No 8 FEB 2015

Travel Tales Monthly

No. 8 FEB 2015ISSN 2374-4375

Copyright © 2015 Michael Brein, Inc.All rights reserved

Michael Brein, Inc.403 Madison Ave North, Suite 101Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 USA

www.michaelbrein.com

Written by Michael Brein, Ph.D.Illustrated by Ted KellerPhotos by Michael Brein

Part of The Travel Psychologist SeriesNote: Some navigational features may not be available on all

devices.

Over the last four decades, I've interviewed nearly 1,750 world travelers and adventurers in my own tra-vels to more than 125 countries throughout the world. I am weaving their 10,000 or so fantastic travel tales into a psychology of travel as revealed by these very telling stories.

These are travelers I've met on planes, trains, buses, ships, tours, safaris, and in campgrounds, cafes, and pubs. These travelers have freely shared their most personal travel tales with me, which I, in turn, get to share with you now through my Travel Psychologist Travel Tales Series, in general, and the Travel Tales Monthly, here, in particular.

Each month a selection of noteworthy travel tales in-cluding stories and brief vignettes will appear in Travel Tales Monthly as a waypoint along their way into the ebooks in my series.

Travel tales are told here — but with this one unique difference — with my being the world's first travel psy-chologist, you'll get more of the psychological pay dirt behind the incredible travel tales told to me by these travelers.

About Travel Tales Monthly

Note: Some stories may be repeated in other ebooks in the series depending on the countries and subjects covered.

Travel Tales Monthly

No. 8 FEB 2015ISSN 2374-4375

Copyright © 2015 Michael Brein, Inc.All rights reserved

Michael Brein, Inc.403 Madison Ave North, Suite 101Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 USA

www.michaelbrein.com

Written by Michael Brein, Ph.D.Illustrated by Ted KellerPhotos by Michael Brein

Part of The Travel Psychologist SeriesNote: Some navigational features may not be available on all

devices.

Over the last four decades, I've interviewed nearly 1,750 world travelers and adventurers in my own tra-vels to more than 125 countries throughout the world. I am weaving their 10,000 or so fantastic travel tales into a psychology of travel as revealed by these very telling stories.

These are travelers I've met on planes, trains, buses, ships, tours, safaris, and in campgrounds, cafes, and pubs. These travelers have freely shared their most personal travel tales with me, which I, in turn, get to share with you now through my Travel Psychologist Travel Tales Series, in general, and the Travel Tales Monthly, here, in particular.

Each month a selection of noteworthy travel tales in-cluding stories and brief vignettes will appear in Travel Tales Monthly as a waypoint along their way into the ebooks in my series.

Travel tales are told here — but with this one unique difference — with my being the world's first travel psy-chologist, you'll get more of the psychological pay dirt behind the incredible travel tales told to me by these travelers.

About Travel Tales Monthly

Note: Some stories may be repeated in other ebooks in the series depending on the countries and subjects covered.

About the AuthorIn this Issue

No. 8 FEB 2015

Children CrossingThe Roadblock

The Magic Trick #1The Magic Trick #2Duped Yet Again!

The Money Scam #1The Money Scam #2

The Car RepairThe Gas Station

The TaxiSamsun ScamThe Bar TabThe Fake IDSelling LSD

The Fake BeggarThe Magic Carpet

Haggler's AlleyTaken for a Ride

The Good SamaritanPlastic Don

The Expired VisaThe Babushka Caper

SCAM Airways

Michael Brein, aka ‘The Travel Psychologist,’ is an author, lecturer, travel storyteller, adventurer, and publisher of travel books and guides. He regularly appears in newspapers, ma-gazines, blogs, and radio programs on the psychology of travel.

Michael is the first to coin the term travel psychology. As such, through his doctoral studies, work and life experiences, and world travels, he has become the world's first — and perhaps only — travel psychologist.

Michael publishes travel tales ebooks — collections of stories on a specific travel subject, theme, or country: Travel Tales Monthly — a monthly, sort of book-of-the-month potpourri, bookazine of particularly good travel stories, and Collections — groups of similar kinds of travel stories at a time on very specific subjects, themes, and countries of interest.

Michael Brein resides on Bainbridge Island, Washington.

You can view ‘The Travel Psychologist’ blog and website at www.michaebrein.com.

You may email Michael at michaelbrein@gmail.com.

