Three men in Rome have been arrested on suspicion of extortion. After allegations of forcing tourists to pay for “imperial selfies.”
Trojan Horse
The men accused were among the many vendors outside the Colosseum daily, charging people for photographs. For years, tourists have been told to avoid the men dressed as Roman soldiers after reports of them using aggressive tactics to gain compensation for their pictures.
Rome Police
On the Rome Police Headquarters Facebook page, there was a post about a tourist from northern Italy. They reported that the soldiers wanted 40 euros for their photo. The tourist claimed he was forced to pay the men 150 euros after he’d been surrounded for not wanting to pay the initial 40 euros. Another tourist from Ireland was also forced to head to the nearest ATM and cough up 250 euros for a picture with the soldiers. Then there were other complaints that the phony soldiers were charging between 450 to 500 euros for an image.
Hunger Games
Tourist scams are becoming popular all over the Mediterranean. Back in 2019, Two Japanese tourists ordered a “disgusting” meal at a restaurant after being charged 429 euros for their meal. The meal consisted of two plates of fish and spaghetti and water. Once they complained about the food the restaurant denied them any kind of refund and stated they knew what they were getting once they ordered the food.
This summer many tourists complained about how restaurants were overcharging customers in Mykonos. As the beachfront eateries were having a field day overcharging tourists.
