Shoeshine scammers target foreign tourists in downtown HCMC

Shoeshine scammers target foreign tourists in downtown HCMC



Two men polishing shoes for a foreign tourist in HCMC. Photo: Trac Rin

A 15-strong gang has been scamming tourists in downtown Ho Chi Minh City by shining their shoes without being asked before demanding an extortionate amount of money, threatening those who do not pay, a Thanh Nien investigation has found.

On August 11 for instance, two foreign men were sitting on a bench in September 23rd Park when two men suddenly approached them and polished their shoes without saying a word.

The tourists did not turn them away but were shocked to be asked VND1 million (US$45).

The two men threatened the tourists until they paid them the money.

Thanh Nien found similar incidents occurring elsewhere in the city’s downtown.

On August 11 a foreign man was about to cross Le Lai Street when a man insisted on polishing his shoes though the former said no.

A Thanh Nien reporter managed to join the shoeshine group and found there were 15 men who had moved to the city from Thanh Hoa Province.

They rent rooms on Hoang Sa Street, District 3, and usually take buses to the downtown area.

A member, who claimed he could earn VND2 million in a morning, said they often go in pairs so that they could threaten the victims easier. One would polish shoes and demand money while the other would keep an eye out for police and voluntary youths, he said.

Dinh To Hoa, deputy chief inspector of the city Department of Tourism, admitted that her agency is aware of the scam. Authorities have recorded more than 2,500 cases of hawkers and shoeshine boys hassling tourists, she said.

“[My] department has coordinated with relevant agencies to step up patrolling. They will also be punished if caught on street cameras.”

~News courtesy of Thanh Nien~

Foreigner falls victim to another robbery by fake cop in HCMC

Foreigner falls victim to another robbery by fake cop in Ho Chi Minh City



Foreign tourists in Ho Chi Minh downtown. Photo: Tran TamForeign tourists in Ho Chi Minh downtown.

The Ho Chi Minh City police are looking for a man suspected to have impersonated a police officer to steal an American tourist’s bag.

Kumar Bloomstein, 23, was riding a motorbike in District 2 Thursday afternoon when a man approached him, introduced himself as a criminal investigator and said he suspected Bloomstein was involved with drugs.

He ordered the American to come along to a police station, and when they approached one on Mai Chi Tho Street, the man told Bloomstein to leave his bag and go fetch his passport to prove he was in Vietnam legally.

The tourist went to his hotel in District 1, but when he returned the man had disappeared with his bag, which contained two tablets and a camera.

The robbery happened two days after a German tourist was robbed in a similar manner in the same area.

The police have not arrested the suspect in the first case yet, and it is still not clear if it was just the same person.

Vietnam’s tourism market has seen a strong recovery this year, with a 20 percent increase in foreign arrivals in the first five months.

Ho Chi Minh City hopes to welcome 5.1 million foreign visitors this year, up from 4.7 million last year, but safety issues could make that goal hard to achieve.

A Moroccan man was stabbed late last month while fighting off two men who snatched his wife’s purse in the city. He is recovering.

~News courtesy of Thanh Nien~

British tourists complain about hotel scam

British tourists complain to Hanoi authorities about hotel scam



The three British tourists at Hanoi Tourism Department.

Three British tourists have complained to Hanoi tourism authorities that they were cheated by a man who took them from the gate of a hotel they had booked into to another one by lying to them.

Bradley Spillman, Jonathan Bearman and Matthew Taylor, all 21, told officials at the Hanoi Tourism Department Thursday that they had booked rooms at Hanoi Old Town Hotel, 95 Hang Chieu.

On Wednesday they arrived at the hotel from airport by taxi when a man who introduced himself as the “manager” of the hotel jumped into the vehicle.

He said the hotel’s water system was broken and he would take them to another branch of the hotel at 9 Nguyen Truong To Street, Ba Dinh District.

They booked into the new hotel, called Hai Nam, when they received an email from the Hanoi Old Town Hotel asking why they did not turned up.

Meanwhile, the man sold some tours to them, and after learning he had scammed them, they wanted the money back. But he only made a partial refund.

They told department officials they wanted their money back and the man and the hotel to be punished.

On Thursday Vu Cong Huy, deputy chief inspector of the department, said they were investigating the case together with Ba Dinh District authorities.

Do Dinh Hong, Director of Hanoi's Tourism Department, said the authorities will "seriously address any violation" to "maintain the good image of Vietnam's tourism."

~News courtesy of Thanh Nien~

HCMC plans tourist police unit amid safety concern

Ho Chi Minh City plans tourist police unit amid safety concern

Ho Chi Minh City is planning to set up a special police unit to protect tourists as part of its new crackdown on crime, particularly robberies.

