Was it a scam or not?
Posted by Ay10outof10t@reddit | budapest | View on Reddit | 56 comments
Hi! I’m asking this out of pure curiosity at this point, I didn’t give anyone my money but it’s killing me not to know 😅 I’m in Budapest currently with some people and today when we were walking home during the evening someone approached us with broke English asking for a direction to the train station. We said we didn’t know. He was getting his map from his pocket to show where it was supposed to be another random guy approached us and showed a police badge saying it’s Hungarian police (not wearing uniform and also he showed the badge for 3 sec) saying if the other dude was bothering us. We said no he was asking for directions. He said show me your passport documentation and wallet. We have a lot of problems here people buying drugs with cash (?). The other dude showed his wallet which was empty. When it came to us I said we’re not showing anything at first he tried to stop us then we said we don’t have cash and he let us go. He said if you want to exchange money go to the exchange office in here blablabla dont exchange money with strangers. The whole thing was so confusing honestly but I was like why would I show my wallet to someone who claims to be a police officer? Like what if he grabs the wallet and runs away 😅
Was it a scam? Or was it a genuine good hearted Hungarian police that I was unnecessarily rude to?
reddit_is_geh@reddit
Police in Hungary do not go solo. None. It doesn't happen. They roam in groups for safety and oversight. Just 2 is uncommon because it's usually 3-4
Not only that, is they don't give a shit about some gypsy scamming tourists. They got more important things to do, like checking for tickets on the tram.
4everunique@reddit
Can police fine you on the metro? I thought only the transport workers can do that?
reddit_is_geh@reddit
Sometimes I see police with the transport workers
XerGR@reddit
There is no “police officers not in uniforms” in Hungary who have search you.
I guess you can randomly find a detective but i’m not even sure they’d be allowed to search you or wear street clotches
blazesbe@reddit
sounds sketchy af. if police wants to ID you they wouldn't just let you go. also they are barely ever alone or in civil clothing.
Brokentoken2@reddit
I will say though, they have introduced ‘sherifs’ that patrol alone, but they would be wearing a uniform and have the gear too. A random “I am police” without any of that is indeed bullshit. If it feels off, it probably is.
Reasonable-Run-612@reddit
De wait a sheriffek nem Miskolcon vannak? Lehet lemaradtam valamirol de en egyenlore csak ott lattam oket
Brokentoken2@reddit
Hallottam regebben valamit a miskolci sheriffekrol, de sajnos nem sok maradt meg belole. Azok is rendorok vagy ez az amikor a tomegkozlekedeseken utaznak es vigyaznak a rendre?
Lenyegeben a sheriffek Budapesten soloban dolgoznak, jarkalnak fel-ala es ha eppen elkapnak valamit vagy pont hogy egy duonak van szuksege erositesre akkor amig a rendes tobb tagu erosites nem erkezik ki, o oda tud menni segiteni. Illetve ha egyedul van es eszlel valamit, akkor fel tudja tartani az illetot amig neki nem jon erosites. Ok inkabb ilyen kisegitok, mert nem helyszinelnek meg hasonlok. Azt hiszem ez a lenyege.
Reasonable-Run-612@reddit
Ha jol tudom azok is rendorok bar en se tudok valami sokat roluk, es koszi a magyarazatot!!
Ay10outof10t@reddit (OP)
yea he was very random/normal looking person. it was dark. he showed his "badge" with a flashlight of his phone 3 sec and put it back in his pocket ver hastily. could be anything honestly.
Ay10outof10t@reddit (OP)
Right? And why would a police officer want to see both my passport and cash?! I was like calm down people if he’s a real police officer we can go to the police station together and I will show my cash there not on the street
blazesbe@reddit
other similar trick is asking for the time so they grab your phone as you get it from your pocket. impersonating police is a serious crime. i would at least let police know on fb or in a department.
Budapest now sounds like a wretched place to anyone who reads this, but i have been living here for a decade and while there's amateour thieves and the usual crazies nobody ever tried to hurt me. Worst ever were some drunk shouting towards in my general direction. Tourists are obvious targets. try to blend in more.
Ay10outof10t@reddit (OP)
Good to know, thanks. We have been feeling generally safe since we came so we don’t have any complaints. This strange encounter happened today just 2 hours ago. Since it’s our first time here I wanted to double check because I know I did the right did but part of me was feeling bad that he was a genuinely good person but I lost my faith in humanity lol. But yeah the more I think about it the more I’m convinced if we showed our wallet they would both grab them and run away.
blazesbe@reddit
police.hu should have a working english site which you can navigate. unfortunately im on vacation rn with the shittiest internet. may be easier to call 112
Ay10outof10t@reddit (OP)
Thank you I’ll be on it asap. Thank god I remember the exact spot where it happened. In front of museum of literature!
Ronaron99@reddit
Police officers do the patrolling in pairs and are able to authenticate themselves beyond doubt even to foreigners.
misimiki@reddit
This is a decades old scam. I heard about this back in the 1990s.
While we're at it, if Hungarian women ask you for directions somewhere, it's an opening gambit to lure you to a clip joint. Just keep walking.
Ay10outof10t@reddit (OP)
Thank you. I tried to Google it but didn’t see it anywhere there are mostly exchange rate and taxi related scams on the internet. Good to know!
PsychologicalWork674@reddit
Don't get into anyones car who is not connected to a company and you can't clearly and visibly see that connection. They are called vultures for a reason.
Generally you should order taxis to leave an audit trail that you can track back if things would go wrong...
Ay10outof10t@reddit (OP)
We didn’t. We always use bolt or uber regardless of the country.
dumpdiverRaccoon@reddit
Pro tip I would recommend you taxis with contract to a taxi company. For ex. Bolt, Uber Taxi, I have really good experience with Bolt. (Uber Taxi and Bolt has an app it's really simple) But usually I get around with public transport and It's fast you can find everything on Google maps where to get on/off etc.
