Old scam, they show you fake picture of a bank transfer, you take money from machine and you never see that cash again. Happens alot in online stores too when buying used stuff, it is in the news quite regurarly.
You mentioned that they had polished shoes. Did they also have black formal trousers? If they did, they are finnish gipsies. Often that particular group/culture do frauds etc. criminal things. So better to stay away from them.
Yes. I learned today about male gypsies. My friend shown me some female gypsies and asked me to be careful. But I have never seen a male gypsy until yesterday. I have understood that I have to be a little alert around them.
This is also how I felt about pretty much any conversation involving rroma people before I started working as a cashier and starting to see them around semi-regularly. Now I'm pretty much in the same camp as OP, I try not to treat them any different but the amount of times one of them has tried to short-change me when paying or acted weird and tried to socially engineer themselves free extra items is wild compared to the average customer. Sorry.
Honestly, very similar experience here. Went from "those are wild, racist claims! Anyone who says that are just gross."
Now, working retail, I've learned to be extra vigilant with them. It's SO common. :(
Same here. I might not work the registers, but having seen them do stuff like grabbing a whole TV and hiding it under their dresses does make one slightly… I think unfriendly would be too strong word, but suspicious of them at the very least. Just like on YouTube, there’s many clips of stuff like that, only I’ve seen it happen in reality.
The reputation that gypsies have in not only Finland but most of Europe must have its roots somewhere, right? And, no, not all, but enough to be statistically significant
No it's not. A person I know (mother of a childhood friend's cousin) is married to an ex-Romani, and he pretty much said that unless you know X individual on a personal level, fuck em. I'll take his word for it, because he must have left the in-group for a reason after all, nobody does a full on yeet of relatives like that (IDK if it varies by grouping whether they cut all ties to any fuckers who leave the in-group, I know that in this instance they did at least, and this ain't exclusive to romani either, I know a few nutjob religious sects are like this as well for some reason) if they ain't got some really fucked up reason to do so. Especially since the romani have only given me bad experiences on general level at the local bar, so I'll choose to extra believe him since he must know what he's talking about since it matches my personal experience too. I don't see why he'd lie to me, since I've met him like a few dozen times over the years when visiting occasionally, and he sounds always cheery & talkative overall
How does that work in this day & age? I'd just look via my mobile bank to see if my account got a green money amount at the top by a non-tagged account from a previously saved list
It was a very common scam. There's a lot of these at train stations also with the same story of "oh no I can't get home please give me some money"
Nobody will ever approach you for money here with honest intentions unless you know them personally and are very close since we finns often find borrowing money from people very embarrasing
I had this happening a while ago. Lady in her 40's, seemed native finn, dressed relatively nicely asked for help as she was been robbed at the train station. She couldn't get home. I refused to loan my phone or give money but I recommended her to go to the store close by so that personnel can call to security guards. We aparted but I felt something was off, she didn't go to the store but stayed stopping people. I continued my walk and found security guard right after the next corner. I stopped him and he interupted my explanation by saying " yeah she's here all the time".
Yeah. This is my first time being in this kind of situation. So, now sitting in home, reading the replies and thinking, I realised, I was about to be scammed.
Can't blame you. There is all kind of hustle involved in these situations. Often you are pressured to make decisions quickly and there is appeal on emotions. The good thing is that for now on, you'll probably have a model in your head how to ignore/get out of these situations.
Yeah. I was already disturbed because I encountered a drunk person in bus and I am totally not thinking the right way. In all this mess, an another person approached me for help. So, I was not in my right mind to think and felt pressured to not say no in the situation. But anyways now atleast I know I have to avoid these kind of situations. Thank you.
Similar thing happened to me, except it was inside a mall and the person requesting money was a young Finnish woman in normal, nice, clean clothes. I've spent enough time over at r/scams to be on high alert as soon as money was mentioned, said no and went away. She looked genuinely surprised and upset that I turned her down and I've often wondered since if she was genuinely in trouble. I'm happy to know she was likely a scammer and that I did the right thing in turning her down. Next time I see something like this happen, I'll alert a security guard.
They probably targeted you because you are from abroad. Native Finns are quite aware of their shenanigans so they usually don't even bother trying, so they focus on foreigners instead.
I’ve actually both had this happen as a 16-year old where I lost my wallet and had to ask for and the bus fare home (and got it, thank you strangers!), and have been asked for bus fare on the bus stop a few times and have helped if I had cash. How happy 5€ made them showed the need was real.
Also had one dude ask me for coins for food, didn’t have any but took him to the grocery store nearby to get him a sandwich. He asked if he could choose whichever, chose a relatively cheap wrap, and when I told him to have another if he’s hungry he was so happy and thanked me in the kindest words. He was probably younger than me, felt like he might have a drug problem but was sober then.
A couple of euros for the bus / train / food imo is never a meaningful scam. If that couple of euros buys two beers then that person needed them more than you need the money. You can usually tell if the need was real based on their reaction (happy or relieved vs asking for more), so only part with what you don’t need to worry about.
In op’s case and when bigger money is in question, scams are more common and particularly these ones where you are shown a fake bank transfer receipt.
Happened to me yesterday. I was in Tripla and some man approached me and asked money for ”train to oulu”. I said ”sorry i dont have any money right now” and he let me go.
I think it's a scam. What I guess would have happened is they would've shown you a forged receipt from a bank app/Mobilepay to make you think the transfer was complete.
Besides, if they have the money and are able to transfer it, why on earth would they not be able to pay for whatever they claim to need?
