Re: The reasons for decline in tourism arrivals in SA
Posted: Sat Mar 11, 2023 4:05 pm
Journalist documents his experience in a declining South Africa from Tourist point of view :
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After spending 3 weeks in Johannesburg covering USA at the Women's U19 Cricket World Cup, I can now fully appreciate why there are dozens of cricketers desperate to leave South Africa to join Major League Cricket in the USA, not just for cricket reasons but for personal/family/quality of life reasons.
Upon arrival at OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg, I could not leave the arrivals hall without an "airport staff member" strong-arming my luggage cart, claiming he was really only offering to "help, just to make sure I make it 'safely' to the car rental garage *wink wink*" despite my repeated attempted aggressive refusals. Upon walking the 500 feet to the rental car terminal with both of us refusing to let go of the luggage cart, I was then shaken down for a "tip", one which it was made abundantly clear was not optional.
Less than a mile after leaving the OR Tambo Airport in my rental car on arrival in Johannesburg, I attempted to exit the airport access road and join the main highway when I was immediately pulled over by police for, "switching lanes without using turn signal and crossing a solid line (I waited too late to get on/off the ramp when it was still segmented lines) to get from highway entrance ramp onto main highway". I goofed up attempting to use my turn signal because I hit the windshield wipers on during my first attempt because the wipers and turn signal are flipped on the reverse side of how they usually are on a steering wheel column everywhere else I've driven, and my GPS directions for figuring out to stay on/get off the airport terminal access road ramp to go north at the first ramp or south at the second merging ramp was unclear.
Once pulled over, I was not sure if this was an actual cop or a fake cop, having read and researched various stories before arrival of fake cop/fake security scams in South Africa but especially in Johannesburg. The "cop" never introduced/identified himself (No rank? No, 'Hi I'm state trooper so and so. Do you know why you've been pulled over?' as is typical elsewhere when I've been pulled over for traffic moving violations in other countries). He then began a peculiar conversation with me in which he peppered me with questions about what country I'm from, what do I do for a living, how well off me/my family is to be able to afford a trip to South Africa and what kind of car do I drive in my home country. After looking at me and briefly scanning the inside of my car, I was allowed to leave.
Driving around the city of Johannesburg from OR Tambo Airport to get to my Airbnb condo/hotel, 95% of the traffic lights don't work and most other area utilities do not work due to load shedding/power cuts. It means that traffic flow is routinely a free for all/Wild West. Many locals use a system where any intersection with a traffic light that doesn't work becomes a de facto four-way stop sign, but not everyone obeys this as local minibus drivers operate by their own rules (and that includes even when the traffic lights do work where it is common to see them burn straight through a red light when the green light traffic is already moving perpendicular). It means it is not uncommon to pass by accidents which have recently occurred at these intersections.
Many of the roads, whether highways or residential, are horribly maintained and speeds are generally kept well below speed limit due to the fact that random potholes deep enough to bury a body suddenly appear in strange and unusual places and require slamming on the breaks or swerving at the last moment if you're not paying attention. Driving by cars broken down with flat tires created after nailing such potholes is not uncommon to see.
The restaurant/hospitality industry service may be the slowest/worst/least hospitable in any country I've been to around the world. Staff take little to no interest in greeting people on arrival, listening to get orders right, correcting orders, getting the food to table within a normal time (especially when the restaurant is mostly empty), following up if you want more drinks or anything else. You are generally seen as a nuisance, if you are seen or acknowledged at all by staff.
I purposely avoided/delayed going to any gas station to fill up my rental car throughout the trip because from all the research I'd done beforehand, a gas station seemed like it would be the most vulnerable place for a possible robbery/theft incident, particularly using a rental car that could be identified as a rental car by any tags/stickers indicating it as such and likely used by a tourist. I waited until the final night of the tour to fill my car up and did so at the gas station directly across the street from my Airbnb/condo/hotel, the Capital on the Park in Sandton, which is supposed to be in the "nice" area of greater Johannesburg and was the same hotel that visiting franchise teams in the SA20 domestic franchise cricket tournament had used when traveling in to Johannesburg to play the Super Kings or to play the Pretoria/Centurion franchise. Both the Sunrisers Eastern Cape and Durban Super Giants franchises had stayed at the hotel. I had booked an Airbnb long-stay condo unit there for dirt cheap, even though the hotel is billed as "5 stars". The nightly hotel rack rate is more than double what I paid for my condo rental in the same building via Airbnb. The building is so nice that they have excellent power generators to serve as backup in the event of the inevitable daily power cuts/load shedding that goes on all over the rest of the city. In fact, the Durban Super Giants were staying at the hotel on the final night of my stay in Joburg/Sandton, and I had initially planned to go to that night's SA20 league match against the Joburg Super Kings at Wanderers Cricket Ground, but decided against it in the middle of the afternoon, even messaging my wife to say, "I don't feel comfortable leaving the cricket ground to come back at night after the match ends and don't want to be robbed or targeted so just want to have a low key night at the hotel instead."
