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Who is likely to be victim of crime?  

My observation is that people from rigidly structured environment (military, teaching, the medical profession) are more likely than others to encounter crime. I don't recall a small business type ever getting into trouble.

An excellent contribution from the famous Winston, a Chinese American who travel to Russia in a permanent quest for sex on the cheap and, as to be expected, gets cheated, scammed, robbed, and beaten up regularly.

Winston's guide to how to attract crime upon yourself

Tricks and scams, mostly by drivers

Share your story. Please write to me or leave a note in the Guestbook. This promises to be a great page.

Gross overcharge report from Domodedovo. Recently, after a good report by an experienced traveller, recommended hiring an "official" cab in Domodedovo to a first-time Japanese visitor to Russia. I don't know the details but he ended up paying $200 for a ride from Domodedovo to Sheremetyevo. I'd say $120 is top under most conditions and recommend my drivers to charge 100-110 for this exercise under normal conditions. Total distance is about 90km (60 miles), total travel time 3 hours in "average" traffic, plus another 3 of travelling to/from airports.  Added Feb. 3, 2007.

Rummaging through passenger's luggage. Contributed by Olesya based on a story from one of our drivers Slava. A client is enticed into the car by an offer of an unusually low price. The thief in the driver disguise stops the car, says it is down, and proceeds pretending to repair it while the passenger is inside. In reality he checks out the luggage. This is a recent story. Elsewhere I wrote that petty theft has all but vanished from fat-cat Moscow. Apparently not quite. Still, while taking a note of these scam stories, do not think of these as "typical".

Additional money demanded by the driver. In trying to avoid surprises you hire a cab through an official company. At the end of the trip the driver announces that gas or tire wear or something is extra. The irony was that this happened to a passenger who went as far as rejecting my own humble driver services in his attempt to avoid surprises. Remedy: deal with a driver you know, or with a company that operates to "Western standard".

Stopping in the middle of nowhere and demanding more money. That happened to a friend of mine who hired a cab to travel from Staritsa to Tver. The taxi however, was from Rzhev, a city famous for its high crime rate and generally unhealthy social climate.

Dumping a disoriented passenger short of his destination. Just remembered how I myself was cheated in Tashkent, Uzbekistan years ago. It was late and quite and I was tired and didn't realize that the driver just made a few circles and said we've arrived. The moral is to have at least some idea where you are, and to watch out for driver making circles. Apparently that was a common trick played on Russian passengers from the provinces who needed to change train station located around Komsomolskaya square (Leningrad, Yaroslavl, and Kazan stations). Russians have since grown more sophisticated but foreign travellers may still be tricked that way.

An outright lie about distances, public transportation, and accepted prices. If you carry around yourself that "easy victim" air you may be told that there is no way to get to Moscow for less that $160 and that public transportation from the airport just isn't available. That happened to a guest of mine a couple of years ago, and he fell for it! Try to arrange to be met by someone you know. At least do your homework and NAME YOUR OWN PRICE.

You agree with the taxi driver on one price but then, at the end of the ride, you are asked for much more, and intimidated into paying. The solution? Paying for the whole trip right after you get into the car is one possibility. Write the price on a card to make claiming misunderstanding difficult. This situation with jacking up the price happened to me in Sheremetyevo-1, and the driver even attempted to hit me after I demanded that the car be stopped.

Naming a price for the trip, then claiming it was "per kilometer". I've heard of that being done in Yalta and Simferopol [Been there recently - a crime den. As everywhere else, south = trouble.]on the Black Sea. Again, write the amount on the card and pay at the beginning of the trip to make claiming misunderstanding difficult.

The driver pretends his car breaks down, you get out, and he takes off with your possessions. That's a trick from wild early 90s and is unlikely for 2007 Moscow but be aware of that possibility if you travel to high-crime regions.

Several recent stories on taxi scam/tricks/crime are posted at http://www.expat.ru/forum/ [DOES NOT APPEAR TO WORK]. Apparently passenger robberies still happen. That's how it works: Several men get into the car and don't let you out till you give them your wallet. The basic idea is to avoid taxis that hang around seedy drinking establishments for the expats, to look in the back of the cab, and to be ready to make a lot of noise if things go wrong. ...THAT MAKES ME RECALL A COUPLE OF CASES WHEN MY CLIENTS WHERE ROBBED WHILE DRUNK AND/OR LOOKING FOR PROSTITUTES. DON'T IF YOU CAN; DO THAT WITH GREAT DISCRETION IF YOU CAN'T RESIST THE CALL OF NATURE.

An official-looking separate price lists with "stupid foreigner" prices. Recently a small group of Olesya's clients was taken to the train station by one of my drivers whom I of course took off the list after the incident. They were charged $20 per suitcase carried no more than 200 yards. An official-looking list with absurd numbers was produced, and a militia man appeared on the scene telling travellers that they will be detained if they don't pay up. The solution? I would avoid porters altogether because, unlike drivers, they have nothing whatsoever to lose while most of them are desperate for vodka most of their waking hours. As with other services, be aware of the accepted level of prices and NAME YOUR OWN DEAL. Ask me for a ballpark figure of the cost of various services you may need. Normally Russia should NOT be more expensive than Western Europe or North America. (Check out this Sample of Typical Russian Prices.)

