A 50-buck lesson – How I got scammed in Santiago, Chile.

2 am in the hotel in Santiago de Chile, I just sat there pondering on the 50-dollar lesson I had just learned.

 

While I walked on the Avenue Apoquindo, someone stopped me and asking me for assistance in a perfect American accent English.

He called himself Shane, from Miami, U.S.A.

Shane Paul Epstein

First, he told us that he went for rafting in other cities in Chile and his backpack was stolen/robbed (now I don’t remember if he had ever told me 2 versions of that stories)

He said he was asking the American embassy and the marine told him that he would have to wait until 9 am in the morning. And right then almost midnight, freezing cold in Santiago, he just wanted to get to a hostel and get rested.

 

I felt suspicious of his intention, especially late at night in a foreign city in Chile.

"Why didn’t you ask for help from the local Chileans?" I asked him.

"I don’t speak Spanish." he replied.

"How come you don’t speak Spanish? Everyone in Miami speaks Spanish." I confronted exaggeratedly.

"Well, the locals were not willing to help. That was why I tried to look for help from foreign tourist becuase we are all in a foreign country and maybe you will be nicer."

 

Then, he spotted on my Taiwan plastic bag. He said something that partially lowered my caution.

"Look, I saw your bag. I know you are from Taiwan. I’ve lived in TAICHUNG for four years." he expressed.

Well, if he said something that he’s lived in Taipei, I would probably reply "Yeah, right!" but when he spoke the magic word of Taichung, I started to believe him for the first time that maybe he was really a desperate American tourist who had trouble in Santiago de Chile.

I was on full guard at first but then after he spoke the Taichung spell, I thought it was a good idea to ask him to walk back to the hotel reception.

 

Then, a late bus came by the bus stop, on which there was a Chilean youngster out of sudden spat on this American’s pants from a far distance with some shouts to him, later I recalled maybe the Chilean on bus was shouting to warn me of that guy though I did not realize it.

 

"Now you see how rude the Chilean is. Did you see what he did to me? I just got spat after all these. I really wanna take a rest now." He talked with tears swirling in his eyes. This was the second crucial moment that I bought his story one step further… Too many things happened within a short span for my brain to comprehend and to differenciate the good from the bad. In order not to fall victim, I died for sheltering in my hotel.

"Look, I know you are looking for help. It is cold and late at night. I don’t think we should keep standing here in freezing cold. The only help I could offer is that we walk back to my hotel and asked the reception at the hotel to help you out."

"I told you they won’t help me. I have been to two hotels and they did not help me because I lost my ID." He acted so reluctantly that I suspected him once again.

"Maybe this third hotel would be different. Third time the charm, that’s what they said." I told him.

"Okay." Finally he decided to go back to the hotel with me.

 

On the way back, I felt really nervous as it was just no one else on the street. The time was almost 12 at midnight. I asked him to walk 3 steps ahead in front of me. The short 5-minute distance back to hotel seemed taking forever. My muscle was tense and my braid was quickly running through all the scenario that could be likely happen on our way. Of curse the worst scenario would be he suddenly took out a knife, or rather a gun, and decided to rob me midway. The chill, the tention and the nerve were all finally eased when I entered the lobby of hotel. Never had I felt so joyful to walk in to a hotel.

 

Later I thought in retrospect. I felt so safe and relieved to return to the hotel that I did lose ALL MY GUARDS. Little did I realize that maybe I should have dealt with him alone on the street and never should drag this American back to the hotel.

 

This American and i walked to the front desk and then Shane the American explained the whole situation in fluent American accent. I wasn’t sure what to tell to the receptionist on duty in front of him so I kept silent at first.

 

Once Shane the American finished his stroy, the receptionist just said "We would help you to find a hostel in downtown Santiago." He then called upon the bellboy to look for hostel information via Internet on the cumputer at the lobby. While Shane was with the bellboy concentrating on the computer (or so I thoguht), I secretly asked the manager on duty in Spanish.(I thought Shane might overhear our conversation should I speak in English.)

"Have you encountered this kind of situation at the hotel? Some stranger asked for help?" I asked nervously.

"No, we had never had this kind of experience before. He answered firmly and he asked the bellboy again for reconfirmation and for calming me down.

After hearing their response, I felt one step closer to trust the poor American because at that time I thought the hotel would do everything they could to keep the troubles at bay, keeping their client from all kinds of danger.