But at some point, I had to fill up my gas tank because it was near empty and I would've had to refill it anyway before returning my rental car to the airport. I didn't want to leave it until the morning. So at around 7:30 pm, I left the hotel parking garage and drove around the corner to the opposite side of the street to the nearest Shell Gas Station, which is no more than 100 feet from the Capital on the Park hotel entrance. The Shell station was moderately busy, with 8 of the 12 gas pumps in use, when I got there but I was able to pull up right away to one of the other vacant ones. An attendant came over to the passenger side (the same side as the tank near the pump) and asked what I'd like and I asked him to fill it with regular. Seconds later, I hear knocking on my window and there are two men hovering with plain black hats that had "SECURITY" printed on them and matching white shirt, black pants uniforms in which the shirt also says, "SECURITY" over the breast pocket. Keep in mind that in the overwhelming majority of business establishments around Sandton/Johannesburg (including malls, hotels and regular shops), the entrances, lobbies and other pedestrian traffic flow areas are flooded with machine-gun armed private security units. No two private security units are dressed the same. So it becomes difficult to establish who is legit and who is not. And part of the reason why most of these businesses and establishments have hired private machine-gun armed security firms to protect them is because the real police are hardly anywhere to be seen in and around the city despite crime levels in Johannesburg being some of the highest anywhere in the world. There are road signs scattered in different parts of the city which I drove past a few times on the way to two of the practice venues used by USA during the U19 World Cup (practice venues were at St Stithians College and Steyn City School) where along the side of the road there are road warning signs that say, "Smash & Grab/Carjacking Hotspot". So good luck if you are relying on the police to save the day in your time of need.
Anyway, I ask through the closed window what the "security guard" wants and he says, "Your car's e-toll transponder, it's not registered. You're going to get towed. You need to come register it inside the station with us." I said, "What?" He repeated it again and I said, "My e-toll transponder has been working fine all trip. Thanks." He then told me to get out of the car because, "We're going to clamp your car and it will be towed. You will not be able to leave until you pay the registration for your e-toll transponder. You don't want to be towed, right? *We're trying to help you!* Just come inside. Now... We're only trying to help! You're a tourist, right? Where are you from? The USA? American tourists always forget to pay the registration fee before they leave the airport...."
My first instinct was to turn the car ignition back on and floor it out of the parking lot. But the gas pump was still lodged into my tank filling up the car. I did not want to leave the car, but I was outnumbered by the "security guards" who were built in the 6'5", 250 pound range. Separately, as far as I knew, I was going to have to go inside to pay for my gas at some point regardless because there was no pay at the pump option displayed (nor was there self-service pumps like in every US state but New Jersey). I could sense this was a shakedown, but got outside the car and went with the "security guards" inside the gas station convenience store. I asked, "So where am I supposed to register this e-toll transponder?" One of them said, "You need to do it at the ATM. It's where all the tourists in South Africa can register it." Thankfully I have gotten into the habit of leaving my wallet at home/hotel room since Covid forced businesses into making the majority of their transactions contactless, and I only carry two cards in my cell phone case to pay for everything, as well as keep my driver's license and $20 cash for emergencies in my phone case. So if they were going to try to make a genuine robbery instead of just a shakedown, I had no money to give (other than my $20 emergency cash) and they'd have to move on with just the two cards, $20 and/or my phone.
The other main/more dominant thought going through my mind in the moment was that this whole "come inside the gas station convenience store to pay for your e-toll registration" was simply a decoy to get me out of the car for a minute or two while a second group of guys in tandem with the "security guards" would then steal my car and drive off with it while I was distracted inside the gas station convenience store completing a bullshit "registration". The ATM machine inside the convenience store was in the back corner of the store near the toilets with no view of the gas station parking lot. I took one of the cards out of my phone case and put it in the machine. I asked how to "register the e-toll" again, and was told to just "type in your PIN and the registration will appear". As this was happening, I darted out twice from behind the ATM machine back toward the main part of the gas station convenience store so that I could get a clear view of the parking lot to make sure my rental car was not in the process of being stolen. After doing this, one of the "security guards" firmly told me to come back to the ATM to hurry up and enter my PIN so I could complete the "registration process". Two thoughts quickly went through my mind. Enter a phony PIN and claim my card had been blocked, or enter my real PIN and hope that whatever anti-fraud limit settings I have would kick in. I did what I was told and allowed them to see my PIN. As soon as I entered my PIN, I asked what next because "I don't see any e-toll registration option on screen". One of the guys then punched in a bunch of extra numbers on the machine to distract me while his partner pressed the cancel transaction button, took/stole the card as it was ejected from the card slot of the ATM machine and bolted from the station store.
