fight but I was going to miss my train to Lyon. Be careful when riding the metro! You are being targeted. What a terrible way to end our trip

I saw the 3 cup game at both Sacre Coeur and Eiffel Tower. Seemed to be a couple being the shills at the Eiffel Tower

J'aurais aimé qu'il n'y ait pas d'arnaques à Paris en premier lieu ! Alors les touristes
je me sens tellement plus en sécurité.

Thank you so much! I am from Vietnam! I am going visit a beautiful city of France Paris on 1st June 2024! Your videos really helpful! I appreciate!

For those going in a month to Paris for the Olympics, this is important to watch!

This is good advice for anyone traveling to an unfamiliar large metro area. Believe me, Paris is not the only city that has scams. In the USA you will see these scams too, but most of us who are residents don't get harassed because we aren't tourists. In my travels, I've had young boys come up to my rental car and start washing the windows. They stand in front of the car so you can't move and demand money for the work they performed. I've seen panhandlers fall down in front of a person so while the person is asking if they are ok an accomplice is pickpocketing. I've heard of a scam (never seen it) in Rome where a woman is holding a bundle that looks like a baby. She throws it at the unexpecting target who naturally tries to catch it while another scammer grabs valuables. Just be smart.

How have times changed for the worse, before there were no pick pockets? or perhaps it was not as evident as now, one of the constant threats for any traveler who visits countries in Europe are the famous pickpockets or pickpockets, since cases of people who steal money and documents from the pockets of people have gone viral on social networks. tourists, when now in some train stations the people who identify the criminals proceed to shout “Attention Pickpocket!”

How I avoid these scams. I DONT GO THERE ENY MORE so when their governments get serious about it I won’t go to visit there scam country’s I go far east There are tea leafs all over the world but more in Europe

Our tour guide taugt us to start threatening them with the police while making lots of noie

Take the train / bus.

excellent video