Saint Petersburg

[Khan99]

Anyway, in summary, I did not report any of this to the police as there did not seem any point as I would not be able to claim such "theft" on my travel insurance and, as I am sure you know, the police have a reputation for being very corrupt in Russia.

I think you were drugged. And probably passed out and if they managed to peep your PIN they continued to use your credit card. Well actually you could go to police and file a complaint (I've dealt with similar case but I speak Russian well), and policemen might even go to the bar and check, but of course the would be a number of "witnesses" telling policemen that you bought all the drinks voluntarily. Selling overpriced drinks is not a crime in Russia, unfortunately. And you could not prove your card was used without your consent, as you do not remember anything. So yes, this is almost a risk free scam, until they cross the wrong guy. It happened once, as I read in the news.

So at least you got home safe. This was an overpriced lesson for sure, but you lost nothing you can not earn back.

[Dave9090]

Haha, yes I did post it there and a few other places just to let as many people know as possible so as to try and help other people not experience in the future the same financial damage as I did!

I admit I was a silly boy in the whole episode though, and I could have avoided being fleeced so badly by just applying some common sense as I usually do when travelling, however I was already hung over going into the night in question so I wasn't thinking so straight as I never take credit cards out with me on a night out as that is just asking for trouble! That being said, if these [Deleted by Admin] and shyster venues were working honestly then people could have a relaxing night out without having to think some issues could occur.

I'm not into pro's and found this site by chance when doing internet research as to where I could post online about this scam so as to inform other people. At the time of going to Russia, there was nothing online or in print relating to SPB that mentioned any tinder scams (only general internet scams which I assumed related to the old scam of people asking you to send them money etc) so RTFF wielded no useful notification in this case, and this is why I wanted to post this Tinder scam online so that people were aware of it, however I notice that people have now subsequently posted about this on this forum just a few posts before mine.

Anyway all, stay safe and be careful who you go drinking with as some people can be very deceptive and good actors. And also don't take your credit cards with you on a night out!

I see that you posted this exact same story over on TripAdvisor in the Saint Petersburg forum under the title "Tinder Scams. St Petersburg. " I'm sorry, but some of the comments you've received over there so far make me chuckle and agree.

What's sad about your situation is that while you were getting scammed at Secret Service Pub on Nevsky Prospekt, you were literally a couple minutes walk from a salon that I visited in mid-2016 and detailed in my trip report here on ISG.

Thanks for sharing your story with us and sorry you got scammed. Since you mention here on ISG and TripAdvisor that you're "very well travelled," you might want to spend a little more time RTFF on TripAdvisor and ISG to help avoid what you experienced in SPB.

[Quagmire1974]

I have never posted on here, however I am doing so now to make people aware of a Tinder scam I suffered from recently in Saint Petersburg. Whilst it happened in SPB, I am sure similar things happen in Moscow also so please be careful when using any online dating platform in Russia!

I see that you posted this exact same story over on TripAdvisor in the Saint Petersburg forum under the title "Tinder Scams. St Petersburg. " I'm sorry, but some of the comments you've received over there so far make me chuckle and agree.

What's sad about your situation is that while you were getting scammed at Secret Service Pub on Nevsky Prospekt, you were literally a couple minutes walk from a salon that I visited in mid-2016 and detailed in my trip report here on ISG.

Thanks for sharing your story with us and sorry you got scammed. Since you mention here on ISG and TripAdvisor that you're "very well travelled," you might want to spend a little more time RTFF on TripAdvisor and ISG to help avoid what you experienced in SPB.

[Dave9090]

I have never posted on here, however I am doing so now to make people aware of a Tinder scam I suffered from recently in Saint Petersburg. Whilst it happened in SPB, I am sure similar things happen in Moscow also so please be careful when using any online dating platform in Russia!