Ay10outof10t@reddit (OP)
Yeah we’ve been using metros and buses and ordering bolt for long distances haven’t had a problem yet (hoping not to jinx it). We’ve been feeling generally safe since we arrived thats why this experience felt weird. Like if I was in Paris I know almost everything’s a scam but here we were more chill.
robotsko@reddit
Yeah, I had it in 1999 or so. Funny enough, "lost French tourist" and "Hungarian cop" were talking to each other in Romanian :)
cactus16x@reddit
Have you ever seen a police officer on patrol without an uniform or a coworker? Me neither.
PsychologicalWork674@reddit
It's not the uniform that gives them away. A police officer legally not allowed to do anything when alone. This is why there are always and always two of them when they do official patroling in uniform. There may be undercover officers without uniform (even if it's unlikely, because of the fact that you have to be able to get his id/name whatever is displayed above their uniform's badge, to be able to report if something is not ok).
Fact is if they want to even ask for your id as an official police ask, they have to be in pairs. This is regulated by law. Of course the other can be farer away but then again, you have the right to ask them to show their police-officer-id that allows you to remember who (was the 2 officer) executing the police-business to you (against you).
This clearly sounds like a scam.
Pazuuuzu@reddit
They do sometimes go alone
thejesusgod@reddit
I saw two police officers without uniform just a few days ago. They had guns and badges.
DataNerdling@reddit
what country are you from?
this will say if it's a scam or not
-Polarsy-@reddit
How so ?
DataNerdling@reddit
as much as everyone likes to deny here - hungary is a racist country
reason I asked is that if OP is from the middle east then most likely it was a real cop and looking for a reason to ask them for ID
Ay10outof10t@reddit (OP)
honestly the "police" and the "lost" guy looked more middle eastern than us. I think we were speaking English that's why they figured we were tourists. also, asking ID is ok but the cash? and the fact that he just "appeared" there when we were talking to this guy and thought he was bothering us when we were not loud or anything, there was no any tension, etc.
DataNerdling@reddit
definitely roma
-Polarsy-@reddit
That's a possibility I guess...
nellory_816@reddit
Why would anyone ask for direction with a map in his pocket
Kobaljov@reddit
If someone does not know where their destination is (the exact address) on the map, e.g. "where is the homeless shelter close to the Nyugati square?"
AnarchiaKapitany@reddit
In which country does a police officer have a right to demand to see your cash or personal items without a rightful charge?
AppRaven_App@reddit
I’m not sure if this happens in Budapest, but in Prague city center there’s a scam run by foreigners from Eastern Europe. They approach tourists and ask if they want to exchange money for Czech crowns, but then give them old, worthless Belarusian bills that aren’t used anymore.
So if the guy really was from the police, he probably suspected the man was trying to scam them and wanted to check if they hadn’t been given the fake money. That would explain why he told them afterwards not to exchange money with strangers.
Ay10outof10t@reddit (OP)
i thought that too since i heard about that exchange scam but the whole thing felt weird and unusual. no uniform, showing badge 3 sec and putting it back to the pocket hastily. that the fact that the other guy gave him his wallet immediately and it was empty. i am convinced they knew each other.
AppRaven_App@reddit
Nevermind, apparently it is a known scam in Budapest where they try to get you show them the money and then swap them. Did you have to show the policeman that you dont have money?
Ay10outof10t@reddit (OP)
no i just said im not showing anything to you. first he tried to stop us saying wait lady. then we said we don't have money and he let us go. i kept screaming to my friends dont show him anything dont show him anything.
AppRaven_App@reddit
Maybe the guy is a known scammer and the policeman had seen him scam someone before. He gave him the wallet right away because he knew it would prove he didn’t scam you, and the policeman didn’t have any evidence yet. The policeman might have been out of work, so not in uniform and just wanted to help.
But honestly, this is just a guess. Most likely one of them tried to scam you. You know more about what happened, so maybe your instinct that they were working together is right.
FatefulDonkey@reddit
This happened to me in Tokyo. For some reason the officer went through my coins in the wallet one by one. Surreal
Ay10outof10t@reddit (OP)
Oh my god calm down I don’t know in which country - I haven’t been to every corner of the world if you have been good for you. I haven’t so I’m asking.
FrontFootLunge@reddit
Yep that's a scam. Happened to us the first time we visited BP in 2013
Ay10outof10t@reddit (OP)
wow exactly this scenario?
starfish-wish@reddit
Where in the city was this? Just curious.
Ay10outof10t@reddit (OP)
In front of museum of literature
Tisztelt_Hatosag@reddit
Ne haraguggy tesvérem, nem szúrlak meg, ne ijeggyé meg, csak azt akarom megkérdezni, tudod-e merre van itt a metró?
Available_Ask3289@reddit
It’s a scam
MinimumEffort01@reddit
Scam, 100%. It was used a lot about 10 years ago, looks like it’s been revived.
Fine-Independence976@reddit
I mean... I have never, NEVER, heard about a police officer ask you to change money...
FatefulDonkey@reddit
This is not a scam. This is illegal. You should report to police.
Ay10outof10t@reddit (OP)
I will try to find their contact information online and do it ASAP.
Serious-Ad-4714@reddit
If you are ever unsure, ask to see their id again or ask to go to the nearest police station instead
Ay10outof10t@reddit (OP)
That’s what I thought! I was like worst case scenario if he keeps insisting I’ll ask him to go together to the police station. But he gave up so now I’m like ah what if he was genuinely trying to help but I lost my faith in humanity lol
WoWords@reddit
Most likely a scam, highly unlikely to be approached by an undercover cop. They would also ask for your ID at first.