Barcelona SCAMS: Tips For Avoiding Crime and Pickpockets in Spain.

welcome to the Barcelona [Music] what up fans and welcome to Barcelona Spain my personal favorite city in all of Europe on today's episode we're taking a break from the food and snack chat is gonna turn into scam chat while Barcelona is an amazing city known for its culture cuisine and history it's also a hotbed for pickpockets thieves and scams now hold hold hold up I don't say that to scare you Barcelona is incredibly safe but that said I'm gonna take you on a tour of the city today show you some common scams and show you some precautions you can take to ensure that your belongings and yourself stay super secure let me tell you about some of the most loathsome creatures in all of Barcelona I'm talking about these pasty punks right here these mimes clowns whatever you want to call them they dress up in fully white clothing with a fully white painted face you're gonna see them all around the major tourist destinations here in Barcelona you might not even notice them at first but they are famous for coming up alongside you when you're trying to take a picture or someone's trying to take a picture of you they're gonna act real friendly they're not gonna say a word they're gonna try to put their arm around you and try to get in the picture do not let this happen you might think oh cool a barcelona street performer has hopped in the picture with me what a great photo op but nothing nothing comes for free after you get your picture taken with one of these scammers they're gonna stick their hand or their hat out and essentially demand that you give them money now of course they don't say a single word because they're mimes so it comes as a surprise to most when this friendly person hops in the frame and then suddenly demanding money from you and these scumbags are relentless no matter how many times you say no they're gonna keep following you they're gonna keep badgering you suddenly the mind that couldn't talk now they know how to talk when it comes to making you feel uncomfortable and guilty these scammers are professional I've seen so many people cough up one two euros just because they feel absolutely trapped by these mimes but fans do not do it number one don't even allow them to be in the picture with you brush them off give them a dirty look or just bluntly say no and I know that might be easier said than done for some of you but don't give them a single second of attention and for the love of God do not take a picture with them okay let's take a look at one of these pasty Punk's in action as he searches for his next victim the mime spots a woman and two kids as you'll see later in the video children and families are often targets of other scams as well as the mime opens his arms to invite them in the woman pulls the kids away from the stranger and the my moves on yo one of them actually noticed me filming them and they came up and were like photo and I just looked at them and said no they definitely wanted money funny that they'll come up to you unprovoked touch you but when you try to take a photo of them suddenly they're offended scum bags one major tip I can give to ensure your safety anywhere is that any time a stranger tries to come up to you and physically touch you get away as soon as possible I don't know about you guys but the last thing I want is some weirdo putting their arm around me or grabbing my arm it's unacceptable it's not cool it's weird and it would make any human being absolutely uncomfortable and I can't prove it but I swear that these mimes have some sort of network going where they're in tune with the pickpockets you'll often hear the mimes making weird bird sounds or other sounds with their mouths I can't even describe and I can't get close enough to pick up the audio but I think it's a secret way of communicating so the other mimes know who might be a target might have some valuables it'll be easy to take or a wallet that's sticking out that'll make things easy to pickpocket avoid these characters at all cost [Music] many scams will also play on the hearts and imaginations of children one of the most common scams you're gonna see are these paper dolls that look like they're dancing to music they actually look really cool but when you buy them and you get them home they're not gonna dance you essentially just pay it a lot of money for a piece of paper I'm not sure exactly how the trick works but it has something to do with like magnets and the boombox and magnets and the paper dolls other times the paper dolls would just be held up by strings do not fall for the scam do not buy these doll Europe has a plethora of street performers street artists people that dress up in crazy costumes and all sorts of people that play instruments in the streets now a lot of these artists are really talented and usually a crowd is going to gather around them this is a prime opportunity to pick pockets for strike you're going to be distracted by the awesome music you're hearing next thing you know someone's gonna bump into you slip in your pocket boof wallet gone [Music] welcome to the barcelona metro system here you're gonna find fast easy transportation to anywhere in the city but you're also gonna find one of the most toxic vermin in all the barcelona the pickpocket you see pickpockets can be anywhere but there's a few spots they really really like you're gonna find pickpockets crawling all over the barcelona cathedral you're gonna find pickpockets swarming around the arc de triumphe the streets surrounding Sagrada família are packed with pickpockets along with Paris and Rome Barcelona is the pickpocket capital of Europe pickpockets thrive on taking the subway system many pickpockets will spend their entire day going back and forth all over the city just looking for anyone that looks like a target during peak hours the subway car is here get absolutely packed you're gonna find yourself standing body-to-body with a lot of people this is when the pickpockets thrive