Nguyen Thanh Phong, chairman of HCMC People’s Committee, said at a conference on Tuesday that the unit would be managed by the Department of Tourism and trained by the city police.

Phong said the city are taking measures to tackle crimes, especially robberies, including the strict punishment of leaders of districts where robberies happen frequently.

There was a debate during the conference over who is ultimately responsible for the safety of tourists in the city.

Phan Anh Minh, deputy director of HCMC Police Department, said the tourism sector’s main task is to ensure the safety of tourists. It should establish its own force rather than waiting for the police to do the job, Minh said.

The police will be in charge of training this special unit to react quickly in case of incidents, he said. Minh suggested punishments should be imposed on travel companies that fail to ensure safety for their tourists.

Tourism officials, on the other hand, said law enforcement should do more to help tourists.

La Quoc Khanh, deputy director of HCMC Tourism Department, said that it received diplomatic notes from Australia, South Korea, Japan and Taipei informing hundreds of cases in which their citizens were robbed while traveling in the city.

Khanh said the diplomats expressed their concerns over the increasing number of robberies involving their citizens and the lack of cooperation by Vietnamese relevant agencies to tackle the problem.

He called on the city police to establish a unit to protect tourists, saying the task is "too much" for the tourism sector.

~News courtesy of Thanh Nien~

Street vendors fined for overcharging foreign tourists in HCMC

Street vendors fined for overcharging foreign tourists in HCMC


A street vendor follows two foreign tourists in Ho Chi Minh City downtown.

Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City's District 1 have fined five street vendors VND150,000 (nearly US$7) each for selling coconuts to foreign tourists at prices five to 20 times what locals pay.

Nguyen Vo Phuong Quynh, chairwoman of Ben Thanh Ward, said the vendors said they are migrants from the Mekong Delta and mostly sell their coconuts around the Independence Palace.

“We’ve asked them for a written commitment they will not repeat [it].

“Now there are no vendors following and harassing foreign tourists into buying coconuts around the palace.”

Tuoi Tre newspaper reported earlier this month that around 30 members of a family from the delta tried to sell coconuts to foreigners at high prices near the Independence Palace, War Remnants Museum, and the Ho Chi Minh City Museum.

They would target those who look confused, and charge them VND100,000-200,000, or $5-10, for a coconut, it claimed.

Quynh said her ward is trying to impose “strict penalties” to stop the problem of street vendors harassing tourists.

The problem is most common in the downtown area near the palace, war museum, Notre Dame Cathedral, Post Office, and Ben Thanh Market.

Tourists can call a hotline at 08 39826371 to meet officials from District 1 for assistance if they have trouble with street vendors or for other security concerns.

~News courtesy of Thanh Nien~

Saigon cyclo drivers rip foreign tourists: report

Saigon cyclo drivers rip foreign tourists: report


A cyclo driver snatches money from a Australian tourist in Ho Chi Minh City after she refused to pay his high price.

Hung and another cyclo driver each quickly took a US$50 note from the wallets of an Australian couple after dropping them with their two children at the Independence Palace last Thursday.

The couple gesticulated, asking for their money back, but Hung and his friend just smiled and rode away.

The Australian man said they had been brought from Ben Thanh Market, a kilometer away.

He said it was their first time in Vietnam and so did not know prices or directions.

“We feel unhappy because they took a lot of money,” he told a Tuoi Tre reporter.

An investigation by Tuoi Tre found Hung is one of 10 freelance cyclo drivers stationed around Ben Thanh Market. They charge foreign tourists exorbitant prices, usually 10 times what is agreed in advance.

They would grab money straight from customers’ pockets if the latter are reluctant to pay.

Last Tuesday Hung allegedly snatched $200 from another Australian tourist after driving 1.2 kilometers from Ben Thanh.

The woman said he had agreed to take $20.

“I was shocked and angry,” she said.

Sometimes the rip-off is accompanied by violence.

That happened last Wednesday when Minh, a driver in the same group, took Chang Lee, a 28-year-old Taiwanese, from Ben Thanh to Tran Hung Dao Street in District 1.

Minh called a colleague named Long to wait for him there.

When he arrived, he announced a huge fare and quickly took some notes from the customer’s bag.

They quarreled and Lee grabbed Minh’s arm to drag him to a police station.

Long showed up and rescued his friend and they both left.

Lee said Minh had agreed to take VND150,000, but took VND1 million.

On another occasion, four tourists from New Zealand were in four cyclos from the group.

When they stopped at a café to pay money, Long and Minh named a number and the tourists refused. They

argued and the drivers snatched VND100,000 notes from the tourists, screaming “More, more.”