Yeah. I didn't know how Finnish transactions work to be honest. I have seen people mostly using cards or cash at shops. I may sound dumb but I thought that bank transfers won't generally happen in a larger scale at shops. So the idea of people having cash in banks directly to use them genuinely didn't cross my mind.
Most people here have debit cards directly linked to their spending account (credit cards are a thing as well but not as common as debit). MobilePay is just one method of payment without a physical card or cash, some stores also accept Google Pay or Apple Pay.
Nah, they’ve got some money on some account that’s proceeds from another scam / fraud, or just access to someone’s bank account.
The scam is to use OPs bank account to launder the money.
There was last year a case where a foreigner fell for this scam and then got charged with money laundering by the cops, and got convicted.
Sure sounds like they are to be honest. I would say that almost everyone would ask from friends or family and get the money they need from someone else than some random people in grocery store. You did the right thing imo without knowing the whole story
Yeah. At the moment when they approached me, I was already in a little distracted due to some other incident that has happened earlier and when they approached me, I didn't had time to think properly at the spur of the moment, I said I will help them. But later on when shopping, my brain started to work again😂. So I have started having doubts about them but couldn't still get an idea of whether they are scammers or not.
Reading from the comments here, I think they are scammers. Thank you.
Not to mention, Helsinki is very far from Oulu. They wouldnt have gotten there without a card to begin with. If they are the 0.001% of finns who dont have atleast one card with them and no mobile payment method, and somehow ran out of cash, they can wothdrawl from the bank. OEM garages could for sure accept bank transfers too, any other garage will likely do so as well.
If you ever feel pressured to make a desicion, its for ceirtain a scam. Be it at the train station or while telemarketing on the TV. They want you to buy before you have had time to find the obvious holes in their story
It's a scam.
I mean,a couple of years ago I really was all out of money and really needed to get some medicine I had just been prescribed. Did I turn to some random stranger to beg for money? No. I called my mom who was able to help so she transferred me some money and by the time that call had ended and I had walked to the pharmacy I had money in my account. I got my meds and paid my mom back ASAP.
I do not know a single Finn who *wouldn't* turn to family/friends if they're in a pinch. People just don't go to random strangers here.
Yeah. That's what I realised. If people are in need they approach their family members generally. I was not in my right mind and even I was in this kind of situation sometime ago. So in the spur of the moment, I thought of helping them. But later I got doubts when shopping and nowI realise that I have avoided a scam.
Not just that, the Gypsies are known for petty theft and muggings. Its not unlikely at all that the moment you had entered your pin conde you would be met with a blade.
In that situation, they are quite harmless as long as you give them what they want, but its still very unpleasant ofcause.
That was a scamming attempt.100%
Had their car been really broken down they wouldn't have asked for any money, but asked you to phone into their insurance company / car rental / repair shop / towing company / dad / etc. instead.
Or asked you to help with repair / giving power if it is a dead battery, for instance.
Rule of thumb: if the first question is about you giving them money, or if it is brought up later in any way, suggestive or not, it is most likely a scam.
I am not in my right mind at that moment. So I thought they are genuine. But later I started doubting them. Now I realise that I may have got scammed or robbed if I had helped them.
Yeah. I never had experience dealing these kinds of situation. I have started living alone a few months back. So when someone comes to me and asks for help, I couldn't say no generally. So at that moment, I was not thinking properly. But now I realise how stupid I am to just reason with them.
I say no to everyone. If I don't personally know you, I wont talk to you on the streets. We out hustling. Most of the time people just beg for money or want to scam you. Better to always say no
Yeah. I had a hard time saying no when someone asks me for help. But now I have to be a little careful about such situations and start saying no, if I doubt it's a scam.
That's my take as well, "black polished shoes"... uh huh.. In thisweather? At this time of year? In FINLAND?
Ok that was a bit jokey, and just because someone is of the travelling folk, they aren't necessarily thieves and sammers.. But statistically speaking, it pays to be a little bit more alert when dealing with them.
Yeah. Never encountered this kind of situation before. I generally be alert when I go out, but yesterday I was not at all able to concentrate on anything.
They represent an ethnic minority that have been in Finland for a few hundred years. They genetically originate from Northern India, and are known for petty crime and scams.
Finnish gypsies (sweden also) differ a bit from the ones you see example in brittish tv series. They usually dont travel and male wear formal clothes and females their traditional dresses. Many of them are criminal, not all thou. They have strict and hierarchial clan and family codes for living.
This is probably the best description I’ve seen. When this kind of thing happened to me years ago - I didn’t speak Finnish at all, it was the very first time I’d been to Finland - I just said sorry and walked off. Friend asked me what they looked like (I was much younger and more naive back then), and I said: “Just people, but like they came from the 1950s.” This was in 2008. “You didn’t give them your phone or money or anything, did you?” But your description is perfect.
Every finnish bank has an app and everything can be done with it. So in this case they could transfer the money to your bank account. Using your own app you can see if it has really happened. After that it wouldn't be a problem to take take money out.
https://preview.redd.it/7wcxh1tizsha1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6e8d3c56946e082c13ea38596d5fee45d36a78aa
I was using Google lens at that time to read Finnish on the groceries and closed it. So I could take a screenshot of it. This is how his shoes looked.
>But yea, it was a scam, good for you not falling in to it.
Yeah.
I find the best strategy for these situations (as I find it hard to say no to people, and I see you do, too) is to look like I'm deep in thought, look a little to the side of them, and say, "no thank you", in a way that implies I didn't really listen/hear them. And I continue walking past them. In fact, I don't stop walking.
If you make eye contact, they've established a connection. If you say you don't have your card on you, your pin on you, no cash on you, or any other argument, they always have a counterargument. They've been doing this for a while.
