Scams/Crime

Mauritius: Crime Against Tourists on the Rise

Date: September 3rd, 2008 |

Crime against tourists in this island nation is low, but on the rise, and authorities launched an awareness campaign to alert tourists to the security measures they should take to avoid becoming a victim. These measures are mostly common sense: avoid walking alone at night, avoid secluded areas after dark, avoid beachside bungalows operated by [read more]

Greece: Authorities to Clean Up Tourist Behavior at Coastal Resorts

Date: August 7th, 2008 |

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Authorities vowed to clean up the tourist scene in its seaside resorts after a 20-year-old Australian was beaten to death by bouncers at a Mykonos bar. Many coastal resorts have become notorious for drunken revelry by young foreigners, and Greece’s tourism minister said that much of the violence and indecency that results comes from profit-hungry [read more]

Italy: 3,000 Troops Now Patrolling Italy’s Major Cities

Date: August 7th, 2008 |

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Some 3,000 troops have been deployed to Italy’s major cities to combat street crime. The soldiers were sent to Rome, Milan, Naples, Bologna, Turin and Palermo Aug. 4 to help police patrol the cities’ most frequented public places. In Rome they were stationed at subway and railway stations and an immigrant center but were to [read more]

Belize: Violence Up Especially in Central and Western Regions

Date: July 16th, 2008 |

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The U.S. Embassy in Belmopan warned U.S. travelers to “take an active role in their own personal security” because of recent increases in violent crime in the central and western regions of the country. San Ignacio, Benque Viejo and rural villages in the Cayo District are particularly troubled and crime is high and often violent [read more]

Dominican Republic: Credit Card Fraud Up

Date: July 2nd, 2008 |

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The U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo reported a surge of thefts of credit and debit card numbers from Embassy staff and the expatriate community, but no single location of card usage has been tied to the thefts. The U.S. Secret Service is investigating, and until more information is found about how the thefts are occurring, [read more]

Hungary: Tourists Taken for a Ride in Budapest

Date: August 21st, 2008 |

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In a scam as old as tourism, three Swedes were taken to a strip club in Budapest instead of the nightclub they were looking for by a taxi driver who earned a commission to deliver them to the club. Once there they were joined by “hostesses” who helped them run up an exorbitant bar bill, [read more]

Guatemala: U.S. Embassy Urges Using Security Escort for Petén Travel

Date: August 7th, 2008 |

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In late June a van carrying U.S. university students and faculty was robbed by two gunmen while traveling in the Peten region near the Belize border. The incident occurred where the road became unpaved and the van had to slow down, allowing the robbers to fire on the vehicle. The Peten is a remote region [read more]

Antigua: British Honeymooner Shot and Killed in Resort

Date: July 30th, 2008 |

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Two British honeymooners were shot by intruders while sleeping in their resort cottage July 27, the woman dying at the scene and the man seriously wounded. The incident is unusual for Antigua, an island that has little violent crime against tourists, although crimes with guns are increasing and robberies are not uncommon. Authorities are searching [read more]

Australia: Victoria Government Locks Out Melbourne Bar Patrons after 2 a.m.

Date: July 2nd, 2008 |

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Street violence outside Melbourne bars among drunken revelers and thugs got so bad that the Victoria state government imposed a three-month trial for 2 a.m. lockouts on June 3, “lockouts” meaning that patrons cannot enter or reenter a bar after 2 a.m. In 2003, a similar program imposed in Ballarat, about 70 miles northwest of [read more]

New Zealand: Unsafe for Asians?

Date: July 2nd, 2008 |

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Three arrests in the 2003 murder of a Korean tourist have led to the reopening of an investigation into the disappearance of a 64-year-old Japanese tourist and a concern among Asian groups that New Zealand may be unsafe for Asians or those of Asian descent. Both the New Zealand-Japan Society and the Korean Society raised [read more]