As you are enjoying your walk by the Eiffel Tour in Paris, a young girl approaches you with a piece of paper and a pen, pretending to be mute or deaf.
On the paper you can see the names of a few charities, along with some signatures from previous tourists. The young girls are not mute or deaf, they are just gypsies scamming people.
How to avoid: don’t feel bad-- the cities of Paris, Rome, London, Milano, and many others are sick of this problem. Oftentimes, the paper and the pen keep the tourist busy for a few seconds, while the children might be even pick pocketing the victims.