Avoid Being Scammed As You Study Abroad

A student travel article written by Lauren Juliff gives great tips on how to avoid being scammed in traveling. Con artists, frauds and thieves work hard to swindle travelers out of any amount of money. Here are some great tips to avoid being scammed as you study abroad!

1. Don’t Look Like a Tourist

Scammers target people who don’t know the area they’re traveling through, aren’t aware of the country’s culture and want to meet and talk with the local people - tourists. Tourists are easy targets for scammers, Lauren writes.

“Do your best to try and blend in with the locals while you're traveling. . .If you can't effectively blend in as a local, you can still make yourself less noticeable. Don't wear tourist-style souvenir clothing, like hippie pants and souvenir t-shirts. Wear plain clothing and remove your flashy jewelry -- you don't want would-be scammers to think that you have a lot of money,” Lauren says.

Finally, when traveling, walk down the street as if you know exactly where you’re going, even if you’re not sure. A lack of confidence can draw scammers right to you.

2. Do Your Research

Lauren suggests doing online searches for common scams in your destinated country. Reading through other people’s stories and warnings in forums can help prepare you to avoid potential scams awaiting you abroad.

“Doing this helped me to avoid being scammed in Istanbul -- I recognized I was being scammed and immediately walked away,” Lauren writes. “I probably would have been scammed if I hadn't researched before arriving.”

3. Be Cautious

The article warns in some cases, locals with excellent English who want to befriend you may be trying to scam you.

“You'll often be approached by several locals with extremely good English, who will chat to you and get to know you for as long as it takes for you to drop your guard. Once they can tell that you trust them, they'll then try and scam you -- they'll offer to take you to a bar, or a cafe, or a tea ceremony, and upon finishing up will present you with a bill of many hundreds of dollars,” Lauren explains in the article.

You shouldn’t assume every local who wants to talk with you has intentions of scamming you, but be cautious. You should always be on your guard to make sure you stay safe and don’t get scammed.

For more safety tips while studying abroad, download the free ASAPP Checklist from ClearCause!