A third person (much smaller and scrawnier) in plain clothes standing nearby then told me that no no, my ATM card hadn't been taken by them. In fact, it was still jammed in the machine and that the best way to get it out is to use a second card to insert to trigger the first card to dislodge. This sounded like bullshit, but whatever, I tried sticking my remaining card in halfway while keeping hold of it, at which point the plain clothes scrawny guy tried to grab my card from me and I had to muscle it back off of him. I have no idea if he was working in tandem with the "security guards" but then a few moments later, the Shell gas station's actual private machine-gun armed security crew consisting of four men in blue military style fatigues came through the front door of the convenience store and the plain clothes guy who tried to swipe my second card before I wrestled it back from him suddenly fast-walked out of the store. The machine-gun armed security and gas station convenience store staff then asked, "Did you know that those guys, they were not actual security?" The machine-gun private security then told me to call my bank ASAP to cancel/block/freeze my card. I did not have the phone number but frantically texted my wife half a world away telling her my card had been stolen and to call the bank to cancel it immediately. The private machine-gun clad security crew then asked, "Do you want to just handle this through your bank or do you want to get the police here to file a report?" Before I could answer, they said, "It's best if you can get your bank to cancel it before those guys take any money out because if it's a foreign bank, the police here won't do much to help you." I just shrugged my shoulders and said, "I guess I'll try going through the bank to stop them then." Then I paid for my tank of gas with my remaining credit card and left to drive back the 100 feet to the Airbnb/hotel.
Less than five minutes after my card had been stolen, and just after I pulled back into my hotel/Airbnb condo garage, I got a text on my phone saying that three ATM withdrawal attempts had been made at a location in South Africa. The first attempt had been for roughly US$10,000 (on ZAR Rand conversion), which was declined. Then a second attempt was made 30 seconds later for roughly US$5000, which was also declined. A third attempt was made 40 seconds later to withdraw roughly US$2500, which was also declined. The text message said my account had been frozen as a fraud detection warning was sparked by the three attempts and asked me to confirm with a Y or an N if I had tried to make the withdrawals. If I responded with a Y, then they'd unfreeze my account and I could try again to withdraw. I responded with "N". About 20 seconds later, my bank called me with an automated call connecting them to their anti-fraud department. They once again wanted to review my transactions and I told them the card was stolen, to cancel it and confirm that the three attempted withdrawals had all been declined, which they had. So in the end, no money was lost and the "security guards" are in possession of a totally useless bank card which is being replaced by a reissued one in the next few days. I guess these guys and their small-time con are not as smart as they thought they were thinking that trying to withdraw US$10,000 would not spark any red flags with my bank (especially when my daily ATM withdrawal limit is purposely set at a small three-digit figure in part because of this hypothetical turned real scenario).
I spent the night contemplating many thoughts. Was I a moron for getting out of the car in the first place? Was I smart for getting out of the car and not resisting or telling the "security guards" to F off? Was I smart or stupid for intentionally letting them see me type my PIN on the ATM machine when ordinarily I cover up my hand/keypad out of habit as I type my PIN at every other ATM machine around the world even when nobody is around me? Should I have wrestled my second card back out of the hands of the plain clothes guy who tried to take it from me or should I have let that card get taken away from me without any resistance like the first card?
I felt a little intimidated by the "security guards" for sure (or else I wouldn't have willfully left my car to go inside the store with them), but I also can't honestly say I was scared I was going to be physically harmed in spite of their imposing physical build with both guys standing around 6'5", 250 pounds. I wasn't sweating or nervous in the moment. I was more genuinely confused and disoriented above all else because my main concern was making sure my car was not about to get stolen if the "registration" scam was simply a decoy to get me out of my car. This was then followed by more confusion and feeling disoriented as I realized, "Those guys just swiped my ATM card when I was looking straight at them." But the more I thought about it, the more I smiled because my overriding thought was, "WHAT KIND OF FUCKING MORONIC AMATEUR THIEVES/CON MEN TRY TO MAKE A US$10,000 ATM WITHDRAWAL ON THE FIRST ATTEMPT AFTER STEALING A FOREIGN ATM CARD (one which I had not used at any point on the trip thus far and as such had not alerted my bank to expect any withdrawals or transactions on that card in South Africa while I was abroad) AND THINK IT WILL ACTUALLY WORK INSTEAD OF THE ATTEMPTED WITHDRAWAL WINDING UP FREEZING THE ACCOUNT WITH A FRAUD WARNING?!?!"
