This Is What A Bar Scam Looks Like In Real Life
Remember the Silent Bar Scam? Barkeepers withholding your change is the silliest, but at the same time the most common bar scam in Eastern Europe.
Our previous article on bar scams gave you a field-tested work-around to a bold move that is played on negligent Western travelers day in and out. What the article did not provide was a work-around to the other three ‘classic’ travel scams, namely the stripclub scam, the dating scam and the “I know a good place”-scam.
This is about to change. In this article we will have a closer look at the classic version of a bar scam that I named the “I know a good place”- scam. This scam is about women approaching single men with some unimposing request to assist them. They may ask for directions, have you show them something on their map because they are “lost” or any other opener that will allow them to strike up a conversation with you. As their approach is very subtle they can start their game without setting off any alarms on the side of their victim (their most effective disguise, after all, is that they are women: “women can’t do bad” – a devastating mindset common with all too many men).
To sum things up, all that innocent talking and flirting in the street ends up at a local scam bar where the victim is presented a ludacrious bill. Refusal to pay is met with threats either to call police or to inflict violence.
What Remains In The Dark Are The Details
- What do these women look like? Are they all impressive stunners or do they play it from the girl-next-door angle?
- What is it with these bars? Are they really the dim-lit cliché-type with a speak-easy vibe to them?
- How many drinks are consumed in one of these scams? How can you come up with a 300€ bill without having to charge 50€ per drink thus making the victim smell a rat and just run away or resistviolently ?
Meet Kees
Photo: sbs6.nl
Luck has it that all of these questions can be answered.
A team of the Dutch TV Channel SBS6 has produced an impressive TV show they call Oplichters In Het Buitenland and that introduces travel scams from all over the world. Aptly, the show’s title simply translates as Scammers Abroad and is right on the money: In every episode host Kees van der Spek takes one for the team and lets scammers lure him into all kinds of travel scams just to see they are carried out. From drinking beer with corrupt police in Bali, Indonesia over trying to find out how counterfeit US dollars are made in Buenos Aires all the way to Budapest, Kees has practically been everywhere. Speaking of Budapest, in one his latest trips Kees is up for experiencing documenting one of Budapest’s main nightlife attractions: The Budapest Bar Scam.
Meet The Creeps
Thanks to Kees filming the whole act with a hidden camera we now have a real-life break down of how a bar scam goes down.
Kees goes all the way from entering the ‘recommended’ bar to drinking with the scammers until (partly) paying the insane bill that he calls ‘extortion’. Just from watching the video you can tell that the scammers normally go for the weakest of the weak as any man who has been on more than one date will know that these girls are on to something. Analyzing the video I will point out a couple of dead-on giveaways that have ‘scam’ written all over them. Spot any of these tell-tale signs when you are mingleing with women abroad and your scamdar should be pinging hard. In case you haven’t aready go watch the video below.
4 Tell-Tale Signs You Are Getting Bar-Scammed
1 | The Girls Are Not Attractive
This one was highly surprising: these girls look unfavorable in almost any way imaginable. Hair in a bun, chewing gum and lips stiffer than those of Angela Merkel: scammer girl No 1 has hustler written all over her. Not very appealing in my book.
2 | The Girls Order 3 Drinks For Round One
How about we start off with a shot, a glass of champagne and an energy drink each so that the waiter will serve 9 freaking drinks on our first round? If this doesn’t scream ‘scam-alert’ then I don’t know what does.
3 | The Girls Drink Suspiciously Fast
This one goes without saying. In the video the main scammer girl even looks behind her shoulder, checking for the waitress so she could possibly order even more drinks. And she does so while she is still finishing her first drink.
4 | The Girls ‘Suggest’ More Drinks
“(…) and one beer?” (3:26) – give me a break, you snake-eyed skank. At this point the main scammer girl is so sure of success she doesn’t even make any effort to hide her greed any longer.
Budapest's popular shopping street Vaci Utca is one of Central Europe's hotspots for bar scams of all kinds
Why Even Minor Experience With Women Will Save You From Getting Bar Scammed
The video shot by Kees and his crew lead to a great insight: if you are older than 25 and have been on more than one date then your chances of falling victim to the classic bar scam immediately drop to zero. Why? Because the girls doing these bar scam are not immune to becoming personifications of what they do. In short, the girls who will ‘innocently’ approach strange men in order to try their luck with them cannot really hide their true colors for long. They radiate all kinds of red-flag signals which makes it easy to call them out on their scam attempts.
One would have to be really socially awkward – or totally intrigued by scam girl No 1 who fixes her bra several times in a vulgar in your face-manner – in order not to tell that this is a totally unnatural scenario: eEven if you weren’t driven off by the white trash demeanour of the girls then you will have to ask yourself how used you are to girls basically picking you up from the street. Not only does the one rule apply here that “if it’s too good to be true it probably it”, the scammers are also reversing sex roles: you as a man are supposed to approach women and not the other way round. Women actively approaching you, under any circumstances, is a no-no.
This being said, here are 2 more red-flags and a work-around tip that allow you to call out scammers before any damage is even done.
Knowing What Will Hit You: Three Pre-Scam Red Alerts
This being said, here are 2 more red-flags as well as a work-around tip that will allow you to avoid scammers before any damage is even done.
Red Flag 1: Girls Approaching You
Again, this is just unnatural.
In our world men approach women, not the other way round. Even more so in Eastern Europe that still remains mostly untouched by Western emancipation. Women approaching you or even asking you out in any city located East of, say, Berlin always is a bad sign.
Red Flag 2: Girls suggesting A Venue
This, again, is your job. Women trying to take over here alwas is a bad sign.
Do your homework, explore the area and make sure you know of at least one or two good venues in the area. Never let a girl decide where to go.
The Workaround: Throw A Test Their Way
In any case it is possible to meet local girls who are genuinely interested in you. If you are still in doubt whether that really is the case because you have picked up on something that raised your eyebrow then put your prospects to the test. Simply get their phone numbers and suggest to meet up in one hour/later in the day/tonight, because you have to go back to your apartment/see a friend/whack somebody.
No disappointment on their faces? Reluctance in giving out their numbers? Trying to keep you from leaving?
Scammers.
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