the subway is the most common and perfect place for pickpockets to strike because you're gonna have so many bodies around you people bumping into you and touching you it's going to be super hard to tell if that hand is just someone accidentally brushing against you or with someone reaching into your pocket to take your valuables now there are some very basic measures you can take to keep your belongings safe number one is I recommend putting your wallet passport money anything like that in a top zippered pocket virtually every piece of clothing I have from my shorts to my shirts to my sweaters to my jacket has several types of zippered pockets this way it's gonna make it extra hard for anyone to sneak their hand in there if you're wearing jeans or pants that don't have any zippers do your best to try to keep your wallet in your front pocket just like any professional that's been practicing for years the pickpockets here are very good at their job I've heard countless stories of people having their wallet and other belongings stolen literally right in front of their face if you're walking around with a backpack like I am make sure you don't keep any valuables in the outside pockets virtually anything important I have is buried at the bottom of the bag where someone's gonna have to work absolutely extra hard to get it and there's almost no way they're gonna get their dirty little paws in there without me feeling something in any situation the best way to stay safe is to trust your instincts unless of course you have terrible instincts in that case do not trust them at all if someone is giving you a weird vibe or making you feel uncomfortable or if they look sketchy get away and get out there's no harm in running away from a situation simply saying no or going somewhere where you feel much more safe than in that current predicament one very important rule or piece of common sense is to never put your belongings down or leave them unattended even for a second people wait they watch for any moment you have your guard down to snatch that bag from the table snatch that wallet from the bench do not let it happen guys keep your belongings on you clothes - at all times stay wide when it comes to identifying pickpockets do not give in to stereotypes or misconceptions pickpockets can be anyone men women even little children can be in on the racket and a lot of times the pickpockets will work in tandem Zoar with groups so one will try to distract you while the other one swoops in for the swipe yet another piece of sage wisdom from yours truly is to not walk around the city with a ton of cash or valuables leave that passport back in the safe at the hotel or the hostel do not walk around with some 14th century Egyptian amulets absolutely do not bring all of your credit cards with you I bring at least one on my person and then leave one of the others back in the hotel safe [Music] this next bit of advice is going to require you to be just a little bit rude and you might even feel like you're going against your own personal preference and who you are as a person but if someone comes up to you asking for directions don't help them if someone comes up to you asking to use your phone do not give them your phone if someone even comes up to you seeming like they're in need or help or anything like that do not trust them now I'm not saying every single person in need is going to be a scammer but again trust your instincts if something doesn't seem legit get out of there a very common scam or trick is that people will come up to you pretending they don't know where they're going they'll want to see your cell phone to open up Google Maps or a GPS next thing you know they're sprinting 500 miles down the street with your phone never to be seen again you should also be weary of anybody that seems overly helpful one of the biggest tells that I get from scammers is they'll come up to me and the first question Alaska is where are you from and immediately they'll try to make some sort of connection based on your country or your state these people are no good I would say one in 1,000 people that actually ask where you're from is the initial conversation opener have any real genuine interest in talking you or helping you another aspect to stay in save is to check your ego at the door when I first started traveling the world I had this idea in my mind that oh I'm American I'm too smart to be scammed well you know what happened to me first time stepping foot into Asia I got scammed now I'm not going to share that story today it's very long in a story for another video but just so you know don't be egotistical about it assume that no matter what you think you know where you grew up or where you're from anybody can be scammed while you walk around the city you're also gonna have a number of beggars approached you some of them will have signs stating that they have children at home or claiming to have certain disabilities now this is completely up to your discretion trust your heart trust your instincts I choose not to give anybody any money I have charities that I donate to for my own philanthropic efforts but with so many people trying to dissuade you on the streets you really don't know who to believe who actually has a sick child at home or anything like that so again it's up to you but I usually keep my money to myself oftentimes the beggars will also work in tandem as well as you pull out your wallet to give a donation to the poor helpless person on the street somebody else is eyeballing where you're keeping that money and you're just setting yourself up to be a target a few minutes later a really unique scam that I haven't encountered here but I've heard about is that a very attractive woman will approach you and they'll ask if they can help you learn English now I know some guys might be absolutely flattered by this do not fall for it what they're going to do is take you to a restaurant sit down have a very brief conversation with you maybe lead some food and have a glass