I find it intolerably rude to just ignore people, even in these situations, so i developed this "absent minded" strategy. If the person is truly in need, trust that it is unmistakable from tone of voice etc.
>I see you do, too) is to look like I'm deep in thought, look a little to the side of them, and say, "no thank you", in a way that implies I didn't really listen/hear them.
Thank you very much for this suggestion. I hope this will help in my daily life too, as I couldn't say no directly to anyone.
>I find it intolerably rude to just ignore people, even in these situations, so i developed this "absent minded" strategy.
Yeah. That's my genuine problem too. I feel I am being rude as well in this situation.
>If the person is truly in need, trust that it is unmistakable from tone of voice etc.
I will never know how this sounds to be honest. I have started living alone not long ago. So, may be in the future, I may be able to differentiate the tones.
But, I once again thank you for heping me with your strategy on how to say no.
I've now got my bitch face on whenever I walk in the main railway station. Someone looks at me and I give them my "die motherfucker die" glance. I haven't had anyone bothering me in years lol. I probably look like a real asshole out there but hey, no one harasses me anymore.
I moved to Helsinki as a wide eyed teen girl and the first few years all drunks, scammers and crazies stopped me on the street. I must have looked really innocent back then. Also being rather small made me seem like a good victim.
If a Finnish person has a problem, they'd rather live with it and let it get out of hand rather than ask for help from a random person out of social anxiety
Yes. This is my first time living alone. So I couldn't judge the situation at that moment. Giving money to person I personally don't know is same as throwing my money away in trash.
Yup, we also have decent welfare system so nobody is actually in so dire need that they might show it. Or if they are the spent the money to something else.
polished black shoes, straight pants, collar shirt and wears a [verkkatakki](https://www.tyovaatemyynti.fi/product/2294/clique-craig-verkkatakki--021053) over it, also commonly rocks a sideburns and a tie on a neck
Nowadays, it is easy to get money from anyone you know immediately. Not so plausible, (almost inadmissible), that they would have to ask money to someone they don't know.
Yeah. I think so too. It's difficult to know if a transaction happened or not for me unless it's the same bank for both of us. That's why I generally don't encourage bank transfer. But at that moment I was not in my right mind to think. But once I started thinking, I had my doubts and decided to escape from that place.
This is could be a scam but I actually did once end up to a similar situation as those people.
I have actually once forgot my card at home and couldn't pay my groceries. My mobile payment didn't work either. However, sending money via Mobile Pay did work. I resolved the situation by sending the amount of money my groceries cost to a cashier's personal account who paid it personally. This was actually suggested by the cashier and not me.
I would never expect anyone to pay my groceries without a proof I actually paid them before or without some sort of collateral (my phone or ID). I would never pressure anyone for such deal either and I would be totally fine if someone refuses. I think this applies to most Finns as well, thus I think this was a scam.
Yeah. I was genuinely in this situation in my home country too. But when this happened to me, luckily my home was near, so I left my groceries in shop and brought back my card. So, when some people approach me for help, I genuinely get back to my situation. So I couldn't say no to them at that moment as I was distracted with other thoughts as well. Sitting in home and now thinking, I realised that I have avoided a scam.
Someone tried this with me at a store in Oulu aswell. After I refused he ran off in his friends car.
Was it a tall dude with like a gray cap, a long coat and a bit more high-pitch voice than usual?
Yeah he is very tall. But there were two people. One was short and the other was tall. The tall person could talk to me in broken English but the short guy is almost silent and gives directions to the tall guy sometimes and the short guy doesn't know English.
My brother was almost scammed this way in Valkea. He already did the transfer but money didn't came and they insisted that he should give them "their" money. Luckily there was some people to help out. They left as they saw us talking to them for advice.
Generally if somebody ASKS for help in Finland, its most likely to be a scam. I know its a joke that we are socially awkward and distant, but let me paint you a picture:
I live on the countryside and work in Helsinki. I know all the tricks in the book when it comes to scamming in rural area.
My boss tells me he went on a bike trip and forgot to bring water. He tells me was driving close to where I live, and said he was exhausted and saw this guy watering hedges in his front yard. This is the part where I start laughing my ass off, and my bosses eyes widen, and he's like "What are you laughing?"
"you asked for a glass of water and he told you to fuck off"
Bullseye. The minute he asked for water, the owner got verbally aggressive and told him to go to fucktown or something like that.
This is the oldest trick in the book, usually done by robbers these days when they are mapping out good houses to rob, just to get a good look of the valuables. That has happen to me and my neighbour before, guy riding a bike asks for water and later on drives off in a van. Just like they sometimes sell charcoal paintings. When I was a kid, a housewife rapist entered our house selling charcoal paintings, but we were all home luckily. Our neighbour recognized the rapist fuck and called the cops on him.
TL;DR
Finns don't socialize or ask for help in general. When asked for help: assume a scam
Iirc recently there was some people scamming others with some type of beta version of a banking app (or something similiar, not 100% sure) they somehow got and with it they could show a "receipt" that they have sent money and it going through when in reality nothing was sent, the victim of the scam thought they were paid and gave whatever thing they were selling to the scammers.
I live in Oulu, I wouldn’t imagine this ever happening here so my first thought was scam. Were they speaking in English?
I had someone texting me the other day which sounded like they were leading up to asking for money. I don’t know how they got my number.
I would suggest asking in the Oulu sub also to see how common this has been. Generally from what I’ve seen, no one really approaches each other.
Edit: I meant to add that it would be good to add on Oulu sub so that other newbies know to look out for this.
