Cheating cabbies lie in wait of unsuspecting tourists

Coming out of Athens International Airport, the Dutch couple was excited about visiting the Greek islands after a couple of days in the city. Instead of walking to the metro station, they decided to splash out on a cab to their hotel in the capital. They stood patiently in line at the cabstand, waiting for their turn. "Welcome, welcome!" the taxi driver greeted them with gusto. "Oh, hello," they replied somewhat overwhelmed by his exuberance. "Is this your first time in Greece?" the driver asked them as they set off. "Yes, it is," they answered - completely unaware that they'd just set themselves up to be fleeced.

"The first question taxi drivers ask foreign clients is whether they've been to Greece before. If the answer is 'no,' they're done for," says a taxi driver with 30 years of experience in the streets of Athens, on the deceptive ways of some of his colleagues. For...