Moscow is interesting not only for tourists, but also for scammers of all stripes. And this is not surprising – well, where else can you find so many people ready to open their wallets? And to get people to do this, the scammers have more than one trick. About the seven most common – as always, without hiding – tell “Subtleties”. Central Moscow was occupied by mummers: actors portraying living sculptures or famous personalities (usually gilded and silver-plated pirates or gangsters, as well as Lenin, Stalin, cartoon characters, emperors and empresses). They live on the Old Arbat, the observation deck of the Sparrow Hills, on Nikolskaya. They ask a little – just take a photo with them on your phone. But they take it expensive: from 500 RUB for photos, which are snapped by at least a dozen. When you try to leave without paying, they threaten not to give the phone back, or even to find it later: “Moscow is small!”. It's better to bypass such characters right away.
1. Photo with mummers
2. Taxi available
Oddly enough, private traders in the capital have not yet died out and willingly take advantage of the topographical illiteracy of Moscow's guests. They mostly cluster near railway stations and pass on legends to each other about how they took tourists from Kazansky to Leningradsky through half the city, although it takes 10 minutes to go there. The solution is simple: use aggregators, where prices are immediately visible and do not change “because traffic jams”. Also try not to travel on holidays and evenings on weekends: it is noticeably more expensive.
3. With a view of the Kremlin
Guests from other cities usually come to Moscow for a short time, and these days they want to live in some wonderful apartment with a view of the Kremlin, Stalin's skyscrapers and similar metropolitan beauties. Ad sites vying with each other invite to be placed like a king, and for ridiculous money. True, if the money is ridiculous or at least small, this is a clear signal that you have an ad of scammers who are trying to rent out an apartment that either does not exist or does not belong to them. In order not to fall for such a scam, book accommodation only on trusted sites. And remember the saying about free cheese.
4. Let me guess
Fortunetellers behave no less brazenly. At the same time, they may look quite decent in appearance, because they need to stop you and speak, and people will shy away from the classic woman in a scarf, ringing with monists. Fortunetellers may first ask for directions to some place, but literally immediately turn around on the topic that you somehow look very bad, and you need to immediately remove the damage. Suggested people should not even start talking to them, and if they do get involved, just interrupt the conversation and leave silently, ignoring the exclamations behind your back.
5. We are not local
The soul of a visitor sensitively responds to someone else's misfortune. Especially if this stranger is the same visitor. He is so decent, he asks for a ticket home – how can he not help? Or a girl who “has just been pulled out of her wallet”, and all she needs is “pissing rubles on the road”. The truth is that these are actors-beggars, and the same “robbed” girl, having received your fifty kopecks or a hundred, in a few minutes, surprisingly, will be in approximately the same place with exactly the same request.
6. One for the price of two
In restaurants, you need to ensure that no extra position is formed in the bill. For example, two beers instead of one. Or a more expensive salad. If the client discovers such a “gift” before paying, the waiter, shyly lowering his eyes, will report that he got it wrong from fatigue. It happens! But more often it happens that guests pay without looking. It is worth examining checks before paying. And get acquainted with the menu of a cafe or restaurant – in advance. Then you don’t have to then, already sitting at the table, convulsively think: run away from this super-expensive institution, take only water or walk – so walk.
What else to read on the topic
- 14 reasons not to come on vacation to Moscow
- 20 interesting facts about Moscow that few people know
- What guests don't like in Moscow: prices, traffic jams and pathos
7. Souvenir
Many souvenirs sold from stalls by lively Moscow barkers do not have price tags. And all because the seller has a trained eye, and he knows from whom to ask for 200 RUB for a whistle, and from whom – all 500. The one who knows how to bargain will bring down the price, and the one who does not know how will have to buy at exorbitant prices. In general, it is more useful for the wallet to go to souvenir shops, which are full in Moscow.