Basically, I met a woman on Tinder back in June who I was chatting with for some time and then I arranged to meet her on Nevsky Avenue for a drink one evening. She took me to a place called the Secret Service Pub on Nevsky Avenue. I immediately grew suspicious upon entering this bar as it was only around 7 pm and the place was quiet yet it had 1 or 2 security guys on the door, plus my instinct was telling me that the staff there knew my "Date" without any of them actually acknowledging each other, and in addition there were a couple of attractive girls sat at the bar alone. Even though I had these instincts, I still stayed as I had never heard of people being scammed in this way in Russia, or anywhere else for that matter and I am very well travelled. Anyway, the Date kept wanting to go into a separate closed off Karaoke area of the venue which I wasn't too keen on as I had not even had a drink yet that day, and when the menu arrived to order she wanted to order a bottle of wine that was priced around £80 and some kind of meat tray which again seemed somewhat overpriced after the meat tray arrived as it was very basic, however I had not been in Russia too long at that point so I was not aware of what the prices for things should generally be also. I refused to pay for the wine and asked her to order another drink instead, so she opted for a cocktail (which I did not see the price of) and the meat tray, whilst I order a reasonably priced beer for myself. I was getting a bad feeling about the bar still, so I told her I wanted to go somewhere else midway through my first drink, however she was quite insistent that she wanted to stay in this bar. I managed to persuade her to leave after a while, and when presented with the bill it came to something like $80 which I thought was highly excessive but which I felt I had to pay as we had consumed the items. After checking the reviews of this bar on Google some time after, it was clear other people had had a similar experience to me and that this bar was clearly a scam bar. Anyway, after leaving that bar, the Date wanted to go to another bar just a few doors up from the Secret Service Pub, which again looked quite empty and ominous so I refused and instead we carried on walking up the road until I found a bar that was quite busy and looked safe. She was reluctant to go in, but I managed to persuade her saying we would just go to this bar for a couple of drinks. Anyway, when we got in there her attitude completely changed and she began constantly playing with her phone, and after 15 or so minutes two of her friends showed up and I then even get a worse feeling about events and made my excuses and left.

So after a couple more drinks on my own, I went back onto Tinder and started chatting with another girl who, quite quickly, agreed to meet me that night. I had had a few drinks by this stage so I wasn't thinking straight, as there should have been alarm bells ringing as it was around 10 pm at that point on a week day night (not the weekend) and she agreed to meet me after not such a substantial degree of conversation. Anyway, she asked if she could bring a friend, which I didn't mind, and then also asked if I would pay her taxi, which when I asked her how much, she quoted something in the region of £12. Going on UK rates, I didn't think £12 was too much so I agreed to pay it, however after later learning the taxi rates in Saint Petersburg I know that £12 is highly excessive and that taxi's do not cost that much even if you are going from the centre to the airport. Anyway, when my second "Date" showed, her and her friend seemed really nice and I did not have any suspicions this time around. They asked me if I liked Karaoke and so off we all went to a Karaoke bar (which was called Granada Bar on Stremyannaya Ul. 4 according to my credit card receipts from the night). So when we entered this place the girls wanted to order a bottle of champagne, which again seemed highly overpriced (around 5,000 Russian Rubles from memory), however I agreed to pay for just the one bottle to start things off with the intention of then going on to something cheaper as I was well aware of the expensive pricing. But after the first bottle, the waitress kept coming back and I kept ordering this clearly overpriced champagne, even though I was well aware from the first bottle that it was overpriced, which leads me to believe that the waitress must have put something in my drink to make me more suggestive to keep paying for such low quality overpriced champagne (or one of the two girls put something in my drink, either way it was apparent afterwards that both the two girls and the venue were in on this deceptive scam), and the venue even charged an excessive amount for each Karaoke song (I have been to quite a few Karaoke bars around the world and have never been charged per song for Karaoke) and also charged excessive prices for Sheisha, which again I knew was highly overpriced yet I kept paying which leads me further to believe that I was drugged in some way. You were even allowed to smoke cigarettes sat at your seat in this Karaoke bar, which should have raised alarm bells also given that smoking in bars appears to be banned at all the other bars I have been to in Saint Petersburg previous to this bar. Anyway, I cannot remember leaving the bar at the end of the night, however counting my credit card receipts up the next day including the money I took out with me that night, I spent a total in the region of $1,500 (in hindsight it was very stupid to take credit cards out with me that night but I was hungover from the previous night and not thinking straight). The bizarre thing was, that second Date was messaging me the next day asking if I wanted to go out again with her! When I questioned the pricing from the night before she said that was "normal", however we all know that type of spending on a night out is not "normal" for most people! Again, after checking the reviews of this Karaoke bar on google other people have had the same type of scam experience at that place.

