This is a classic distraction theft trick that’s been reported in a lot of tourist-heavy cities
This month I visited London for the first time and loved the city (and sunny weather). But I felt really uneasy after realising I was seconds away from falling victim to a scam.
I like to think I’m pretty street-smart about these scams – the gold ring, cup, flowers, sign-up sheets and so on. But I had no idea there was even a scam involving bird poo.
The bird poo scam is common and usually involves a scammer spraying a tourist with a liquid, pretending it’s bird droppings. They then use the distraction to steal belongings.
The look of the bird poo varies from scammer to scammer. It can be white, black, brown or even green. It can even smell and feel like bird poo.
What happened?
Walking past Downing Street and heading towards Trafalgar Square, I felt a tap on my shoulder. A young, well-dressed woman, with a young, also well-dressed man, informed me I had bird poo in my hair and not to touch it.
I didn’t feel a thing, and I was naturally disgusted. My boyfriend looked at my hair and said it was so small and nothing to worry about. But it looked black and white just like bird poo, so I assumed it was real.
They seemed to leave us alone. But 10 seconds later, the pair were further up the street, searching through their bag and asked me to come over, offering me a wet wipe to get the bird poo out of my hair.
How convenient, right? At the time, I was so disgusted I wanted it out of my hair asap, and I was two seconds away from saying yes. Thankfully, my boyfriend didn’t have a good feeling, said “no” and moved me along.
It was likely a scam
Grabbing a wet wipe from a nearby store, we eventually went back to the hotel for a refresh and a good hair wash. But upon inspection and a quick Google search, it seems this is a common scam I didn’t know about.
I didn’t have any bird poo on my cap, nor my jacket, and it was on such a small part of my hair. I have dark brown hair, so it was impressive she spotted that, if it was real.
Everything seemed to tick the boxes of other people’s experiences. I started to realise I had been targeted. The common theme seems to be:
- Two well-dressed people tell you that you have bird poo on you (hair, jacket, cap, etc)
- You feel disgusted and want it off straight away
- They offer you wet wipes
- You take the help
- Before you know it, they’ve swiped something and you don’t know it until they have gone
It works because it plays on a few things. Disgust and urgency, as you want it cleaned immediately. It distracts you so your attention is on the bird poo, not your belongings. And finally, someone helping you lowers your guard – as it did mine – and the scammers (working in a pair) will clean while another steals.
What do they steal during the bird poo scam?
I had a bag, a camera and a phone. I kept my phone close, my camera on a strap around my neck, and my bag sealed. Thankfully, they didn’t take anything, but according to people who have fallen victim to the scam, people have lost their credit cards, purses, necklaces and more.
I was wearing gold jewellery at the time – nothing pricey – but for all I know, they could have spotted my necklaces and wanted to nab them in the hopes they were expensive. All they would have had to do was be slightly rough with my hair, and I wouldn’t have noticed them undoing the chain until it was too late.
People report having their phones stolen. I was holding mine quite tightly, but some people online suggest thieves use various tactics like creating confusion or deliberately bumping into you to take phones unnoticed and walking away fast before you can catch them.
Tourist scam 101
The moral of the story is, if a bird poos on you, try to get out of there and don’t accept help from anyone. My rules in any major city are:
- Keep your bag sealed and close to you
- Take pictures with both hands and don’t have your phone out for longer than you need
- Never have your phone in your back pocket
- If anyone talks to you that you do not know, always be aware of your surroundings and walk away as soon as possible if you are unsure – don’t try to be polite, get out of there
