Mendoza Con-man

I wonder if he was in Lima, Peru about five years ago because someone matching his physical description approached me with a similar story that he'd been robbed of all his possessions, including his passport, and he needed taxi fare to get to the airport (I could never figure that one out) and back to the US embassy to get a new passport. He had a Dutch or Belgian accent, but said he was from Phoenix, Arizona. I gave him $5, but he complained that it wasn't enough to get to the airport and back. I told him to take the bus. If he hadn't pocketed the money, I would have taken it back.

If it's a different guy, this is a scam that has no border. I guess I'm going to be one cold-hearted guy whenever I hear another sad story like this.

This is a classic scam. I encountered one guy who professed to know me (from where?) and then gave the same story. He had two kids hanging onto his belt. It all seemed very tragic. Then, I encountered the same guy a month later. He apparently didn't recognize me and launched into the same story. "What bad luck," I told him, "to have lost your ticket home twice in one month." He gave me a strange look and the three of them scuttled away.

A few times as I have left the Cochabamba bus station for La Paz, an older gentleman boards and gives the same story. I've seen him four or five times and so ignore him, but he usually manages to collect a dozen pesos or so from the other passengers. (Bolivians are generous and want to help someone in need if they can.)

There are aid agencies set up to help people who are in genuine trouble. Be very wary of anyone approaching you on the street asking for money. It is almost always a scan. As a Bolivian friend told me, if you see money lying on the sidewalk, walk right by it. One way or another, you are going to be taken if you stop.

While in Hostal Confluencia (Mendoza) in early April 2008 a Dutch couple told us they met a Dutchman who told them he had been pepper sprayed and robbed and he needed money to pay for transportation and accommodation while he sorted out his affairs, they gave him $140 US. They were coming to the realization they were conned after discussing it with other hostal residents. They were sure he is Dutch. The same couple had the lost key trick tried on them but they did not fall for that one.

Last night I met the Belgium guy. He is blond, blue eyes, around 30. He approached me in the park near the city hall. I had not read about him so I believed him. He told me the same story as cited in here: He had just been robbed, lost his backpack, his money belt, his pass port and sprayed with maze. Said it happened around the bus terminal. He said he was from Antwerp, that his name was Fraeck and that the Belgium embassy was only in Buenos Aires and that he needed to go there, unfortunately it was friday and the embassy in Belgium was closed...he was nearly crying, sweating and I believed him and gave him money for the bus.
I advise alhostel owners to print a description of him out so he doesnt exploit more people.
What a dissapointing start...

Travel27, look at it from the other side. You encountered what appeared to be a traveler in distress and attempted to help that person. It shows you are a good person with a generous heart. Even though you may have later found out that it was a scam, that doesn't negate the fact that you encountered a person seemingly in distress and went out of your way to help them. It would be a better world if all travelers were as open and sympathetic as you are.

I was back in june 2007 a victim of this Dutch man (who's saying he's living in Belgium). I can't believe he's still wandering around in Mendoza, more than one year later. Isn't time that el officina de turismo of Mendoza takes some action and obliges every hostal and hotel to warn their guests for this guy?

This bad guy needs to have his butt kicked bigtime --- maybe vigilante justice is the only solution because nothing else seems to work.