Rigged meters

From my Notice Board:

My bad experience with official taxis
Posted on November 4, 2004 at 06:54:11 AM by Sleeper

I have only once ever managed to flag down one of those yellow cars that claims to be a taxi, with a light. The driver pointed to the meter, and said that the price would be determined by the meter. We got to our destination, and the price was 900 roubles, to drive from just outside the Bolshoi to Paveletskii Station, at midday on a weekday. I would normally pay 150 roubles max for this. My view is that the meter is probably rigged, and that you should negotiate a price before you drive off, as with a normal tachka. I paid about 600 roubles, saying that it was all I had. In retrospect, I should probably have refused to pay.

The meter was not necessarily rigged but the price structure could go something like that: 300 roubles to board, 300 roubles minimum ride etc. The moral is to avoid official taxis. On the other hand the condition of cars and drivers is monitored or is supposed to be, passengers are insured etc.

Tricks involving lost wallets and wads of money. The taxi cab version of it involves pretending the previous passenger left his wallet in the car, and suggesting to you to split the money. DO NOT TOUCH WALLETS LEFT OR DROPPED IN FRONT OF YOU! One of my guests lost $800 that way.

While on the subjects I should perhaps mention tricks played by policemen on freshly arrived and disoriented travellers. Here are two I regularly hear of:

"Your documents are not in order and I am detaining you". Or pay $20-50. One gentleman even lost $350 is this kind of a situation. The remedy is to act cool, to jot down the officer's badge number, to get in touch with your embassy, to insist that you go to the hotel to get an interpreter etc. and certainly NOT to pay money to support this scam.  Remember that extortionists rely on your keeping quiet to do their dirty deeds, so your counter-offensive is to make others involved. I heard of this trick being played on those on their way to the airport, when you have no easy choice but to pay to get your documents back. First, make sure they ARE in order. That is, you visa is NOT expired and your registration is valid. Think of the sh*t the police officer would be if all was in order but you missed your plane. Scammers are looking for EASY and SILENT victims.

Russian brides scam is a separate story. If you feel something is not right, send me samples of your correspondence with your e-mail friend and a small contribution to my project, and I will point to the obvious. I urge you to do that BEFORE sending her money for her ticket, visa, dying mother, or ransom  for her brother kidnapped by the Mafia.

Airport scam. An official looking man standing by free trolleys or the washroom, asking for $5-15. A porter or a taxi driver enforces his services on you by grabbing your bags. The latter used to be common in Moscow. Any other stories?

"Foreigner in distress". The key is to invoke your sympathy by pretending to be in the sort of situation where you can end up, eg. lost passport, stolen money, missed airplane etc. Be highly suspect of any desperate appeal for help. See http://www.expatriates.com/html/scams.html 

"Cheap room/apartment for rent" tricks. Moscow enjoys a glut of $80/month rooms and $200/month apartments. Such may be the first impression based on reviewing notices glued to lamppoles, fences, or bus shelters. Iz Ruk v Ruki ("Hands to Hands"), Moscow's biggest advertising daily that will print ads from the public for next to nothing, lists hundreds of apartments in the $250-350 range. The Moscow Times classifieds will contain a few $500-600 offers of "western style" apartments right in the center of the city. Not bad at the first glance!

A selection of "Room for Rent" and "Apartment for Rent" notices from just one lamppost on Sherbakovskaya street (east end on your way to Izmailovo)

One room apartment for rent, $250/month, urgent.

Apartment for rent, one room, this area.

Room for rent, $50/month

One room apartment for rent.

This impression, is, however, is not totally accurate. Telephone numbers supplied with these attractive offers will take you to "rental agencies" that will charge you something for a list of non-existent offers."Apartment for rent, $250/month, close to Metro" is but a advertising gimmick. Don't go for these.

ATM scam is NOT common here. I vaguely recall hearing a story of a sleeve being inserted into the card slot of an ATM to capture a credit card that the thief then pulls out. The trick also requires someone to watch you punch in the code. My bank in Canada told me recently that Russia is NOT on the list of the most problematic countries as far as credit card scam goes. Still, I advise you avoid unnecessary credit card transactions.

Let me end on a positive note. Violence is NOT common in Russia. Not in Moscow, not in Staritsa, and not in-between, which is my usual hunting ground. Theft is rare. The local style of crime is to SCAM you into giving your money away. Further, scam itself is rather rare and tend to occur around tourist hangouts on your first or second day in Russia. About one out of 10 of my clients encounters petty crimes, and in 9 cases out of 10 the situation was entirely avoidable. Relax and enjoy whatever it is that brought you here.

 

Related:
My personal "I'll keep you out of trouble" guarantee

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