For the most part Couchsurfing, a website that connects travellers with local hosts, is a fantastic resource, both for travellers and for their hosts, as it lets you learn about a place, find a community abroad, even if it is only for a day, and can give you friends for life. However, as with most websites, there are some unsavoury characters on it, as one Beijinger found out recently.

Mr. Wang added his profile to the site and said he was available for hosting. He was contacted by a Frenchman who wanted to stay for eight days. The man said he would then fly to Hong Kong from Beijing. For the first few days there were no problems, but when the man left Mr. Wang noticed that a number of his personal items were missing, including a SLR camera, three lenses, his laptop, and over 400 RMB in cash. The total cost of the missing items came to about 30,000 RMB. 

Mr. Wang reported the case but with no more details about the man the police have said it is unlikely they can catch him. Hopefully Mr. Wang has contacted the Couchsurfing Trust and Safety Team.

Source: takefoto

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Keywords: unsavoury characters on Couchsurfing