Anyway, in summary, I did not report any of this to the police as there did not seem any point as I would not be able to claim such "theft" on my travel insurance and, as I am sure you know, the police have a reputation for being very corrupt in Russia.

Stay safe people!

[Jake993]

I might only add that this scam concerns not only girl that approach you on the street, but also girls you meet on dating websites or Facebook or vk.com or Tinder. A date is arranged, you meet each other on the street at specific address and she almost instantly invites you to a "very nice place" that is "just around the corner". Beware!

Ah yes, I remember this scheme all too well. On my first trip to Budapest, many years ago, I was strolling along Vatsi Utsa and fell prey to this offer. Sadly, I was the equivalent of many hundred Euro lighter after only a few drinks. Nice to see the SPB has moved up market in their repertoire of scams. Just slightly more sophisticated than the "Two Cop Shakedown" on Nevsky Prospect!!

[Khan99]

I might only add that this scam concerns not only girl that approach you on the street, but also girls you meet on dating websites or Facebook or vk.com or Tinder. A date is arranged, you meet each other on the street at specific address and she almost instantly invites you to a "very nice place" that is "just around the corner". Beware!

[Quagmire1974]

Do you mean that they will make you buy them a drink which will be overpriced?

I think what Holden123 is referring to is a common scam that is found in parts of Europe and Russia: You're a single guy walking down the street in a foreign country. All of a sudden, one or two beautiful girls approach you on the street and start chatting you up. You're standing there getting a hard-on and thinking "Wow, I might be able to bang one (or both) of these chicks!" After a few minutes of conversation, the girls suggest having a drink at a nearby bar. You agree and follow the girls to a bar of their choice. You all sit down and the bartender starts serving drinks. After a couple of rounds, the bartender brings the bill and you see that it's hundreds of Dollars or Euros or Pounds. You don't have nearly that much money on you and would never pay that much for alcohol anyway. You start eying the door thinking you'll make a run for it until you notice the bouncer guarding the door looks like "The Mountain" from "Game of Thrones. " You pay the entire amount or negotiate down to a slightly lower price or refuse and get your ass kicked. Scams like this one are referenced in many guidebooks (Lonely Planet, Rick Steves, Bradt, The Rough Guide, Fodor's, Frommer's) and are regularly discussed in the TripAdvisor forum. Personally, I give a very cold shoulder to anyone who approaches me on the street in a foreign country, even more so if they start speaking English in a country where English isn't the primary language. While in SPB, I did have a couple of single girls approach me on Nevsky Prospekt (across the street from Corinthia Hotel) and suggest going to a bar for a drink, but I just kept on walking. Another thing to watch out for on Nevsky Prospekt are pickpockets, who work the crowds (especially near the canals) that build up due to the traffic signals.

[MorandUK]

Big warning. St Petersburg nightlife is swarming with scammers. (For those who don't know already).

Then they will invite you to a bar, where they will rob, at least, 100 dollars min from you. Be careful, some of them are very unsuspecting.

Do you mean that they will make you buy them a drink which will be overpriced?

[Zippy]

Big warning. St Petersburg nightlife is swarming with scammers. (For those who don't know already).

There are women on the streets and bars, especially on Rubestein, who will be extra friendly with you, chatty etc. They will seem interested in you and lead you on.