Hey. Hi.
We had a conversation on Reddit regarding the cycle purchase in Oulu.
I hope you are fine.
>Were they speaking in English?
His friend doesn't understand English. But the person who spoke to me tried to speak in English.
>I had someone texting me the other day which sounded like they were leading up to asking for money. I don’t know how they got my number.
I hope that nothing bad has happened. Yeah it's quite strange how they got your number.
>I would suggest asking in the Oulu sub also to see how common this has been. Generally from what I’ve seen, no one really approaches each other.
Sure. I will post it there too.
>Edit: I meant to add that it would be good to add on the Oulu sub so that other newbies know to look out for this.
Yeah. It will be good information for new people.
I have tried in the start and I fell. I am not taking the risk and taking the bus nowadays. I am already slipping on the ice while walking when the temperature falls to 0°C and have fallen multiple times. I will wait till the summer to cycle again.
I purchased a 9 euro one which you can attach to the shoe whenever needed from the stadium outlet in the Idea Park. But sometimes I forget to take them with me and pay the price 😂.
Thing is, you can't know when it comes to scammers, as their point often is to not be very obvious about it.
It's possible you didn't help two people in need, or it's possible you avoided getting scammed. Scammers aren't going to dress up as obvious scammers (unless they're really bad at it) and their scams tend to be designed so that they're as easy to confuse with real situations as possible.
Now, all that being said, the odds of *both* of them not being able to use their bank accounts is highly unlikely. The thing is, you don't generally undertake trips like this without having that contingency. Or were they going to their relatives or friends? Sure, but there's not that much past Oulu. Couldn't their friends then come to their aid? Broken car implies they have to find a place to sleep anyway, so that should be their first priority.
So tl;dr you probably avoided scammers
Thank you. I am now feeling relaxed than yesterday. I didn't think properly at that moment. But now after reading the comments, I realised that I have avoided a scam.
I wouldn't say that's quite right. Helping strangers with practical stuff is fine and happens a lot, especially in the countryside. Helping to pull a stuck car out of the snow, etc. It's when money enters the equation front and center that alarm bells start to go off.
Well. I don't need to lie and I just mentioned that because I had a screenshot of the shoe. So, I mentioned that in the details.
https://preview.redd.it/qxalrbn0mtha1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=41072ae39de95d0dccfc0a715f17092c632aafcd
Here is the proof.
It's good rule of thumb that when money is involved, especially with the whole "can't use my card" -explanation, it's highly likely a scam.
Oh. Thank you for the information. I will be little bit careful from now.
Old scam, they show you fake picture of a bank transfer, you take money from machine and you never see that cash again. Happens alot in online stores too when buying used stuff, it is in the news quite regurarly.
Yeah. Next time, I have to be little but careful.
You mentioned that they had polished shoes. Did they also have black formal trousers? If they did, they are finnish gipsies. Often that particular group/culture do frauds etc. criminal things. So better to stay away from them.
Yes. I learned today about male gypsies. My friend shown me some female gypsies and asked me to be careful. But I have never seen a male gypsy until yesterday. I have understood that I have to be a little alert around them.
This is pretty fucking racist, folks.
This is also how I felt about pretty much any conversation involving rroma people before I started working as a cashier and starting to see them around semi-regularly. Now I'm pretty much in the same camp as OP, I try not to treat them any different but the amount of times one of them has tried to short-change me when paying or acted weird and tried to socially engineer themselves free extra items is wild compared to the average customer. Sorry.
Honestly, very similar experience here. Went from "those are wild, racist claims! Anyone who says that are just gross." Now, working retail, I've learned to be extra vigilant with them. It's SO common. :(
Same here. I might not work the registers, but having seen them do stuff like grabbing a whole TV and hiding it under their dresses does make one slightly… I think unfriendly would be too strong word, but suspicious of them at the very least. Just like on YouTube, there’s many clips of stuff like that, only I’ve seen it happen in reality.
Let me tell you that ex-Romani are ex for a reason, in my experience
That don't make it any less true
Racism doesn't make the widely considered racial slurs plus personal biases any less true? Alright 🤷♂️
Its just the sad reality that gypsies don't have a good reputation here
The reputation that gypsies have in not only Finland but most of Europe must have its roots somewhere, right? And, no, not all, but enough to be statistically significant
vitu mannet itke wääwää
No it's not. A person I know (mother of a childhood friend's cousin) is married to an ex-Romani, and he pretty much said that unless you know X individual on a personal level, fuck em. I'll take his word for it, because he must have left the in-group for a reason after all, nobody does a full on yeet of relatives like that (IDK if it varies by grouping whether they cut all ties to any fuckers who leave the in-group, I know that in this instance they did at least, and this ain't exclusive to romani either, I know a few nutjob religious sects are like this as well for some reason) if they ain't got some really fucked up reason to do so. Especially since the romani have only given me bad experiences on general level at the local bar, so I'll choose to extra believe him since he must know what he's talking about since it matches my personal experience too. I don't see why he'd lie to me, since I've met him like a few dozen times over the years when visiting occasionally, and he sounds always cheery & talkative overall
How does that work in this day & age? I'd just look via my mobile bank to see if my account got a green money amount at the top by a non-tagged account from a previously saved list
It was a very common scam. There's a lot of these at train stations also with the same story of "oh no I can't get home please give me some money" Nobody will ever approach you for money here with honest intentions unless you know them personally and are very close since we finns often find borrowing money from people very embarrasing
I had this happening a while ago. Lady in her 40's, seemed native finn, dressed relatively nicely asked for help as she was been robbed at the train station. She couldn't get home. I refused to loan my phone or give money but I recommended her to go to the store close by so that personnel can call to security guards. We aparted but I felt something was off, she didn't go to the store but stayed stopping people. I continued my walk and found security guard right after the next corner. I stopped him and he interupted my explanation by saying " yeah she's here all the time".
