London scams: what to watch for

Most London visitors never lose money to a scam, but the same handful of tricks repeat in the same places. Knowing the shape of them is enough to walk past.

The petition clipboard is the classic. Someone asks you to sign for a deaf or children's charity, then points at your signature and demands a donation, sometimes opening your wallet for you. The three-card-monte table on Westminster Bridge is a rigged game with shills in the crowd; you cannot win. The friendship bracelet is a 'gift' tied to your wrist before a price appears. Fake attraction tickets sold outside stations, and clipboard 'survey' teams who want your card details, round out the list.

Scams do not have opening hours, but the people running them do. Westminster Bridge and Leicester Square are busiest from late morning to early evening, and again after theatre finishes. Oxford Street and Camden are worst on weekends. The Tube is busiest at rush hour, which is also when pickpockets work the carriages.

There is no ticket price for a scam, only what you hand over. Treat any demand for cash on the street as a loss you can avoid by walking away. If you have already paid, do not chase the person; report it and move on.

All the high-risk spots sit on the Tube. Westminster (Jubilee, District and Circle lines) puts you on the bridge. Leicester Square (Northern and Piccadilly) is the theatre district. Oxford Circus (Central, Bakerloo, Victoria) is Oxford Street. South Bank is a short walk from Waterloo (Jubilee, Northern, Bakerloo, Waterloo & City).

If you are arriving from Heathrow, the Piccadilly line runs direct to Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus. From Gatwick, the train to Victoria then the Victoria line gets you to Oxford Circus in about 40 minutes. From St Pancras, the Northern line reaches Leicester Square in about 10 minutes.

Walking between these spots is often faster than the Tube in central London, and it keeps you above ground where you can see who is around you.