Then they will invite you to a bar, where they will rob, at least, 100 dollars min from you. Be careful, some of them are very unsuspecting.

I have been a victim, as well as many foreigners, whom I have met.

1. If it seems to easy, then its a red flag. 2. If they insist on inviting you to a place of their choice, avoid like the plague. 3. Do not ever go to Bar Matreshka!

4. Even be careful on Tinder. If it is too easy, don't fall into the trap.

Safest places to find women are the salons, like Karamelki and Markizaspb etc. Although there is nothing special there lately.

Nightclubs are a load of shit. I have never had luck there. Always bad attitude, and a lot of bullshit, all over the world.

Biggymot club is where all the high class hookers go, but expect to spend a shit load to probably get teased.

Yep, while I haven't been a victim, it's obvious to me that you need to be careful here in St. Pete in terms of scams like the ones Holden mentioned. I've only been to Orchid salon and it has been decent. The clubs and bars are completely hit or miss unless you speak a lot of Russian.

[Holden123]

Big warning. St Petersburg nightlife is swarming with scammers. (For those who don't know already).

There are women on the streets and bars, especially on Rubestein, who will be extra friendly with you, chatty etc. They will seem interested in you and lead you on.

Then they will invite you to a bar, where they will rob, at least, 100 dollars min from you. Be careful, some of them are very unsuspecting.

I have been a victim, as well as many foreigners, whom I have met.

1. If it seems to easy, then its a red flag. 2. If they insist on inviting you to a place of their choice, avoid like the plague. 3. Do not ever go to Bar Matreshka!

4. Even be careful on Tinder. If it is too easy, don't fall into the trap.

Safest places to find women are the salons, like Karamelki and Markizaspb etc. Although there is nothing special there lately.

Nightclubs are a load of shit. I have never had luck there. Always bad attitude, and a lot of bullshit, all over the world.

Biggymot club is where all the high class hookers go, but expect to spend a shit load to probably get teased.

[Quagmire1974]

Hi guys,

Quick question about Markiza and Marelki salons (and perhaps Nebudzki but haven't found it's address yet).

What's the normal etiquette for visiting these places? Can you just walk in or should you make an appointment beforehand? Do they speak English at all? My Russian is limited to few phrases.

Your questions and comments are covered in my SPB trip report, written on June 22, 2017 and found on page 4 of this forum. Of course, things change over time and I'm hoping we'll get a fresh SPB trip report posted in this forum soon.

[AzureDrake]

Hi guys,

Quick question about Markiza and Marelki salons (and perhaps Nebudzki but haven't found it's address yet).

What's the normal etiquette for visiting these places? Can you just walk in or should you make an appointment beforehand? Do they speak English at all? My Russian is limited to few phrases.

[Khan99]

Hey guys,

Was browsing rusdosug and have a few questions.

Is there a way to find more thorough reviews / pics of girls such as a forum?

If the ad says other girls with same number, does it mean it's a salon?

Any advice on non English speakers? I was hoping to use google translate but she only accepts calls.

Yes, there is a Spb forum for mongers https://forumamur.com You can try google translate, but there is obviously a lot of jargon that will be lost in translation.

In most cases it does.

Try calling her anyway (some girls speak English) or write a message explaining your situation.

[Willyboy]

Hey guys,

Was browsing rusdosug and have a few questions.

Is there a way to find more thorough reviews / pics of girls such as a forum?

If the ad says other girls with same number, does it mean it's a salon?

Any advice on non English speakers? I was hoping to use google translate but she only accepts calls.

Prices in rusdosug website are to high. 1 h sex in SPB cost from 2000 to 3000 roebel. (70 roebel /1 euro is the rate). For 30 euro. You can have all.

[Joe Shmoe]

Hey guys,

Was browsing rusdosug and have a few questions.

Is there a way to find more thorough reviews / pics of girls such as a forum?

If the ad says other girls with same number, does it mean it's a salon?

Any advice on non English speakers? I was hoping to use google translate but she only accepts calls.