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The Krakow Strip Club Scam


Before we begin: If you’ve discovered this article through Google, chance are you’re looking for the best Krakow strip clubs.

Now, while this article won’t give you that information, what it will do is tell you things that you need to know if you’re looking for Krakow strip clubs, because they can often be extremely dangerous places.

I advise you to give me a few minutes of your time and read what I have to say.

Lastly, you may notice that I have censored certain words in this article. This is because I need to keep my website inline with Google’s policies, and there are many ‘adult’ words that could put my website at risk if I use them. I have done my best to get the information across without hurting my site!

Got all that? Okay, so let’s begin.


The Ugly Truth About Krakow’s Strip Clubs


Krakow is, without a doubt, the party capital of Poland, and the city that so many flock to each year for budget city breaks.

Just like its cousin Prague, Krakow is a common destination for stag dos (or bachelor parties if you’re from the US), and it doesn’t show any signs of giving up its place as one of the best European stag do destinations just yet.

Of course, with stag dos (and lad’s holidays in general, let’s be honest) come strip clubs. The two go hand in hand, and it is no surprise that Krakow has an abundance of strip clubs designed to appeal to this exact demographic.

Krakow strip clubs



However, as many tourists have found out the hard way, the vast majority of Krakow strip clubs are nothing more than criminal-run establishments that use a combination of illegal substances, violence and fraud to swindle unsuspecting tourists out of their every last penny, and unfortunately, most visitors to Krakow don’t learn about this until it’s too late.

I should probably cover myself at this point and say that everything I discuss in the article is all alleged and based off things that I have read on the internet and personal anecdotes that people have told me.


Krakow Strip Clubs…A Cautionary Tale


I first became aware of the Krakow strip club scam a couple of years ago.

A guy in my hostel dorm was concerned because he and another friend had left their third friend in a private room in a strip club a few hours previously, and now they couldn’t get hold of him.

They’d tried calling him, but a person working in the club had answered and said that their friend wasn’t able to come to the phone before hanging up.

Every time they called back, the phone rang for a couple of times and then went to voicemail.

When they actually went to the strip club to try and find their friend, they were told by the bouncers that he wasn’t there and that they should go away.

Becoming increasingly worried, the boys called the police, who were of no help.



It wasn’t until hours later that they eventually found their friend – he’d somehow found his way back to the hostel but was disorientated and confused, leading the others to suspect that he’d been dr*gged.

As it turned out, not only had the guy been dr*gged, but he’d also been the victim of credit card fraud. All three of them had.

Looking at their online banking statements, the three boys were horrified to see that significant amounts of money were missing. In fact, between the three of them, the missing money amounted to 33,000 Canadian dollars.

Yes. You read that right. Thirty-three thousand dollars.


The last I saw of the boys, they were desperately pleading with their banks over the phone, telling them that their cards had been stolen.

Perhaps they got their money back in the end, but probably not.

Unfortunately the three unwitting lads had become the victims of a very popular scam in Krakow – the Krakow strip club scam – and it is incredibly rare for any victims of this scam to ever see their money again.



What is The Krakow Strip Club Scam and How Does it Work?


Unfortunately, strip clubs in Krakow are not what they seem.

A chain of clubs formerly known as ‘Cocomo’ has been present in Polish cities since 2011, founded by Jan Szybawski when he was released from prison after serving time for fraud charges.

These days the clubs do not operate under one name or signage, but are a chain nevertheless, and are well known in Poland for defrauding tourists of millions of dollars.

Despite countless reports to the police of credit card fraud, as well as the date r*pe dr*g GHB being detected both in the drinks and the bl**dstreams of customers by Polish police, nothing ever seems to be done and the clubs continue to operate unabated.



The way that the Krakow strip club scam works is as follows…

A promo person working in Krakow Old Town will stop guys on the street and tell them that it’s happy hour at their bar and that they will get heavily discounted drinks and free shorts.

The guys oblige, figuring that even if they are not interested in going to a strip club, there can’t be any harm in having one drink, taking the free short and then leaving.

Usually on entering the club, one of the girls working there will sit with the guy/s, making conversation and putting them at ease. This is quite normal in strip clubs and so the guys don’t become suspicious.

The guys will then buy a drink and this drink always comes with a free short.

If the guy doesn’t want to take it then the girl sitting with them will try and put pressure on them, saying ‘come on, don’t be boring, it’s just one short,’ or ‘it’s not even strong alcohol’ oftentimes actually picking up the glass herself and putting it to the lips of the unsuspecting tourist.



