https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Italy in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Readers share their horror stories and advice on avoiding being taken for a ride while you're in Italy. https://www.thelocal.it/20190618/ripped-off-italys-worst-tourist-scams-and-how-to-avoid-them Tue, 18 Jun 2019 15:08:08 +0200 ripped-off-italys-worst-tourist-scams-and-how-to-avoid-them Two Japanese tourists who were dining in the Italian capital in early September were charged an eye-watering €429.80 for two plates of fish, spaghetti and water. https://www.thelocal.it/20190927/rip-off-in-rome-japanese-tourists-slapped-with-430-bill-for-two-plates-of-spaghetti Fri, 27 Sep 2019 16:29:16 +0200 rip-off-in-rome-japanese-tourists-slapped-with-430-bill-for-two-plates-of-spaghetti A ticket controller has been arrested for pocketing cash bribes instead of issuing offical fines for ticketless tourists in Rome. https://www.thelocal.it/20190906/rome-bus-ticket-inspector-arrested-for-scamming-tourists Fri, 06 Sep 2019 13:37:16 +0200 rome-bus-ticket-inspector-arrested-for-scamming-tourists Yet another establishment in Italy has hit the headlines for overcharging tourists, this time a cafe in Rome that billed diners more than €80 for a pair of burgers and three coffees. https://www.thelocal.it/20190514/tourist-rip-off-in-italy-rome-caffe-vaticano-bill-81-euros-two-burgers-three-coffees Tue, 14 May 2019 16:19:52 +0200 tourist-rip-off-in-italy-rome-caffe-vaticano-bill-81-euros-two-burgers-three-coffees Italian police have seized two petrol stations in the city of Naples where the pumps had been tampered with to fool customers about the quantity of petrol they were getting. https://www.thelocal.it/20190206/italian-police-bust-petrol-station-scam-in-naples Wed, 06 Feb 2019 15:39:31 +0100 italian-police-bust-petrol-station-scam-in-naples Two initiatives purporting to be raising funds for the towns affected by August's earthquake were actually scammers cashing in on the tragedy, Italy's finance police said on Sunday. https://www.thelocal.it/20161003/italian-police-dismantle-two-earthquake-fundraising-scams Mon, 03 Oct 2016 17:07:54 +0200 italian-police-dismantle-two-earthquake-fundraising-scams Every year, holidaymakers lose their passports, wallets or other valuables while visiting Italy, causing them needless distress, hassle and extra expense. https://www.thelocal.it/20160818/keep-passports-safe-typical-pickpocket-scams-revealed Thu, 18 Aug 2016 13:33:33 +0200 keep-passports-safe-typical-pickpocket-scams-revealed It was a future they perhaps failed to predict: two 'clairvoyants' have been charged with fraud for allegedly duping a woman out of a whopping €150,000 – payment made to them in return for guaranteeing her sick father’s place in Heaven. https://www.thelocal.it/20160119/phony-psychics-in-150k-scam-to-ensure-sick-mans-place-in-heaven Tue, 19 Jan 2016 14:20:25 +0100 phony-psychics-in-150k-scam-to-ensure-sick-mans-place-in-heaven Italy’s forestry police have uncovered a massive olive oil scam in Puglia, which involved the import of oils from Syria, Turkey, Morocco and Tunisia, which were tampered with before being sold as authentic Italian extra virgin olive oil. https://www.thelocal.it/20151203/italy-busts-syria-linked-olive-oil-scam Thu, 03 Dec 2015 18:00:43 +0100 italy-busts-syria-linked-olive-oil-scam The city of Rome is ready to take action against the legions of tacky gladiators making a tax-free fortune by posing for photos with tourists in front of the city's most famous monuments. https://www.thelocal.it/20151112/rome-declares-war-on-12k-a-month-gladiators Thu, 12 Nov 2015 12:39:50 +0100 rome-declares-war-on-12k-a-month-gladiators Italian railway police have busted two Romanian men who were trying an elaborate scam on tourists travelling on trains out of Rome's Termini station. https://www.thelocal.it/20150813/thieves-posed-as-rail-officials-to-scam-tourists Thu, 13 Aug 2015 12:04:08 +0200 thieves-posed-as-rail-officials-to-scam-tourists Italian police have arrested two people as they attempted to flee the country, allegedly responsible for a vast scam using funds set aside in Campania to manage the refugee crisis. https://www.thelocal.it/20150525/arrests-over-massive-migrant-cash-scam Mon, 25 May 2015 11:22:58 +0200 arrests-over-massive-migrant-cash-scam Italian financial police arrested ten suspected members of a criminal gang involved in internet scams to fleece company cash and trick people on dating websites, Europe's police agency said on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.it/20150428/italian-police-bust-internet-dating-scame Tue, 28 Apr 2015 16:35:58 +0200 italian-police-bust-internet-dating-scame A group of con artists has gone on trial for allegedly tricking a German businessman out of €1.3 million, by pretending to sell him the US embassy and the UN food agency headquarters. https://www.thelocal.it/20150316/gang-tricks-german-into-buying-us-embassy Mon, 16 Mar 2015 10:18:19 +0100 gang-tricks-german-into-buying-us-embassy Italy's financial police on Monday arrested six people accused of stealing millions of euros from the state with a fake contract to refuel a shipwrecked navy tanker. https://www.thelocal.it/20141215/ghost-ship-scam-steals-millions-from-italy-treasury Mon, 15 Dec 2014 12:29:00 +0100 ghost-ship-scam-steals-millions-from-italy-treasury A gang at Florence's central station have been filmed scamming tourists, by offering to "help" them with their luggage and then demanding up to €20. https://www.thelocal.it/20140708/baggage-scam-targets-tourists-in-florence Tue, 08 Jul 2014 10:00:00 +0200 baggage-scam-targets-tourists-in-florence Police on Thursday arrested four businessmen in Sicily, accused of running a scam to allow hundreds of foreigners to illegally obtain residency permits in Italy. https://www.thelocal.it/20140522/permit-scam-let-hundreds-live-legally-in-italy Thu, 22 May 2014 17:14:00 +0200 permit-scam-let-hundreds-live-legally-in-italy A woman in central Italy has been jailed for eight months after telling her boss that her son had died, in order to steal €4,500 from the company, when the seven-year-old boy was in fact alive and well. https://www.thelocal.it/20140515/mother-fakes-sons-death-to-rob-4500 Thu, 15 May 2014 17:17:00 +0200 mother-fakes-sons-death-to-rob-4500