Holy sh*t! Scam city Shanghai!

[studychinese]

RvZ, milk tea for me, a pot for her, a coke, and the unordered fruit (which I ate). 100 RMB seems fair to me.

[MoTzu]

I had a completely different experience in Shanghai, I was there for a week and only had 1 person attempt to "scam" me by telling me she was an art student and wanted me to come give my opinion of her artwork but I already knew the scam and just told her no. Your airport experience seems the same as every airport I've ever been to all over asia, I think the mistake was you engaged them in conversation. If you completely ignore them without giving them anymore than a shake of the head they leave you alone after 2 maybe 3 attempts. Given you know enough about China to speak the language I'm suprised you opened a dialogue with them.

[imron]

It only cost me about 50 RMB but it was worth every kuai to learn how it's *really* done.

Now I am dying to hear Tyson's sophisticated scam.

Me too.  I think it's story time (feel free to start a new thread if you don't want to disrail this one).

[Touchstone57]

It makes sense that one person's experience is just that, one persons, it doesn't necessarily reflect the nature of place or location just because of that one, subjective experience...

 

Maybe be it seems a little bold to say so, but for a lot of the scams you'd really have to be stupid or very inexperienced to get taken in by them. I'm pretty sure it is not specific to China. In a lot of other places you will get hounded by taxi drivers and randoms strangers at the airport, it is second nature to always ignore  them, and go direct to specific destination for taxi's like everyone else.

 

In a city like Shanghai it may seem bad because there so many migrants from outside of the city and a lot of people who want to make some quick money from unsuspecting tourists. It is not specific to foreigners though, they will always be on the lookout for people who seem like they have plenty of money but not much sense (there are a lot of these in China).

 

Chinese people do have to cope with it everyday of their lives, and seem to have a natural distrust built into them. I recently visited a small city with my wife. Being outsiders, the taxi driver decided to take a more leisurely route to our destination to ensure the price ended up quite. Fortunately my wife, being well prepared, already had GPS and baidu maps on our phone so we knew what the quickest route would be. A furious argument with the taxi driver ensued, but we eventually got the price lowered after threatening to call the cab company and hotel etc to 'clarify' directions. It seems Chinese people cannot bear to be scammed at all, even if it is a matter of 1 RMB. 

 

Shanghai is much better these days though, hardly any of the illegal taxis and motorbikes there where 5 or 6 years ago and people constantly hassling you to buy knock off goods. In the two years I have lived in Shanghai, I have never been approached on the street or had someone try to draw me into an elaborate scam, the most that has happened was being charged a few rmb extra which I'm willing to part with.

[Lu]

I've never encountered such scammers at either of the two Beijing airports and also not at Shanghai Hongqiao. It's not strange that those people want to be there, but it seems cities or airports can do something about it if they want to.

In my opinion the 'art student' thing is not a scam. The student (who, okay, is probably not really an art student) will take you to a room with lots of overpriced art and hope you buy some of it. If you do, you will own some art, just as promised. I don't see how this can count as a scam. It usually looks quite nice too, although it's not top of the line of course.

[MoTzu]

I had the airport experience at both Beijing International and the Domestic terminal 3 only a few weeks ago. It's highly dependant on your appearance, I had a large backpack on and was pushing a trolley with about 80kg of luggage on it as I'm not planning on heading home any time soon. I've been to so many asian airports though I rarely even make eye contact with them any more and after a few "hello taxi" and a few "hello sir where are you from?" to try an initiate conversation they realise they're not getting anywhere and hassle the next person

 

oh and the art scam is it's not really their artwork, it's just some generic rubbish. You can see it for yourself by actually going with a few of them and I guarantee you'll see the same art work in a different "studio" with a completely different artist claiming to have painted it

[Lu]

So the art student thing is a scam because the 'students' who bring you there aren't the people who actually made the paintings? I still wouldn't call that a scam. They invite you to come look at art and maybe buy some of it and that is exactly what happens if you go with them.

I suppose I've been lucky not to have encountered any of that at the Beijing airports then, or perhaps I didn't look the part.

[MoTzu]

Yeah I don't really consider it a scam either hence refering to it as a "scam" in my first post. I just used the word because it seemed to fit into OP's definition of a scam.

[Ruben von Zwack]

I didn't encounter scammers at Beijing airport either. Maybe they don't go for girls, like Lu and me? Are guys more susceptible?

