Scam Artists Go for the Gold at the Olympics

The Olympics in the have brought together thousands of tourists, sports fans, Olympic aficionados, and inevitably, scam artists.  Athletes are psyched to ‘Go for the Gold’ and so are the scam artists, except it is your “gold” that they are after.

Forewarned is forearmed:  Here are 5 quick and easy scams that you can watch out for.

1. Hey you dropped your wallet!  Someone yells “Hey, you dropped your wallet” and waves a wallet in the air. You immediately locate the wallet on your person and let the “Good Samaritan” know that it is not yours. Now they know where you keep your wallet.  The scammer calls an accomplice  to let them know what you are wearing and where to find the wallet.  You should leave your wallet in your hotel and taken along only the cash you need when traveling.
2. Want a Free Ticket?  A number of Olympic visitors will undoubtedly fall for the lure of obtaining a too-good-to-be-true ticket for one of the major events, only to find that tickets are scanned at the point-of-entry to the event and the one you just purchased is counterfeit. Only buy event tickets from official sources. Otherwise you are just throwing away your money.
3. Heading straight for the circle route.  There are a variety of transport options for leaving the airport, the hotel or an attraction in any city. If you choose to hire a taxi, there is a small chance that you will find one of the “bad apples” in the taxi barrel. The scam starts with:  “Is this your first time in the city?” If you are not familiar with the area you could fall for the “consturction up ahead” story and end up agreeing that the taxi should take the longer, but less congested –but more expensive route to the hotel. Download a map, check out the routing before you arrive, and save yourself some bucks!
4. Photo Marathon. Most visitors will bring their camera or camcorder to the Olympics and some will fall for the “let me take your photo for you” routine. The scam artist will have you pose and then run off with the camera! Or he recreates the famous movie comedy scene where he asks you to keep backing up so he can get the perfect photo. You fall into a snow drift and he runs off!  Take care when someone approaches you to use your camera!
5. Don’t get too distracted. A scam artist pretends to trip and fall in your direction and in the process spills hot chocolate all over you. Your clothes are wet and you are far from your hotel. You are upset and distracted from watching your possessions. While the scam artist apologizes, his or her partner has already walked off with your camera, wallet, purse or anything else not attached to you. This scam works well with mustard, ketchup. Coffee, and in some cases, even fake blood. Only once you regain your composure will you discover that your cash is missing.  

It is not that Vancouver and Whistler are dangerous places to visit—quite the contrary. They are wonderful destinations with friendly people, wonderful attractions and breathtaking scenery. Just make sure that the scam artists who descend on crowded mass tourism events—such as the Olympics—don’t include you in their gallery of victims.


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