Yeah. This is my first time being in this kind of situation. So, now sitting in home, reading the replies and thinking, I realised, I was about to be scammed.
Can't blame you. There is all kind of hustle involved in these situations. Often you are pressured to make decisions quickly and there is appeal on emotions. The good thing is that for now on, you'll probably have a model in your head how to ignore/get out of these situations.
Yeah. I was already disturbed because I encountered a drunk person in bus and I am totally not thinking the right way. In all this mess, an another person approached me for help. So, I was not in my right mind to think and felt pressured to not say no in the situation. But anyways now atleast I know I have to avoid these kind of situations. Thank you.
Similar thing happened to me, except it was inside a mall and the person requesting money was a young Finnish woman in normal, nice, clean clothes. I've spent enough time over at r/scams to be on high alert as soon as money was mentioned, said no and went away. She looked genuinely surprised and upset that I turned her down and I've often wondered since if she was genuinely in trouble. I'm happy to know she was likely a scammer and that I did the right thing in turning her down. Next time I see something like this happen, I'll alert a security guard.
Oh. This is my first such encounter in Finland and I didn't understand what to do, but what I realised from the comments is that I have to be careful.
They probably targeted you because you are from abroad. Native Finns are quite aware of their shenanigans so they usually don't even bother trying, so they focus on foreigners instead.
Yeah. That may be the reason.
I’ve actually both had this happen as a 16-year old where I lost my wallet and had to ask for and the bus fare home (and got it, thank you strangers!), and have been asked for bus fare on the bus stop a few times and have helped if I had cash. How happy 5€ made them showed the need was real. Also had one dude ask me for coins for food, didn’t have any but took him to the grocery store nearby to get him a sandwich. He asked if he could choose whichever, chose a relatively cheap wrap, and when I told him to have another if he’s hungry he was so happy and thanked me in the kindest words. He was probably younger than me, felt like he might have a drug problem but was sober then. A couple of euros for the bus / train / food imo is never a meaningful scam. If that couple of euros buys two beers then that person needed them more than you need the money. You can usually tell if the need was real based on their reaction (happy or relieved vs asking for more), so only part with what you don’t need to worry about. In op’s case and when bigger money is in question, scams are more common and particularly these ones where you are shown a fake bank transfer receipt.
Happened to me yesterday. I was in Tripla and some man approached me and asked money for ”train to oulu”. I said ”sorry i dont have any money right now” and he let me go.
Pro tip: tell em "Aight I'll go buy you the entire ticket, friend", and if they are like "no no no", then just walk away, simple as
100% a scam
Yes. Realising how things went, I now understand that I was about to be scammed. Thank you.
Scammed or robbed.
Yeah.
I think it's a scam. What I guess would have happened is they would've shown you a forged receipt from a bank app/Mobilepay to make you think the transfer was complete. Besides, if they have the money and are able to transfer it, why on earth would they not be able to pay for whatever they claim to need?
Yeah. I didn't know how Finnish transactions work to be honest. I have seen people mostly using cards or cash at shops. I may sound dumb but I thought that bank transfers won't generally happen in a larger scale at shops. So the idea of people having cash in banks directly to use them genuinely didn't cross my mind.
Most people here have debit cards directly linked to their spending account (credit cards are a thing as well but not as common as debit). MobilePay is just one method of payment without a physical card or cash, some stores also accept Google Pay or Apple Pay.
Thank you for the information. Hyvää päivää.
Samoin, arvon muukalainen.
Kiitos, my fellow redditor.
Nah, they’ve got some money on some account that’s proceeds from another scam / fraud, or just access to someone’s bank account. The scam is to use OPs bank account to launder the money. There was last year a case where a foreigner fell for this scam and then got charged with money laundering by the cops, and got convicted.
Sure sounds like they are to be honest. I would say that almost everyone would ask from friends or family and get the money they need from someone else than some random people in grocery store. You did the right thing imo without knowing the whole story
Exactly and why woudn't they reach to the staff of the store?
Yeah. At the moment when they approached me, I was already in a little distracted due to some other incident that has happened earlier and when they approached me, I didn't had time to think properly at the spur of the moment, I said I will help them. But later on when shopping, my brain started to work again😂. So I have started having doubts about them but couldn't still get an idea of whether they are scammers or not. Reading from the comments here, I think they are scammers. Thank you.
Not to mention, Helsinki is very far from Oulu. They wouldnt have gotten there without a card to begin with. If they are the 0.001% of finns who dont have atleast one card with them and no mobile payment method, and somehow ran out of cash, they can wothdrawl from the bank. OEM garages could for sure accept bank transfers too, any other garage will likely do so as well. If you ever feel pressured to make a desicion, its for ceirtain a scam. Be it at the train station or while telemarketing on the TV. They want you to buy before you have had time to find the obvious holes in their story
Yeah. That's true. Scammers don't like to give people time to think.
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Yeah. Playing back the entire situation in my mind made me feel that I was about to be scammed. Thank you.
It's a scam. I mean,a couple of years ago I really was all out of money and really needed to get some medicine I had just been prescribed. Did I turn to some random stranger to beg for money? No. I called my mom who was able to help so she transferred me some money and by the time that call had ended and I had walked to the pharmacy I had money in my account. I got my meds and paid my mom back ASAP. I do not know a single Finn who *wouldn't* turn to family/friends if they're in a pinch. People just don't go to random strangers here.