 

I was too naive.

 

Soon, the bellboy showed me a page on the screen and told me.

"We’ve found out the hostel information list and the cheapest we could find was $49 USD per night."

Then, the two from the hotel seemed to expect my next move.

 

I was indecisive so I wanted a second opinion.

"Should I help this guy? What do you think?" I asked again the manager on duty.

"Well, the decision was yours. In our hotel policy, we could not give him money. But it’s totally up to you if you want to help him or not. If you don’t wanna help him. It’ s alright too. We would ask this guy to leave and you can return to your room."

 

Then, he gave me the hardest punch of the night so I felt like being knocked out in this mind game.

"Maybe he was faking but what if he really had troubles and asked for help. You would be a tourist someday and what if you are in his plight?"

After hearing this sentence from a person in the hotel that I really trusted. I was certain that 80% I would give him my money because it took too long for all of us. If I did not give the money, all of the efforts / time would be in vain and it would all become a farce.

 

I still wanted to have my last shot, calling my roommate Leo Su, who grew up in Argentina. I knew that he would know better what to do according to his experience in South America. "Ring.. ring…" I did not know if he fell asleep or was in shower but he did not answer my call.

 

Finally, I made my final decision, alone, after hesitating for almost 2 hours. I stretched into my pocket and reached out my $50 USD banknotes.

 

Before giving him the money. I put on a serious voice telling him.

"Look, I gave you this money for helping a friend in need. If you return my money back tomorrow morning, of course we would be friends. If not, I would think I paid for a lesson in life: that I would never ever help strangers in a foreign country."

 

Shane the American said "Yeah, of course. The first thing after I go to the American Embassy is that I am gonna come back to the hotel and return your money." Then, he left me his contact information, including his phone number in Miami, his gmail account shanepaul@gmail.com and his facebook account.

 

I wanted to check his facebook to see if what he said was real. I asked the hotel manager and he said the computer was blocked from all of the social network websites. Hm… bad luck for me for sure.

 

So, I gave him the money.

Before leaving, he looked at me, shaked my hand and saying…

"Should I say 謝謝xiè xie or 多謝duō xiè?" he thanked me in Mandarin so I felt one last time that his experience might actually be true.

 

I watched him walk out of the hotel in a speed that’s faster than normal people would do. Then, my heart felt wrenchedly hopeless as if I alread knew what would come for me when I return to my hotel room.

 

After I typed his name into the facebook search box, it appeared no results… my heart sank and the air in the room seemed to froze around me.

I then called to the front desk, telling the manager that I got scammed. He said "I am sorry, sir. I was thinking to take a photograph of him but I did not do it. We would check the surveillance system to print of his photo and announce that this person is not welcome here.

 

My roommate, Leo Su was still awake and I told him the whole story.

"Stupid! How much did you give him?" The first words he uttered after hearing my story.

"10 USD?" He gussed. I simply smiled in a bitter complexion.

"20 USD? 30USD?" He did not know should he go on guessing…

"What? 50USD?!!!" "Elmo, I also need help for 50 bucks." He tried to cheer me up by joking with me.

 

CONCLUSION

1. The chance of bumping into an American who had lived in Taichung late at night in Santiago in Chile was too slight. I should have followed my intuition.
2. Never trust anyone! Even the personnel in the hotel. The reasonable assumption may be the hotel was also involved in the scam, leaking out my personal information to that scammer so that he could spoke of his "Taichung experience" and Mandarin to trick me.
3. Even if the hotel was not involved. The way they managed the whole situation was way far from professional. The should have checked this person’s identification first instead of trusting his story 100%.

Postscript

I went to the security department to identify that American. I asked the manager was I unlucky because last night the front desk told me that he had never encountered this situation. "You are lucky" he said. You might have been robbed before you return to the hotel. I felt much better after his consolation.

Then, I asked the manger what I should do if I ever encounter this situation.

"It’s simple!" he smiled.
"Four sentences. I don’t speak Spanish! I don’t speak English! I cannot help you! Byebye!"

I was suddenly enlighted.
He was actually right. Why did I need to help a person who could speak American accent English? If they would like to scam me. Please speak my language.

That was all for my farce but precious experience learned in Santiago de Chile.

I got robbed of a clown hate in Bogotá, Colombia.
We got stolen in Puno, Perú.
Now, a new chapter of being scammed was written in Santiago, Chile.