Now, in this situation most guys will of course take the drink, and this is where the problems begin. According to countless reviews online, this drink has been tampered with, and the guy quickly becomes incredibly intoxicated.

After this the details vary but the outcome is always the same.

The man continues to buy drinks and/or dances, and when he comes to pay his bill, he is told that his card is declined.

The staff will attempt several times to run the card through the machine, showing the guy that it is being declined each time (although the receipts that they provide are fake and actually the transaction is in fact going through every time).

Failing this they will tell the guy that his bill is, for example, 550 Polish zloty (110 GBP) before charging him 550 Great British POUNDS instead (which he doesn’t notice until the next day when it is too late).



Other, more blatant ways in which Krakow strip clubs extort money from patrons is by simply waiting until the guy is passed out from his doctored drink, taking his card and rinsing it dry themselves, or telling the guy at the end of the night that he owes an exorbitant amount of money and having the burly bouncers beat him if he refuses to pay up.

I should mention at this point that these clubs are not ripping people off by a few pounds.

The men that become victims of this scam have thousands taken from them. Basically, however much money is accessible on your card is how much these places will take.


A man named Adam recalls his experience at a Polish strip club:

‘I was taken into back room with a dancer, after a while I was brought over a short and was then asked to pay on my card. I don’t remember much after that but it transpired that they had used my card 9 times taking it to the ÂŁ4000 credit limit, took my drivers license, taken my phone from my pocket to lie about my location to a friend who was asking where I was (presumably unlocking the phone using my fingerprint), replied to a “fraud-check” text from my bank to allow the transactions to go through. They also would not let my friends come and and get me. My friends asked for help from nearby police who were not interested.’

poland strip clubs


Krakow Strip Clubs Interfering with People’s Drinks…


All of the reviews and testimonies that I could find online mention a free cherry drink which the staff members at the club are insistent the customer drinks.

After that they describe their memory disappearing and talk about how they often feel very ill the next day (much worse than the usual ‘morning after’).

This is pretty consistent with anecdotes from people I have met personally.

All of them talk about having one or two drinks before becoming blackout wasted, losing their memory and often waking up hours later.

One guy told me that he paid for a two minute dance but ‘fell asleep’ straight away and stayed passed out for hours. When he woke up, the dancer demanded that he pay for every single minute that he was passed out because she was apparently dancing the whole time.

When he tried to refuse, bouncers stepped in.



I selected some examples from the website Polish Club Scams (no longer on the web) that help to illustrate this phenomena:

Abraham (there were some mistakes with Abraham’s spelling and grammar so I have edited for clarity) – ‘I asked to have a drink, and a man came with my what I’d ordered but also with two shorts of something that appeared to be something stronger. They said they were for free but to be honest I don’t usually drink spirits, that’s weird where I come from. So I didn’t drink them, and after a few minutes talking with the woman, she asked me to drink the shorts. I said no thanks but then she says something like “oh come on” and brings the drinks to my mouth. She makes me drink them in a fast way, and the last thing I remember clearly is that I wanted to vomit, but I think I didn’t. After that I don’t remember almost anything, the day after that I felt like I had a low capacity to think, I almost couldn’t talk, my mind was blacked out.’

Dries ‘They were pushing us to drink little shorts from the moment we entered. I’m not the type of guy that gets wasted very soon but I was really sick the next few days.’



Christopher ‘I was sitting on one of the sofas chatting to a few friends and at least one of the girls who worked there… This is where my mind goes blank. My friend says that all of a sudden I was slumped in the chair. This isn’t something I normally do as I have a fairly good grasp of when I’ve had enough to drink and make my way home. I don’t recall getting back to my apartment nor what i did in the time between then and me leaving the club.’

Jacob ‘I did not like the venue much, so I asked for a glass of water, and intended to leave. I was not really given the chance. The bottle of water arrived with a short. I was content with drinking my water, but before I could finish it a girl sat with me and introduced herself as Natalia. She asked me what I assume are pretty standard questions – where I am from, if I like “spending time with girls”, and so on. She pointed out my drink and I said I was fine with water. She picked it up and handed it to me and said “But why not, it’s free! And only liqueur, not so strong.” and so I thought, well, that’s no problem. So I took it. In hindsight, I suspect that it was dr*gged, but I am not sure what with. I suspect it was not just extra strong alcohol. I worked as a bartender – I know what strong alcohol tastes like, and I know how I can handle my liquor. A drink that had been tampered with is the only rational explanation for the degree of my intoxication once I left the club, given the volume of alcohol I knowingly consumed in such a long time.’

