Tourists warned of

A local public transportation company yesterday warned Great Wall-bound tourists to be vigilant to con artists operating a scam at Deshengmen bus terminal, while transportation authorities claimed they had no knowledge of the swindlers.

Beijing Public Transportation Company, which operates several buses from Deshengmen, Xicheng district, to the Badaling section of the Great Wall, including the No.919 bus, said that there was little they could do to stop the scam.

"Those people usually wear the top half of a uniform, and tell people that there are no more buses going to Badaling that day, to trick people into taking their illegal cabs," said a bus conductor of a No.5 bus, surnamed Dong, at the terminal.

Dong told the Global Times that the fake staff usually try to head off passengers before they reach the terminal, and charge them 45 to 55 yuan ($7.1-8.7).

"Usually there are many of them in the morning waving small flags. Some believe them because of the outfit," said Dong.

"We manage our uniforms very strictly, but people can buy very similar ones online or in stores, and we can't do anything about it," said a publicity employee for the bus company.

"But it's clear that our staff would never leave the station to recruit passengers, but it's also not our responsibility to make inspections or give penalties here," he said.

Yesterday, there was a "Police Notice" posted at nearby Jishuitan Subway Station, informing passengers the exact location of the Badaling bus stop, and stating the price was 12 yuan for the trip, or 4.8 yuan if using a transport card.

"I don't think making people take a private car could fool anybody except tourists from outside Beijing who don't mind the price. I've also seen con artists putting up fake bus stop signs there," said a local resident surnamed Feng.

An anonymous employee from Beijing traffic administration and law enforcement team said passengers could inform them if they were a victim of such a scam, but claimed yesterday they had not received any complaints so far.

"We'll investigate following your report, as we were unaware of this situation. We don't know what specific penalties they would face," he said.

He also gave a hotline number, 6835 1570, which rang with no reply yesterday from 1 pm to 4:30 pm.