I have been on TA often in preparation for our trip to Paris. Although we%26#39;ve yet to be approached by the %26quot;ring scam%26quot; we have been approached daily by gypsy ladies asking us, %26quot;Do you speak English?%26quot;. If you reply, %26quot;yes%26quot;, they then present you a card with some written message in English most likely asking for $$.
The first time it happened we were quite amused. But then it was happening frequently at the same area and it was annoying! We finally just reply, %26#39;NO%26#39; or just totally ignore them. They first start off like the nicest people but when you blow them off they walk off with some rude remark. One gypsy called me a %26quot;B....%26quot; when she didn%26#39;t get what she wanted. LOL! All in all, look out for them and just be prepared for your first encounter!
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jzen717, you say you%26#39;ve researched this on TA in preparation for your trip so therefore you already know how this issue is discussed to death on TA. We all agree they%26#39;re annoying. What action do you want taken?
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I guess country bumpkins keep showing up in Paris every day. An automatic urban reaction is to ignore anybody who walks up to you with an irrelevant question.
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*sigh*
One more time -- don%26#39;t speak to them, don%26#39;t hesitate, don%26#39;t even look at them.
Do not engage them in any way...and they%26#39;ll move on to someone more receptive to their schtick.
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The trick is to avoid scammers without shutting down.
A gypsy woman I %26quot;met%26quot; about 10 years ago accosted me after I tried to avoid her and proceeded to tell me several astonishing things about my current situation, along with a forecast of a future event that came true. Very astonishing! All she wanted was for me to buy a small charm for a pound
Still 999 times out of 1000 its a scam.
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When I was a little girl my mother used to tell me %26quot;Do not talk to strangers%26quot;, That advice is still true to me in such circumstances.
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I had a Gypsy woman that followed me too closely for comfort across two streets despite the fact that I ignored her %26quot;do you speak English question.%26quot; I turned around suddenly and stared her in the face which scared her to death. Her younger relative then ran across the street and started yelling at me saying %26quot;do you think that%26#39;s funny? haha?%26quot; Anyway, I ignored her and kept walking they eventually buzzed off.
Yes, they could be annoying is all I could say.
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I have found that %26quot;go away%26quot; at very high volume works very well, whether in Paris, London, Brussels, Rome, Athens, or wherever. These folks may want money, but what they very much don%26#39;t want is to attract attention and once you start screaming they tend to fade into the wood work and they do it very quickly.
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I%26#39;m so glad I%26#39;ve been warned about this, as well as the ring scam, but I do have a question:
Since this is so prevalent and known, why don%26#39;t the local police do anything about these people? Or is it all part of the charm and mystique of Paris?
Especially since these things seem to be the only real negative thing that people seem to comment on after they%26#39;ve visited Paris.
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%26gt; ... why don%26#39;t the local police do anything about these people? %26lt;
What do you suggest?
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