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A map of ATMs designed to scam tourists in Europe

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Re: A map of ATMs designed to scam tourists in Europe

#31

Post by izacus »

orwin wrote: post #25
unflxw wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not all tourists are Americans. I would expect the average person scammed by these ATMs is an European citizen from a different country. I agree the map kinda sucks, because most of the island of Mallorca is a tourist trap at this point. But you can see how the interior's population centers, like Inca, Sa Pobla and Manacor, have none. For a better example, as one of the replies to the tweet suggests, check using Goog…

Most Europeans citizens use euros so they won't get 'scammed' by euronet ARMs, as the only 'scam' there is currency conversion (and fees if you use an 'out of network bank', so I think if you are at Boa it should be fine)

That's not true at all, Euronet ATMs will happily add 5€+ to your withdrawal - something (local) bank owned ATMs usually don't.

There's a reason why they got such a bad reputation.

Re: A map of ATMs designed to scam tourists in Europe

#32

Post by Tade0 »

keiferski wrote: post #23
alphabettsy wrote: post #8

Does the proximity of a Hard Rock Cafe count?

Not necessarily. There is a Hard Rock Cafe right next to the main train station and major mall in Warsaw, and I wouldn't call that mall touristic. It's just a nice mall, as far as malls go.

Considering it was the first such place in Poland, it's sort of a tourist trap in and of itself.

Or was. Never been there, because 25PLN for a beer was an outrageous sum at the time.

Re: A map of ATMs designed to scam tourists in Europe

#33

Post by gpvos »

orwin wrote: post #25
unflxw wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not all tourists are Americans. I would expect the average person scammed by these ATMs is an European citizen from a different country. I agree the map kinda sucks, because most of the island of Mallorca is a tourist trap at this point. But you can see how the interior's population centers, like Inca, Sa Pobla and Manacor, have none. For a better example, as one of the replies to the tweet suggests, check using Goog…

Most Europeans citizens use euros so they won't get 'scammed' by euronet ARMs, as the only 'scam' there is currency conversion (and fees if you use an 'out of network bank', so I think if you are at Boa it should be fine)

There are still quite a few countries in Europe that don't use the euro, so conversion is an issue there. And most Euronet ATMs have a high surcharge even when drawing euros from a euro account (this may differ per country and location).

Re: A map of ATMs designed to scam tourists in Europe

#34

Post by Ekaros »

I have wondered is there actually anything wrong with mass tourism? Wouldn't properly build for tourism destinations actually be overall better option? As long as they do not become over relied on. At least if we must have tourism and do not ban it altogether...

Mass tourism would allow optimization for environment and not to destroy areas that people actually work and live in. See the AirBnB effect for example. And in general the drug use and noise caused by them...

Re: A map of ATMs designed to scam tourists in Europe

#35

Post by peterfa »

cedilla wrote: post #11

Euronet ATMs being a scam is a very americentric view. The world is not /primarily/ designed to rip off tourist. Very evident with this map that just appears to be a differently labeled population heat map.

I made that map, and I'm not American. You can google "population density map Mallorca" and compare. I had the same assumption as you, so I googled it before publishing.

Re: A map of ATMs designed to scam tourists in Europe

#36

Post by nihonthrowaway »

Karellen wrote: post #26
kzrdude wrote: post #6

Tourism if anything needs a way to point more people towards the long tail, not to crowd at the top.

How do you stop the cycle of places in the long tail from becoming "go-to" destinations because they're in the long tail, having all the local flavour diluted from catering to the tourism, before being fully gentrified into identikit tourist traps, and being abandoned once they're "at the top" with their original local businesses gone, and trying to cater to the tourists who've all vanished? While those tourists are…

[dead]

Re: A map of ATMs designed to scam tourists in Europe

#37

Post by deanCommie »

MarkusWandel wrote: post #5

Google Street View? A few years ago I saw a social media shared pic of sunrise at Angkor Wat. It was beautiful, these splendid, isolated ruins, peaceful in the sunrise. Being curious about the area, I found the exact spot in Street View. Sunrise even. But then turned around 180 degrees. To find an absolute wall of photographers all capturing the same scene. I can't find that scene now though. But frequently these soc…

I have this sad realization that the current generation is taking the backlash to this too far, and as as a result people don't want to go anywhere that's too "touristy" as a result.

