They're at it in Crete too.
in [Europe]
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From: aquachimp on 23 May 2010 06:45 On May 23, 12:36 pm, BP killed my turtle <michaelnewp...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > On May 23, 10:31 am, aquachimp <aquach...(a)aquachimp.freeserve.co.uk> > wrote: > > > > > On May 23, 8:19 am, BP killed my turtle <michaelnewp...(a)yahoo.com> > > wrote:> On May 22, 9:13 pm, aquachimp <aquach...(a)aquachimp.freeserve.co.uk> > > > wrote: > > > snippy > > > > > > > Cautiously succinctly expressed. But easier said than done. > > > > > > > Put it this way, I popped along here into Usenet Street and in > > > > > > posting this thread I have in effect approached everybody. What's > > > > > > more, though not Greek, I did so bearing the Gifts of information and > > > > > > opportunity/excuse to converse. > > > > > > > Not everyone has avoided me. > > > > > > > A holiday, such as what I've just had, is a feast of freedom and > > > > > > borrowing the phrase "we are what we eat" feasting of freedom lends us > > > > > > to living more freely and, I suspect, even free from a conscious sense > > > > > > of freedom. So when approached, as we were, the under current sense of > > > > > > freedom expressed itself thus, like someone whispering in your ear > > > > > > saying... ooh go on, listen, check it out, you'll be doing him a > > > > > > favour, you're free to walk away any time you want. > > > > > > > Trouble is, the same undercurrent, which is the real Trojan Horse at > > > > > > work here expresses itself in the same way as each greater step of > > > > > > risk is encountered. And that's why I think (though making it up as I > > > > > > go along) is why some people get duped, other than those who are > > > > > > tortured into it through tedium, hunger, thirst or as one couple I've > > > > > > since read about, the woman was diabetic, became ill as a consequence > > > > > > of all the missed meal delays, but the scammers still wouldn't let > > > > > > them go until the husband signed on the dotted line. > > > > > > going on holiday is no excuse for unplugging your brain.... > > > > > I'm not sure what you're saying with that generalisation. > > > > > If you're in Greece and get approached by someone speaking Dutch, > > > > asking if perhaps you are Dutch, but you're not and don't speak a word > > > > of it and subsequently haven't understood a word... the fact that you > > > > simply continue on your way with hardly a shrug does not amount to > > > > evidence that you've kept your brain plugged in. > > > > > Equally, if,say you're English and get approached my someone with a > > > > British accent enquiring if you're English, running away like your > > > > scared of your own shadow doesn't mean your brain is plugged in any > > > > more than taking a moment to engage in line with all the traditions of > > > > your upbringing means you've unplugged your brain. > > > > would you have done this in your own country ? > > > Hmm, I'm unsure what you mean by my "own country" > > you dont know where you live ?! I don't own a country. I know where I live but when locals ask me where I'm from, they're not usually asking for my current address. Beyond that it's a matter of working out do they mean my nationality, or where I've lived the most, or most recently, (as in where have I travelled from).
From: aquachimp on 23 May 2010 06:50 On May 23, 12:19 pm, Martin <mar...(a)invalid.invalid> wrote: > On 23/05/10 12:00, aquachimp wrote: > > > > > On May 23, 11:37 am, d4g...(a)yahoo.co.uk (David Horne, _the_ chancellor > > (*)) wrote: > >> Andy Pandy <spam8ti...(a)wonderful.spam.invalid> wrote: > >>> "David Horne, _the_ chancellor (*)" <d4g...(a)yahoo.co.uk> wrote in > >>> messagenews:1jiwc89.bizrkippijcwN%d4g4h4(a)yahoo.co.uk... > >>>> Andy Pandy <spam8ti...(a)wonderful.spam.invalid> wrote: > > >>>>> "aquachimp" <aquach...(a)aquachimp.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message > >>>>>news:ba3aa7bd-3e9c-4c1a-87aa-ec18110bfeb5(a)q13g2000vbm.googlegroups.com... > >>>>>> Oddly enough, there's not much mention about this kind of thing > >>>>>> here. > >>>>>> Or does it go by another name. > > >>>>> I suspect it's never mentioned here because most people who post > >>>>> here > >>>>> are independant travellers who don't go on "beach" holidays or to > >>>>> typical package holiday destinations where these scum operate. > > >>>> Never bumped into them myself, certainly. Maybe I just look as if > >>>> I'm > >>>> skint? :) > > >>> They're looking for "couples", and although you may travel as a couple > >>> I guess you might not be obviously identifiable as such ;-) > > >> Unless we're getting stopped by the Rome police for committing the crime > >> of being an interracial couple. :) > > > How curious; I say that because at one point during our little > > holiday, on account of what we found to be rather odd reactions to the > > fact that we are an international couple, I mentioned to my wife that > > we should consider ourselves lucky we are both at least of the same > > colour. > > > One of the funniest was just outside a jewellers. The lady stepped > > out to entice us in. She spoke to us in French; My wife and I replied > > in French just as i was saying something to her in English. > > The Jeweller's reation. > > "French and English, together.. how can it be?" > > We haven't been to Crete since 1984, but at the time I found it > substantially more expensive than anywhere we had been in Greece, > including Athens and the people very commercial minded. My wife is a > multilingual Francophone Belgian, but nobody ever commented on this in > Greece. I would say that the number of incidence where there was a noticeable absence of commercial mindedness was significant. What I found really odd was that it was like they've never heard of an international couple having say, met in Crete whilst on holiday. It's a holiday resort for heavens sakes, don't people from various nationalities not have holiday romances?
