Elegant Flat - Porte Maillot-arc de Triomphe

My mother and I lost €85 in cash while trying to buy five day passes for travel across the Paris Metro Zone. It left us so upset that we wanted to buy plane tickets home. Two people, a man and a woman who looked around 20-30 and appeared to be Middle Eastern, wore matching uniforms and ties that made them seem like train staff. They were fake. They acted polite and helpful, tagged into the system as if checking their details, and said the machine only took cash. They insisted we needed day tickets and couldn’t buy a single ticket to our destination. None of that was true. They gave us a ticket worth €1.90 that stopped working on the way. They target people who look like tourists with bags and suitcases. Other people passing by seemed to know the tourists were being scammed, but nobody helped. The police weren’t surprised when we called. Why does this keep happening without security at such an important arrival point for people getting off the airport bus? Paris police need to do better to protect visitors.

We’d just arrived in Paris after getting off the plane and bus, and went straight to the metro. We already knew which pass we needed and had provided photos for the travel card, but we didn’t realize there was no 24/7 service and only machines were available. We hesitated while ordering, unsure whether to choose that pass or another. A uniformed woman with a badge came over to help, showed her ID card to the machine as if checking in, and asked where we were going and for how long. The amount came to €120 and some cents. The machine was ready for payment, but she said we could pay cash and kept insisting that €120 was fine. We were in a hurry, and only later wondered about the missing cents. She gave us a ticket and showed us how to use it, smiling and acting polite. After three rides, it stopped working and we had to use our own cards. People at other metro stations knew about this woman and her scam. Why haven’t the police or Paris done anything? This will drive foreigners away.

There are scammers trying to rob people at the ticket machines. Paris police and the transport system need to do something to stop it. I just walked to my hotel.

I had a similar run-in with scammers at this station last year, while traveling with my family of four, including small children. I made sure to file an official report at the police station. They need to follow up when someone makes a formal complaint. Most people only look at metro station reviews after something bad happens, so please report it to the police and help get this taken seriously.