About the AuthorIn this Issue

No. 8 FEB 2015

Children CrossingThe Roadblock

The Magic Trick #1The Magic Trick #2Duped Yet Again!

The Money Scam #1The Money Scam #2

The Car RepairThe Gas Station

The TaxiSamsun ScamThe Bar TabThe Fake IDSelling LSD

The Fake BeggarThe Magic Carpet

Haggler's AlleyTaken for a Ride

The Good SamaritanPlastic Don

The Expired VisaThe Babushka Caper

SCAM Airways

Michael Brein, aka ‘The Travel Psychologist,’ is an author, lecturer, travel storyteller, adventurer, and publisher of travel books and guides. He regularly appears in newspapers, ma-gazines, blogs, and radio programs on the psychology of travel.

Michael is the first to coin the term travel psychology. As such, through his doctoral studies, work and life experiences, and world travels, he has become the world's first — and perhaps only — travel psychologist.

Michael publishes travel tales ebooks — collections of stories on a specific travel subject, theme, or country: Travel Tales Monthly — a monthly, sort of book-of-the-month potpourri, bookazine of particularly good travel stories, and Collections — groups of similar kinds of travel stories at a time on very specific subjects, themes, and countries of interest.

Michael Brein resides on Bainbridge Island, Washington.

You can view ‘The Travel Psychologist’ blog and website at www.michaebrein.com.

You may email Michael at michaelbrein@gmail.com.

In this Issue

There's not a one of us who hasn't been at some time or other in his or her travel life conned, scammed or hasn't fallen victim in one form or another to some sort of clever ruse or rip off, often perpetrated on unknowing travelers who are well-intentioned, sometimes naive, and often traveling ‘on automa-tic,’ i.e., not paying close attention to what is going on.

Though not usually quite as stark as pick pocketing or out-right theft, per se, these are ‘softer,’ more subtle, and oft, somewhat clever schemes pulled off on unwary travelers.

The February issue samples the sorts of cons and scams ex-perienced by travelers — in their quest to travel safely, se-curely, and relatively comfortably without falling victim to the innumerable schemes, scams, shams and rip offs perpetrated upon them at just about every turn in their travels (as well as all too often even in their own home countries).

Unfortunately, travel today for anyone, and particularly for re-latively naive, younger and inexperienced travelers, has in-creasing challenges, what with the growing numbers of people relegated to begging, scheming, thieving, and having to do whatever they need to do to survive and get by.

All too often, it has just about become almost the norm for people of all persuasions and varieties to try to somehow dispossess unknowing and unsuspecting foreign travelers of their money, passports, personal possessions and effects, and travel accouterments, simply because it's the easiest way for them to get by. It's often easier to steal than to work. And work overseas is not always easy to come by for those who want or need it.

And not only are there the usual local legions of pick pockets, thieves, and muggers on the prowl to contend with, that are looking for victims, there are plenty of other fellow travelers guilty of doing such things as well.

Often travelers find themselves in difficult and sometimes dire situations, such as running out of money, getting into trouble, contending with being far away from home, maybe even strung out on drugs, or just having difficulty surviving. Some of these travelers, as a result, find themselves succumbing to and joining the ranks of con artists and scammers who prey on other travelers and sometimes even the locals.

Finally, who has not at one time or another in one's travel life tried to see what they can get away with—perhaps trying to ‘get something for nothing!’ Being far away from home and not normally under the usual familial or social constraints, it is no wonder that there's often a temptation to ‘get away with things’ that one would not normally try at home, but which the more lax foreign environment gives more free rein to. In fact, it is often sometimes simply ‘good sport’ to see what one can get away with without getting caught.

Introduction to Travel Tales of Cons, Scams and Other Rip Offs.

Part 1

Travel Tales of Cons, Scams and Other Rip Offs is divided into two parts simply because there is so much material. Part 1 appears here in the current Travel Tales Monthly issue No. 8 Feb 2015 and serves as a general introduction to this sub-ject matter.

In this Issue

There's not a one of us who hasn't been at some time or other in his or her travel life conned, scammed or hasn't fallen victim in one form or another to some sort of clever ruse or rip off, often perpetrated on unknowing travelers who are well-intentioned, sometimes naive, and often traveling ‘on automa-tic,’ i.e., not paying close attention to what is going on.

Though not usually quite as stark as pick pocketing or out-right theft, per se, these are ‘softer,’ more subtle, and oft, somewhat clever schemes pulled off on unwary travelers.