I then went to the hotel gym, had a workout from midnight until 2 am while half the Durban Super Giants T20 franchise cricket team was drinking in the hotel bar adjacent to the gym, then went back to my room to sleep easy and woke up the next morning feeling fine but decided no way was I leaving the hotel/Airbnb, even after 11 am checkout, until it was time to go to the airport in the afternoon for my flight home.
So I drove back to the airport around 5 pm and return my rental car without issue. But after chugging two bottles of Gatorade on the 45-minute drive over, I had to go to the toilet quite urgently. I walk into the airport and roam around the ground level Arrivals area (check-in desks were one level up on the 2nd floor needing an escalator or elevator ride to get there) until I can spot a set toilets located in a far/remote corner of the Arrivals level with very little passenger traffic going anywhere near there. As I approach, I see five airport maintenance staff just hanging around right in front of the entrance. I try to walk past them and am told, "the bathroom is closed for cleaning... but we will let you in... for a good tip." So even the simple act of trying to go to the toilet in OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg cannot be accomplished without being subjected to an attempted shakedown. Fed up, I barged past them into the toilets (which were clearly not closed for cleaning and had a few people/passengers inside), did my business and came back out having to sidestep the same shakedown artists on my way out.
I have since found out upon getting out of South Africa that a dad of one of the USA Women's U19 players who was part of the touring squad in South Africa for the Women's U19 Cricket World Cup was also a victim of the same fake "security guard/police" scam/theft. It apparently happened around the corner from the team hotel in Rosebank, which is again supposed to be another one of the "nice" areas of Johannesburg just like my hotel/Airbnb in Sandton. He was apparently stopped shortly after leaving a shopping mall having made a wrong turn to wind up in the encounter with the "police". He was given a shakedown in the form of a cash "fine" to be paid on the spot, which apparently was deemed to be insufficient by the "security/police" because he was then apparently escorted to the nearest ATM where the "security/police" attempted to get him to take more money out but failed when similarly, they apparently attempted to take too much money out which triggered his bank to block/freeze his card/account, after which the "security/police" left.
Both before and after my experience (and that of the USA Women's U19 player's dad's experience), I had read numerous stories about how fake "security guard/police" scams/ shakedowns/theft/robberies are one of the most common crimes across all of South Africa, but especially in Johannesburg. And yet even with all of my preparation and readiness (I even told my wife I didn't want to go to the SA20 cricket match in Johannesburg that night in order to play it safe and avoid any unnecessary safety issues) I wound up getting an ATM card stolen just 100 feet from my hotel by a crew of "security guards" (see attached photo to view the location of my hotel/Airbnb in relation to the Shell Gas Station). I was also told by someone that, "you should have stayed in Sandton and this wouldn't have happened to you. That's the nicest/safest part of Johannesburg." Well, my hotel (which was heavily fortified with private security, especially with SA20 franchise teams staying there) was smack in the middle of Sandton, and this happened at a Shell Gas Station less than 100 feet from the hotel lobby entrance.
So to recap Johannesburg/South Africa:
- Shakedown artists lurking around the airport on arrival
- Shakedown artists lurking around the airport trying to block entry to toilets on departure in the pre-security area
- 95% of traffic lights don't work because of municipal power cuts/load shedding
- Other residential, commercial/business and municipal spaces don't have power for the majority of the day (including cellular/wifi networks) due to power cuts/load shedding
- Roads poorly maintained with potholes so deep and wide you can bury a body (or multiple bodies) in them, and which are a regular source of causing car accidents
- Restaurant/hospitality service worse than anywhere in the world
- Road signs in different parts of the city reminding you to be aware because this is a "Smash & Grab/Carjacking Hotspot"
- Traveling bands of fake "security guards" and "police" who steal, shakedown and rob people on a routine/daily basis
If you are thinking of going to Johannesburg/South Africa for any reason, think long and hard before making your decision. My recommendation would be... DO NOT GO UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES! But proceed at your own risk. I have been to a few dozen countries around the world, from first world to third world and everything in between: England, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Nepal, India, Namibia, Uganda, the UAE, Oman, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Mexico (specifically Mexico City), Trinidad & Tobago, Antigua, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Ireland, Iceland, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden.... I can confidently say that Johannesburg/South Africa is the least safe, most broken down, most corrupt and dystopian place I've ever been to. There are way way way way better places to take your tourist dollars, whether elsewhere in the African continent (Uganda is one of my favorite touring destinations of all-time) or anywhere else in the world.
