Two women equipped with professional outdoor sportswear holding a sign on the street to ask for money. [Photo/ jiangxi.jxnews.com.cn]

Fraudsters pose as budget travelers

Traveling on a shoestring budget with a friend or two is becoming increasingly common these days. Sometimes, such budget travelers run out of money and have to get creative to raise money while on their travels.

Sometimes, this phenomenon inspires fraud. Two women, geared with bike helmets, technical jackets, sneakers and mountain bikes in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, posed as stranded travelers on Monday, reported jiangxi.jxnews.com.cn.

They held a sign reading "We ask for your help for our trip. We need food to carry on." Some good souls gave them 50 or 100 yuan. But when the reporter asked to see their ID card, they refused to show it. Later, when the reporter started calling the police, they quickly wheeled their bicycles away and disappeared.

Police said similar scams had been run on the same street.