Tourist Scams in Greece

Watch out for the dodgy and aggressive black guys in Athens

Good assessment. As a foreigner living here for over 3 decades I have to say that Greeks are super friendly but you will always get the occasional assholes who will rob you, mostly the immigrants. So hold on to your wallets. Also don't bother to visit places like Mykonos or Santorini because their prices are so outrageous even Greeks don't go there. There are tons of other great Greek islands you can visit. From young family friendly budget islands to young heavy party goers. Just do your homework first before you book. Good luck and have fun!

Im in Greece as im typing this and these are some things ive came across. Firstly i came across some beggars in Athens. They were little girls around 6 years old it seems and they look so "innocent", my mum then spotted the girls go back to their mum and saw her point at us, seemingly looking like she said she failed to get money off us. We do know there are plans fo them already through the gov as he said.
Seccomdly, I also spotted a woman going up to women tourists with red roses and she came out of knowhere...She gave it to them for "free" and helped put it in their hair to look nice.....and obviously asked for money after:/ :0🤣 but still a great country with little things to stress over. Just enjoy it.

Though the only thing I would say is that restaurants bring you tap water, that is indeed free, however if it's bottled than you will pay.

We have the euro so nobody wants your dollars. We prefer phones, laptops and watches

Turkey to I was Booked resort fairly price , breakfast and diner was free , Night time entertinment icluded but Moscutious were unbareable to stay evening outside inside also Day time ACs were cut off evening few hours work then after midnight turned off which summer time there were quiet become Hot .

The Raki is not a scam, just dangerous if you’re not careful with how much you have

Alex Jones always giving us helpful info thanks!

As a local, the best advice I can give to anyone visiting Greece is to avoid gypsies at all costs. If you are in Greece and someone steals from you, there is an 80+% chance they are roma or gypsy. That's from official police statistics. I know it may sound racist and you may be tempted to feel bad for them but please don't. That's what they want. They are not poor, they are not marginalized. They just choose to not integrate and follow basic societal rules.

If you see a mother with a baby begging for money DO NOT give her a cent. The baby may not even be hers and they usually drug the kid so that it does not cry all the time. Do not buy groceries from the gypsy trucks, they are of poor quality and sometimes stolen from honest merchants. They may approach you on the street to sell you sunglasses or phones, those are stolen too. If you are a couple, a gypsy girl will definitely approach you with flowers for your partner. If you take it and refuse to pay, or pay too little she will bring in reinforcements and they won't be friendly.

Be extra wary when they approach you asking for instructions. A new type of scam that mostly targets locals but may also target tourists is when they try to distract you when you are using the ATM. Especially ATMs in metro stations. One of them will ask for some very basic instructions like which line goes to Syntagma Square and the other one will attempt to steal the cash as it comes out of the machine.

Their kids are on it too. If you are sitting on a restaurant or cafe and have your wallet or phone on the table gypsy kids will approach you pretending to be mute or blind or both. They will be carrying a large piece of paper saying that they cannot speak and are homeless and asking for help. They will look innocent and helpless and you will be distracted as they lay the piece of paper on the table while they grab your stuff

About taxis. Never hail a taxi from the street and never from the airport. Download Uber and FreeNow but prefer Uber, they may have fewer drivers but most of them will have 4.8+ stars. And never pay cash, if they ask for cash say you don't have any or say you only have dollars, pounds, etc. If you are carrying luggage know that they are required by law to charge 30 cents per bag exceeding 10kg. Ask upfront about the charge to gauge their attitude. Always ask for a detailed receipt at the end of the ride and know you can call the police on them if they attempt to cheat you. If you are on an island, just avoid them altogether. Driving a taxi in Greece is a heavily regulated and unionized industry and that is why you won't see regular people driving for Uber using private cars. Because when they tried, taxi drivers went on strikes and burned down Uber's cars until the government banned Uber. That's the type of people we are talking about so be wary.

Thanks!!!

"How to Build the Parthenon and make the Barbarians pay for it" by Don Trumpopoulos, c. 400 BC.

You should have named that one Greek restaurant that overcharges people by the beach. They charge you per gram on their seafood. They charge you by ounce for drink. They avoid giving you the menu so you can’t read it.

they gotta pay off their debt

Taxis are the biggest scam in Greece. Those drivers are just not using the meters but give you a surprise at the end of the trip. Make sure you ask them to use meters and get the receipt. The best way is always to book a taxi on Uber which doesn’t rip you off.

On restaurants just check the rating on Gmaps, 5 stars does not guarantee excellence but beware anything much below 3. So far in the last 10 years or so it has worked well.

In general Greak people can be a little rude with the money,😊

We found that restaurants near tourist areas charged much more than restaurants located only a short distance down the street.

After 30 years of travelling to greece. This is totally not representative of what we have experienced. Very poor advice

Remember having Greek national dish in restaurant the potatoes were black inside, the vegetables were well past their sell by date... disgusting meal, beware some restaurants use old veg etc for tourist meals.

thanks for this clear and to the point video

Biggest food scam in Greece is the fries that they put in the gyro in place of meat
Of course nobody eats potato sandwich

Are there pickpockets on very touristy islands such as Mykonos and Santorini?