Have a nice day!
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After spending 3 weeks in Johannesburg covering USA at the Women's U19 Cricket World Cup, I can now fully appreciate why there are dozens of cricketers desperate to leave South Africa to join Major League Cricket in the USA, not just for cricket reasons but for personal/family/quality of life reasons.
Upon arrival at OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg, I could not leave the arrivals hall without an "airport staff member" strong-arming my luggage cart, claiming he was really only offering to "help, just to make sure I make it 'safely' to the car rental garage *wink wink*" despite my repeated attempted aggressive refusals. Upon walking the 500 feet to the rental car terminal with both of us refusing to let go of the luggage cart, I was then shaken down for a "tip", one which it was made abundantly clear was not optional.
Less than a mile after leaving the OR Tambo Airport in my rental car on arrival in Johannesburg, I attempted to exit the airport access road and join the main highway when I was immediately pulled over by police for, "switching lanes without using turn signal and crossing a solid line (I waited too late to get on/off the ramp when it was still segmented lines) to get from highway entrance ramp onto main highway". I goofed up attempting to use my turn signal because I hit the windshield wipers on during my first attempt because the wipers and turn signal are flipped on the reverse side of how they usually are on a steering wheel column everywhere else I've driven, and my GPS directions for figuring out to stay on/get off the airport terminal access road ramp to go north at the first ramp or south at the second merging ramp was unclear.
Once pulled over, I was not sure if this was an actual cop or a fake cop, having read and researched various stories before arrival of fake cop/fake security scams in South Africa but especially in Johannesburg. The "cop" never introduced/identified himself (No rank? No, 'Hi I'm state trooper so and so. Do you know why you've been pulled over?' as is typical elsewhere when I've been pulled over for traffic moving violations in other countries). He then began a peculiar conversation with me in which he peppered me with questions about what country I'm from, what do I do for a living, how well off me/my family is to be able to afford a trip to South Africa and what kind of car do I drive in my home country. After looking at me and briefly scanning the inside of my car, I was allowed to leave.
Driving around the city of Johannesburg from OR Tambo Airport to get to my Airbnb condo/hotel, 95% of the traffic lights don't work and most other area utilities do not work due to load shedding/power cuts. It means that traffic flow is routinely a free for all/Wild West. Many locals use a system where any intersection with a traffic light that doesn't work becomes a de facto four-way stop sign, but not everyone obeys this as local minibus drivers operate by their own rules (and that includes even when the traffic lights do work where it is common to see them burn straight through a red light when the green light traffic is already moving perpendicular). It means it is not uncommon to pass by accidents which have recently occurred at these intersections.
Many of the roads, whether highways or residential, are horribly maintained and speeds are generally kept well below speed limit due to the fact that random potholes deep enough to bury a body suddenly appear in strange and unusual places and require slamming on the breaks or swerving at the last moment if you're not paying attention. Driving by cars broken down with flat tires created after nailing such potholes is not uncommon to see.
The restaurant/hospitality industry service may be the slowest/worst/least hospitable in any country I've been to around the world. Staff take little to no interest in greeting people on arrival, listening to get orders right, correcting orders, getting the food to table within a normal time (especially when the restaurant is mostly empty), following up if you want more drinks or anything else. You are generally seen as a nuisance, if you are seen or acknowledged at all by staff.
I purposely avoided/delayed going to any gas station to fill up my rental car throughout the trip because from all the research I'd done beforehand, a gas station seemed like it would be the most vulnerable place for a possible robbery/theft incident, particularly using a rental car that could be identified as a rental car by any tags/stickers indicating it as such and likely used by a tourist. I waited until the final night of the tour to fill my car up and did so at the gas station directly across the street from my Airbnb/condo/hotel, the Capital on the Park in Sandton, which is supposed to be in the "nice" area of greater Johannesburg and was the same hotel that visiting franchise teams in the SA20 domestic franchise cricket tournament had used when traveling in to Johannesburg to play the Super Kings or to play the Pretoria/Centurion franchise. Both the Sunrisers Eastern Cape and Durban Super Giants franchises had stayed at the hotel. I had booked an Airbnb long-stay condo unit there for dirt cheap, even though the hotel is billed as "5 stars". The nightly hotel rack rate is more than double what I paid for my condo rental in the same building via Airbnb. The building is so nice that they have excellent power generators to serve as backup in the event of the inevitable daily power cuts/load shedding that goes on all over the rest of the city. In fact, the Durban Super Giants were staying at the hotel on the final night of my stay in Joburg/Sandton, and I had initially planned to go to that night's SA20 league match against the Joburg Super Kings at Wanderers Cricket Ground, but decided against it in the middle of the afternoon, even messaging my wife to say, "I don't feel comfortable leaving the cricket ground to come back at night after the match ends and don't want to be robbed or targeted so just want to have a low key night at the hotel instead."