 

Some train station staff approached me at Beijing West train station when I was wandering around looking for a luggage storage room, and asked me if I need help. But the difference between genuine and tout is pretty obvious, I think, as normal Chinese are rather reserved and reluctant, not "HEY HOW ARE YOU?!". I found the same principle translates into other situations - shops, finding the right mini bus, etc.

[Lanchong]

Maybe they don't go for girls, like Lu and me? Are guys more susceptible?

Young guys by themselves seem pretty prime targets for scammers or touts. I never got approached in groups of two or three. But I've been to both 王府井 and 南京西路 the past year, and get approached dozens of times in an hour.

In Shanghai, it was mostly unsavoury characters selling unsavoury services. I did meet a scanner in 人民廣場 though - he asks you to take a photo of him (or him and his friend). Makes chit-chat, and then goes on to suggest tea. I chatted with him for 10 minutes and he said he was studying Japanese at university, which makes me wonder if they're in the habit of targeting Japanese tourists as well.

On 王府井 it's mostly teahouse and art scammers. I used to be polite with such people until they made their proposition, but I once had a scammer follow me around an upscale shopping mall for ten minutes while I was buying socks, quite insistent that I'd find an art show more interesting than socks.

These days I just blank anyone and everyone in those kinds of places.

[xiaokaka]

I've been to Shanghai for seven times for a total of maybe five months and only once have people attempted to scam me (when standing alone at 人民广场 with bags, also the "students" wanting me to take a picture and follow them to a tea house thing).

[prateeksha]

Since the thread is about scams in Shanghai, I might as well pitch in my two cents.

 

I am an Indian female.Two weeks ago, I was in Shanghai for a single day to catch my onward flight to New Delhi. I have lived in Beijing previously for a year and prior to arriving in SH was in Nanjing for three weeks. I had always read about people getting scammed here on the forums, but never had any experience. 

 

So, the story basically unfolds like this. Yours truly is this very tourist-looking brown girl with a DSLR around neck roaming around in the Bund area. A 娃娃脸 girl comes up and asks in English to click a picture of hers. Being a lone traveler, I am usually more than willing to click pictures of others (I know the pain). We start speaking in Chinese, she says she is from 哈尔滨， first time in SH, we converse for another 5 minutes when I tell her that I am in a rush to leave for Pudong now.

 

She tells me there's some 民族表演 going on nearby, how about we take a look? I had just done the RMB 2 Bund ferry ride and coupled with the fact that I had never been fleeced earlier in PRC (I am an Indian, I know when I am being taken for a ride  ), I thought it couldn't harm to accompany her for another fifteen minutes. We walk through the main road parallel to the Bund, then take a turn into a narrow street, and then enter a 茶馆. It had Buddhist decor and the 服务员 led us in. She presented the menu in front of us, said we could choose any 5 types of teas and then she would explain to us the history and 特点 of that tea. No item on that menu was less than RMB 50. I took out a RMB 20 bill from my purse and told her that was all the money I had as I had already spent a month in China and was just about to return. They tell me I could 刷卡. I said I do not wish to incur any international fee by doing that. So I turn to my new "friend" and ask her if it's ok that she pays for the 表演 and I just sit by the side and watch. The 服务员said no, leaving me with no option but to express my 不好意思s and get up. I look at my friend and ask her to come along, she said she'll stay back anyway. Uh, ok?

 

It hit me like a stone the moment I stepped out of the place, that all along I was being set up. No wonder she hasn't added me on 微信 yet.

 

Now, I might appear too naive or gullible to the readers here, but I never expected to be scammed, all the more when it became more than apparent to the scamming girl that I am fluent in Chinese and very familiar with China. May be I really was being too naive   Anyway, I came out of it without any damage to bank balance!

 

Tyson and Ruben, I am sorry for the bad experiences you have had in India. Being a native, I probably am not aware of how they try to fleece foreigners, but I know that such things happen. We could all listen to your story and take a couple of pointers, may be?

 

EDIT: Ruben, for some reason I also had a feeling that perhaps being a female makes me less prone to being scammed. And then, being an Indian female, one is always a bit suspicious of unsolicited conversations..

