User:(WT-en) Ekmsid/Workspace/BsAsCrime

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Crime:Many people travel in Buenos Aires without incident, but as with any large city crime is an issue for tourists and residents alike. Conduct yourself intelligently as you would in any large city.

The most frequent incidents of crime involve distraction theft, bag snatching and armed robberies in the street, in taxis and in restaurants. Distraction thefts commonly occur in public areas such as internet cafes, train and bus stations. You should keep a close eye on your personal possessions and bags at all times. In some public spaces you will find that chairs with webbing and clips to clip to your bag or purse to the chair. An aid in avoiding problems is, dress to blend in and avoid carrying lots of items. It safer to travel just the bare necessities in your front pocket.

In a common scam one person sprays something on the victum like hand cream mustard or the like. Another person tries to help the victum. There can be several people at once working in coordination. The object is to distract you from your belongings and in the chaos, steal them. Avoiding confrontation is their object so do the same. Ignore their help, focus your belongings and extracting yourself from the scene.

Another common occurrence is the slitting of handbags in crowded places. Be particularly attentive in popular tourist areas, such as San Telmo. You should avoid carrying large amounts of cash or wearing ostentatious jewellery.

Taxicabs that loiter in front of popular tourist destinations like the National Museum are looking for tourists. This may be inopportune for you. Your chance of falling prey to a scam increases in these situations, like having your money exchanged for fake currency. Stopping a cab a block or two away on a typical city street where others locals would do the same is good choice.

Avoid ever withdrawing money from an ATM at night.

Express kidnappings continue to occur. Victims are grabbed off the street based on their appearance and vulnerability. They are made to withdraw as much money as possible from ATM machines, the victim is usually quickly released unharmed. There have been some foreign victims.

Refer to the transportation section regarding taxis. Much is said about the dangers of taxis but you should remember that the city is full of taxis for a reason, the city runs on them and mass transit. Make sure you are hailing a legitimate cab and try to have currency small enough for the fair.

As a recent arrival I received a lively story from a taxicab driver about a couple of young women who were dressed extravagantly, carried many bags, and claimed they were from the UK despite their story about being from England not making sense. The driver was amazed by all of this. In his mind they did everything wrong. If you speak some Spanish taxicab drivers can be very informative despite all the traveler's cautions you receive. Sometimes your best defense as well is not alienating the residents of your host country.