But at some point, I had to fill up my gas tank because it was near empty and I would've had to refill it anyway before returning my rental car to the airport. I didn't want to leave it until the morning. So at around 7:30 pm, I left the hotel parking garage and drove around the corner to the opposite side of the street to the nearest Shell Gas Station, which is no more than 100 feet from the Capital on the Park hotel entrance. The Shell station was moderately busy, with 8 of the 12 gas pumps in use, when I got there but I was able to pull up right away to one of the other vacant ones. An attendant came over to the passenger side (the same side as the tank near the pump) and asked what I'd like and I asked him to fill it with regular. Seconds later, I hear knocking on my window and there are two men hovering with plain black hats that had "SECURITY" printed on them and matching white shirt, black pants uniforms in which the shirt also says, "SECURITY" over the breast pocket. Keep in mind that in the overwhelming majority of business establishments around Sandton/Johannesburg (including malls, hotels and regular shops), the entrances, lobbies and other pedestrian traffic flow areas are flooded with machine-gun armed private security units. No two private security units are dressed the same. So it becomes difficult to establish who is legit and who is not. And part of the reason why most of these businesses and establishments have hired private machine-gun armed security firms to protect them is because the real police are hardly anywhere to be seen in and around the city despite crime levels in Johannesburg being some of the highest anywhere in the world. There are road signs scattered in different parts of the city which I drove past a few times on the way to two of the practice venues used by USA during the U19 World Cup (practice venues were at St Stithians College and Steyn City School) where along the side of the road there are road warning signs that say, "Smash & Grab/Carjacking Hotspot". So good luck if you are relying on the police to save the day in your time of need.
Anyway, I ask through the closed window what the "security guard" wants and he says, "Your car's e-toll transponder, it's not registered. You're going to get towed. You need to come register it inside the station with us." I said, "What?" He repeated it again and I said, "My e-toll transponder has been working fine all trip. Thanks." He then told me to get out of the car because, "We're going to clamp your car and it will be towed. You will not be able to leave until you pay the registration for your e-toll transponder. You don't want to be towed, right? *We're trying to help you!* Just come inside. Now... We're only trying to help! You're a tourist, right? Where are you from? The USA? American tourists always forget to pay the registration fee before they leave the airport...."
My first instinct was to turn the car ignition back on and floor it out of the parking lot. But the gas pump was still lodged into my tank filling up the car. I did not want to leave the car, but I was outnumbered by the "security guards" who were built in the 6'5", 250 pound range. Separately, as far as I knew, I was going to have to go inside to pay for my gas at some point regardless because there was no pay at the pump option displayed (nor was there self-service pumps like in every US state but New Jersey). I could sense this was a shakedown, but got outside the car and went with the "security guards" inside the gas station convenience store. I asked, "So where am I supposed to register this e-toll transponder?" One of them said, "You need to do it at the ATM. It's where all the tourists in South Africa can register it." Thankfully I have gotten into the habit of leaving my wallet at home/hotel room since Covid forced businesses into making the majority of their transactions contactless, and I only carry two cards in my cell phone case to pay for everything, as well as keep my driver's license and $20 cash for emergencies in my phone case. So if they were going to try to make a genuine robbery instead of just a shakedown, I had no money to give (other than my $20 emergency cash) and they'd have to move on with just the two cards, $20 and/or my phone.
The other main/more dominant thought going through my mind in the moment was that this whole "come inside the gas station convenience store to pay for your e-toll registration" was simply a decoy to get me out of the car for a minute or two while a second group of guys in tandem with the "security guards" would then steal my car and drive off with it while I was distracted inside the gas station convenience store completing a bullshit "registration". The ATM machine inside the convenience store was in the back corner of the store near the toilets with no view of the gas station parking lot. I took one of the cards out of my phone case and put it in the machine. I asked how to "register the e-toll" again, and was told to just "type in your PIN and the registration will appear". As this was happening, I darted out twice from behind the ATM machine back toward the main part of the gas station convenience store so that I could get a clear view of the parking lot to make sure my rental car was not in the process of being stolen. After doing this, one of the "security guards" firmly told me to come back to the ATM to hurry up and enter my PIN so I could complete the "registration process". Two thoughts quickly went through my mind. Enter a phony PIN and claim my card had been blocked, or enter my real PIN and hope that whatever anti-fraud limit settings I have would kick in. I did what I was told and allowed them to see my PIN. As soon as I entered my PIN, I asked what next because "I don't see any e-toll registration option on screen". One of the guys then punched in a bunch of extra numbers on the machine to distract me while his partner pressed the cancel transaction button, took/stole the card as it was ejected from the card slot of the ATM machine and bolted from the station store.