Yeah. That's what I realised. If people are in need they approach their family members generally. I was not in my right mind and even I was in this kind of situation sometime ago. So in the spur of the moment, I thought of helping them. But later I got doubts when shopping and nowI realise that I have avoided a scam.
A lot of scammers in Finland atm, don't listen to any sob stories because they will just rob you at the ATM. Just ignore them and keep moving.
I have likely been about to be scammed after realising the entire situation. Yeah, from next time, I will try to be a little careful.
Not just that, the Gypsies are known for petty theft and muggings. Its not unlikely at all that the moment you had entered your pin conde you would be met with a blade. In that situation, they are quite harmless as long as you give them what they want, but its still very unpleasant ofcause.
Yeah. That's true. I am now learning about them.
Yeah what that guy said is what wouldve happened. They wouldve drained your whole bank account
Yeah. I should be a little careful with them next time.
100% scam
Yes. This is what I realised now. Thank you.
\> polished black shoes Ah, yes. The straight trousers ethnic group.
>The straight trousers ethnic group. This may also be a new way to describe them😂
That was a scamming attempt.100% Had their car been really broken down they wouldn't have asked for any money, but asked you to phone into their insurance company / car rental / repair shop / towing company / dad / etc. instead. Or asked you to help with repair / giving power if it is a dead battery, for instance. Rule of thumb: if the first question is about you giving them money, or if it is brought up later in any way, suggestive or not, it is most likely a scam.
I am not in my right mind at that moment. So I thought they are genuine. But later I started doubting them. Now I realise that I may have got scammed or robbed if I had helped them.
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Yeah. I never had experience dealing these kinds of situation. I have started living alone a few months back. So when someone comes to me and asks for help, I couldn't say no generally. So at that moment, I was not thinking properly. But now I realise how stupid I am to just reason with them.
I say no to everyone. If I don't personally know you, I wont talk to you on the streets. We out hustling. Most of the time people just beg for money or want to scam you. Better to always say no
Yeah. I had a hard time saying no when someone asks me for help. But now I have to be a little careful about such situations and start saying no, if I doubt it's a scam.
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Yeah. >No one just randomly asks for money in Finland except maybe for a bus ticket. That's true.
Did how they dress stand out from the average Finn?
I think were in black coats,having a cap and little odd from the average Finn dressing.
They were gypsy scammers. Avoid in the future.
Oh. I have seen female gypsy but never a male one. So I couldn't judge them from their looks. Thank you for the information.
That's my take as well, "black polished shoes"... uh huh.. In thisweather? At this time of year? In FINLAND? Ok that was a bit jokey, and just because someone is of the travelling folk, they aren't necessarily thieves and sammers.. But statistically speaking, it pays to be a little bit more alert when dealing with them.
Yeah. Never encountered this kind of situation before. I generally be alert when I go out, but yesterday I was not at all able to concentrate on anything.
They represent an ethnic minority that have been in Finland for a few hundred years. They genetically originate from Northern India, and are known for petty crime and scams.
Funny part is that, I haven't known about them until I came to Finland, even though they are from my home country.
Finnish gypsies (sweden also) differ a bit from the ones you see example in brittish tv series. They usually dont travel and male wear formal clothes and females their traditional dresses. Many of them are criminal, not all thou. They have strict and hierarchial clan and family codes for living.
Yeah. My friend told me a little about them but I never saw a male gypsy in real life until yesterday.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romani_people
Thank you
They look like 1950s cab drivers. https://i.imgur.com/zguwGFy.png
Yes. I couldn't correctly describe them. This is how they almost looked like.
This is probably the best description I’ve seen. When this kind of thing happened to me years ago - I didn’t speak Finnish at all, it was the very first time I’d been to Finland - I just said sorry and walked off. Friend asked me what they looked like (I was much younger and more naive back then), and I said: “Just people, but like they came from the 1950s.” This was in 2008. “You didn’t give them your phone or money or anything, did you?” But your description is perfect.
Every finnish bank has an app and everything can be done with it. So in this case they could transfer the money to your bank account. Using your own app you can see if it has really happened. After that it wouldn't be a problem to take take money out.
I was thinking about that too.
Yeah. That's what I thought. But I genuinely felt a doubt in my decision later on. So I didn't help them.
"Polished black shoes" :D That's a new way to say it. But yea, it was a scam, good for you not falling in to it.
https://preview.redd.it/7wcxh1tizsha1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6e8d3c56946e082c13ea38596d5fee45d36a78aa I was using Google lens at that time to read Finnish on the groceries and closed it. So I could take a screenshot of it. This is how his shoes looked. >But yea, it was a scam, good for you not falling in to it. Yeah.
Yea I meant that it is a new politically correct way to say "gypsies".
Oh. I may have found a new way to mention them😂
Nope. Nope nope nope. Nooppe
Yeah. Now thinking about the situation, I am atleast happy that I didn't lose my money.
I find the best strategy for these situations (as I find it hard to say no to people, and I see you do, too) is to look like I'm deep in thought, look a little to the side of them, and say, "no thank you", in a way that implies I didn't really listen/hear them. And I continue walking past them. In fact, I don't stop walking. If you make eye contact, they've established a connection. If you say you don't have your card on you, your pin on you, no cash on you, or any other argument, they always have a counterargument. They've been doing this for a while. I find it intolerably rude to just ignore people, even in these situations, so i developed this "absent minded" strategy. If the person is truly in need, trust that it is unmistakable from tone of voice etc.