Of course, this is not hard proof of anything, but it definitely seems odd at the very least. If you’d like to read more personal accounts of people’s experiences in Krakow strip clubs then you can do so here and here.


Krakow strip clubs


Violence in Krakow Strip Clubs


Unfortunately the dr*gging of customers and rinsing them of their hard earned cash is not where these stories end.

Many online accounts talk of violent attacks in these clubs, and again, while personal anecdotes are not proof, they are still worth paying attention to.

Here are just some of the tales that I found online when browsing the reviews of Krakow strip clubs (note: most of these reviews were about the club ‘Night Club VIP.’)

Ben ‘My friend went to VIP Club on a stag weekend and was dr*gged, injected with something (more substances?) and robbed. He was kept in a dark room with no handle on the door and was away unconscious for 3 hours.’

‘S’ ‘My brother died in that vile establishment, dr*gged and murdered. 10.10.17 it’s been a year already and the investigations are still ongoing.’


Unfortunately I couldn’t find hard evidence online to back up this claim, but I did find an older comment that said ‘My nephew has just been killed in this club and had money taken from his account. Thieving murdering scum.’ The two comments and the newspaper article appear to be about the same man due to the dates, but I do not have 100% proof of this.

A user by the screen name Low Voltage said, about his/her father – ‘He went to several of those crooked clubs invited and lead by two women whom claimed to be working at one of those clubs. Anyhow, he got dr*gged, has got bruises, traces of injections and got robbed for thousands of euros and he remembers very vaguely being in absolute panic running away from danger.’


Beth says – ‘He [the stag] had been at the strip club until the very early hours of the morning. He had woken up in a locked room and they threatened him into paying ÂŁ10,000. He actually only had ÂŁ5,500 and transferred that over, they still would not let him leave so he then had to threaten them with a bottle.’ 

One newspaper article that I managed to find tells a similar story of two men that were charged €100 for 4 shorts – when they complained, they were beaten up by the bouncers before being fired at. As a result of this, one of the men lost an eye. This incident occurred at Hypnose Gentleman’s Club.


Krakow Strip Clubs to Stay Clear Of


Although Jan Szybawski does not own every single Krakow strip club, In Your Pocket (which is probably the most authoritative guide to Krakow on the internet) says that it does not recommend specific Krakow strip clubs because they ‘do not feel comfortable identifying any strip club as safe.’

Part of the reason for this, they state, is that when the clubs begin to garner a bad reputation, they often close down and open a few days later with a new name, making it impossible to accurately keep track of which clubs are engaging in malpractice.

However, I have found some clubs that have consistently negative reviews that you should absolutely stay clear of.


The Krakow strip clubs that you should avoid at all costs are as follows:


VIP Club (92.9% of people surveyed think that they were dr*gged whilst at this club).

Pleasure Club

Black Pearl

Paradise Strip Club

Flames

Club Saxon

Hard Candy

Hypnose Gentleman’s Club

Diamond Club

Surprise

Taboo Gentleman’s Club

I honestly do not recommend going to any strip clubs in Krakow, even the ones not on this list, because in my opinion it is just not worth the risk.

However, if you really must go to a strip club in Krakow then please take the following precautions:

Leave your main bank card at home and take another card out with you that has much less money on it. Even then, only use this card if you HAVE to. Try to only deal in cash.

Leave your main ID at home and just carry something that shows your name but is not super important to you.

Buy a GHB detection kit so that you can test your drinks before consuming them. If the test shows positive results for GHB then you can take a photograph and show it to the police.

Stay with your friends. Don’t go back to your hotel leaving just one friend in the club.



So there concludes everything I know about the practices of Krakow strip clubs – if you or someone you know is planning a trip to Krakow and usually frequents strip clubs, show them this article so that they don’t fall prey to the scams in operation!

Poland is an amazing country, full of amazing people and tonnes of things to see and do.

There are so many things to do at night in Krakow that don’t involve being taken advantages of in these establishments.

It only takes one night to completely ruin not only your trip, but your finances, and even your life.

Please be careful when planning a lad’s holiday to Krakow.


Helpful tips & resources for planning a trip to Krakow


If you’re wondering what to do in Krakow, worry not – I wrote a super comprehensive guide to Krakow that covers all of the best things to do in Krakow. I also have a super long guide to Krakow nightlife, Krakow restaurants, as well as one all about the best things to do in Krakow at night.