A third person (much smaller and scrawnier) in plain clothes standing nearby then told me that no no, my ATM card hadn't been taken by them. In fact, it was still jammed in the machine and that the best way to get it out is to use a second card to insert to trigger the first card to dislodge. This sounded like bullshit, but whatever, I tried sticking my remaining card in halfway while keeping hold of it, at which point the plain clothes scrawny guy tried to grab my card from me and I had to muscle it back off of him. I have no idea if he was working in tandem with the "security guards" but then a few moments later, the Shell gas station's actual private machine-gun armed security crew consisting of four men in blue military style fatigues came through the front door of the convenience store and the plain clothes guy who tried to swipe my second card before I wrestled it back from him suddenly fast-walked out of the store. The machine-gun armed security and gas station convenience store staff then asked, "Did you know that those guys, they were not actual security?" The machine-gun private security then told me to call my bank ASAP to cancel/block/freeze my card. I did not have the phone number but frantically texted my wife half a world away telling her my card had been stolen and to call the bank to cancel it immediately. The private machine-gun clad security crew then asked, "Do you want to just handle this through your bank or do you want to get the police here to file a report?" Before I could answer, they said, "It's best if you can get your bank to cancel it before those guys take any money out because if it's a foreign bank, the police here won't do much to help you." I just shrugged my shoulders and said, "I guess I'll try going through the bank to stop them then." Then I paid for my tank of gas with my remaining credit card and left to drive back the 100 feet to the Airbnb/hotel.
Less than five minutes after my card had been stolen, and just after I pulled back into my hotel/Airbnb condo garage, I got a text on my phone saying that three ATM withdrawal attempts had been made at a location in South Africa. The first attempt had been for roughly US$10,000 (on ZAR Rand conversion), which was declined. Then a second attempt was made 30 seconds later for roughly US$5000, which was also declined. A third attempt was made 40 seconds later to withdraw roughly US$2500, which was also declined. The text message said my account had been frozen as a fraud detection warning was sparked by the three attempts and asked me to confirm with a Y or an N if I had tried to make the withdrawals. If I responded with a Y, then they'd unfreeze my account and I could try again to withdraw. I responded with "N". About 20 seconds later, my bank called me with an automated call connecting them to their anti-fraud department. They once again wanted to review my transactions and I told them the card was stolen, to cancel it and confirm that the three attempted withdrawals had all been declined, which they had. So in the end, no money was lost and the "security guards" are in possession of a totally useless bank card which is being replaced by a reissued one in the next few days. I guess these guys and their small-time con are not as smart as they thought they were thinking that trying to withdraw US$10,000 would not spark any red flags with my bank (especially when my daily ATM withdrawal limit is purposely set at a small three-digit figure in part because of this hypothetical turned real scenario).
I spent the night contemplating many thoughts. Was I a moron for getting out of the car in the first place? Was I smart for getting out of the car and not resisting or telling the "security guards" to F off? Was I smart or stupid for intentionally letting them see me type my PIN on the ATM machine when ordinarily I cover up my hand/keypad out of habit as I type my PIN at every other ATM machine around the world even when nobody is around me? Should I have wrestled my second card back out of the hands of the plain clothes guy who tried to take it from me or should I have let that card get taken away from me without any resistance like the first card?
I felt a little intimidated by the "security guards" for sure (or else I wouldn't have willfully left my car to go inside the store with them), but I also can't honestly say I was scared I was going to be physically harmed in spite of their imposing physical build with both guys standing around 6'5", 250 pounds. I wasn't sweating or nervous in the moment. I was more genuinely confused and disoriented above all else because my main concern was making sure my car was not about to get stolen if the "registration" scam was simply a decoy to get me out of my car. This was then followed by more confusion and feeling disoriented as I realized, "Those guys just swiped my ATM card when I was looking straight at them." But the more I thought about it, the more I smiled because my overriding thought was, "WHAT KIND OF FUCKING MORONIC AMATEUR THIEVES/CON MEN TRY TO MAKE A US$10,000 ATM WITHDRAWAL ON THE FIRST ATTEMPT AFTER STEALING A FOREIGN ATM CARD (one which I had not used at any point on the trip thus far and as such had not alerted my bank to expect any withdrawals or transactions on that card in South Africa while I was abroad) AND THINK IT WILL ACTUALLY WORK INSTEAD OF THE ATTEMPTED WITHDRAWAL WINDING UP FREEZING THE ACCOUNT WITH A FRAUD WARNING?!?!"