I get it.

I want the solo unique ethereal earth-changing experiences too. But I can also point to two distinct comparison points.

I got to have a fairly tourist-free experience in Angkor Wat. I intentionally travelled to Southeast Asia during the lowest time of the year - monsoon season. And I wound up in Siem Riep anand then Angkor in the middle of a rainstorm. Nobody was around. Yet the rain was warm. The temples were equally majestic. I had an incredible time feeling like I was actually exploring ancient undiscovered ruins by myself. Then the rain ended, and oh my, all those reflections. It was incredible.

This was 2008. I don't know if this is possible today even in the "lowest" tourist season. But that's not the point, the point is that while I do cherish the memories of this day, I got to have an exactly opposite experience at Taj Mahal.

By which i mean it was the HEIGHT of tourist season. I was in India for a Wedding and had no choice. It was hot. It was miserable. There were people everywhere.

AND YET. The Taj Mahal was absolutely magnificent. A true wonder of humanity and our history. An absolutely incredible experience, and watching how the changing evening light danced off the marble and evolved the building was mindblowing. It didn't matter that there were seemingly 20,000 other people there with me.

The democratization of travel is a good thing. That more and more people are exposed to other cultures and worlds is a good thing. That it inevitably brings photographers, instagrammers, influencers, and all the commercial activities associated with it are sad, but also ultimately worth it.

I say this on a macro humanist scale. I'm sure the locals at cities that live in those "tourist traps" would greatly disagree and are desperate for change. But I'm not writing this to them.

I'm writing this to folks on the internet that i know are out there that go "Ugh, I wish I could go see Angkor Wat/Taj Mahal/Leaning Tower of Pisa/Empire State Building, but I don't want to deal with the tens of thousands of tourists all taking the exact same picture."

Forget all that. Go. Go where you want to go. Don't let the presence of anyone else affect your experience.

Re: A map of ATMs designed to scam tourists in Europe

#38

Post by thinkingemote »

These types of maps just show where people/tourists are which render them not that useful. It needs to be proportionate and comparative. E.g. normalised against daytime population, number of shops, restaurants or hotels so you can compare which similar areas do have more ATMs compared to other less "ugly" areas.

Comparing them against published population maps wont work because 1) those show where locals live 2) not where people go for entertainment and 3) tourists and hotels are not counted as population. Now, it will work if the aim is to go to quiet places with only locals and not much points of interest - I've tried this as a tourist strategy and ended up in an area surrounded by residential tower blocks and one basic cafe and a shop underneath.

Re: A map of ATMs designed to scam tourists in Europe

#40

Post by gpvos »

yieldcrv wrote: post #19
cedilla wrote: post #11

Euronet ATMs being a scam is a very americentric view. The world is not /primarily/ designed to rip off tourist. Very evident with this map that just appears to be a differently labeled population heat map.

they aren't even a scam if the American has a good bank those ATMs give you a choice on how to do currency conversion and my bank will do withdrawals at spot rate! I check forex and futures charts and I get the same rate. and other than that just a normal ATM fee the same as I would encounter in the states. some banks reimburse those too.

Most Europeans are used to zero or low ATM fees, at least when no conversion is needed. Our banks don't tend to do the fee and reimbursement dance that I've heard American banks do.

That said, I've noticed that when I withdraw a non-euro currency, my own bank fee has been creeping up and is approaching the conversion rate and fee offered by the ATMs, so maybe I need to change my policy about that in the future.

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