Tourist Scams

[Got2Cruise]

I wish there was a sticky so we can post tourist scams. Last week it was a hotdog vendor selling $30 hotdogs near 9/11 memorial. Now it is folks paying $200 for the free Staten Island Ferry! NYC is a safe place but you just have to be aware. Just as I need to be aware of scams when I vacation in Europe. . I'll post more scams while I'm on a roll. Have had oral surgery so just sitting here.

[Got2Cruise]

Some Times Square scams-- the fake characters who want you to take their picture and then shake you down for cash. Some have been really mean to tourists. I wouldn't take my picture with them.

 

Those pedicabs. They charge by the minute! You will be intimidated into paying a ridiculous amount for going ten blocks.

 

At the airport-- do not go into any taxi that is not picked up at official taxi stand. Do not get into any car service vehicle unless you called them to pick you up. You might be approached at baggage pickup. Simply say no thank you. Don't accept assistance with your baggage unless it's from an official airport porter.

 

Don't fall for anything 3 card Monte schemes. You will lose all your money.

[1025cruise]

My take on it that anyone stupid enough to buy a 30 dollar hot dog deserves what they get....

[nybumpkin]

I'm what I call "semi-local"; I don't live in NYC but I'm there often enough that tourists ask me for directions. I guess I look like a local.:) If you're taking the subway and are unsure of what you need in the way of a Metro Card, go to one of the staffed booths for help. At the Metro Card machines, if you look like you don't know what you're doing there will often be "helpers" to talk you through the process. They do expect a tip for their help. It's not completely a scam, as the advice they give usually is right on the money - but the MTA employees won't expect a tip!

[rakuroda]

Aloha,

 

I am flying into JFK in September the day before we sail on a cruise that leaves from Bayonne, NJ. I will be traveling with my wife and luggage. Can anyone suggest a safe, good, and reasonably priced way to get from JFK to EWR?

 

Aloha

[Got2Cruise]

My take on it that anyone stupid enough to buy a 30 dollar hot dog deserves what they get....

 

 

No. They didn't understand the foreign exchange.

[1025cruise]

No. They didn't understand the foreign exchange.

 

Ahh, now I get the point. I would hope no one would be stupid enough to spend 30 bucks on a hot dog.....

[TruckerDave]

Aloha,

 

I am flying into JFK in September the day before we sail on a cruise that leaves from Bayonne, NJ. I will be traveling with my wife and luggage. Can anyone suggest a safe, good, and reasonably priced way to get from JFK to EWR?

 

Aloha

 

 

Cheapest option would probably be the subway to Penn station then the NJ transit to EWR.

[njhorseman]

Aloha,

 

I am flying into JFK in September the day before we sail on a cruise that leaves from Bayonne, NJ. I will be traveling with my wife and luggage. Can anyone suggest a safe, good, and reasonably priced way to get from JFK to EWR?

 

Aloha

 

I second what Carol (138east) said in this reply to you on another thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=46702160&postcount=625

 

Your best best is to book a car service such as Dial 7 or Carmel Limo. Don't pay attention to negative comments on sites like Yelp. No one bothers to write about a car service unless something bad happens. These companies transport thousands of passengers every week. Will there be a problem once in a while? Sure...no business provides perfect service. You end up reading about the three times there were problems but not the 3,000 times that everything went as planned.

[parrotfeathers]

What is a monte scheme?

[rakuroda]

What is a monte scheme?

 

It is actually called 3 card monte. A guy will shuffle 3 cards on a flat surface and bet that you can't find a specific card (normally a red queen)! He may have a co-conspirator (a shill) that will appear to play and guess right and win the bet.

 

This is not a game you can win because the dealer is very good at slight-of-hand palming of the cards.

 

NEVER PLAY THIS GAME

 

Aloha

[x lindsay x]

Those pedicabs. They charge by the minute! You will be intimidated into paying a ridiculous amount for going ten blocks.

 

Just this morning I overheard a pedicab driver trying to get a family to do a one hour tour, his rate was $3/minute. You do the math on that one! Plus there were four people in the family which would require two pedicabs.

 

As someone who knows Central Park history (I've worked in the park for 10+ years) they are very loose with the 'facts' they give out on tour, so prepare for lots of mis-information.

[Got2Cruise]

I love Central Park. It's special and it's free and it's uniquely NY. All the vendors inside the park need a special permit and it seems to be enforced. Same goes for Bryant Park opposite NY Public Library. 2 other free and wonderful places.

 

But on circumference of the parks and sometimes in Times Square you will have street vendors selling knock off purses or how we say pocketbooks and sunglasses. Most of these vendors are African immigrants and work in teams. Just know that the stuff they sell is junk and you should pay junk prices. Don't think you are getting a Louis Vuitton handbag for $20. It's vinyl and worth no more than $10. The best is that when we visited the Eiffel Tower and the Leaning Tower of Pisa, guess who was there selling knockoffs? African Immigrants. And they did it the same way. Put a blanket down with the merchandise and pick it all up quickly if they see a cop. Lol.

[Brighton Line]

What is a monte scheme?

 

Funny this was posted as Friday I was in Times Square after work (Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the Rangers loose game 7 but that is a post for another board). Afterwards walking to the subway there was a 3 card monte thing going on right on west side of Broadway between 47th and 48th.

