We are sharing on Facebook the stories of people being robbed in Spain

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http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-was-robbed-in-Spain/126647034044560?ref=mf

Successful thwart story:

I live in Barcelona and I’m Swedish
(Hej Bob,bra blog ni har!Jag försöker varna alla svenskar här eftersom vi är ett rätt naiva,modemedvetna och lite konflikträdda av oss=lätta offer)

St John’s Day (Big festival here) the 23rd june at 23.00 In a crowded but not packed metro station:

Me and my girlfriend was about to enter the metro car when I heard a Swedish family behind me.I usually like to eavesdrop a little to hear what they are talking about.
They looked tired after a whole day out and a night full of music,firecrackers and new impressions in Barcelona

Doors closed.

I kept listening,sipping my beer casually standing close to my girlfriend,but not looking at the man who stood alone in front of us,separated from his wife and two daughters.
Suddenly I heard a man asking the Swedish man something in English.

I see in the corner of my eye a map being unfolded in front of the man,and without thinking I knew what was going on.

I pointed with my whole arm straight at the Swede and yelled “-Dom tar din plÃ¥nbok!” (“-They are taking your wallet!”)

The Swede looked at me,surprised that somebody yelled to him in Swedish.

I see the man with map and another man who where aiming for the wallet,fade in to the background and blend in with the passengers trying to just “hacerce el sueco”(=pretend like it’s raining,or to act as if nothing happened).

However a third big tall man,just caught red handed,screamed to me “-F**k you!!!”,
he approached me,raised his hand,as if to slap me,trying to intimidate me.

Once again he yells “-F**k you!” a couple of inches away from my face.

I responded in Swedish with a firm voice: “-Jag är svensk”(“-I’m Swedish”…corny,I know),since I didn’t want to communicate further with this man.This also made him confused.
I continued to look him in the eyes.I was rather amused but at the same time a bit on the edge to keep myself and my girlfriend safe.

His heart was for sure beating faster and harder than mine,since I think it came out of the blue for them,that they got thwarted in their shady actions.

They had no idea that the casually dressed beer sipping man kept his attention on the Swedish man.

Needless to say,they left the scene,the big man starring angrily at me as they jumped of at the next metro stop in a hurry.

The Swede was in shock,he didn’t even thank me,and I don’t think he knew what was happening after I told him what they were doing.

I just did this without thinking,it was all an automatic reaction.

Please,all travellers:
Keep your belongings close to you and your eyes wide open.

And keep reading this blog!

Thank you,Bob for the great info on this blog!

Best regards

(Med vänliga hälsningar från en svenne med lite mer skinn på näsan för varje dag som man bor här i Barcelona,..Ta i trä.hehehe)

Petter

I did something similar to the orange juice scene above. I was in a Turkish bath, which is a notorious place for the double pricing standard. There was a Turkish customer there and when the attendants were not around, I asked him how much the full massage was. He asked and got the answer, 15 lira. When an attendant came to me I asked, he said 35. I said 15. He got surly and accused me of “bargaining like a dog.” I said “okay, then no massage.” He backed off.

I think the fact that people are out of their element makes them easier targets for this stuff; they don’t know the language, they don’t know 100% for sure if they are in the right, and don’t want to be seen as a “bad tourist,” so they capitulate. Ask the price first!

I don’t remember the name of the place but “Mickey’s” does ring a bell (the name referred to on the aforementioned site). We saw all these people sitting drinking huge (I would guess maybe 1 liter sizes) glasses of OJ and ice and sat down and ordered the same.

When we asked for the check it said 15 EUROS! I complained and the waiter acted like the scam artists usually do, i.e. shrug and show a face of being a little angel just having been accused of murder. I didn’t settle for that though and created a scene. Actually I think the best way to handle scam artists in general is creating a scene and really make some noice to show assertiveness. It ended when I asked other people having ordered the same big glass of OJ how much they had been charged. I eventually payed 5 EUROS and walked away with a smile on my face…

Remember, good manners and acting like a good citizen is not the way to handle crooks and thieves making a living on abusing just that good mannered behaviour while disrespecting your confidence.

My first trip to Barcelona featured a really bold bag-snatching in the Gothic area. A couple of old-aged american tourists lost a whole lot of money and it frankly pissed me off to the extent that I tried to follow the thieves. Alas, they knew the district like the as well as most tourists pockets as they simply vanished.

Since then I have visited the city several times and at least something related to street crime will always appear in front of your eyes more or less obvious (for someone wary of the problem).

A funny incident is that at the last trip a couple of years ago me and my spouse were ourselves victims. We went to the beach in Barceloneta and brought with us a simple tourist beach bag with some foods and – this is the funny part – the probably sweatiest gym attire in Barcelona at the time. Before going to the beach I visited a gym at Avinguda d’Icaria (if my mind is not failing me). I there had a really tough bout with the free weights which left my body sweating profusely for hours after the gym visit. My very used gym attire was worn till I reached the beach and then put in a plastic bag and eventually the recently aquired beach bag. Yes, the same beach bag the thief (supposedly a woman according to a witness) stole.

I felt sorry for the theif. No, not really…but a tad. ;)

Ha det!