Spain holiday warning – the simple money scam that leaves you out of pocket

BRITS on holiday in Spain have been warned about a new tourist scam that will leave you out of pocket.

The Guardia Civil has told tourists to check the change they are given when spending money on holiday.

2

The new scam has seen holidaymakers given Turkish lira rather than the euro, in particular when given a two-euro coin.

This is because they look very similar.

The Turkish lira coin has the first president of Turkey, Mustafá Kemal Atatürk on one side while the other side has the number 1 on it.

The two euro coin has different symbols, such as King Felipe or the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela, with the number 2 on the other side.

Both coins are gold in the middle and silver on the outside, meaning they are hard to distinguish at first glance.

However, the mistake will leave you out of pocket – the Turkish lira is only worth about 0.052 euros.

This is because the Turkish lira has plummeted in value this year against both the euro and the pound.

Travel money provider FairFX found that the pound is up 146 per cent against the Turkish lira since January 2020 – working out to £594 more for your every £1,000 exchanged now than in 2020.

While the scam is not new, and has been an issue since at least 2005, the Guardia Civil has issued a new travel warning to alert tourists, according to local media.

Another scam in Spain that targets tourists is a “bird poo” trick.

The scam sees con artists throw liquid onto tourists, before telling them they have bird poo on them.

As they offer to clean them up, they then steal their bank cards and wallets.

And it’s not just Spain where tourists are being caught out by scammers.

TikToker Kacie Rose came across fraudsters using paintings to force tourists to give cash during a recent trip to Florence.

And here are some other scams to be careful of when on holiday in Europe.

2