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I have read so many internet articles about safety in Spain, and the fake police scam is one of the most mentioned problems. Most of those reported cases are that the victims are surrounded by group of undercover 'police', accusing you of having drugs and wants to check your ID and wallet.

How can we avoid that or handle it in case it does happen?

hippietrail
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RAY
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    Take a fake police warrant card with you and arrest them all...Obviously don't do this...:) –  Oct 03 '14 at 08:39
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    There have been some cases, not many, but I don't think this is common at all. While it is good to know what to do in such situation, it is also good to know that it is very unlikely to happen. – fedorqui Oct 03 '14 at 09:49
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    and it's far from specific to Spain. It happens in most any country where it's possible to get something resembling a police uniform that's close enough to confuse a foreigner... – jwenting Oct 03 '14 at 11:18
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    @fedorqui: It's not that uncommon. I've had it pulled on me at least five times, twice in Spain, twice in Colombia, and once here in Perú. At least one of the times it was tried in Spain, the fake cop had a Colombian accent -- the first time, my ear was sufficiently tuned to recognize regional accents -- so it may well be more prevalent in SA than in Spain. But the evidence I have is far too anecdotal to make generalizations. – rici Oct 04 '14 at 00:52
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    If this is an acknowledged problem by Spanish authorities and they have published an official "what to do if this happens to you", that would be a highly regarded reference. – hippietrail Oct 08 '14 at 23:29

3 Answers3

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Follow the steps:

  1. Remain calm. Ask for identification before going anywhere with them or giving them anything.
  2. Don't sign anything without a lawyer present. If they start accusing you of anything, state that you require they then contact your embassy to help you with a lawyer. Generally if they're scamming, they don't want documentation or third parties involved.
  3. If they want to search your bags, ask if you're under arrest or have done anything wrong. If you're not under arrest (as you'd hope) then ask why you can't just walk away right now. If they want your ID, agree to do so at the station with a lawyer or embassy member present.

Basically, your goal is to throw documentation, process and evidence at them - all of them being something scammers will want to avoid.

Much of this is learned from dealing with (real) police who were corrupt and doing basically the same thing. In theory, fake police should be easier to deal with. Good luck, and hope it doesn't happen to you! Spain is a great, friendly country in general.

Community
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Mark Mayo
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    The problem with asking for identification is that you have no way of knowing if the identification provided is real. – Taemyr Oct 03 '14 at 07:48
  • @Taemyr Yes. And of course, never ever leave public space if you're suspicious that is a scam. – Adri C.S. Oct 03 '14 at 07:58
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    @Taemyr yes, although 1) if they can't provide it then you've caught them out and 2) if they flash them it's probably because they're not very well made. It at least reduces the odds of being scammed. – Mark Mayo Oct 03 '14 at 08:04
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    Also be aware (not specifically in Spain, anywhere in the world) that questioning the police's characterisation of a situation is an effective way to provoke violence. Asking them for ID is likely to be fine, but refusing to do what they tell you until they provide ID has a non-negligible chance of getting you roughed up. Ironically, scam artists are probably less likely than police to be ready and willing to use mild force, since police legally can "restrain" you face-first into the floor whereas the scam artist is escalating his crime. – Steve Jessop Oct 03 '14 at 10:13
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    @SteveJessop might be local, but I've found the Spanish police (both policia local and guardia civil) I've encountered while there to always be courteous and professional. Of course you don't want to appear threatening or uncooperative, but they're not going to beat you up for not allowing them to strip search you before they establish their credentials. – jwenting Oct 03 '14 at 11:15
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    In Italy, and I believe this is true in all the EU, the Police can NOT use force on you, mild or not, except when you are in the process of committing a crime (and even so, it has to be proportionate) – Lorenzo Dematté Oct 03 '14 at 12:55
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    @jwenting A Spanish here. It depends whom you encounter and when. Being a tourist you're the safest one. But! If you happen to be in, say, Madrid or Barcelona at the time of a protest (a likely thing, since our goverment is useless to say the least), the odds of encountering a violent cop increase exponentially. – Adri C.S. Oct 08 '14 at 07:25
  • @AdriC.S. cops anywhere tend to be on edge when there's things like that going on. And of course riot police are going to be more likely to not wait to argue with someone that seems like a potential troublemaker than your regular beat cop :) – jwenting Oct 08 '14 at 07:28
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    @jwenting For what I've seen, in Spain there're too many cops who think they're above the law. After all, most of the higher ups come from our shady past (i.e: the Franquist dictatorship) – Adri C.S. Oct 08 '14 at 07:34
  • @AdriC.S. above the law, or simply not familiar with current law? I've heard more than a few stories of people arrested for things that used to be crimes decades ago, only to be released later. – jwenting Oct 08 '14 at 07:36
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    @jwenting Above. Google a bit and you will find news about cops who beat people up and were declared innocent. Or cops that were found guilty and the goverment reprieved them. This happened mostly in Madrid and Barcelona (Mossos D'esquadra, not the national police) – Adri C.S. Oct 08 '14 at 08:03
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    Take it to the [chat] guys ;) – Mark Mayo Oct 08 '14 at 14:10
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I have been in similar situations with people trying to pretend that they have a legitimate reason to pressure you to do things that might be taken advantage of.

What I do is that I immediately pick up my phone and start dialling the police. When they ask me what I am doing I am honest and tell them that I am phoning the police, and say that they might be well within their right, but I am contacting the police to get instruction on how to proceed.

So far my only response to this is that they try to defuse the situation, or simply run away. So far I haven't been able to dial the complete number.

In any case, it is a very good idea to get to know the phone numbers to the local authorities. That might help you in many more difficult situations.

daramarak
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Oh, I found a good suggestion in the Barcelona tourist guide

"I'd like to warn your users about an all too common scam which is unfortunately being used on the streets of Barcelona. This happened to me on 18 May, and I think you'll be doing your users a great favour by alerting them to this attempt to steal goods and possessions. It works like this: A young man comes up to you and asks for directions to a popular landmark - e.g. the Gaudí Museum or the Sagrada Familia Cathedral. As you're explaining or just saying you don't know, 2 or 3 men come up to you both and say they are police, and flash an ID card at you that looks like a police ID. They ask if you know the person that asked you for directions. They then explain that they have been trailing this man under suspicion of drug smuggling and that you are now also a material witness. They ask for your ID. When you take your wallet out of your pocket or bag they assault you and run off with the bag, passport, or whatever they can get their hands on. My advice is don't ever stop and discuss anything with anyone you don't know - if this happens to you, you just say 'sorry I don't know' and walk off very quickly and don't stop - like I did! "

Bernhard
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RAY
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  • Good advice. But why say: 'sorry I don't know'? Firstly, I see no need to apologise to a scammer. Secondly, speaking in English marks you as a foreigner. In these situations I don't say a word and just keeping walking with determination. – Richard Beasley Oct 17 '20 at 21:33