The currency in Poland is the Polish złoty and 1 złoty is the equivalent of €0.23.

Drinking on the streets is illegal and you will be fined if caught.

Jaywalking in Poland is illegal. You must use the proper crossings and wait until the green man appears. You will never see a local jaywalking.

If you’re travelling to Krakow by bus, my go-to bus travel in Europe is always FlixBus. Flixbus is the most extensive bus network worldwide and all Flix buses have Wi-Fi, extra legroom, charging ports and the ability to modify your booking just 15 minutes before departure! Click here to book your Flixbus to Krakow.

You can compare train and bus prices on Trainline.

Another popular way of travelling in Poland is with the ridesharing app, Blablacar. I used this multiple times in Poland and it was often cheaper than public transport, and much quicker!


Where to stay in Krakow


The three absolute best party hostels in Krakow are Greg and Tom Party Hostel, Greg and Tom Beer House Hostel and The Little Havana Party Hostel.

To see rates and book your stay at Greg and Tom Party Hostel, click here.

To see rates and book your stay at Greg and Tom Beer House Hostel, click here.

To see rates and book your stay at The Little Havana Party Hostel, click here.

If you would prefer a hotel or other kind of accommodation, Booking.com is guaranteed to get you the best rates and there are NEVER any booking fees.


If you or somebody you know has fallen prey to the Krakow strip club scam, please let me know what happened in the comments section and also let me know if you are aware of the name of the club so that I can add it to this list. Let’s help to keep other people safe!


If you liked this article and would like to support my work, please click the button above to donate a couple of bucks and buy me a coffee. The ad revenue that I receive on this website is minimal, so support from my readers enables me to keep creating content that you (hopefully!) love to read.


Disclaimer: This page contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase on a recommended site, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

30 Comments

  1. Man, really wish I’d read this before going to Kraków. Strip club done exactly as you explained. Get Credit Card rinsed dry for £8k 😭. Definitely got spiked it something. Ironic thing is I didn’t even want to go to strip club, though it was just a bar. Give them their dues the planned what they did meticulously and the girls were working together. Obviously will never got back to that scum bag poor country. No wonder they all want to come to UK, horrible people.

    1. I am so sorry you had that experience 🙁 it’s awful. I spent 12 months in Poland though and I can tell you that Polish people are among the friendliest I’ve encountered. It’s the mafia that own the strip clubs that are the scam artists. Horrendous though, and it bothers me that the police don’t seem to tackle it.

      1. Hi, I’ve just read your article. My comment was used in your article, I’m the sister of the man that died in one of those establishments. 3 years have passed and the investigation is still ‘apparently’ ongoing.. hence why it has never hit the media in poland, that and the fact it’s been pushed under the rug. We will never rest until we get some kind of proper answers and justice. We want Mark’s story told. As a family it has broken us

        1. 🙁 I am so sorry. This is heartbreaking and infuriating in equal measures :((( Do you think that a large media outlet would take Mark’s story? I feel like if the BBC were to do an investigation into these ‘establishments’ then it may put some pressure on the Polish government to take cases like your brother’s more seriously.

    2. Its no different anywhere in the world – do you honestly think you won’t get ripped of in a strip club in London, Hamburg, Paris, Prague, Amsterdam or any other major city in the world. It is what it is – that’s the risk you take when entering these places. The police are always shutting these establishments down but they just reopen under a different name.

      1. I will respectfully disagree with you on this. Scams occur everywhere but the Krakow strip club scam is a very specific type of scam that I have not heard about on a city-wide basis anywhere else.

        1. I will respectfully disagree with you either. CitieS-wide. Poznań, Wrocław, Warszawa, Lublin, Rzeszów among some others.

  2. i went to krakow for a weekend with some friends. I entered VIP Club on the first night with my friends and was relatively sober at this point. I was offered a shot by one of the girls in there to which i said no at first. She persuaded me to drink it, next thing I know I’m in a room on my own with this girl and a blonde woman with glasses that managed the girls. There were bouncers outside stopping anyone getting in or out and they managed to get access to my phone and cards and eventually fleeced me for all of my travelling savings amounting to ÂŁ3000. I will never return to Poland, what kind of so-called developed country lets this happen to its tourists. Horrible place. The police were not interested and refused to let me report this to them at all. Corruption at its finest.

    1. Oh gosh that’s awful, I am so sorry that happened to you. The vast majority of Polish people are lovely and I do hope that one day you will return to some other cities and see how incredible this country is – these clubs are run by gangsters and I can only hope that one day they get shut down for good.

