This video is closed-captioned, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC TOURIST SCAMS AND TRICKS THAT YOU SHOULD NOT FALL FOR The Dominican Republic is a beautiful island nestled within the Greater Antilles archipelago in , the Caribbean. The Dominican Republic has it all, complete with gorgeous white sand beaches, friendly people, delicious food, and plenty of island exploration to be done here. I have lived here for 11 years, and my wife is from the Dominican Republic. Over those years, we have seen many tourists and locals fall for the tricks and scams we are listing here today. Due to the nature of the topic of this video, it is almost impossible to get footage of the actual fraud or tricks being executed in real-time, so we will use nice drone clips of the Dominican republic and narrate how the scam is perpetrated., Here are a few scams And tricks aimed at tourists , that you should be aware of before taking that tropical vacation you've been planning. In the Dominican Republic you will encounter many young shoeshine boys on the street or , beach offering to shine your shoes for a fee, most of them are trying to make a few pesos honestly with their work to help out their family or for them to eat, most of them are not going to school and hanging out at tourist locations where the money is, I have seen it myself how tourists take their service to get their shoes cleaned and after they are clean they pull out a , 50 or 100 dollar bill or a 5000 pesos bill and try to pay a 50 or 100 pesos service or any other small amount with a large bill and guess what, obviously the kid has no change for a bill this , big, so some of the smarter kids have the bright idea to go off to change the bill and they let , you keep their work shoeshine box as collateral till the kid comes back with the change of that big bill, BIG MISTAKE if you agree on that, you will be the new proud owner of an authentic Dominican shoeshine box with all his tools and shoe shine creme and cleaning liquids inside which cost around 10 bucks all together and you will turn blue waiting for the kid to come back , with your change ,so don't be a fool and fall for this one ,my advice always have small bills , and change with you for all your shopping. On the beaches of the Dominican Republic, there , are men called 'sanki pankis' who have the goal of seducing women in order to extort them for money or even get into a relationship so they can travel abroad with someone to another country. . They will tend to target women traveling alone or in small groups and always know just what to say . to make you feel wanted. It can be very disarming for some when treated like royalty, especially . when it's from an attractive Latino who seems to want to give you the world. They will assure you , that they are serious and it's a case of love at first sight. The second you give them the time of day, they will persist doggedly in an attempt to wear you down and inch closer to getting a first . date with you. After the first date, they have made all the discoveries on you by politely asking questions as a new lover or boyfriend and decide how far they will go with you, just rip . you off for some cash, booze, food, and party time while you on vacation here in your hotel or take . it all the way and tell you that you are the love of their life and want to marry you and go back , with you to your home country and live with you a happy married life there. And I know it is hard to believe. Still, I have seen just too many couples coming for a week's vacation in an all-inclusive . resort in Punta Cana, for example, and next thing you know, that 25-year marriage is broken in less , than 24hours after meeting that handsome Dominican Giccolo in the hotel disco who knows how to . treat a lady and has just the right words for her or that stunning hot exotic beautiful Dominican ,

