TheGodfather

Topicassport scam

tp [guest] from Everyone.net email
passport scam Posted 9-5-2002 14:07

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Watch out!

I´m in Madrid and the other day I was walking down a busy street and a BMW with two guys in suits pull over to the side of the road and the guy in the passengers seat flashes something that appeared to be an official card of some sort.
He asked if I had my passport on me and I said no. He then told me to empty my pockets to prove that I wasn´t carrying it. They even asked me to show them that I wasn´t wearing a money belt around my waist.

Later, I found out that there are people posing as under cover police or authority figures asking for passports from tourist.

Why? There is a big underground scam (usually mafia from many different countries) that steel passports and sell them.

The 4 most wanted passports are USA, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, and JAPAN.

DO NOT UNDERSTAND ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, SHOW OR GIVE YOUR PASSPORT TO ANYONE THAT IS ASKING TO SEE IT, UNLESS YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY, CATEGORICALLY, UNEQUIVOCALLY SURE THAT THE PERSON ASKING FOR IT IS A POLICEMAN WEARING A POLICE UNIFORM.

WALK AWAY AND KEEP WALKING AWAY IF THEY ARE NOT DRESSED IN A POLICE UNIFORM( IF THEY JUST FLASH A BADGE, IT´S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!).

Make a photo copy of your passport and carry that with you and keep your passport hidden in a safe place.

Be on guard at all times!