From: aquachimp on 23 May 2010 06:59 On May 23, 11:33 am, Martin <mar...(a)invalid.invalid> wrote: > On 23/05/10 11:13, aquachimp wrote: > > > On May 23, 10:35 am, Martin <mar...(a)invalid.invalid> wrote: > >> On 23/05/10 10:31, aquachimp wrote: > >> <snip> > > >>> However to try and answer you question, if someone, a complete > >>> stranger to me, approached me speaking in English, the novelty factor > >>> alone would get my attention before any thoughts as to whether this > >>> person is a "foreigner" in some sort of difficulty that I might be > >>> able to help out with. > > >> How many times did this happen to you before you twigged that all the > >> strangers were either trying to sell you Time Share or pick your pockets? > > > No English speaking "identifiable" (or otherwise, for that matter) > > stranger has ever approached me on a Belgian street. > > Perhaps because they don't sell time share or drugs in Belgium. > > Try Amsterdam, or the main train station in Rome. OK, I might see this in Rome later in the year. So far, the only scam I've witnessed was the ring scam mention in that how-to-spot... link I posted earlier; It was in Paris. The individuals didn't try it on with us as we sat watching them. This may have been because a poor choice in foot wear left me looking, perhaps, miserable enough to pass as a local <ducks>. However, it seems we incorrectly guessed how the scam operated apart from the obvious "is this your ring" approach. I thought it was probably something that merely looks good and that the greedy would seize on the chance to pretend it's their in exchange for a requested, or hinted at small, finder's fee, which however small would still exceed the commercial value of the ring. I was thinking Nigerian Emails.
From: BP killed my turtle on 23 May 2010 08:39 On May 23, 12:45 pm, aquachimp <aquach...(a)aquachimp.freeserve.co.uk> wrote: > On May 23, 12:36 pm, BP killed my turtle <michaelnewp...(a)yahoo.com> > wrote: > > > > > > > On May 23, 10:31 am, aquachimp <aquach...(a)aquachimp.freeserve.co.uk> > > wrote: > > > > On May 23, 8:19 am, BP killed my turtle <michaelnewp...(a)yahoo.com> > > > wrote:> On May 22, 9:13 pm, aquachimp <aquach...(a)aquachimp.freeserve.co.uk> > > > > wrote: > > > > snippy > > > > > > > > Cautiously succinctly expressed. But easier said than done. > > > > > > > > Put it this way, I popped along here into Usenet Street and in > > > > > > > posting this thread I have in effect approached everybody. What's > > > > > > > more, though not Greek, I did so bearing the Gifts of information and > > > > > > > opportunity/excuse to converse. > > > > > > > > Not everyone has avoided me. > > > > > > > > A holiday, such as what I've just had, is a feast of freedom and > > > > > > > borrowing the phrase "we are what we eat" feasting of freedom lends us > > > > > > > to living more freely and, I suspect, even free from a conscious sense > > > > > > > of freedom. So when approached, as we were, the under current sense of > > > > > > > freedom expressed itself thus, like someone whispering in your ear > > > > > > > saying... ooh go on, listen, check it out, you'll be doing him a > > > > > > > favour, you're free to walk away any time you want. > > > > > > > > Trouble is, the same undercurrent, which is the real Trojan Horse at > > > > > > > work here expresses itself in the same way as each greater step of > > > > > > > risk is encountered. And that's why I think (though making it up as I > > > > > > > go along) is why some people get duped, other than those who are > > > > > > > tortured into it through tedium, hunger, thirst or as one couple I've > > > > > > > since read about, the woman was diabetic, became ill as a consequence > > > > > > > of all the missed meal delays, but the scammers still wouldn't let > > > > > > > them go until the husband signed on the dotted line. > > > > > > > going on holiday is no excuse for unplugging your brain.... > > > > > > I'm not sure what you're saying with that generalisation. > > > > > > If you're in Greece and get approached by someone speaking Dutch, > > > > > asking if perhaps you are Dutch, but you're not and don't speak a word > > > > > of it and subsequently haven't understood a word... the fact that you > > > > > simply continue on your way with hardly a shrug does not amount to > > > > > evidence that you've kept your brain plugged in. > > > > > > Equally, if,say you're English and get approached my someone with a > > > > > British accent enquiring if you're English, running away like your > > > > > scared of your own shadow doesn't mean your brain is plugged in any > > > > > more than taking a moment to engage in line with all the traditions of > > > > > your upbringing means you've unplugged your brain. > > > > > would you have done this in your own country ? > > > > Hmm, I'm unsure what you mean by my "own country" > > > you dont know where you live ?! > > I don't own a country. I know where I live but when locals ask me > where I'm from, they're not usually asking for my current address. > Beyond that it's a matter of working out do they mean my nationality, > or where I've lived the most, or most recently, (as in where have I > travelled from). so there are 2 solutions, say nothing, or just bore the scammers into submission as you are doing to me ps zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
From: aquachimp on 23 May 2010 09:08
