Visiting London? It’s a safe city, but it IS a major one so there are some people out there trying to scam innocent tourists out of their money and valuables. So in this video we tell you about some common tourist scams to avoid when visiting London, even if you are a seasoned traveller this is an important one to watch.
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Thanks to our friend Steven Bridges for letting us use his scam footage! Watch his video for a more in-depth explanation of the games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnXUe3wV-4M
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I’m Jess, I’ve lived in London for many years, and this channel is a London travel guide for anyone visiting the city that wants to experience it like you live here. Beyond talking about the usual London attractions, myself and my team show you some of the cooler things to do in London, that most travel guides don’t mention. Watch our videos and you’ll feel like you’ve got a Londoner friend telling you the best kept secrets in the city.
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Hello from London listen London is generally a pretty safe City but it is a big city so there are some things that you do need to do while you’re here to keep yourself and your belongings safe so in this video I’m going to tell you about some common scams you might come
Across when you visit London and how you can avoid them so let’s get into It so we have these Rick Shaws that will go all around central London in the touristy area and they are basically unregulated and while there are of course lots of I’m sure very honest drivers who will charge you the normal rate that you’re supposed to be charged to take one of those I’ve
Heard so many stories of tourists that agreed a price when they first got into it and then when they got to the destination another higher price was demanded of them and I’ve heard enough stories that I definitely would say that is best to avoid these if you want a
Different way to get around central London that’s it’s not a rickshaw you could rent a city bike which is called a sender bike you could get one of the lime electric bikes or the other companies that offer them here or of course you could support a great small
Business and do a bike tour or a walking tour around the area and we’ll put lots of suggestions for companies that we think do great tours around central London in the description box of the video sport small business it’s much Better the second scam I want to talk talk about is selling of fake tickets now listen I know it’s kind of annoying if you come to London and the show that you wanted to see was sold out or you haven’t managed to get tickets for a certain attraction yet but if somebody
Comes up to you in like Lester Square where we are or pilly circus offering to sell you tickets and especially if they are at a big discount avoid avoid avoid a lot of times these places or these people are scamming you and you’re going to actually end up losing a lot of money
And have pieces of paper that don’t get you into anywhere I’d also say to avoid the little shops near cing Garden and Lester square that are selling half pric tickets they’re not a scam they are selling actual tickets usually but they often come out a pretty big markup so
You’re better off just avoiding also beware of anyone trying to sell tickets for anything that is free for example watching changing the guard at buckham Palace anyone can go you don’t need a ticket you don’t need to pay for one definitely that is completely free you
Do not that is completely free you do not don’t give anyone any money for that you literally just rock up and watch there are some things you can do to protect yourself first of all as a rule do not buy any tickets from anybody off the street ever second of all always buy
Your tickets either from the venue’s actual website or a reputable seller like today tixs and the tkts booth and official London theater website are all great for buying your theater tickets and to avoid any disappointment make sure you book things like theater and attractions in advance by the way if
It’s your first time visiting London we have a free London trip checklist which tells you everything you need to do book and Buy before you come and when you need to do it by so to get that for free click the link in the description box of
The video and sign up back to the video then there’s the street game scam sometimes called three card Monte sometimes the cup and ball game there’s basically a bunch of different variations of these Street games that people play on the major Bridges like here at Westminster Bridge or around the
Major tourist attractions basically the way it works is there’ll be a guy on the side of the bridge with three cups in front of him and he’ll put one ball under one of the cups then he’ll bet a passer by like 20 lbs that the person
Can’t find the ball after he judges up the cups and it’s basically unwinable because with slight of hand the person gets rid of the ball ball and so the ball’s under none of the cups so no matter which cup you choose you’re not going to win and it’s the same with the
Card game as well these games are also run by groups of people there’s usually one person watching for law enforcement one person who is an actual winner but is a fake plant so it makes it look like it is actually winnable and overall you just want to avoid all of this also even
If you’re just watching the area right around these places are usually Prime spots for pickpockets so make sure you are keeping an eye on your stuff and actually just don’t watch this I mean really you’re going to come to London and watch some balls and cups just bit Weird so this one is a bit more Hightech but it could be a problem for tourists who don’t have access to their own data roaming when they’re in London scammers can use something called a pineapple not the fruit sadly but it’s basically where they set up a fake Wi-Fi that people
