A UK travel vlogger's account of alleged scams during her second visit to India has gone viral after she claimed she was repeatedly overcharged in Kolkata and even scammed while buying bottles of water.
Travel creator Amy, who posts videos under the Instagram handle @amyonthemove.co, recently shared a video recounting an encounter with two women who allegedly asked her to buy them food instead of giving them money.
In the video, Amy claimed that she recognised what she described as a common scam involving tourists, shopkeepers and people posing as needy customers. She said the women took her to a local shop, where a small quantity of food allegedly cost her $14 (around ₹1,400).
"A couple of grains of rice, a couple of grains of dal, and this. Fourteen dollars. Come on, girls," Amy said in the video.
Watch the video below:
Amy claimed that the women had approached her repeatedly since she arrived in the city. "They asked me to buy them some food, so I knew what they were going to do. It's a very common scam," she said.
{{/usCountry}}Amy claimed that the women had approached her repeatedly since she arrived in the city. "They asked me to buy them some food, so I knew what they were going to do. It's a very common scam," she said.
{{/usCountry}}Amy alleged that such schemes can involve shopkeepers charging tourists inflated prices for items purchased on behalf of people asking for help, with the money allegedly being shared between those involved. She also accused the same shopkeeper of attempting to overcharge her a few days earlier when she was buying water.
"That shopkeeper has also tried to scam me a couple of days ago on bottles of water," Amy said. "He has literally tried to scam me over bottles of water. It's crazy. It's absolutely crazy," she added.
At the end of the video, Amy claimed that she had been "getting scammed non-stop" since arriving in India, despite returning to the country after an earlier visit. "I hated it the first time because of bullshit like this. I tried to give it a second chance and I've only been here a couple of days and I'm already getting scammed non-stop," she said.
Social media reactions
The video has since prompted mixed reactions on social media.
"The beggars and shop keepers work as a team," one Instagram user commented.
Another user wrote, "I'm sorry but why do y'all keep going to India? Every video I see they just scam people."
"Don't go to India, there are so many nice places in the world!" a third user commented, while another asked Amy, "What made you want to go there.... again?"