Airports: Consider yourself Cleaned Out

An airport is typically a busy place; thousands of people milling around, queuing, shopping, checking through luggage; it's no wonder that scammers use airports to find their victims. This is a quick guide to the more common airport scams and how to spot and avoid them.

One of the worrying things is that not all 'scams' are illegal; often it's just a case of airport staff taking advantage of their position and your harassed state to make a little extra money. A simple yet lucrative con carried out by desk clerks is 'forgetting' to reset the luggage weighing machine; you would then be charged extra for your bags being overweight.

Bumping and jostling people is sometimes unavoidable in a crowded terminal, and pickpockets know it. Forget scruffy urchins in short trousers a la Oliver Twist; the pickpocket could be the tidy gentleman in a suit or the harmless looking young girl wandering around looking at flight schedules. Often you won't even feel their nimble fingers reaching into your pocket and sliding your purse or wallet out. The best way to avoid becoming a modern-day Mr Brownlow is to carry a dummy wallet or purse is your pocket or handbag (try putting a note in the paper money section saying 'Gotcha!'), and hide your real wallet somewhere a thief couldn't get it, for example on a lanyard around your neck and under your clothes. Credit cards and foreign notes can even be sewn into the lining of a coat for extra security.

Going through the security checks doesn't keep you safe from thieves. While your hand luggage is making its way along the conveyor belt to be x-rayed, there could well be someone at the other end eyeing it up for the contents. Even putting your bag down while you test the perfume in the duty-free shop leaves the contents at risk of pilfering. The golden rule here is, never let your bag out of your sight or your hand. And don't use a backpack; it's too easy for a thief to open it, grab items and run before you've even realised what's happened.

Assuming you make it out of the airport with your luggage and your money still in your possession, don't relax yet. Perhaps the worst scammers are taxi drivers, lurking outside the terminal to take the weary traveller for a ride.

You stand less chance of being a scam victim if you only use the official taxis parked in the licensed bay directly outside the doors. If someone comes up to you offering a taxi, don't accept. They might be legit, but more often than not you could find yourself, at best, charged way over the going rate for the trip (which will usually involve 'the long way round"). Some of these unofficial drivers have been known to drive their fares to a secluded area and assault or rob them, so make sure you always use the official taxis.

But even this might not prevent you from certain scams such as overcharging or asking for extras like 'airport fees'. You can safeguard against many of these scams by doing a little preparation before you leave home; research average taxi fares in the area, and perhaps even bus routes to avoid taxis altogether. Take note of the quickest way from the airport to your hotel, and whether this involves any toll roads. Finally, before setting off in the taxi, make sure the driver resets the meter (another money-making scam) and ask them to go the way you have plotted out. Get a fare estimate from them and compare this with your research. If the driver sees you have done all this, they're less likely to try and pull a fast one.

All you should worry about while on holiday is catching your flights. When you book cheap flights and holidays, you want them to remain cheap flights and holidays. Don't let yourself be relieved of hard-earned holiday money; be vigilant.