of wine and you'll think wow this beautiful woman is interested in me she wants me to help her learn a new language I'm probably gonna fall in love with her we're gonna get married we're gonna have kids nope what's actually gonna happen is that the owner of the restaurant is gonna come out he's gonna stick you with a gigantic astronomically priced bill and next thing you know no wife no girlfriend and now you're out of money and the most precious thing of all your time the next scam is actually the biggest collection of scams in the city run famous tourist streets called Las Ramblas but I call it Las scamaz I don't know why so many people come to the street it's definitely one of the most touristed places in all of Barcelona during the summer in busy months it's absolutely packed you can't move you can't breathe it's a hotbed for pickpockets the restaurants are overpriced the gelato shops are overpriced the flower shops are overpriced the cocktails are overpriced overpriced souvenir shops the entire street is dotted with chain retail stores chain restaurants do not spend your hard-earned euros anywhere on this street your best to walk a few kilometers in any other direction you're gonna find food that's way more authentic for a lot less money I know you might think it's cool and tempting to have a meal on the super popular street but don't do it you're gonna leave so disappointed it's not gonna be worth the money it's not gonna be worth the experience and more than anything it's not going to be worth your time if you come to eat drink or shop in this street you can expect to spend anywhere - 50 to 100 percent more than you would go in anywhere else in the city it's the definition of a tourist traffic now the street itself is quite pretty it's lined with some gorgeous trees but there's no reason to walk down the street more than once the street does serve as one of the main arteries to the city so it's the quickest way to get from the busy city centre we're like plaza de catalonia is directly to the beach so I get why so many people walk down it but really lost Ram lush should be avoided at all costs one way to tell if a restaurant is not worth your business is if one of the owners or servers is standing out in front shoving the menu in your face one of the restaurant rules I live by if you've got to flag me down and yell at me to get me to come to your restaurant your restaurant is not worth coming to you're gonna find a ton of that here on las ramblas virtually every restaurant has patio seating you have no idea where the kitchen is some of these restaurants they've got tents they've got patio seating but I don't see a single area where they have their kitchen who knows where the food is coming from a lot of people shop and eat here because it's comfortable because it's easy because they see the English menus and the staff speaks English don't do it it's not worth it put yourself out of the comfort zone walk a few kilometers in any other direction and find some real authentic food and a much better price another word of warning if you get to a restaurant and the menu doesn't have any prices on it get out of there as fast as your feet will carry you they're absolutely going to rip you off why are the no prices on the menu what are they hiding it's all meant to and it's all meant to take so much of your hard-earned money now I know what you're thinking some of you are gonna get to the street you're gonna be like but Brent the food looks pretty good the pee looks big the cocktails are gigantic and colorful don't buy into it it's all marketing it's all a scam do not spend your money at Las Ramblas if you're looking to eat a great meal in Spain in Barcelona wherever in Europe my best piece of advice to you is don't go where it's comfortable and by that I mean don't go where the signs are super colorful the menus are in English push yourself out of your comfort zone go find a small hole in the wall hit up Google Maps reddit anything try to find where the locals are going you don't want to come to a city with as vibrant as food culture as this and leave having had some terrible spaghetti or an awful paia next up is a scam you'll find in virtually every major city in the world and that's the guy selling the fake Oakleys the fake Gucci bags the fake Chanel purses y'all do not fall for it please don't think for a second that you're actually going to get a piece of authentic apparel I don't even know the prices of what these are being sold for but don't believe it folks don't buy into it don't fall for this super common scam the conditions were the actual luxury goods are getting made are bad enough so god only knows what kind of child slaves child labor are making these bags that are sold here on the streets please people no one cares what logo your shirts sunglasses shoes or belt has on it and if they do it they're probably not worth your time do not spend money trying to impress people that don't really care about you it's not worth it my next piece of guidance is to say bye to anybody trying to get you high you're going to be approached by a lot of people on the street trying to sell you marijuana hashish even stronger drugs like cocaine do not even acknowledge these people ignore them and keep on moving never ever ever ever ever ever buy drugs in a country where they're illegal it's a quick way to number one end up in jail and number two a lot of times they're gonna sell you fake drugs they're gonna sell you oregano flower baby powder please don't do it another scam that I've heard about and seeing YouTube videos on but actually I haven't seen in person is the pigeon poop scam this happens when you're in an area where there's a ton of pigeons someone's gonna sneak up on you spray your shoe or spray your pants with some pigeon poop or anything that looks like crap and then another person is going to come up and act like they're doing you a favor pointing out the poop they're gonna say let me take care of that let me clean it up they're gonna