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Avoid The Baby Milk Scam In Siem Reap Cambodia

By Alice Teacake

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Sometimes, Teacake gets scammed. It’s only happened twice in 5 years luckily but it can happen nonetheless, no matter how much you think you have travelling sussed out. One scam I fell for is in Siem Reap in Cambodia. This was back in 2013 but a quick google search proves that it’s going just as strong now! Goddamit! Avoid the Baby Milk Scam in Siem Reap Cambodia!

What’s going on?

There’s going a be a young kid with a very cute baby
They’ll approach you and say the baby is hungry: they don’t want money, just milk
No problem I thought, I’ll grab you some milk kid. Milk is cheap, right?…
The kid will take you to a shop (and the shop is totally in on the scam)
They’ll take you to the milk and oh boy is that powdered milk expensive! Around $25
As you’re going, ‘$25…really?!’ The kid will tell you they really need it / their sibling is starving etc
My gut knew something was seriously up, but I ignored it (tip: never ignore your gut)
I bought the milk, felt good for a few minutes, then quickly realised everyone else on Pub Street was asking for milk too. What the hell?
Went home. Googled ‘Cambodian milk scam’. Boom! Top scam in Siem Reap
The kids will go back to the shop, sell back the powdered milk and split the profits they’ve made with the shopkeeper. Boohoo to this
Rumour has it that the babies aren’t even family: they’re rented or borrowed for the night to make money

About Alice Teacake

I'm a feminist British kickass solo female traveller who believes in women facing their fears, pushing their boundaries and reaching their full potential through solo adventure travel! I have been featured in Nat Geo Traveller UK, Lonely Planet, the Daily Mail and Buzzfeed and spoken about solo female travel safety on BBC One, whilst working with a bunch of awesome brands. Follow me for travel advice and inspiration, so you can go forth and challenge yourself to reach your own personal goals!