Watch out for the currency scams when ? ? Travel and Leisure ...

Years of continuous warnings have begun to pay off in the war against the scammers who send junk email suggesting you can, with a few clicks of the mouse, find yourself in possession of thousands of dollars. Most now know never to reply, even if the sender appears genuine and the rewards look significant. But when you get on an airplane clutching your cheap flights tickets , it?s easy to leave your early warning system behind. The fact you?re going on holiday is not a guarantee you will not be targeted. Indeed, the reverse is true. The fact you don?t know the local culture or speak the local language may mark you out as the most desirable of targets. So here are a few things to watch out for.

The most common scams are the people who approach you in the street or cafes, and ask to buy your US dollars for local cash. It?s true that, in some countries, there?s a black-market currency exchange system. But are you confident you can spot forgeries of the local currency? Unless you?re very careful, you can be handing over your genuine greenbacks in exchange for local Monopoly money. Then ask yourself what the accepted international rate is. Are you absolutely certain you are getting the right rate or better than the right rate? What is your reason for buying local currency on the street when you could walk into a bank and get the same deal with guaranteed rates and genuine local currency?

Now let?s say you?re in a restaurant or paying your hotel bill and the merchant offers to bill you in US dollars. This sounds like it?s a good deal because you avoid the extra fees and exchange commissions on your credit card. But do you know what exchange rate you?re going to receive? Yes, you will be billed in US dollars but this does you no good if you are being substantially overcharged. Beware because, in some countries where cheap flights land, there are third parties who convert the amounts billed and claim from your credit card in US dollars and split the additional profit on conversion with the hotels, restaurants and other merchants. Never trust what the local say. Verify before you accept.

This entry was posted on August 24, 2012, 12:29 pm and is filed under Travel & Leisure. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

Source: http://www.indianacs.com/watch-out-for-the-currency-scams-when-travelling-with-cheap-flights.html

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Source: http://lastminutecruisedeals.stoptbpartners.org/2829/watch-out-for-the-currency-scams-when-travel-and-leisure/

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