The February issue samples the sorts of cons and scams ex-perienced by travelers — in their quest to travel safely, se-curely, and relatively comfortably without falling victim to the innumerable schemes, scams, shams and rip offs perpetrated upon them at just about every turn in their travels (as well as all too often even in their own home countries).

Unfortunately, travel today for anyone, and particularly for re-latively naive, younger and inexperienced travelers, has in-creasing challenges, what with the growing numbers of people relegated to begging, scheming, thieving, and having to do whatever they need to do to survive and get by.

All too often, it has just about become almost the norm for people of all persuasions and varieties to try to somehow dispossess unknowing and unsuspecting foreign travelers of their money, passports, personal possessions and effects, and travel accouterments, simply because it's the easiest way for them to get by. It's often easier to steal than to work. And work overseas is not always easy to come by for those who want or need it.

And not only are there the usual local legions of pick pockets, thieves, and muggers on the prowl to contend with, that are looking for victims, there are plenty of other fellow travelers guilty of doing such things as well.

Often travelers find themselves in difficult and sometimes dire situations, such as running out of money, getting into trouble, contending with being far away from home, maybe even strung out on drugs, or just having difficulty surviving. Some of these travelers, as a result, find themselves succumbing to and joining the ranks of con artists and scammers who prey on other travelers and sometimes even the locals.

Finally, who has not at one time or another in one's travel life tried to see what they can get away with—perhaps trying to ‘get something for nothing!’ Being far away from home and not normally under the usual familial or social constraints, it is no wonder that there's often a temptation to ‘get away with things’ that one would not normally try at home, but which the more lax foreign environment gives more free rein to. In fact, it is often sometimes simply ‘good sport’ to see what one can get away with without getting caught.

Introduction to Travel Tales of Cons, Scams and Other Rip Offs.

Part 1

Travel Tales of Cons, Scams and Other Rip Offs is divided into two parts simply because there is so much material. Part 1 appears here in the current Travel Tales Monthly issue No. 8 Feb 2015 and serves as a general introduction to this sub-ject matter.

Part 2

The unabridged, expanded forthcoming ebook Travel Tales of Cons, Scams and Other Rip Offs, part of The Travel Psycho-logist Travel Tales Series, is a larger volume and includes both Parts 1 and 2.

(For more on the forthcoming ebook Travel Tales of Cons, Scams and Other Rip Offs see page 9 in this issue of Travel Tales Monthly)

Young inexperienced and naive travelers, in particular, and the rest of us, in general, often have a tendency to trust others a little too easily and too quickly. And this is what can get us into trouble.

Those who will prey upon us with all sorts of cons, scams, and schemes are often very well-practiced and fairly expert at relieving us from our money, our important papers as well as our important travel things.

I have heard hundreds of tales of the innocent as well as the fairly savvy traveler falling victim to an untold number of dif-ferent cons and scams. There's no doubt in my mind that we can benefit a lot by simply reading and thinking about the ac-counts of others who have had these bad, unfortunate things happen to them.

Mostly your travels will be safe without incident, but bad things, though rare, can happen to anyone at almost any turn along the way. I hope these things don't happen to you, but if they do, I sincerely hope that the travel tales of cons, scams, and ripoffs that appear in these pages have been helpful to you.

Part 2

The unabridged, expanded forthcoming ebook Travel Tales of Cons, Scams and Other Rip Offs, part of The Travel Psycho-logist Travel Tales Series, is a larger volume and includes both Parts 1 and 2.

(For more on the forthcoming ebook Travel Tales of Cons, Scams and Other Rip Offs see page 9 in this issue of Travel Tales Monthly)

Young inexperienced and naive travelers, in particular, and the rest of us, in general, often have a tendency to trust others a little too easily and too quickly. And this is what can get us into trouble.

Those who will prey upon us with all sorts of cons, scams, and schemes are often very well-practiced and fairly expert at relieving us from our money, our important papers as well as our important travel things.

I have heard hundreds of tales of the innocent as well as the fairly savvy traveler falling victim to an untold number of dif-ferent cons and scams. There's no doubt in my mind that we can benefit a lot by simply reading and thinking about the ac-counts of others who have had these bad, unfortunate things happen to them.

Mostly your travels will be safe without incident, but bad things, though rare, can happen to anyone at almost any turn along the way. I hope these things don't happen to you, but if they do, I sincerely hope that the travel tales of cons, scams, and ripoffs that appear in these pages have been helpful to you.