On May 23, 2:39 pm, BP killed my turtle <michaelnewp...(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > On May 23, 12:45 pm, aquachimp <aquach...(a)aquachimp.freeserve.co.uk> > wrote: > > > > > On May 23, 12:36 pm, BP killed my turtle <michaelnewp...(a)yahoo.com> > > wrote: > > > > On May 23, 10:31 am, aquachimp <aquach...(a)aquachimp.freeserve.co.uk> > > > wrote: > > > > > On May 23, 8:19 am, BP killed my turtle <michaelnewp...(a)yahoo.com> > > > > wrote:> On May 22, 9:13 pm, aquachimp <aquach...(a)aquachimp.freeserve.co.uk> > > > > > wrote: > > > > > snippy > > > > > > > > > Cautiously succinctly expressed. But easier said than done. > > > > > > > > > Put it this way, I popped along here into Usenet Street and in > > > > > > > > posting this thread I have in effect approached everybody. What's > > > > > > > > more, though not Greek, I did so bearing the Gifts of information and > > > > > > > > opportunity/excuse to converse. > > > > > > > > > Not everyone has avoided me. > > > > > > > > > A holiday, such as what I've just had, is a feast of freedom and > > > > > > > > borrowing the phrase "we are what we eat" feasting of freedom lends us > > > > > > > > to living more freely and, I suspect, even free from a conscious sense > > > > > > > > of freedom. So when approached, as we were, the under current sense of > > > > > > > > freedom expressed itself thus, like someone whispering in your ear > > > > > > > > saying... ooh go on, listen, check it out, you'll be doing him a > > > > > > > > favour, you're free to walk away any time you want. > > > > > > > > > Trouble is, the same undercurrent, which is the real Trojan Horse at > > > > > > > > work here expresses itself in the same way as each greater step of > > > > > > > > risk is encountered. And that's why I think (though making it up as I > > > > > > > > go along) is why some people get duped, other than those who are > > > > > > > > tortured into it through tedium, hunger, thirst or as one couple I've > > > > > > > > since read about, the woman was diabetic, became ill as a consequence > > > > > > > > of all the missed meal delays, but the scammers still wouldn't let > > > > > > > > them go until the husband signed on the dotted line. > > > > > > > > going on holiday is no excuse for unplugging your brain.... > > > > > > > I'm not sure what you're saying with that generalisation. > > > > > > > If you're in Greece and get approached by someone speaking Dutch, > > > > > > asking if perhaps you are Dutch, but you're not and don't speak a word > > > > > > of it and subsequently haven't understood a word... the fact that you > > > > > > simply continue on your way with hardly a shrug does not amount to > > > > > > evidence that you've kept your brain plugged in. > > > > > > > Equally, if,say you're English and get approached my someone with a > > > > > > British accent enquiring if you're English, running away like your > > > > > > scared of your own shadow doesn't mean your brain is plugged in any > > > > > > more than taking a moment to engage in line with all the traditions of > > > > > > your upbringing means you've unplugged your brain. > > > > > > would you have done this in your own country ? > > > > > Hmm, I'm unsure what you mean by my "own country" > > > > you dont know where you live ?! > > > I don't own a country. I know where I live but when locals ask me > > where I'm from, they're not usually asking for my current address. > > Beyond that it's a matter of working out do they mean my nationality, > > or where I've lived the most, or most recently, (as in where have I > > travelled from). > > so there are 2 solutions, say nothing, or just bore the scammers into > submission as you are doing to me > > ps zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Awww. And just when I was wondering why someone advocating wariness had not mentioned the one thing that had occurred to me as a bit odd the moment the street guy mentioned promoting Greece and Crete. Why approach tourists already there? Now if you'd just sign here... and here... and (turns page) here, here, and there and that'll be all. (OK, so I'm making up that bit cos we never got that far) Oh and by the way here is your free holiday voucher containing no less than 5 options ranging from you having to pay a nominal sum to cover travel taxes, insurance and so forth, to the option where you get a generous discount on the resort, flights and so on. Of course, regardless of which option you choose, and you have 18 months to avail of this offer, once you have informed us which one it is, we will choose when you can go within a 15 to 65 day period of our choosing. We will also choose where you get to go, how you will get there and from where your main border point of departure will be (no matter how unrealistic or inconvenient it may be for you). lastly, please note that whereas we have between 15 and 65 days to decide your fate, you have just 36 hours to inform us of your decision to accept or not, BUT, you must inform us of your decision by phone AND registered post. Failure to do so in that time (no excuses) will not only mean that you forfeit your free holiday, but you will be liable for the entire cost of cancellation (I don't actually understand what precisely is meant by "entire cost of cancellation", it might be the cost of a few phone calls, or bits of admin, or the cost of accommodation, travel etc.) Enjoy the rest of your holiday. |