Tourist season and scams abound

Almost as soon as a tourist steps off the plane, the games begin. Friends arrived at the İstanbul airport one day, and as they exited the customs hall, they paused to look for the exit doors leading to the taxi queue. Immediately they were approached by a man who quickly flashed a badge and announced he was from the İstanbul Tourist Board. His job, he informed them, was to make sure that tourists got into official cabs rather than the unofficial ones that specialized in overcharging unsuspecting passengers. Unfortunately, my friends fell for this ruse, and they were quickly escorted to a minibus with a meter. It was not until much later that they found out that the meter was charging them the wrong price. Their fare for a morning ride from the airport to Taksim was TL 75, and the driver had the nerve to ask them for a tip on top of that. Not knowing that they had just been ripped off and unsure of what the taxi fare should have been, they paid the driver an extra TL 5 for the journey.

In addition to immediately outside of the exit doors of the customs hall, the other favored place for the scammers to try their luck is at the ATM machines. Popular with tourists who want to withdraw cash before heading to their hotel, it is also a perfect place for a tout to try his lines on unwary, and usually jet-lagged, tourists. Some people have been approached by a man who flashes an ID and states that he is with the police and asks them what hotel they are staying at while in the city. Newcomers, unaware of the scams, are often taken in by these men. What they do not know is that it is very easy to make up a fake ID, and few tourists, if any, will ask to examine the ID badge or insist on talking to a security guard or uniformed police officer. This is what the conmen are relying on as they pounce on their prey. Once they have the tourists in a taxi, they will be treated to a roundabout tour of the city with the meter set to a much higher rate than it should be.

Even though several long-time foreign residents who have been approached by the bogus officials have reported these airport cons to airport personnel, it seems as if little or nothing has been done to put an end to the problem. For many people, this is just the first of many scams they will experience on a visit to Turkey.

In areas frequented by tourists and naïve foreigners who have not resided here long enough to spot a fraud, there are tricksters who are ever alert to potential prey. The seemingly innocuous shoeshine guys are an example of this. Throughout the popular historical and shopping areas of town, the shoeshine guys ply their trade. Not every person with a shoeshine kit is a swindler, but many are. Often young boys, they plead for passersby to pause and let them polish up scuffed footwear. What is contained in the polish bottles is iffy enough, but those who stop to have their shoes tidied are in for stories of illness, bills piling up and other woes that have beset the boy shining away. Even if a price is quoted before the job begins, once finished, they often ask, or demand more money for their work. Typically, the opening price is TL 5, but many are known for demanding TL 10-20 once the shine is done, no matter how poorly the job has been done. Numerous trusting tourists have fallen for this and paid the higher amount. Some, unfamiliar with lira, have fumbled in their wallets for the correct bill, only to have the shoeshine boy point to a TL 50 bill and say, “This is the right one.” As the money is taken, the boy will suddenly depart, TL 50 richer, while their target stands and wonders if they were just ripped off or not.

Another popular trick among the shoeshine boys is having a brush fall off the back of their box as they slowly walk away, pretending not to notice. Most people will unthinkingly pick up the brush and call out to the person who dropped it. This is a natural response. And that is what the tricksters are hoping for. This gives them the chance to profusely thank the person for retrieving their brush and preserving their livelihood, for how can they work without their brushes? As a way to thank the person who saved the brush, the shoeshine boy will offer to polish their shoes and will be quite persistent in insisting they be allowed to do so. As they polish away, a story will be told about all the woes that has befallen them and their family. After finishing up the polishing job, a fee of at least TL 20 is requested for all the hard work, and to help out with all of the family financial problems. Usually a tourist will pay the money, partly because they are unsure of what else they can do and partly because they feel pressured to help out as best they can.

What most tourists, and many residents, do not know is that this is just another way to trick people out of money. I have watched many shoeshine boys do this particular tactic, and it is interesting to see them pick a victim and then maneuver themselves into position in front of the intended target. With an almost invisible motion, the brush will casually fall off the box as they walk away. Two boys recently tried this ploy on me as I walked from Taksim to Kabataş. I simply stepped over the brush and continued walking. The two boys paused and looked at me as I passed them and said in Turkish, “Yes, I am foreign, but I live here.” One of the boys sneered at me and spat on the sidewalk as they turned to walk back in order to retrieve their brush.

Even though there are many people who are ready to con the unwary, I do not feel that this behavior reflects the true nature of the majority of Turks. However, it is important that visitors know how to identify these scams when they happen. İstanbul is often the first stop on a trip to Turkey, and the impressions that people carry away from here will affect how they see Turkey and Turks. The actions of a few rogues should not be viewed as representing the entire country.