I love your enthusiasm for Greece and the people. You're educating your children to be sociable and accepting of otjer cultures. It will stay with them forever ❤

The whole place is a scam....Roman ruins relabelled "greek" by the British in 1832. Lord Palmerston renamed the Hellenic refugees as 'greek' and stationed the British navy there, why? close to Israel, middle east, and ensure the taxing of goods coming through their Suez Canal

To order Uber from your app it’s easy and stress less. Those taxis driver want to charge for the number of passengers, and luggages if you have! I loved Athens, but I’ve never visited a country which the taxi driver start to tell you that you are many people, and so many luggages, and he has to pay for tolls etc. The one I took from the airport charged me 70 euros when there was written at the taxi stop at the airport, a fix price for 45 euros. As soon as he started driving out of the airport, he started to speak very loud to intimidate, and only understood English when was convenient for him. I will never take taxi again in Athen. I will either use public transport, or just Uber.

TAXI SCAMS ARE BIG IN GREECE. i got scammed once... i asked a taxi guy there how much for fare to airport ( he told me 50 euros) 30 min drive. i said ok when we got to airport , the taxi cab guy never got out of his car until he was paid ( that was weird) so i gave him 50 euros and when i turned my head i have noticed in the corner of my eye that he was reaching under his left leg very quickly for something. well that was 10 euros . he told me i gave him 10 not 50. he looked at me very seriously , so i gave him 40 more becuase i was afraid he would of took off with my luggage in his trunk of the car

I’m confused about the taxis. What should I watch out for?

As a Greek everything he says is the truth

Remember: Tap water is free, bottled water will usually cost around 2 euros (1L). If they bring anything other than a plastic bottle, it is TAP WATER. Generally in Greece it is drinkable, but if you are a tourist it might affect you so be very careful. Usually they will ask whether you want bottled or tap water anyways.

The thing is paying for AC is a scam because as a Greek I have never paid for AC in any hotel I have been to. Personally I would NEVER go to Santorini or Mykonos, they are the most noisy tourist trap kind of islands with inflated prices to match. Too expensive for most Greeks. You are right, there are so many other lovely islands to choose from, without the inflated prices.

Was never worried about scams in Greece but being charged for water was a bit surprising.

They do the same with the water and bread in some restaurants in England as well. You need to specifically ask for tap water instead. As a Greek guy I was surprised that there are hotels charging you for electricity; never heard this before

I found the restaurants in Mykonos total ripoffs and scams.

Oh I was just approached by a woman trying to give me a free flower and she forcefully put it in my hand. Said it was free but then said 1 Euro. I said no thanks. I have to go. I was in a group of tourists. Why was I targeted?

I did the right thing and gave it back to her.

Yep
Cab drivers
Pickpockets
And krahtes (people who yelling advertising their restaurant)

It's like everywhere just everywhere hates tourists if you know what I mean....

Thanks for sharing God bless

Definitely doublecheck the restaurant check especially if it is handwritten

Just returned from Athens and Santorini. We would not go back for several reasons, it was over 100 degrees, too many cruise ships, too much garbage and no recycling. If you do go you need to go in April or September. We enjoyed parts of Athens. The bracelet scam happened at Athens. There were a few of those scams in Italy as well (take your photo with them and try to get $50-100). Those you can easily run from. The biggest scam is the taxi. My husband got charged double for a trip. Our hotel owner was furious. I think most of the people are great, but my overall feeling was I would not go back to either of those locations. Someplace much less tourist trap is for me.

I am in Greece right now in Assassin's Creed Odyssey :P

I really despise scams. Thanks for sharing. I didn't expect these.

Always put your backpack in front of you, never on your back.

The same scams are to be found around the world ! The same advice is applicable in all countries !

Just want to add this about the phones on the table: It's quite common for beggars to try to sell tissue packs to make some money. They come around the table, leave a tissue pack, then come back a minute later and if you don't want to buy, they take it back. Some of them are malicious and may put the proposed tissue pack on the table on top of the phone and when they come back, they snatch the phone along with the tissue pack.

The water and bread thing isn't a scam. The same thing happens in Portugal. Just don't eat or drink it if you don't want it or deny it outright.

Watch out for the lawyers in Greece. They are crooks especially one called Dimitri Vidaki, he is a scoundrel of note.

Water and Bread is a traditional food complement in Greece, Also Greek Salad 🥗 Fetta Cheese and Tomatoes,

As a Australian - Greek,
Nothing is FREE .
Best thing to do, talk to no one.
Make conversation with no one.
Be smart.

in witch countries bread and water are free? Greece have probably the cheapest water cost then the rest of europe, besides the fact that in most taverns they give tap water for free... check austria during the winter time, tap water can - 5euro

Beware of a certain car rental scam in Crete operated by CarJet and their partners Ok Mobility at Heraklion Airport. They blatantly insist on an extra €200 charge (in cash of course) ( no receipt of course). If you don't pay you can't take the car you've already paid for online. To cut a long story short: it's a scam that happens on a daily basis, and the authorities won't lift a finger to help you. Crete has its own mafia and there are many stories like mine on the Internet. Look it up. It's a great injustice to the wonderful islanders I met during my holiday; ...a great injustice to the honest, friendly people I met.