'I travel for a living and these are the top scams to look out for overseas.'

Every time I travel, I assume I'm going to be ripped off a little. 

A bit of overcharging with 'tourist prices' or a dodgy taxi fare when I forget to ask the driver to turn the metre on, I just accept it's going to happen.

I reckon it's perfectly okay to be oblivious to the small losses that don't affect me or my trip. Especially if it means I travel with an open heart and I'm not sizing up every person I meet like a weird Aussie detective. Plus, in developing countries people may need those few dollars more than me, so they're welcome to them.

What I am on the lookout for, however, are the scams. The sneaky, well planned and executed cons that could really take the sparkle off my holiday. 

And being someone who travels full time, I've learned a lot from being sucked in over the years. 

I've purchased stunning Venetian glass that was made in China, paid to repair a surfboard I didn’t damage in Sri Lanka and been robbed of everything — but the upside is it's all helped me be switched on to the sneaky cons. 

Watch: Horoscopes at the aiport. Post continues below. 

So here are 10 of the biggest scams to look out for when you're travelling. 

The fake hotel call.

A popular scam is to call a hotel room to confirm the guest’s credit card details. The caller will pretend they’re the hotel front desk, the restaurant, or concierge and say they need to check your details, or there’s a problem with your card. But it's not the hotel, it's a scammer. Don't give out your details! Remember, never give your credit card details over the phone while on holidays, no matter who is calling your room. If reception needs to see you, you can just stop by in person. 

The fake ticket seller.

Only ever buy tickets from a person behind the official counter. Scammers go to extremes lengths literally dressing as bus and train station staff and having fake IDs to try and trick you into buying tickets from them. They are so committed! Scammers often offer upgrades and issue tickets on trains, only for people to find they’ve splashed out on an upgrade that didn't exist. But now you're smarter than the scammer and won't fall for it. 

Image: Supplied.

The Made In China scam.

A simple check of the present you're buying to see if it has a sticker on it detailing where it was made can save the day. When I bought Venetian glass on a trip to Venice I did not expect to find a 'Made in China' sticker on the bottom of it when I got it home. I still loved it, but it was a bummer. Asking if it's locally made doesn't mean you're going to get a truthful answer either, but do your research so you get something that's actually made by a local artisan in a field down the road from the Italian village you're visiting. 

The Wi-Fi scam. 

Free Wi-Fi is everywhere these days but sometimes it may not be legit. Hackers will set up unsecured Wi-Fi hotspots in public locations and when you connect, you give the thief access to your computer, passwords, online accounts, and more. If you use unsecured Wi-Fi on your travels, you're taking a risk.

Make sure to always use the official Wi-Fi at your hotel, and most importantly, always use a VPN — it will secure your data and protect it from being hacked.

The confusion scam. 

In Myanmar, a bunch of local women surrounded my daughter and I, competing to sell their bracelets. If this happens to you, don't take whatever you're being offered, walk away (quickly) or make one purchase at a time. Don't try to work out multiples because they are there to confuse you.

The artist scam. 

If a young person approaches you on the street, claims to be a struggling artist and invites you to their gallery (conveniently just across the road) to buy some original art, don't fall for it. They're not an artist, the paintings are mass produced and you're about to be ripped off. My parents fell for this in China: 

"Oh she was such a lovely, talented girl", mum told me — and the "original" art is now hanging on their wall. 

The "struggling artist's" boss is probably reclining in her mansion. 

Image: Supplied.

The swap scam. 

Have you ever bought something overseas and then opened the package later and found it wasn't what you paid for? It’s likely your shopkeeper ducked behind a counter or disappeared from sight to wrap it — and while they did, they swapped it out for a cheaper version. Make sure you keep an eye on your purchase at all times, and don’t be distracted by conversation or questions from other shop workers while it's wrapped. 

The hire damage scam. 

In this scam you hire something and when you return it, there's damage that you apparently caused. The owner will demand additional payment or expensive repairs as compensation. The scam is that the damage was already there and you didn't check for it (like me with the surfboard in Sri Lanka) or the owner and his friends will actually follow you and cause the damage/steal the bike or whatever you’ve hired while you've been in a store or sightseeing.

Always take photos and document the condition of whatever you're hiring, use your own lock when hiring bikes and motorbikes and always leave them in a safe place. 

This can happen in restaurants and in taxis: you pay your bill and they tell you the note you’ve used is fake. They will give you the note back and ask for a different type of payment.

The scam is that you did give them a real bill and while you weren’t looking they swapped it with a counterfeit one. Always keep your eyes on the transaction. Sometimes though, if you're getting out of a taxi at night, for example, and it's a small note, it's easier just to pay again. And that's why it's important to always carry small notes. 

The pull over scam.

This is a really scary scam the police told us about after we were robbed in Spain. If you're driving and stop to get fuel or food, someone will knife your tyre, and when you set off again a person on a motorbike will come up next to you and alert you. When you pull over they will offer to help you change the tyre, then their mates will arrive in a car and take all your gear from you at knifepoint. 

I am so glad we were not robbed this way.

It is better to limp into a service station at 20 kilometres per hour than pull over on the side of the road and be robbed. Don’t pull over for anyone except the police.

There are many scams out there, so make sure to be aware — but always keep an open heart. Safe travels!

Even though Evie has fallen for many of these scams, she's now much better at avoiding it! Find her Travel Safety Guide with many more tips for safe travel here.  

Feature Image: Supplied.