 

Huge crowd around the dealer I could hardly get by. NY's Finest was just about 100 yards south on his cell phone ignoring the crowd and blockage to pedestrian traffic.

 

I believe I even picked out the plants in the crowd, someone working with the dealer that "wins" right before some poor tourist plops down their money.

 

Haven't seen that in a while in Times Square, thanks to our new mayor's policing policy I'm sure.

Anyway sorry to get off topic had to share.

FWIW

[mking8288]

Then, there is this - tourists from Virginia paid $400 for a round-trip commuter ferry ride on the free Staten Island Ferry - made those CTN and Circle Line 3 hour cruises a bargain

 

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/05/30/400-tickets-free-staten-island-ferry/

 

Mayor isn't running for re-election, the first one in recent history - so expect a lame duck administration with his appointed police commissioner on these "quality of life" issues. :mad:

[Nitemare]

How dumb must you be to pay $400 for the Staten Island Ferry, when there's no language or exchange rate barrier?

 

There's got to be more to this.

[njhorseman]

How dumb must you be to pay $400 for the Staten Island Ferry, when there's no language or exchange rate barrier?

 

There's got to be more to this.

 

The "more to this" could be that CBS got it wrong. The CBS story is the only one I've read or seen that says the tourists were from Virginia. They had left the scene before the cops arrested the scammer, so I'm not sure how CBS determined where they were from. There very well could have been a language or exchange rate barrier.

Edited June 2, 2015 by njhorseman

[mking8288]

New York Post apparently also did a story on these ferry scams in NY, which, can be going in other seaport cities in the US or elsewhere.

SJQ Sightseeing" (which is not registered as a business in NY) (NYC Dept. of Consumer Affairs - ??)

 

The story gone as far as reported that the alleged person wearing SJQ Sightseeing also offered $32 ticket for priority admission to SOL/EI ferry (actually, those tickets are $18 p/p) and claimed it is valid for entrance to the 911 musuem, Brooklyn Bridge (!!!, duh) & Queensborough Bridge (!!!, duh) - allowing the holders to bypass waiting in line & security screener ... selling for as much as $100 per ticket. Another vendor, Statue Cruises is apparently implicated in the alleged scams - taking advantage of loopholes in NYS law about online sales. Unsuspecting tourists had complained to the ferry operators on a regular basis, and been in touch with the police.

[mking8288]

New York Post apparently also did a story on these ferry scams in NY, which, can be going in other seaport cities in the US or elsewhere.

SJQ Sightseeing" (which is not registered as a business in NY) (NYC Dept. of Consumer Affairs - ??)

 

The story gone as far as reported that the alleged person wearing SJQ Sightseeing also offered $32 ticket for priority admission to SOL/EI ferry (actually, those tickets are $18 p/p) and claimed it is valid for entrance to the 911 musuem, Brooklyn Bridge (!!!, duh) & Queensborough Bridge (!!!, duh) - allowing the holders to bypass waiting in line & security screener ... selling for as much as $100 per ticket. Another vendor, Statue Cruises is apparently implicated in the alleged scams - taking advantage of loopholes in NYS law about online sales. Unsuspecting tourists had complained to the ferry operators on a regular basis, and been in touch with the police.

 

Just beware and stay away - and, if this one won't work - they will come up with sometime else, usually and return with the scams. :eek:

[fdthird]

Unfortunately, the current resident of City Hall is not as interested in quality of life for NY residents and visitors as had been several prior administrations. Sad, but much talk lately about NY slipping back to the Bad Old Days!

[el820]

It is actually called 3 card monte. A guy will shuffle 3 cards on a flat surface and bet that you can't find a specific card (normally a red queen)! He may have a co-conspirator (a shill) that will appear to play and guess right and win the bet.

 

This is not a game you can win because the dealer is very good at slight-of-hand palming of the cards.

 

NEVER PLAY THIS GAME

 

Aloha

 

You can do the opposite and tell the dealer "This is NOT the red queen" while you flip over the card. The remaining covered card should be the red queen unless...he is cheating of course. :D

 

I saw this in a movie once...

[Got2Cruise]

You can do the opposite and tell the dealer "This is NOT the red queen" while you flip over the card. The remaining covered card should be the red queen unless...he is cheating of course. :D

 

 

 

I saw this in a movie once...

 

 

Lol. And then you'd be in the hospital

[Langoustine]

And then you'd be in the hospital

 

Or dead. Do not screw around with these people. Their rules are not your rules. In point of fact, they have no rules where your life is concerned.

[Nitemare]

LOL!

 

These people aren't going to kill you. They just take your money if you're dumb enough to play. You play the game somehow other than they want you to they just won't pay you.

[wwcruisers]

This one may not be a scam -- but, it is certainly an annoyance. We did a post-cruise bus tour (through Celebrity) of Manhattan. One of our two brief stops was at the 911 Memorial. From the moment we got off the bus, we were hounded by guys hawking brochures for the Memorial and Freedom Tower. The lady who was our guide told us (in true New York fashion) "Just ignore them and keep walking" -- which is what we did. Fortunately, when we arrived at the Memorial itself, there was enough private security and police presence to keep those vultures away from us. But, the minute we stepped off the grounds, there they were again! I know that they are just trying to make a living, but I thought it detracted from the experience of visiting a place which is sacred ground. :(