I then went to the hotel gym, had a workout from midnight until 2 am while half the Durban Super Giants T20 franchise cricket team was drinking in the hotel bar adjacent to the gym, then went back to my room to sleep easy and woke up the next morning feeling fine but decided no way was I leaving the hotel/Airbnb, even after 11 am checkout, until it was time to go to the airport in the afternoon for my flight home.
So I drove back to the airport around 5 pm and return my rental car without issue. But after chugging two bottles of Gatorade on the 45-minute drive over, I had to go to the toilet quite urgently. I walk into the airport and roam around the ground level Arrivals area (check-in desks were one level up on the 2nd floor needing an escalator or elevator ride to get there) until I can spot a set toilets located in a far/remote corner of the Arrivals level with very little passenger traffic going anywhere near there. As I approach, I see five airport maintenance staff just hanging around right in front of the entrance. I try to walk past them and am told, "the bathroom is closed for cleaning... but we will let you in... for a good tip." So even the simple act of trying to go to the toilet in OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg cannot be accomplished without being subjected to an attempted shakedown. Fed up, I barged past them into the toilets (which were clearly not closed for cleaning and had a few people/passengers inside), did my business and came back out having to sidestep the same shakedown artists on my way out.
I have since found out upon getting out of South Africa that a dad of one of the USA Women's U19 players who was part of the touring squad in South Africa for the Women's U19 Cricket World Cup was also a victim of the same fake "security guard/police" scam/theft. It apparently happened around the corner from the team hotel in Rosebank, which is again supposed to be another one of the "nice" areas of Johannesburg just like my hotel/Airbnb in Sandton. He was apparently stopped shortly after leaving a shopping mall having made a wrong turn to wind up in the encounter with the "police". He was given a shakedown in the form of a cash "fine" to be paid on the spot, which apparently was deemed to be insufficient by the "security/police" because he was then apparently escorted to the nearest ATM where the "security/police" attempted to get him to take more money out but failed when similarly, they apparently attempted to take too much money out which triggered his bank to block/freeze his card/account, after which the "security/police" left.
Both before and after my experience (and that of the USA Women's U19 player's dad's experience), I had read numerous stories about how fake "security guard/police" scams/ shakedowns/theft/robberies are one of the most common crimes across all of South Africa, but especially in Johannesburg. And yet even with all of my preparation and readiness (I even told my wife I didn't want to go to the SA20 cricket match in Johannesburg that night in order to play it safe and avoid any unnecessary safety issues) I wound up getting an ATM card stolen just 100 feet from my hotel by a crew of "security guards" (see attached photo to view the location of my hotel/Airbnb in relation to the Shell Gas Station). I was also told by someone that, "you should have stayed in Sandton and this wouldn't have happened to you. That's the nicest/safest part of Johannesburg." Well, my hotel (which was heavily fortified with private security, especially with SA20 franchise teams staying there) was smack in the middle of Sandton, and this happened at a Shell Gas Station less than 100 feet from the hotel lobby entrance.
So to recap Johannesburg/South Africa:
- Shakedown artists lurking around the airport on arrival
- Shakedown artists lurking around the airport trying to block entry to toilets on departure in the pre-security area
- 95% of traffic lights don't work because of municipal power cuts/load shedding
- Other residential, commercial/business and municipal spaces don't have power for the majority of the day (including cellular/wifi networks) due to power cuts/load shedding
- Roads poorly maintained with potholes so deep and wide you can bury a body (or multiple bodies) in them, and which are a regular source of causing car accidents
- Restaurant/hospitality service worse than anywhere in the world
- Road signs in different parts of the city reminding you to be aware because this is a "Smash & Grab/Carjacking Hotspot"
- Traveling bands of fake "security guards" and "police" who steal, shakedown and rob people on a routine/daily basis
If you are thinking of going to Johannesburg/South Africa for any reason, think long and hard before making your decision. My recommendation would be... DO NOT GO UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES! But proceed at your own risk. I have been to a few dozen countries around the world, from first world to third world and everything in between: England, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Nepal, India, Namibia, Uganda, the UAE, Oman, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Mexico (specifically Mexico City), Trinidad & Tobago, Antigua, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Ireland, Iceland, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden.... I can confidently say that Johannesburg/South Africa is the least safe, most broken down, most corrupt and dystopian place I've ever been to. There are way way way way better places to take your tourist dollars, whether elsewhere in the African continent (Uganda is one of my favorite touring destinations of all-time) or anywhere else in the world.
Have a nice day!
I am afraid though that it is more or less all over the same.
