Spanish house hunters' fate

[Georgina]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,1741811,00.html

Just found this today, I was wondering for a while, what happened to this couple who were househunting in Spain.  I realise that it is nothing to do with France but even so, just shows what can happen if you are not aware of your surroundings but what a terrible fate.  I recall them talking about money being taken out of their account when the family did not know where they were, but what a terrible thing to happen.

Georgina

[Benjamin]

Here is another cautionary tale for anybody travelling in Spain in a non-Spanish registered vehicle.

We were driving through the middle of Madrid one Sunday afternoon in early January of this year. The traffic was fairly heavy but moving along when I heard a "toot" from a car horn. I looked to my left and the passenger in the vehicle alongside was holding up what every schoolchild would expect a police badge to look like (about passport size with a shiny silver badge and some printing on). The passenger indicated by pointing that I should pull over and the car then cut across in front of me and exited at the next slip road. The three occupants of the car all looked of South American appearance but to anyone who doesn't know the difference they could have been swarthy looking Spaniards. I ignored them and carried on but my blood still runs cold when I think what could have happened to us if we had followed them. Robbery would have been the least, and the worst case.........?

Every Autumn/Winter when the northern European "snowbirds" chase the sunshine South you hear of so many robberies of this kind. They used to amount to distraction theft but now there seems to be more and more violent crime. When you speak with Spanish people about crime they will always claim that the vast majority of this type of crime are commited by people of South American descent.

Just be careful if you visit Spain.

Benjamin