Blogs

This is a story inspired by a particular type of travel scam, but because it´s one associated with a particular ethnic group, let me start with some background and context. The Romani people, known in Spain as Gitanos and Calé, are one of the country’s oldest and most distinctive minority communities. Although many people think of them simply as another kind of Europeans, most experts agree that the Romani originally came from northwestern India – probably in areas corresponding to today’s Rajas

Back in September 2023, I wrote about something that, on the surface, looked almost trivial: a broken booking process.

A forced cancellation.

A rebooking that couldn’t happen.

Money lost in a system that made no logical sense. It felt absurd. It was absurd.

But it was also something else. It was a warning. The Moment Most People Ignore We’ve all been there.

A glitch. A bad customer service response.

A system that “just works that way.” Most people move on. I don’t. Because in my work—at the inte

Many travel agencies work in an online landscape regarding booking and payment transfer, and criminals use various techniques to inflict data breaches and transactional losses. The travel industry often falls victim to criminal attacks who use fake IDs and travel; abroad for illegal activities. It may harm the agency's reputation and lead to potentially heavy losses. 

To counter this, electronic verification of identity (eIDV) is used to unmask fraudsters who use fake IDs to victimize agencies a

While scams can occur anywhere, including my own beautiful city of Jaipur, it's important to avoid generalizing and assuming that all palm readers or fortune tellers in the city are fraudulent. Jaipur also boasts many genuine palm readers who practice palmistry as part of their cultural and spiritual traditions.

But it's crucial to acknowledge that some individuals may exploit unsuspecting tourists through deceptive palm reading practices. To safeguard yourself from falling victim to a palm read

On a lovely reent repeat visit to this gorgeous UNESCO World Heritage city, and the previous night, although on my various travels I’ve been hit up (and once literally stuck up) for cash, this one took the cake (the flan?). 

A local friend and I were enjoying a drink at one of Old Cartagena’s landmarks, the outdoor bar/restaurant Café del Mar (below), perched up on the ramparts of the 17th-century stone city walls. Afterwards, taking a slightly roundabout stroll over to a taxi stand, at one po

You´re at a car rental counter after a six-hour flight, talking to a guy at the counter who presents you a pile of paperwork and some "irresistible" pitches. Indeed, most of said pitches that we get from various sources every day are nothing but garbage, and some also happen to be straight-up scams. In the case of rental cars, this may include a pass for the toll-road service fee or a tank full of fuel pre-paid. Before or after you accept any of these pitches, the counter rep  will also present