In most large cities, you have to be vigilant. Some areas have a high crime rate, from pickpockets to snatch and grab of bags and cell phones. Other scams aren’t criminal, but take advantage of the victims’ good nature. For instance, we know not to buy a ticket for a boat ride to see the Statue of Liberty. We also know not to play any game of chance set up on the sidewalk.
Since we were both raised in the New York metropolitan area, Sharon and I have our “Doesn’t talk to strangers” look down pat when traveling. We can avoid most interactions by keeping our heads down and with an intentioned “No thanks!” if necessary.
However, things were different when we visited New Orleans. We made the trip with another couple who had never been to that city before and the first thing they wanted to do was visit Bourbon St. We obliged but warned them that it’s not all that exciting during the day, and not much better at night. What I didn’t do was give them a briefing about the popular scams in New Orleans.
We took the St. Charles streetcar from our Airbnb and ended up on Canal St. We walked to Bourbon St. and headed into the French Quarter. We made it about 4 blocks when a local came up to our friends and started walking alongside us.
While we’re anti-social northerners, our friends are born and bred in the South and they’ll strike up a conversation with anyone. The would-be scammer started with some quick chat about the weather and then hit them with the infamous New Orleans scam, which goes like this.
“I like your shoes. I bet you $5 I can tell you where you got those shoes.”
The scammer hopes you’ll take the bet, thinking there’s no way where they’ll know where you bought your shoes. That’s when you’ll hear, “You got them on your feet.” or something similar.
Our friend’s BS radar went off because he went from friendly and conversational to serious and short. He passed him off with a “No thanks, buddy.” and kept walking. Our scammer friend also kept walking (now traveling down the middle of Bourbon St.), looking for his next targets. I breathed a sigh of relief because I forgot to mention the most popular New Orleans street scam and I would feel guilty if that was the first thing that happened on our vacation.
Another popular scam works the same way but the scammer bets that they can guess the number of letters in your last name. The answer is 12 (y-o-u-r-l-a-s-t-n-a-m-e).
The only way to win these games is not to play. There are several avoidance methods:
- Don’t look like a tourist (However, just being on Bourbon St. is a dead giveaway)
- Say, “I’m a local” (Implying you know the scam and they’re wasting time)
- Never give eye contact as they approach (They’re playing off your good nature)
When traveling to a new city, taking a few seconds to Google the most popular scams can help you avoid an uncomfortable and possibly unsafe situation.
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