take you to one of their friends who just so happens to have all the cleaning supplies to get your shoes looking slick and 100% next thing you know they clean up your shoes now they're demanding ten twenty thirty hero for the cleanup job don't fall for [Music] ah bummer I want to take you guys to one of my favorite and maybe the most beautiful Park in all of Barcelona Park chief Judea unfortunately due to all like the protests and demonstrations that are going on the parks been shut down for a few days unexpectedly so unfortunately we're not gonna be able to go over the fence but I will be able to tell you what scams to look out for it when you go inside this park is home to a vile character I call the coconut man now this guy's scam is two-pronged first he walks around with this disgusting looking basket of fresh sliced coconut what he's going to do he's going to offer it to your child on a pair of tongs your child not knowing better might go ahead and take the piece of coconut for the love of God please don't tell me you've raised your children to take candy fruit or anything from a stranger but kids will be kids and if they do decide to take the piece of coconut which it first seems like it's a gift from the crazy coconut guy and it seems like a friendly gesture until you start to walk away then the coconut guy sticks his hand out and he demands the money now I've seen the crazy coconut guy follow people for literally what seems like half a kilometre demanding money in a very angry fashion and this will serve as a casual reminder not to accept food drink or anything from anybody on the streets they hand it to you just don't do it the coconut man will also offer to take your picture if he sees you trying to take a selfie or just get in a shot of your girlfriend boyfriend whatever and of course after he takes the photo he won't give the phone back until you give him money again what seems like a nice gesture is nothing more of an opportunity for one of these scammers to take your money I called the next scam the trap advisor scam often times go to bars restaurants stores and in front or in the window you'll see a TripAdvisor sticker and you'll think to yourself oh this place must be great to check out they have really good TripAdvisor ratings that's not always true anyone can print and make those stickers anywhere you can have the worst restaurant in the world go print off a fake TripAdvisor sticker and people are gonna think it's legit that said there are a plethora of restaurants and stores around here that do have authentic TripAdvisor stickers but before you walk into any of these places just hop on the TripAdvisor app to make sure it lives up to the rating and the sticker scammers thrive on distraction and one of the most popular scams anywhere in the world is the bump and run someone's gonna act like they just casually bumped into you and it might actually be a pretty hard forceful bump to while you're distracted by that person bumping in you you're gonna apologize they're gonna apologize another scammer is gonna take that moment to slip their hand into your pocket if you feel like someone is intimidating you or about to rob you or doing anything to threaten your personal security shout yell cry whatever you have to do to get someone's attention is most likely gonna scare away the perpetrator my North Face backpack actually comes with a whistle you can blow if you ever feel you're in danger now luckily I've never had to blow into it but you never know when you'll need something like this to alert the authorities or anyone else that might be able to lend a helping hand next up we're gonna talk about who I call the fake monk punks now I couldn't find any of them around the city today to take a video of but essentially these are scammers who are dressed up to look just like real monks they walk around usually in pairs of two and in their hands they have these little prayer cards or what looked to be amulets I've never taken one personally so I can't tell you exactly what they are but they look super cheap the fake monk Punk's are gonna approach you with a warm welcoming smile they're going to take whatever it is the prayer card or whatever they're handing out put it in your hand you're gonna take it thinking it's a gift and then just like virtually every other scam where somebody hands you something you didn't ask for they're gonna demand money and you better believe that smile on the monk's face turns around to a skull pretty dang quick now unless you've come to Europe with thousands of euros in your pocket and I highly suggest you you're not you're probably gonna have to use an ATM at one time or another the biggest most crooked ATM scam in all of Europe is the euro net ATM do not use these they charge absolutely insane service fees the exchange rate is never good it's always higher than what you're gonna get anywhere else if you need to use an ATM make sure you find one that's attached to a national bank and that's that if you follow these tips and keep your eyes open for the common scams I've talked about you're gonna have a safe and fantastic time in Barcelona Spain and all of the rest of Europe as well please don't let anything I've said or shown you in this video scare or deter you from coming to this absolutely beautiful city and country as we've all seen a million times throughout history crime doesn't just cater to one specific zip code country or demographic it can happen to anybody anywhere but you can take steps to avoid it at all costs this was scam chat live on snapchat live and I'm saying ciao for now [Music] [Applause] you

Channel: Brent Timm

Views: 1,432,613

Keywords: travel, snackchat, travel vlog, vlogger, spain, barcelona scam, barcelona, scams, crime, pickpocket, travel tips, safety tips, barcelona spain, crime in barcelona, spain (country), pickpockets in barcelona, barcelona subway, scammer caught, scams 2021

Id: ut8fB5KPIM0

Length: 24min 2sec (1442 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 19 2019