Connect to and then as soon as you connect to it scam MERS can basically access everything on your phone your social media profiles any credit card or bank information you put in your contacts who try to do some fishing scams what they do is they set up a
Wi-Fi network that looks like it’s supposed to be the secure one like at the airport or in an area with lots of shops so that you connect to it but then actually it’s not the secure one it’s the one that’s going to take all of your information luckily there are a few ways
That you can avoid this first you can get your own data roaming package whether that’s through your original phone provider or you can get a UK Sim or download an eim and we have some reputable companies that we recommend Linked In the description box of this
Video if you have to use Wi-Fi make sure you use the legitimate one for the place that you’re in for example cafes and shops usually will have a sign on the wall with the actual name of their own network and the password so make sure you connect to the exact one because the
Scammers usually make one that has like an underscore after it or that looks almost the same you could also protect yourself by setting up a VPN on your phone and your devices which is a virtual private Network and that basically protects all of your data and your devices from being scammed from
These pineapples basically your best bet is to have data set up on your phone so you can use that as much as possible without having to connect to potentially Rogue Wi-Fi this next one will show you that you definitely should not be leaving anything valuable on a table when you’re in London or really like any major city this happens everywhere basically there’s a thing where if you leave let’s say your phone on the table that someone comes over and they’ve got some
Clipboard or a piece of paper and they’re usually asking for something that’s like quite nice like oh would you mind signing this petition that supports our local Boys football team for young people or something like that and you’re like huh obviously I would sign that that’s so easy then they take the
Clipboard or the piece of paper and they put it down on top of your phone or your valuable Without You noticing you sign and then they take it away and say thank you so much oh my God you’re so nice and they take your phone with it before you even
Notice because you’re really busy thinking about how good of a person you are which makes sense so moral of the story is don’t ever leave any valuables on the table I have actually seen this happen in person a lot both inside places like pubs and bars but also when
Sat outside so roll of thumb keep it in a pocket or in your bag remember London is generally very safe but hopefully these tips will make sure that you keep your money in your pocket and you have a great time if you want more tips for
Your trip to London click one of the boxes popping up right around me to watch one of our hundreds of other videos we have on this channel
46 Comments
I’m a Londoner living in central London I would not trust anyone selling anything on the streets 😊
She is talking utter bullshit, go bacl to your hole of a country , we will decide what we do and dont do, yoir an irrelevence.
Some good advice there. Yes never leave you phone on a table especially outside, so many girls do it. Also girls (especially), do not put your phone in your back pocket! Perfect place for thieves to take it plus you risk cracking the screen when you sit down. Thank you for sharing these tips.
The final scam (covering and then taking your phone) happened to me in a Starbuck cafe, where a smartly dressed man thrust an upside down map in front of me and asked if I could help him locate a certain shop he couldn't find. I actually had my hand on my phone already and can only assume that he thought I would let go of it in order to turn the map the right way up. I didn't let go of my phone though and our hands met under the map haha! He left very quickly after that!
Yeah, someone in my group got her phone nicked by someone selling 'birthday/christmas' cards in the pub. I thought it was strange at the time, that they only showed them to our table. A few mins later, we realised the dog an bone was gone….
Deffo keep phones/wallets in pockets, bags or out of view!
Do your arms get tired when your talking?
Those rickshaws are the worst. Not only potential scamming but will literally drive directly toward you while taking photos forcing you to jump out of the way or be hit, just to "offer" you a ride. I was nearly hit at Parliament trying to record a video of Big Ben ringing.
Other than possibly the rickshaw, these are scams in just about any major tourist city. Don't think they only occur in London.
You missed a trick at 6:32 on the table there. Never scan in the wild QR codes. They could lead you to all sorts of horrible phishing sites!
I love London 🇬🇧because the chances of my being shot🔫 ,are ZERO
all the same scams in every big city
My thoughts when visiting anywhere, if somebody approaches you it’s because you have something and they want it.
These scams are not specific to London. Scammers are present in most major tourist spots with similar scams.
What a waste of time that was. This basically applies to any city not just London.
A friend of mine was caught out. Walking along a street an elderly woman in front of him tripped and fell. He and a few other people nearby rushed to help her up, she thanked him profusely and walked off. A few minutes later he noticed his watch, his wallet and, believe it or not, his wedding ring were all missing and no sign of the person who had tripped or the others who helped.
Always think to yourself, that no one does you a favour without them coming out on top.
Refuse everything. Don't even give to charities.
Looks like they took the glass of orange as well as the phone….
I have used the Cheap Ticket sales office the actual one shown in the vlog with no problems at and have been able to see the top shows that i would not have been able to afford normally.