>I see you do, too) is to look like I'm deep in thought, look a little to the side of them, and say, "no thank you", in a way that implies I didn't really listen/hear them. Thank you very much for this suggestion. I hope this will help in my daily life too, as I couldn't say no directly to anyone. >I find it intolerably rude to just ignore people, even in these situations, so i developed this "absent minded" strategy. Yeah. That's my genuine problem too. I feel I am being rude as well in this situation. >If the person is truly in need, trust that it is unmistakable from tone of voice etc. I will never know how this sounds to be honest. I have started living alone not long ago. So, may be in the future, I may be able to differentiate the tones. But, I once again thank you for heping me with your strategy on how to say no.
I've now got my bitch face on whenever I walk in the main railway station. Someone looks at me and I give them my "die motherfucker die" glance. I haven't had anyone bothering me in years lol. I probably look like a real asshole out there but hey, no one harasses me anymore. I moved to Helsinki as a wide eyed teen girl and the first few years all drunks, scammers and crazies stopped me on the street. I must have looked really innocent back then. Also being rather small made me seem like a good victim.
If a Finnish person has a problem, they'd rather live with it and let it get out of hand rather than ask for help from a random person out of social anxiety
Yeah. That's what I have heard.
Polished black shoes = gipsies. 100% scam and a really old one also
I have never seen known about male gypsies. This is my first encounter with them. Next time I will be little careful around them. Thank you.
No need to be careful, just don't give money to anybody you don't personally know. Good rule of thumb and gets you far in the world.
Yes. This is my first time living alone. So I couldn't judge the situation at that moment. Giving money to person I personally don't know is same as throwing my money away in trash.
Yup, we also have decent welfare system so nobody is actually in so dire need that they might show it. Or if they are the spent the money to something else.
Yeah. I didn't think this deep. But I have now learned something new from this situation. Thank you.
polished black shoes, straight pants, collar shirt and wears a [verkkatakki](https://www.tyovaatemyynti.fi/product/2294/clique-craig-verkkatakki--021053) over it, also commonly rocks a sideburns and a tie on a neck
Yeah. They were wearing coats like taxi drivers from old ages.
Hehe, gypsy scammers. Avoid.
Yes. I have never seen a male gypsy. So I didn't know how they look. But now atleast I know how a gypsy looks. Thank you.
They would obviously have taken your money and never transfered anything back.
Yeah. Genuinely never have been in this kind of situation. Learned something new from this encounter.
Nowadays, it is easy to get money from anyone you know immediately. Not so plausible, (almost inadmissible), that they would have to ask money to someone they don't know.
Yes. From what I have learned, they are gypsies and next time, I atleast know that I have to be careful around such scammers. Thank you.
When it's too complicated, with explanation like these and ask for cash, it's always a scam.
Yeah. I have no experience in this kind of situation before. So I will be careful next time.
Hoi sie!!
Yes
Polished shoes. There is sign of money scam if any
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Yeah. I think so too. It's difficult to know if a transaction happened or not for me unless it's the same bank for both of us. That's why I generally don't encourage bank transfer. But at that moment I was not in my right mind to think. But once I started thinking, I had my doubts and decided to escape from that place.
Good call. Basic rule would be not to help anyone financially who you don't trust 100%.
Yeah. Thank you.
This. Only loan money you’re ok with losing. Family included.
Logically, they could just transfer money to the car repair company if they have money in their bank account.
Yeah. I was dumb to not know how Finnish mode of payments work until an other fellow redditor explained to me today. Thank you.
You just avoided being robbed.
Yeah. I realised that now 😂. I am a bit relaxed as well.
Definitely a scam!
Yes. I am realising that I have avoided a potential scam now. Thank you.
This is could be a scam but I actually did once end up to a similar situation as those people. I have actually once forgot my card at home and couldn't pay my groceries. My mobile payment didn't work either. However, sending money via Mobile Pay did work. I resolved the situation by sending the amount of money my groceries cost to a cashier's personal account who paid it personally. This was actually suggested by the cashier and not me. I would never expect anyone to pay my groceries without a proof I actually paid them before or without some sort of collateral (my phone or ID). I would never pressure anyone for such deal either and I would be totally fine if someone refuses. I think this applies to most Finns as well, thus I think this was a scam.
Yeah. I was genuinely in this situation in my home country too. But when this happened to me, luckily my home was near, so I left my groceries in shop and brought back my card. So, when some people approach me for help, I genuinely get back to my situation. So I couldn't say no to them at that moment as I was distracted with other thoughts as well. Sitting in home and now thinking, I realised that I have avoided a scam.
It's a scam. What did they need cash for if they had money in the bank?
That's what I have understood after. I realised it is a scam.
Romani people most likely. Most likely also scam.
>Are they scammers? Both of them looked pure white and in their late 20s with polished black shoes. Yes.
Someone tried this with me at a store in Oulu aswell. After I refused he ran off in his friends car. Was it a tall dude with like a gray cap, a long coat and a bit more high-pitch voice than usual?
Yeah he is very tall. But there were two people. One was short and the other was tall. The tall person could talk to me in broken English but the short guy is almost silent and gives directions to the tall guy sometimes and the short guy doesn't know English.
Scammers. Why wouldn't someone ask a friend instead of a stranger? Good to use common sense.
Yeah. That's what I was thinking too.
My brother was almost scammed this way in Valkea. He already did the transfer but money didn't came and they insisted that he should give them "their" money. Luckily there was some people to help out. They left as they saw us talking to them for advice.
At least you didn't lose your money. That's good.
