{"id":122153,"date":"2023-11-25T15:38:52","date_gmt":"2023-11-25T15:38:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lasixlineon.com\/?p=122153"},"modified":"2023-11-25T15:38:52","modified_gmt":"2023-11-25T15:38:52","slug":"brits-warned-of-christmas-market-worst-for-scams-from-pickpockets-to-pricing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lasixlineon.com\/travel\/brits-warned-of-christmas-market-worst-for-scams-from-pickpockets-to-pricing\/","title":{"rendered":"Brits warned of Christmas market ‘worst for scams’ \u2013 from pickpockets to pricing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Christmas markets have been opening all over the UK and Europe with celebrants enjoying mulled wine, delicious overpriced meals and gift-buying. <\/p>\n

Some markets even have theme park rides and grottos \u2013 but, sadly, many also suffer with scams. <\/p>\n

Tourists looking to travel to various Christmas markets should be aware of the various thefts and scams they could fall victim to while at the popular events. These include common crimes like pickpocketing and theft to reported scams that take your money. <\/p>\n

READ MORE: Edinburgh Christmas market guest fuming at 'hellish' price of chips<\/b><\/p>\n

READ MORE: UK has 'world's prettiest Christmas destination' with iconic markets and ice rinks<\/b> <\/p>\n

Some Christmas markets see a high volume of visitors, such as Budapest\u2019s popular market which draws in over 800,000 people a year, and London\u2019s Winter Wonderland, which sees more than 2.5million annually. Such large crowds can be a draw for scam-artists and thieves. <\/p>\n

But, according to research by Radical Storage the Christmas Market that suffers with the most scams is Prague\u2019s winter festivities. The study looked at over 1.2 million online tourist reviews, across 50 of the biggest and most popular Christmas markets around the world, looking for mentions of different scams.<\/p>\n

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The research looked at tourist scams and petty crimes including bag dipping, mobile phone theft, or pickpocketing, as well as street scams such as overcharging for bracelets or roses at Christmas Markets. Unfortunately, Prague, in the Czech Republic, came out on top for the highest scam rate \u2013 and the UK didn\u2019t even feature in the top five.<\/p>\n

Prague Christmas market draws in around 300,000 visitors each year \u2013 not least because it was found to be Europe\u2019s cheapest market for booze. A beer costs just 75czk (\u00a32.68) on average and a mulled wine is priced at 90czk (\u00a33.22). That\u2019s a fantastic price comparable with costs associated with cheap pub chain Wetherspoons here in the UK.<\/p>\n

However, along with the great value comes a large proportion of scams. The Christmas market in Staromestske Namesti was found to have 582 reviews mentioning any type of scam. 472 of these mentioned pickpocketing \u2013 where personal items are sneakily removed from your bag or pockets.<\/p>\n

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The most common Christmas market scams:<\/h3>\n