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Thought I would pass on an e-mail I received this morning from one of my clients in Kiev this week. He is discussing a street scam that happened to him. It is the same street scam we have talked about many times here on P-L, but I guess sometimes new guys come on and have not been advised of the scam.

Here is his e-mail,.....My first morning in Kiev as I was
walking down Kreshatyk Street this guy looks like he
just found a wad of cash in the street. He puts a
credible act on and moments later another guy walks up
and in another oscar performance proclaims that he has
lost his money, has anyone seen his money? He asks the
other man to look in his pockets, then me. He acts as
if he does not trust us and looks at our wallets and
says no this is not it and returns the money back. Of
course he has used a bit of slight of hand and has
stolen one of my hundreds but he tries to get my
attention by asking to look in my pockets. This
happened again today with another group of men. As the
expression goes fool me once shame on you, fool me
twice shame on me. I just walked away right in the
beginning but was tempted to give them both the finger
however I resisted and walked away. Warn the other
members of these street scammers so it does not
happen to another person.

For you new guys out there, this is the most common street scam done to foreigners. It's done in most of the cities where you have many foreigners, from St. Petersburg to Odessa to Novosibirsk.

I have heard this happening to several guys but have never had it happened to me. I keep hoping it will happen to me! I always carry a spare empty billfold in my back pocket. When (if) it ever happens to me I am going to give the con-man the empty billfold, what a surprise he will see has he looks inside, then as he gives the billfold back to me I am going to start hollering as to where my money is!!!

I do not recommend that any of you do this, I am going to do it as I feel comfortable enough with doing it, am big enough to do it, and I have no problem in dealing with the local police should I draw there attention. In fact as Americans, at least in my experences, we actually can get by with more things than the locals can.

... in response to Street scam, posted by Jack on Sep 30, 2002

I was up near the Red University near the park and was walking across the street when the guy ahead of me like threw the wallet against the curb...  Then picked it up asking if I had lost my wallet?

Dumb me, It was full of Ukrainian and US dollars.

The first thing that ran thorough my mind, one of those goof balls attending the AFA social had his wallet picket.

I kept at a good arms length of this wallet, they know Americans are good sumaritians and of course I said, look for ID in the wallet.  But the guy look inside for info... it was then that it all clicked in my brain scam.

I quickly moved my hands back and away from the guy and turned and walk away... as I turned to look at the guy he smiles and give me the the thumbs up, as if I had passed his test and didn't blow his cover.

Of course, in hindsight the thought of grabbing the wallet and the cash and throwing the money up in the air in a crowded area seem like a neat idea, but if your  going to be in Kiev a couple more days, the chance of getting spotted by these guys the odds are not in your favor.

Gee, wonder what kind of a stampeed  you could get if you have 50 $1 bills and threw them in the air at the McDonalds entrance of the Metro...  Talk about Kaos...

... in response to Re: I posted about this on my first trip..., posted by wsbill on Sep 30, 2002

I was just getting into a cab across the street from my flat and a guy right behind me calls to me and picks up a wallet asking if it's mine, I tell him "no"..  I had already heard about this scam from my previous trip.  He looked inside and it was full of big American bills and he asks me if I want to split it, go to the bar and drink with him with some of it!  I say "nyet" but he keeps pushing me, so I finally take the wallet he is offering me and I toss it over the cab into the traffic!  Well he is stunned and runs around to go into the street to get it, I step into my cab and leave.  I look back now and I think that may have been a strupid thing to do, but it seemed like a good idea at the time... From what I understand, they will sometimes do this in conjunction with a cop who will threaten to arrest you if you don't pay up!  I didn't hang around to see if/who his accomplice may have been but if it WERE a cop, it might not have gone well!

... in response to Street scam, posted by Jack on Sep 30, 2002

My first trip to Ukraine, I was approached near the opera house in Odessa by what appeared to be a sailor. The guy had to be nearly 6'6", one of the tallest people I have ever saw in the FSU and had to outweigh me by at least 50lbs.. He spoke relatively good English.
 He came up with this story about how he needed to change a handful of twenties (which he produced)into large bills. My first instinct was to say bullsh!t and blow his arse off, but I happened to remember that I had taken my money out of my wallet at the exchange down the street and had put the hyrivna in my front pocket. So, I showed him my empty wallet. He acted a bit pizzed, murmered something and walked off. If I had shown any cash, I dare say he would have beat the crap out of me and took it.

And for those of you traveling by train or going to the open air markets, you best keep your money at least in your front pockets when moving thru crowds. The little gypsie kids are very skilled pickpockets.

try to save my 3 or 2 kopecs

 Lynn

... in response to Street scam, posted by Jack on Sep 30, 2002

/me runs out to buy a prop wallet! :)
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