Scottish tourists in Spain losing £20 ‘on the spot’ by falling for ‘rosemary scam’

A Spanish expat has issued a stark warning to British holidaymakers about a cunning scam that could see them out of pocket by £20 in an instant. The expat, who resides in Spain within the European Union, has urged tourists to be vigilant against what’s been dubbed the “rosemary scam”.

American expat Katie, who has made a name for herself as a travel influencer while living in Spain, took to explaining what she ranks among the top “five popular tourist scams you need to be aware of if you are coming to Spain.”

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“Basically these people will stand outside, usually its women, and they will come up to you as you are walking and they will put a rosemary palm in your hand,” Katie detailed. “They will start reading your fortune. They are going to keep talking to you and initially, you are going to think it’s someone going up to you and being nice – no. At the end, they are going to haggle you to pay €5 or €20.”

She further advised: “So if you see anyone holding a rosemary palm walk away – do not engage.”

Echoing her sentiments, UK Hotels.com cautions: “The lucky rosemary scam is commonly executed by elderly gypsy ladies in Madrid’s touristy neighbourhoods.”, reports Birmingham Live.

“Basically, these women hands you a rosemary twig and, given the chance, starts telling your fortune. You’ll then be asked to pay them for their ‘services’, typically between €5 and €20. Refusing this often results in them making a huge scene until you’re pressured to give in to their demands.”

On TripAdvisor, one Brit issued a cautionary tale: “A Rosemary woman stole my Go Pro after reading my palm in Cordoba. They will play nice but do not trust them! We successfully avoided others for the remainder of the trip. However, we did get cursed by one after refusing with a polite but firm “no, gracias””.

“Ignore, just ignore. Do not worry about being nice or polite. These are not polite people,” another disgruntled holidaymaker vented.