Single Male Scam in Istanbul, Turkey

This account of the single-male scam was sent by a foreigner who was living in Turkey when the incident occurred:

“There is one experience I have had concerning the “Let’s Have a Drink” nightclub robbery, in my first year in Turkey, that I would like to share with you.

“I had met a Turkish friend in Sultanahmet and she had left, and I decided to walk to Eminönü before getting a boat to the Asian side. I had met someone near Sultanahmet who took me to a nightclub near Taksim, in Cumhuriyet Caddesi, I think. Curiosity got the better of me and I went with him.

“The bar was quite plush with only a handful of people and I sat with 2 ukranian girls – as you warned there was champagne, which I was told that we (myself and my new friend) would pay for. Before going my new friend had told me we would share the bill. There was also some melon and small snacks (peanuts, pistachios etc).

“I began to feel a little uncomfortable and I didn’t particularly like the girl who I had obviously been assigned to. So I said I was ready to go, and asked for the bill. The bill was TL 384,000,000 – this was in 1999, so it was the equivelent then of about US$750. My new ‘friend’ feigned surprise and asked ‘is this a telephone number’, and also I gave an old card with no funds on it and they brought it back saying it didn’t work.

“I knew somehow I had to leave the bar. I managed to leave the table and told the waiter that I needed to leave the bar to get money from an ATM, which he agreed to, but he wanted to come with me. I was clearly panicking and he told me not to worry and that they would help.

“I had 5 million [about US$12] with me, that I offered – he said that wouldn’t be enough. Once we were outside I moved forward a few steps and then, suddenly, broke out into a sprint. As soon as I could, I turned up a side street, and then got in a taxi.

“I would add that the bar man was quite polite, and when I was outside and obviously quite frightened he tried to assure me I didn’t have anything to worry about, so I wonder what might have happened if I hadn’t bolted. It is amazing how fast people can run when they are frightened.

“Since then nothing like that has happened. This was my only really negative experience in Turkey, under normal circumstances I wouldnt have gone into a bar on my own in any case, but I was new in Turkey at that time and very curious. In 5 years here I have never been attacked, and apart from losing a mobile phone on a minibus, I have never been robbed, either.”

Look at all of the robberies since then:

Single-male Scams

Story No. 10(2014)

Story No. 11 (2014)