[Travel] Chinese Rickshaw Scams

I thought about fighting them and even after when I was walking back from the museum I passed by the alley and was tempted to go back and see if I could force them to give my money back. That said I was out numbered at least three to one, it's their turf and their country. Even if I could beat them it would be their word against mine and the last thing I wanted to do was having to answer to the Beijing police in a situation where I wouldn't rule out the local LE might be in on it.

More importantly though I always stress to my students is that a street or bar isn't a dojo and there are too many variables that could go very wrong. The best thing to do is to minimize contact and get out of potentially bad situation as soon as possible. In this case I was scammed about $50 USD but if I fought them the costs could be much much higher. I could be facing fines and jail time from the Beijing PD or could be grievously injured or even dead. Not worth the risk especially when I was leaving the country that afternoon.

That doesn't mean I wasn't very pissed about the whole incident. The best thing I can do now is get the word out so hopefully others don't get taken by this and maybe I can deprive them of a source of income.

 

This is true. Last time I was in Beijing I stayed at a four star hotel in Qianmen, very close to Tianamen Square, but the staff spoke very poor English. An American friend was travelling with me and he shared his cigarrettes with some of the bar staff while I translated for him so we got to be on friendly terms with the staff. One night one of the staff came up to me and said I needed to help them translate for Danish hotel guest. The staff were saying that the Danes money was fake but couldn't explain it to them. I explained the situation to the Danes and they thought I was trying to cheat them in some way and insisted they got their money from a reputable ATM. I took out a 100 RMB note from my pocket and told him to feel it and then the note he had. Once he realized that mine felt like it was made of linen and had a texture while his felt smooth like laser printer paper he realized he had been scammed already with fake money.

I like your idea of paying off someone trying to scam you with fake money but many Beijingers are aware of this and will check 100 RMB notes by feel and look for the security strip before accepting this. It's a good idea to do the same.

 

I was in Bali and had rented a scooter to go from the beach town I was staying at to Ubud, where there are a lot of temples located. I got pulled over by two cops manning a shack by an intersection. They said if I didn't have an Indonesian driver license they were going to impound the scooter and have me locked up in jail at the regional capital. They kept me there at the shack for about an hour joking with me about my life back in the US while alternating it with threats to lock me up. After awhile they asked me if I knew what a bank was. They then said this was like a bank and if I made a deposit of $20,000 (about $20 USD) Rupiah that I could go. I paid it to them and what was even funnier was they wrote a receipt for it before they let me go.

I don't want to dissuade people though from going to the PRC or Indonesia. There are a lot of amazing things to see in both countries and is well worth the visit. Just need to be aware of all the scams that can happen.

 

Was it a red motorized tricycle kind? If so these might've been the same guys since that was the exact amount that happened to me.

You're lucky they dropped you off at some place you could get away from I was in an alley with a closed gate at one end and one of the guys at the other end. If it's the same guys maybe they just got smarter and figured it was better to take their victims to someplace where they couldn't get out of easily.