I was stung by the rickshaw scam. It was at 10pm after a show and I just wanted to go a couple of blocks. I could have walked it, but the rickshaw seemed like a interesting novelty. When we arrived, he said "£6". I thought "Whaaat…?", but couldn't argue. So I gave him a £10 note. NO CHANGE!!! (allegedly).
The moral. For a rickshaw, agree on the price beforehand, and ensure they can change whatever notes you have.
Balls and cups? People still do that? Wow! That is such an old scam that it should have a preservation order on it. One extra note, which is a reaction to something, erm, vaguely racist I have seen on other vlogs (not yours): scammers come in all shapes and sizes. Certain Londoners will warn people to be careful of "foreigners" scamming you. You know what they are saying. But there are plenty of white people with good old London accents who will scam you too!
Just remember – if the person who is helping you looks a bit too happy about it, remember to count your fingers after shaking their hand….
Never deal with anyone on the street who wants cash.
I learned the three cup trick from a magic set when I was 9. How on earth do people STILL fall for that?
When I was in London in 1975 as a young and innocent Aussie I was taken by the three card Monto scam In Oxford St for 70 pounds. First and last time!
As you were demonstrating the phone trick, your sunnies looked a bit lonely…
Those card games and tricks were around 50 years ago😢
I've seen 3-card monte games all over Europe and in the States. Every single time, the guy will pick the right card and someone in the crowd distracts him and the dealer moves the cards. the dealers never work alone.
Lookin Good Jess!!, I have to repeat. Black is your color.
Ha – didn't expect to see Steven Bridges!
Simple. 1. Avoid non-ethnic Londoners. It is rapidly becoming a third world ghetto. 2. Avoid anyone giving you a good deal on anything. 3. Don’t play “find the lady” or any other gambling game. Those who appear to win are marks. 4. Make sure you know what the name of any WiFi network you use should be. 5. If have to fight a crook, keep hammering seven shades out of them until they are no longer a threat. 6. Avoid London. Go to somewhere civilised.
I don't travel with my electronics overseas and even very rarely in the States. The stuff is easily stealable and hackable. I'm just not dealing with it.
Thanks for sharing God bless
Street game scams are part of culture in all big cities in the world
Ugh the rickshaws. First time I went on it it was actually funny and fine price. Then I went on it again and they charged me £40 while saying it would’ve been £20 I think. Disgusting.
There’s also a scam of a woman who tries to forcefully give people a rose and then when they take it demand money. If you put the rose down she gets aggressive and violent. Had it happen to me
Such sensible tips. On a recent London trip in the summer (just a few miles away for me), I was shocked to see that people still get taken in by street game scams. They still seem to pull a big crowd and I'd have thought people would have got wise about all of those years ago. I guess lots of people turn off their 'common sense button' when on holiday. An additional tip, which is less scam and more theft prevention… watch your luggage if you are moving it by train. Luggage is left at one end of the carriage and anyone can (and does) walk off with it when leaving the train. Use a strap with an easy release lock to lock it all together, then it can't be lifted easily. You can release the lock easily and separate it up, before getting off.
Be careful when withdrawing money from an ATM. Turned around from the machine with money in my hand and someone ran past and whipped it straight out my fingers and was off. Gave chase but lost them in the crowds. Luckily, was only £10. Not just London, could happen anywhere.
there are at least 10 /15 people involved and gathered around the fool with the cups, they are all involved and will run away like little scared dirty rats if you call them out……..don't forget if they are involved they will be dressed terribly in cheap knock off sportswear, the shinier the better for them. Bad taste clothing is a must and an easy giveaway for a Romanian scammer.
Looking for the recommended bike tour mentioned? I checked your link for London tours – am I missing it?
Great advice. My phone was stolen on a recent London trip right out of my hand in broad daylight by a woman “asking for money.” And I’ve been to London twice before. Treat your phone like cash and take it out only when you are sure it’s safe.
Thankfully no incidents in the two times I’ve been to London. Living in New York City, I’ve witnessed or been aware of a majority of these scams, so you can bet I was on high alert roaming around London.
I will be in London in February 2024.
Your videos are very good; thank you. Question; how about money, can we use euros in UK?
Thank you for the tips!!!!!😊
Watch your sun glasses too! There was a pair on the table at the end of the video.
Wow. Thanks so much for this, pretty lady!
Ill be in Greenwich next weekend
damn, I was unfortunately victim of the fake donation scams 😕