first of all, i hate to call this "art", but it's
the term most used, so i'll just roll with it.
secondly, i know
most people in morocco and in the world are good people, but when traveling to
very touristic places, you will most likely have to deal with some level of
tourist trap at some point, and it just so happens that in morocco (and some
other arabic countries, i assume), this is the most common type you'll see.
with that said, there are thousands of articles and warnings
about the scammers in morocco, but most of them are pretty vague, just warning you to beware of them, or saying "don't accept random help, as they might ask for
money afterwards", or even suggesting how much to "tip" them
when you fall for one, or deliberately decide to use one (i'd say some 10-20
dirham).. so i decided to be more specific, talking about the actual lines they
might use, and how to deal with them..
how to spot scam
artists
these guys are good.
they're experts on what they're doing. they know exactly how to spot their
target and how to lure them. trust me, you get distracted for a second and you
might find yourself already knee deep in an uncomfortable situation.
the rule of thumb is simple: if someone just spontaneously
out of the blue offers you information, most likely, it's one of them.
here are some things you might hear (remember in these
situations you did NOT ask for any info):
- "hey, the
tanneries? are you looking for the tanneries? they're that way."
they will be probably pointing to a side street where there
are no tourists. you might be in one of the main streets, just going with the
flow, but it sounds like a good idea to take a little shortcut and get to (fill the blank) before all those
tourists, right? WRONG.
as soon as you take that turn, the scammer will be right
there with you.. "here, come, i'll
show you how to get there, no worries." - get rid of him immediately
or he has you.
the idea here is that they will take you through the small
streets to make you feel like you would never be able to go to wherever they're
taking you without their help. but most likely, if you stayed in the main
streets you would've gotten there way before anyway.
you can just follow the signs to most main attractions, or
even just really go with the flow.
- "hey, where are
you from?"
sounds very simple, but if you answer, they will say
something in your native language (they know something in ALL major languages..
and many minor ones!), you'll laugh and be pleasantly surprised, and they won't
leave your side until you practically have to physically shake them off. all
they need is a hint of communication and this is their most used bait.
you might think, if you make one of those mistakes and end
up being "forcefully guided" by them, that you can just tell them
right away that you're not interested, or that you're not going to pay them,
and then you're free, right? unfortunately, not really. not at all.
once you've responded to their first interaction, their goal
is to calm you down and assure you that they're honest people, just helping you
out. that's when they'll say "i'm
not a guide, i'm an honest worker", "i'm just a student, i live right
there", "i don't want your money, you think all moroccans are trying
to take your money, but we're good
people too" (wouldn't you feel like an ass now?), and when you talk about how you're not planning to pay them, they
might even pretend they're insulted, with "c'mon
my friend, don't talk to me like that, i'm here trying to help and you come
talking about money?" (yeah, definitely an ass!)... anyway, something
along those lines, or a combination of them.
also, they might just walk ahead of you, every now and then
pointing to some seemingly unimportant place, and then giving some (unsolicited)
vague "not-on-the-guide-books" information. mostly inaccurate. if
you've come this far and can't get rid of them, you might try completely
ignoring them. but they won't give up easily.
when there's any fork on the road (so to speak), they will
insist on pointing you to the "right" direction, which may or may not
be correct. but they have nothing to lose. if you go their way, they count it
as them guiding you and then you owe them. if you take the other way and that's
the right one, they will follow you, get ahead of you again and then repeat the
attempt. if you take the other way and it's a dead end, you'll come back a
little embarrassed and take the other way, but at least you can say you were
not following them.
in this situation, him and/or other fellows (they help each
other) might say that "this street
is closed, you have to go there", "this is a dead end", or
even try to block your way and say "you
can't go through here". if this is happening right when they're trying
to persuade you to follow them, there's a pretty good chance that's the way you should go. worked with me like 70% of the times! every now
and then it will be a dead end, but hey, you tried!
dealing with scammers
so what can you do to avoid this situation? well, it might
sound harsh, but my first and most important recommendation is don't interact with them. if they say
"good morning" or "good afternoon", say it back, and end it there. because if they are
scammers, the next thing they'll ask is "where
are you from?", or "are you
looking for a restaurant?", or "are
you trying to find the mosque?", and now you know what happens from
there.
so right out of the gate (no pun intended), the way to avoid
them is not to make eye contact, show them the palm of your hand and, if you
want to talk to them, you say a firm "NO!", and keep walking. no more
exchange of words. they might insist for a little bit, but if you stay your
course, you'll be free, at least until the next one comes around.
they might take offense (of pretend to) and start saying
you're a bad person, or that you don't like moroccans, etc. ignore it. you didn't do anything
wrong. just think like this: if you're in your city, you see a confused
tourist, you offer help and they ignore it, would you follow them and insist
for 15 minutes until they accept your help, or just shrug your shoulders and
let them go?
exactly.
some articles say "don't look lost" and
"don't ask for directions". well, the medina in fes has over nine thousand streets. try not to look
lost there. yeah, it's pretty impossible... i recommend you stick to the main
busy streets, they will take you to most of the places you want to see anyway,
and also, as i've mentioned before, there are signs
indicating where most of the important sights are.. it might take a while, but
you will get there..
i want to clarify that i did
not feel threatened at any moment. it's a hassle and it's uncomfortable,
but i think in the vast majority of the cases, it ends there. of course,
they're super friendly at first, and they might get a bit cranky when you shoo
them away, but it's when it's time to close the deal and get your money that
they might sound a little more intense. and most tourists in that situation
will feel intimidated and drop some coin, but i'm not in any way stating that
you're in danger by dealing with them in any other way. i'm also not saying
that you're not. i honestly don't have this knowledge.
and this is it, my little (long) guide to scammers in
morocco. i'm sure it applies to many other countries, and possibly cultures, so
i hope some first time travelers to these places will find this article and
make use of it.. and i'd love to get some feedback on it as well..
safe travels!
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