[edelweis]

Such things happen in touristy areas in all countries... in France the complaints of Chinese tourists who are overcharged for meals, or whose cash is stolen, regularly feature in the newspapers and news websites. There was even some talk of having a few Chinese police patrolling with French police in some areas (but as far as I know that didn't happen). And in the news websites comments you then read stories of people who claim to have heard other people brag that they have scammed tourists. I remember reading about a taxi driver who took 3 tourists to the airport and made every single one of them pay the full fare. Ah well.

[Johnny20270]

I have been all over the world and my limited experience is that Shanghai is one of the worst places for people hassling and scamming you etc  

I have never taken to that city to be honest. Its frustrating as you start blanking everyone and appear rude. Although one girl did very shyly talk to me in a coffee shop. She was genuine and just curious. However I am always on the defensive.

 

As regards scams and outrageous bills, you can avoid paying them by a lot of yelling and when they say you they will call the police, say fine, go ahead! Even if they come, almost always they owner backs down, or you pay a fare amount. In has to be in your nature to be able to make a scene and be the center of attention.

 

It does happen many places though. I am more tolerant in a poorer country than a developed one. In Cambodia last year I got stopped twice by police for something wrong with my licence. I have a full international driving licence but the fine was only $3 so didn't want to ruin my day by phoning the consulate so just paid them a $5 and said keep the change  I found out from a local expat afterwards, if you refuse to pay they haul you to the station where you can phone the consulate and you get off eventually but that's 5 hours later. 

 

However in Dublin Airport a while ago I saw a taxi drivers trying to screw this Japanese family into a €70 fare ride. He said there was no bus going to their hotel which is cr#p, there were about 3 and the fare would have cost them, 10 at most. An old pensioner got involved as did I and soon mob mentality took over. Taxi driver really took a lot of verbal abuse haha There was a sense of embarrassment from the people,  a sense of annoyance as its a very social state,  and for showing presenting the country in a bad light to a foreigner. 

[studychinese]

It looks like UBC coffee in Nanjing East Road in Shanghai is notorious for this scam. Bizarre that I would select this particular cafe (and does the UBC head office know what is going on? I see these places everywhere).

http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Restaurant_Review-g308272-d2065575-Reviews-UBC_Coffee-Shanghai.html

[Ruben von Zwack]

Oh dear, I hope I didn't offend you by bringing India in! I wouldn't say I had any bad experiences there. Funny and hilarious in hindsight, yes, but "bad" to me is a whole different category. In fact, in India, the people who pestered me as a tourist were way outnumbered by all the hard working good people that interacted with me daily.

[Edward Phie]

haha talking about scam eh?? I think it's depend on the person will they fall for the scam or not..

 

Me I was scammed once in suzhou (this time I really inexperienced) got down from train station I catch cab from there and want to go to the hotel that I already booked,I tell them the address and they say ok.I don't know that some taxi have affiliated with certain hotel  ( I mean that they get commission fee if they brought costumer to the designated hotel)// well short the story My friends that fluent in chinese ask why he takes the opposite route from our booked hotel and they say you must stay at the hotel that he wants if you take his taxi.. my friends angry and said stop but they insisted (my ffriends she's  woman and talkative one).. well long debating at taxi with threat to call the police. we pay the bill and left force out from the taxi in the middle of the street and in the middle of the night..

 

that is my experience.. so sometimes even when you are careful maybe you can get scammed.

 

my friends the girls above said that there are some tips to avoid scam (I don't know if its worked for you but almost works at me).. When travel in group if you can speak chinese just speak chinese.. using english will make u a delicious target to the scammer

[MPhillips]

Times sure have changed--the only remotely annoying person I met on the street(Chinese person that is--did meet a few annoying fellow foreigners out & about), was someone who tagged after us in order to discuss differential equations--funny thing is he didn't know beforehand my husband was a math student--birds of a feather I guess.

[studychinese]

I found an article about another UBC coffee that was shut down by police after defrauding Chinese people in an online dating scam.

It looks like every UBC franchise is privately owned and the head office has no control over what happens and furthermore are aware of the scam.

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/671991.shtml

[prateeksha]

Ruben, please no, not at all. I know the mixed reputation my country enjoys. I have met only two kinds of people who come to India - those who swear by it or swear off it. I get to travel internationally as well, so I understand what is the least any traveler expects when they land in a foreign place - signs posted conveniently and preferably in English, plentiful reliable metro maps and city guides, beggars not tugging at you, locals not staring/leering at you, touts not shoving overpriced products in your face.

 

India still has a long way to go..