They only left after one of the male visitors was furious and slammed a table.

The tourists said VND6 million, or around $300, had been taken.

“We found the cyclo interesting and we wanted to try them; we did not expect that to happen,” one of them said.

A woman in the group said the drivers had been very friendly at first, telling them about popular places in the city and showing them where to shop.

A local man living on Tran Hung Dao Street said he sees the cyclo drivers arguing with tourists every day.

When some female tourists said they did not have enough cash, the drivers would escort them to a nearby ATM to withdraw money, he said.

A representative of District 1 Cyclo Association said their members sign an agreement to charge tourists only VND50,000, around $2.5, an hour and wear uniforms.

But he also said they only serve clients of travel agencies. So tourists traveling on their own end up with thugs like Hung and his gang.

A police officer said the District 1 police have photos of several drivers notorious for cheating customers in the area, and so victims can go to any police station to report.

It is not clear if the tourists have been given their money back.

One day after Tuoi Tre published the story, it cited a city official as saying that local authorities will look into the issue and deal with violations strictly.

~News courtesy of Thanh Nien~

Foreigners learn to cope with scams in Hanoi

Foreigners learn to cope with scams in Vietnam capital

Visitors to Hanoi have become familiar with the scams, rip-offs, and persistent vendors that many of them now manage to deal with them.

Tuoi Tre newspaper reported some foreigners as saying that many first-time visitors might choose to ignore them, not knowing who to complain to or how a conflict might end up, but those who have been here for a while do not.

Some newcomers are, however, well prepared after reading travel forums and media reports about things to expect like taxi drivers lying about not having change, taking circuitous routes, and having dodgy meters.

Kevin, 32, an Australian living in Hanoi, says he keeps a diary with the names and phone numbers of reputed taxi firms and never uses others.

A woman tourist from Papua New Guinea says when a taxi driver claims not to have change, the passengers just needs to be patient to see who blinks first.

“Once a driver showed me his wallet to prove he has no change. So I told him I will wait in the car for him to go around and find some change.

"He thought for a moment and took out some change from his trouser pocket."

Some foreigners who have stayed long enough have even set up travel agencies to make sure foreigners have a better experience in Vietnam, especially the capital.

Guim Valls Teruel, owner of The Hanoi Bicycle Collective, says he encourages his friends to protect themselves from scams.

Taxi drivers, for instance, are well aware that they are breaking the law, and so when tourists question or threaten to report them, they back off, he says.

But he admits a confrontation is only a temporary solution, and says the authorities need to be tougher, or the bad news will spread by word of mouth and foreigners will hesitate to come to Vietnam.

Jean - Jacques Barre, who has been in Vietnam since 1994, says the country is never a top option for tourists and all these scams persuade people not to come back a second time.

Barre and his friends have set up the Hanoi-based Freewheelin’ Tours, but any time his customers catch a taxi on their own they get ripped off, he laments.

Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, vice chairwoman of Hanoi, admits that the “persistent scams” are causing trouble for tourism promotion.

Hanoi police recently arrested a taxi driver from Trung Viet Company who allegedly forced an Australian couple to pay VND980,000 (US$46.6) though the meter only showed VND98,000.

The couple took photos of the meter, the driver, and the cab’s license plate before paying the fare and went straight to the police.

French tourist Caballero Mathias got a compensation of VND10 million from a hotel following police intervention after he was threatened by staff at a hotel.

A taxi had taken him and his friends to another hotel and not the one they had booked, but when they asked to leave, the hotel staff threatened to assault or even kill them.

The visitors had demanded compensation of VND17 million for the mental agony and loss of money and time he and his friends incurred.

The city police recently also fined a cyclo driver for charging an Australian tourist and her two children VND1.3 million for a five-kilometer ride, more than ten times the normal price, despite earlier agreeing on a fare of VND70,000.

~News courtesy of Thanh Nien News~

狮城女在越南误上假德士 遭锁车勒索

狮城女在越南误上假德士　遭锁车勒索

女郎和朋友是在胡志明市的青边市场外误上贼车。（图／互联网）

越南搭德士误上贼车，2狮城女郎拒绝付高出40倍的德士费，司机竟把她们载到昏暗巷子里，锁车门车窗恐吓勒索！

很多国人爱到越南胡志明市旅游，不过大家在乘搭德士时要小心，以免被砍菜头。

就有两名本地女郎投诉，原本新币8角的车资，竟然变成新币35元。当她们拒绝被敲竹杠时，德士司机竟把她们载到暗巷勒索，变相抢劫。

有黑道撑腰，警察捉不完。

《新明日报》