Kelvin Koh, who is a frequent traveler to Paris, the capital city of France, recounted in his Facebook about the incident in which he almost got scammed by a syndicate that steals from tourists. Kelvin shared valuable tips to fellow travelers about, how they can avoid being victims of such scams.

Kelvin said that he has been visiting Paris for the past 9 years and he presented a very important tip. Something that would help people have a more pleasant stay.

Kelvin shared his experience; he said when he was at the Gare Du Nord, he almost became a victim to a couple of con men.

Kelvin placed his camera bag on the shelf next to him, while he was checking his tickets, when a guy walked to him asking for directions (A local looking guy asking directions from a Singaporean tourist he laughed) and immediately checked for his camera bag and he saw a person try to grab his bag.

When Kelvin spotted him, both the persons did not know what to do and walked away in different directions.

So, dear friends, do be vigilant, especially when anything out of the ordinary happens:

1.When a stranger asks for directions, offers you a cookie, invite you to do a survey, tries to sell you a friendship band, tries to sell you a gold coin, tries to sell you a picked up watch and passes a child to you (yes it’s true).

2.When you are at a restaurant, do not put your cell phone or valuables things on the table. Be wary of people, who come to ask you to fill a survey/ ask for directions.

3.Whenever a stranger bumps into you, check and double check your belongings.

4.When you go up on the escalators and it suddenly stops, be wary. They usually try and pickpocket you when climbing up the escalator (now stairs).

5.In metros, the door beeps before closing, if a person rushes out just before the door closes, quickly check on your belongings. If anything is missing quickly press the stop button and chase or seek for help. This happened to Kelvin and luckily he managed to catch the guy.

“You may not be that lucky”

6.Again on the metro, at the gates, a person may rush you from behind to fluster you. Look out for your handbag or bags. They may be trying to pick your valuables.

7.Some days, the queue for metro tickets can be very lengthy, especially at popular stations. But you may find a shorter queue for a guy selling loose tickets. Do not be conned. He offers child priced tickets at a regular price. No problem entering with that ticket, but when you try to exit from metro station, you may be stopped by station security and be asked to pay a fine of 30+ Euros.

The following areas are the pick pocketing hotspots in Paris.

1. Gare Du Nord

2. Outside of Galleries Lafayette

3. Chatelet

4. St Michel/st Germain

5. Montmartre

6. Trocadero and Champ Del Mars

7. Notre Dame

These are most touristy areas. Kelvin hopes that this information will help people. Being a victim of pickpockets is not a pleasant experience; especially you are on a holiday, he said.

He also asked people to share their own experiences and hopefully tourists will be more aware of their tactics.

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AMandeep