While traveling the world is a priceless experience, a common nuisance is scams. And whether you’re in New York or any other big city, the problem is rampant. It’s important to have a good understanding of common scams that often pop up while traveling. Travel influencer Kacie Rose, an American expat living in Florence, Italy, noticed a common scam she sees people fall for all the time.
Photo: waku/Shutterstock
Tourists Are Falling for This Scam All Over Florence, Italy
The video clearly struck a chord with people. And with high summer travel in Europe, many people could relate.
“I didn’t realize it was for stepping on them, I just thought they tried to aggressively sell them lol,” user hinesc14 commented.
“This happened to me in June! He started yelling at me and I was like ‘dude, if you don’t want feet on your painting, don’t put it on the f**kin ground,’ and walked. I ain’t paying for that mess,” commenter jilldobel said.
Other commenters were sharing similar scams they see often.
“I once had one of the wee men with the flowers shove one in my hand on Rome and demand payment. Had to scream at him in my angry Scottish accent until he left me alone,” user booradley_25 commented.
“Or the bracelet one – I was like YOU JUST TOUCHED ME WITHOUT ASKING, GET AWAY FROM ME and then I walked away,” liquidgrain commented.
Some general rules of thumb: nothing is ever free, so avoid anything given to you as a gift or as a gesture. If you do happen to fall for a scam, don’t beat yourself up. It happens to the best of us. 