May 7, 2026, 11:09 am | Read time: 6 minutes
Thirty-two-year-old Susanne has been an avid traveler to Italy for many years and was convinced she would never fall victim to the bold schemes of some con artists in her favorite country. But that’s exactly what happened to her on her last vacation in Naples–and she is still annoyed that despite all her caution, she fell for a cunning scam. She warns about the scheme on TRAVELBOOK.
Report: Alexandra Cavelius
It was my last day in Naples, and I wanted to use it to buy a dress at a street market. Blue skies, bustling activity, street music, and the calls of market vendors. I love this atmosphere of Neapolitan joie de vivre among colorful stalls offering affordable clothing, antiques, fruit, as well as fresh buffalo mozzarella and other delicacies.
My friend and I had just come from the main train station and were about to cross the street when a young Italian approached us in English: “Hi, beautiful ladies, I’m selling my brother’s camera. It’s new. He urgently needs cash… available for a very low price.” He pulled a newly packaged digital camera out of his white bag. He pointed to the price tag. 2,049 euros. “I’ll let it go for 500 euros,” he said, making a face as if he had bitten into a lemon. He had no other choice.
That must be one of those crooks trying to palm off some smuggled goods with nasty tricks, I said to my friend. She pulled me along by the arm, as she wasn’t interested anyway. However, I was immediately captivated by the sight of this camera because I had always wanted such a device. And my counterpart apparently recognized that sparkle in my eyes right away and charmingly countered in broken German. “No, I’m not a crook!” That was totally unfair. “I’m Antonio!” We laughed. For now.
Great Story, but I Won’t Be Fooled
Then Antonio, in a mix of broken German and English, swinging between drama and comedy, recounted the life story of his “gambling-addicted brother.” His free hand pressed firmly to his heart. Great story, well told. It worked. The guy was instantly likable, even if his story seemed unbelievable. But it didn’t matter, because I only had the device in my sights. In no time, he described all the advantages of the device to me. New, fully functional, takes great pictures and videos. And I thought: “Why not take a risk and buy such a great device so cheaply?” If anything seemed suspicious, I would just walk away, I convinced myself.
At that moment, two of Antonio’s friends apparently approached him by chance, greeting him cheerfully and patting him on the shoulder. I whispered to my friend: “Let’s turn the tables. I’ll haggle the price down. And we’ll both just make sure he doesn’t swap something else on us like in a shell game.” Four eyes saw better, they missed nothing, I was sure.
My friend joined in the game and waved it off. “Forget it! Too expensive.” I immediately furrowed my brows in displeasure and agreed with her. “Right, I can’t pay that.” At first, Antonio stuck to the price, as the device was brand new, but he visibly squirmed under my ungracious gaze. Then his friends talked to him. “Give her the camera, you need the money for your brother…” Finally, he seemingly gave in, briefly dropping his shoulders and head, then said with a crooked grin: “Okay, because it’s you! 300 euros.” But he suggested we cross the street, as it was too crowded here.
My Bizarre (and Sometimes Dangerous) Encounters With the Law While Traveling
How a German defeated his illness in the jungle
Scammed in the Side Alley
It was true. There was too much going on in the street. We turned right across the intersection into a quieter alley, where there were still other people, so we felt safe enough as two women accompanied by three young men. His friend immediately started singing a funny song, “Amore mio…,” and Antonio engaged me in a conversation about how grateful he was that I was buying the camera. But it would be better if no one observed us during the money exchange. Suddenly, he looked around nervously and said: “You know, I have enemies here too.” Oh! That made us nervous. Especially when one of his friends almost casually added the word “Mafia” as an explanation. “Let’s do it quickly,” Antonio urged. His friends surrounded us like a protective wall. The mood suddenly became tense.
A quick decision was needed now. Critical thinking turned off. Otherwise, I would lose the chance! I finally wanted to have the white bag with the camera. “First the bag, then the money,” I said, feeling very clever. “Watch out,” one of the friends warned, “there they are, Antonio, we have to go!” Susanne and I looked excitedly in the direction everyone was looking. But we saw nothing. And we had already lost. Emotion overruled reason. And greed, as is well known, makes one blind.
On Staged Distraction, Mafia, and Other “Bad Boys”
The staged distraction had long been used by Antonio to hand me the bag, take my money, and say goodbye: “Ciao, Bella! Get out of here, this is not a safe place.” The guys had already disappeared into the crowd. Excitedly, my friend and I hurried back to the main train station. Thrilled, the loot secured in the white bag. But why did the old man who had watched us with Antonio’s gang and was coming toward us at the traffic light shake his head indignantly and warn: “Bad business! Bad boys!”?
Alarmed, I tore open the bag in front of the train station, opened the camera package, and found about 400 grams of salt inside. “Damn,” I said and angrily threw the bag into the trash can. We immediately realized how foolish we had been. His friends had also had white bags in their hands and had quickly swapped them with Antonio’s bag when we had craned our necks. “You probably bought the most expensive salt in the world,” my friend chuckled. And I muttered gloomily. “Yes, my own fault.” Against such trained professionals, an amateur has no chance. So folks, better keep your hands off such deals with strangers–even if the person seems trustworthy!