Lady who moves better then Jenifer Lopez on the dance floor, next thing you know both parts . from that 25-year-old marriage go separate ways with their own Sanki, as you can see Sanki , Pankis come in different forms even ex-pats living here have taken that profession on., But rest assured, once they have what they were after, they will ghost you and never . contact you again. If you want to see them, just go back to the beach where they will be trying the same routine on a new woman. Avoiding these types of scams is more . difficult if you're traveling alone, though it is totally possible. The main rule of thumb here is not to give strangers any attention if they come up to you on the beach or disco. , And I'm sure this goes without saying, but never take a stranger back to your hotel. Even if you , don't go to your room with them, they now know where you stay and are one step closer to finding . a way into your life. They might hang around and try to be the first person you see on the way out . for the day. At the very least, it's going to be extremely annoying to have to turn them down , repeatedly. At the worst, they may get access to your belongings or even your entire life. , As unlikely as it sounds, this scam has worked enough times for it to still be around, so be . on the lookout for overly romantic strangers!, If you enjoy our videos, Join us on our journey , worldwide by subscribing to our channel, please click the bell icon to get , notified when we publish a new video., The following scam or trick is played out on the Public transportation system, if you venture out from your hotel to go stroll around in Santo Domingo for a day be very careful while riding on the Bus or Guagua called here, the , guaguas usually get to be packed with passengers, the trick is executed when you arrive at the end , location of the route, they are working as a team mostly 4-5 guys in all ages from school kid age , up to a senior citizen to throw you off balance, you would not expect that from them, once the bus stops at the last stop the scam starts, the group is seated in different positions of the bus they pick a victim who sits in the middle of the bus, the front man of the line exiting the bus bends . down and does like he is tightening his shoe or similar and creates a traffic jam in the exit line, the guys from behind start pushing the victim being in the middle of the exit line and . the ones pushing from behind are actually stealing your wallet and handing it to another team member most likely the older citizen who is ahead of you ready to exit the bus with your belongings once , they grab your wallet.phone,camera whatever they can get with that distraction move they even jump out of the open windows of the bus to escape with your Valuables so be very carefull flashing out . all your bills while paying for that bus ticket or you might fall a victim of theft here.. The next trick you need to be aware of is while exploring public places like the pedestrian shopping street El Conde or other tourist sites In Santo Domingo like the . Colonial Zone or the different mercados or markets around the tourist attractions, never have your . phone with you on your belt with a phone holder exposed or your camera just in your hands while , strolling around these majestic colonial sights or you can fall victim to snatchers, they are also . working in teams usually 2 of them the first one is the spotter watching people walk by the . shopping street the second one is waiting around the corner with a Motorbike once the , snatcher finds his victim he will get close to him in a split second he snatches your valuables or , phone and runs to the corner where his accomplice is waiting to escape on the motorbike and see

ya later you can't run that fast behind them trust me on this one it has happened to me, they snatched my phone,this trick is also used as a drive-by and grabs everything out of your hands at 20mph speed on the scooter. The camera scam. This is a scam that prays on your . sense of guilt and responsibility for breaking another person's camera. As you sight-see along your journey, you might find some locals trying to take a group picture in front of some scenic , view. They will ask if you could take the picture for them, and being the polite individual that you are, you'll oblige. Then, as you go to hand back the camera, they will let go at , the last moment while it's still in your hands. Now you've dropped their expensive camera, and they want money to cover the loss. The truth is that camera was either inexpensive or stolen, and they have plenty more where that came from.. It may be hard to resist that urge to help out a stranger, but you'll need slightly thicker skin if you're having trouble turning down requests . from random people while you are abroad. A large number of scams in tourist locations will prey , on your emotional responses, so it's always best to take a few seconds to think about what people , are trying to get before responding instinctively. One way to do this is to repeat what you are being told. This will give your brain a chance to catch up, and you'll have a better idea of where the , conversation is headed. If you do fall victim to this scam, one way to get out of it is to say you . don't have any cash. The scammers are after money, not a new camera, so if you only have a few small bills with you, there is nothing more in it for them. If we've said it once, we've said it a hundred times. Be careful when using taxi . services in foreign countries. The Dominican Republic is no different, and the scams are too . familiar. Never take a taxi from the airport because you are sure to pay anywhere from double to ten times what a ride should cost typically. When a tourist first arrives in a foreign , country, a few things make them a target. Firstly, they probably haven't had the chance to . take a taxi yet so they won't be familiar with the local rates or geography. Many taxi drivers will , take advantage of you once they find out you are not a local here, don't speak the language, and have no idea what to expect. My advice here is to have somebody from your resort pick you up or , a friend but do not take taxis without negotiating the price beforehand and never agree on the first , price, Dominicans love to negotiate, don't be afraid to walk away and search for a different . taxi or call a radio taxi where you call up, and the Taxi central send you a designated ride. You , know the rate ahead of taking the service. Now that you're armed with knowledge about these . scams, you can look forward to a safe vacation in the Dominican Republic with little risk of falling . victim to one of these scams. Always trust your gut feeling in these situations. Remember that you're in a completely different environment, so talk to the local tour guides or hotel , staff before deciding how to travel!, We hope you enjoyed this video. Let us know in . the comments section below the video, and if you liked the video, be sure to subscribe and turn on the bell notifications so you will be the first to know when we publish a new video. thanks for watching.

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