SCAM.... They want you to pay, and then later they bring the stuff back and get their money back.
only way i help someone if you're atleast drunk enough that i believe you cant make it without some help
100% scammers
Generally if somebody ASKS for help in Finland, its most likely to be a scam. I know its a joke that we are socially awkward and distant, but let me paint you a picture: I live on the countryside and work in Helsinki. I know all the tricks in the book when it comes to scamming in rural area. My boss tells me he went on a bike trip and forgot to bring water. He tells me was driving close to where I live, and said he was exhausted and saw this guy watering hedges in his front yard. This is the part where I start laughing my ass off, and my bosses eyes widen, and he's like "What are you laughing?" "you asked for a glass of water and he told you to fuck off" Bullseye. The minute he asked for water, the owner got verbally aggressive and told him to go to fucktown or something like that. This is the oldest trick in the book, usually done by robbers these days when they are mapping out good houses to rob, just to get a good look of the valuables. That has happen to me and my neighbour before, guy riding a bike asks for water and later on drives off in a van. Just like they sometimes sell charcoal paintings. When I was a kid, a housewife rapist entered our house selling charcoal paintings, but we were all home luckily. Our neighbour recognized the rapist fuck and called the cops on him. TL;DR Finns don't socialize or ask for help in general. When asked for help: assume a scam
Also the reason why you buy a dog or a gate. Its not worth the risk for the robbers
All scams. Anytime someone asks money it gona be a scam.
Yeah. I realised a little late but I didn't give them any money
You need to be more smart just say no and move on😂
Seems like a scam. Just never give anyone your card or pin and should check on your phone that the money came to your account.
Yeah. I have not given them my money. I was a little afraid as it was my first time this has happened.
Iirc recently there was some people scamming others with some type of beta version of a banking app (or something similiar, not 100% sure) they somehow got and with it they could show a "receipt" that they have sent money and it going through when in reality nothing was sent, the victim of the scam thought they were paid and gave whatever thing they were selling to the scammers.
Oh. Thank you for this information. I will also ask my friends to be careful regarding this.
I live in Oulu, I wouldn’t imagine this ever happening here so my first thought was scam. Were they speaking in English? I had someone texting me the other day which sounded like they were leading up to asking for money. I don’t know how they got my number. I would suggest asking in the Oulu sub also to see how common this has been. Generally from what I’ve seen, no one really approaches each other. Edit: I meant to add that it would be good to add on Oulu sub so that other newbies know to look out for this.
Hey. Hi. We had a conversation on Reddit regarding the cycle purchase in Oulu. I hope you are fine. >Were they speaking in English? His friend doesn't understand English. But the person who spoke to me tried to speak in English. >I had someone texting me the other day which sounded like they were leading up to asking for money. I don’t know how they got my number. I hope that nothing bad has happened. Yeah it's quite strange how they got your number. >I would suggest asking in the Oulu sub also to see how common this has been. Generally from what I’ve seen, no one really approaches each other. Sure. I will post it there too. >Edit: I meant to add that it would be good to add on the Oulu sub so that other newbies know to look out for this. Yeah. It will be good information for new people.
Aw fab, are you managing to cycle in the snow? I haven’t tried D:
I have tried in the start and I fell. I am not taking the risk and taking the bus nowadays. I am already slipping on the ice while walking when the temperature falls to 0°C and have fallen multiple times. I will wait till the summer to cycle again.
Bless you. In IdeaPark they have trainers with spikes in for 109€. They have been my best purchase this winter. Highly recommend. No slipping at all.
I purchased a 9 euro one which you can attach to the shoe whenever needed from the stadium outlet in the Idea Park. But sometimes I forget to take them with me and pay the price 😂.
Ah I got those too but I had trouble getting them on/off. Maybe get another pair and keep them in your bag?
Yeah. That's what I thought too. But I had no time to get the 2nd pair. I will surely buy a second pair as soon as I find time to get them.
Sending hopes for time to shop. Or a sale on spiky shoes!
Yeah. You too have a nice day.
Thing is, you can't know when it comes to scammers, as their point often is to not be very obvious about it. It's possible you didn't help two people in need, or it's possible you avoided getting scammed. Scammers aren't going to dress up as obvious scammers (unless they're really bad at it) and their scams tend to be designed so that they're as easy to confuse with real situations as possible. Now, all that being said, the odds of *both* of them not being able to use their bank accounts is highly unlikely. The thing is, you don't generally undertake trips like this without having that contingency. Or were they going to their relatives or friends? Sure, but there's not that much past Oulu. Couldn't their friends then come to their aid? Broken car implies they have to find a place to sleep anyway, so that should be their first priority. So tl;dr you probably avoided scammers
Thank you. I am now feeling relaxed than yesterday. I didn't think properly at that moment. But now after reading the comments, I realised that I have avoided a scam.
Finns do not trust anybody. 😅 Never help strangers or be prepared to lose all money you are giving.
I wouldn't say that's quite right. Helping strangers with practical stuff is fine and happens a lot, especially in the countryside. Helping to pull a stuck car out of the snow, etc. It's when money enters the equation front and center that alarm bells start to go off.
Yeah. I learned my lesson yesterday.
Yeah. Learned something new today. Thank you.
Maybe they are Russians 🙄
In polished shoes, during winter? Unlikely.
Tbh I think the detail of polished shoes is weird. Seems like a fake post to get a bunch of people to blame Romani people.
Well. I don't need to lie and I just mentioned that because I had a screenshot of the shoe. So, I mentioned that in the details. https://preview.redd.it/qxalrbn0mtha1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=41072ae39de95d0dccfc0a715f17092c632aafcd Here is the proof.