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Romebuddy has been contacted by a number of readers who have sent in some of their first-hand experiences or hearsay about specific scams and criminal tricks suffered by themselves or others visiting Rome. Thanks for the contributions guys - We've reprinted a few of them here and on the next few pages. (Real names have been changed):

Damian writes:

"One of our work colleagues posted this great info on our bulletin board in work: these italian are true scam artists! They are unreal!!! You are probably paying too much for your taxis to and from the airport but are not even aware of this. From the airport, you will see on the meter under 'Tariffa' it is on 2. This means you are paying at a higher rate than if you are driving in the city. Once you pass the GRA they are supposed to switch this to '1' at which point you are charged at the lower city rate. The problem is these people don't change the meter and assume we are stupid and will not see the difference. EVERY time, I take a taxi from the airport once we pass the GRA heading back in to the city I have to remind the driver to change the 'Tariffa' at which point they always say 'scusa' and give the excuse that they were talking to you and forgot. I am sick and tired of this and will also lodge a formal complaint with the taxi company 'RadioTaxi' 3570. I tell all my guests arriving to check for the same thing and it also happens to each and every one of them. I beg you to watch for this and to tell anyone and everyone you know so we can stop this from happening to us and to everyone else as well. Also be careful that when you call a cab to go to the airport that they don't start your ride at the 'Tariffa' 2 rate. It should only be changed to 2 once they reach the GRA line. RadioTaxi has done the same thing until I notice and tell them to change it back to 1. Please pass this message along to anyone you know to stop this overcharging which is directed at innocent foreigners who they think don't know any better. I have not had these problems with ProntoTaxi."

Russ writes:

"I enjoyed your web page. It is well done and has a great deal of well organized information. Maybe a scam similar to this one is on the page but perhaps I was the only one foolish enough. This can be attributed to my own stupidity as well as a scam. On the other hand the people that ran it were very good. This is my fifth time in Italy and my second in Rome. I arrived the afternoon of May 14th and around 19:00 I decided to go for a walk. I thought I might head to Trevi Fountain since it was not too far of a walk. I was near Piazza Barberini checking my map when a gentleman speaking English and also holding a map asked me if I could show him where he was. I tried to avoid him but he continued to follow me. He explained that he arrived in Rome that day from Saudi Arabia. He claimed he was a Chemical Engineer working for Shell Oil and his home was Barcelona. He has claimed to have travelled quite a bit and so have I so we began a conversation. He suggested that we go for a beer, I told him that I was headed to Trevi Fountain and he wanted to join me. I then told him it was late and I was going back to my room. He persuaded me to join him for one beer before I left. He was very persuasive and persistent. At this point I thought that he may be a homosexual trying to pick me up. I decided to have a beer with him and then leave. He showed me that he had a card for a club named "Club 84". He said the card was for a free drink and he wanted to check it out. I am fairly certain that his plan from the very beginning was to get me to that club. He even stopped and asked directions to the club. A move I believe he used to make me think he had not been there before. We walked into the club and I immediately noticed that something was not right. The women there appeared that they may be prostitutes. I should have left then but sat down to have a beer with my "new found friend". About ten minutes later two of the women of the place approach us and sat down. Shortly there after a waiter asks if we would like to buy drinks for the girls. My "friend" says sure. I am okay with talking to these girls and even buying them drinks. At the time it seemed harmless. I bought one of the girls that I was talking to another drink. There is no doubt that I enjoyed talking to this beautiful woman but I was trying to find a graceful way of getting the heck out of there. She asked me to dance and seemed willing to do more but I had no interest in that or did I want to pay for that. I finally convinced my friend that I had to leave as I needed to make some phone calls to the states before it became to late. I called for my check. I was stunned. The amount of the check was 986,00 Euro!!!! I saw no option but to pay. The woman asked for a tip in addition to what I paid for the check. I gave her 20 Euro. I just wanted to get out of there. As I walked out the door there were two escorts waiting for me. They tried to force me into a cab and I pushed them away and walked on my own. Within seconds another man was assigned to me. He grabbed my elbow and tried to convince me to see a porn show and when I declined that he brought out a catalog of what I think were prostitutes and asked me if I wanted one of the girls. I did not and after some angry words he left me alone. I am not certain but I also think that my first drink may have been drugged. Again I am not sure of that but I was not able to find my way back to my hotel even with a map. That is very unusual for me. I finally had to resolve to hiring a cab to get me back to the hotel. During my walk a gentleman suggested that I go to Club 84. He told me he had a card that would get me in free. I told him to give me the card and I would go later. He would only give me the card if I would go with him to the club. There is definitely something strange going on at Club 84 and I was definitely foolish to fall in to the trap. I considered notifying the authorities but I had done so many stupid things it seemed foolish. I consider it a lesson learned. A very expensive lesson but I doubt that I have any recourse. I try not to dwell on that evening and would like to put it behind me. I would really appreciate if you could answer a couple questions for me. Do you believe that I was really scammed or was I just that stupid? Have you heard of any other similar stories to mine involving Club 84? Is what happened to me illegal in Rome?"

another scam...

ouch..!