  3. I wish I’d knew all this before I went (Sep 19). Was there with a group of lads (aged 18 – 40). 1 of the group was a little worse for wear and on the way to the Hotel to take him home we were approached by 2 pretty, young women, at the main square, who wanted us to come to their bar. We’d even get free shots. We’d all had a few drinks at this stage but it was early (before midnight anyway) and most of the group still had our wits about us…or so we thought.
    We were taken to the underground bar which was down an alley way just off Ul Grodzka. It didn’t scream strip club until you were down the stairs. It was all very discreet from the street, no bar name. No doormen were to be seen either. All the staff were female.

    Once in the place we were sat down and approached by the dancers. I’ve been in a few strip clubs abroad before on stag dos etc. so I kind of knew the script of what to expect now, or so I thought.

    The group was quickly split up, all done very discreetly but intentionally by the girls. This was easily done as this was a quiet Thursday night and we were really the only people in the place. Over the course the night, most of the group managed to get back to the Hotel, having had enough to drink etc.

    Once split up though, we bought drinks. 1 for the girl who was sat with us each time. Out came the “free cherry shots” with each round. I continued to decline each time, I know nothings free in these type of places. I didn’t suspect they were spiking the shots, I was just expecting the “free” shot to cost ÂŁ20 each at the end of the night.

    As time went on and I’d had a few more beers my common sense went out the window and had the “free shot”. I was pretty much forced too (in a flirty way) by the girl who was glued to me all night. Looking back, that’s when things went south…

    I was taken to the back booths for a dance, so now I was completely separated from the last of the group. I remember declining the private dances to start but out of politeness and stupidity I gave in. I’d been paying for everything by cash up until this point, even though they preferred me to by card each round. Eventually I’d ran out cash so out came the debit card…

    The first time using the card there were no issues. Then suddenly the payments were declined. The funds were definitely in my account as the transactions are were for fairly small amounts (150 zloty roughly). The female bar manager appeared, tried a couple of times, showing me the amount on the card machine, each time declined. They assured me that this happens quite often with UK banks so I had to ring my bank to authorise the payment. I went through security with my bank and everything was OK. Payment authorised, I went back to having a drink. Then next drinks round, same process. Card declined, tried a couple of times, then having to ring the bank to sort. Each time I was given the little card receipt supposedly telling me the transaction was declined. Each round I was encouraged to have the “free cherry shot” also…

    The third time this happened the bank stopped the payments. I was then frog marched to an ATM up on the main road. I didn’t check my account balance, not that I could have on those Euronet ATMs that are all round Europe. The amount they asked for (which again wasn’t alot probably 200 zloty) was declined. I was adamant I had that amount in my bank so I couldn’t understand what was going on. I had a travel money card which luckily had enough funds from a trip earlier in the year to pay the bar tab. The two girls could probably see they’d fleeced me of all they could, made their excuses about the time and I was left to go back to the Hotel.

    I got back to the Hotel at about 0900 meaning I’d been in that bar for over 9 hrs. After a few hrs sleep and nursing the world’s worst hangover I checked my online banking. I’d been cleaned out of nearly ÂŁ4000 in about 8 different transactions. Everytime they swiped my card and told me it was declined, the transactions were going through and when they were showing me say 150zloty on the card machine, it was coming out in Sterling which is massive difference. The transactions got bigger each time too. The last one was nearly ÂŁ1500.

    Cue frantic phones calls to my bank who told me that I’d authorised all these payments so nothing they could do. I don’t dispute the fact that I spent money in the bar but the amount was massively different to what actually came out of my account. After pestering the bank for weeks to investigate, explaining the whole story, they did. I wasn’t holding out much hope by this stage so to my surprise I got a phone call from my banks fraud dept saying this type of scam happens alot and I was getting every single penny back. I was stunned, I even said to the guy that I don’t dispute I used my card to pay for drinks that night just not the amounts that actually came out of my account.

    I was told the money would be back in my account within 48hrs. 48hrs went and passed. No money back. I phoned the bank back and a different person told me I should never have been given that news as this incident was still under investigation. I told them to replay the last phonecard to me, knowing it was recorded, which stated I was getting all the money back. They told me they phone back within 2 hrs with news. 30 mins later the money was back in my account.

    I was ridiculously lucky to got a penny back never mind the whole amount. My story isn’t a way to have a free night out because 99% of the time the banks will say no when you try to cry fraud, no matter how much you have been scammed in these establishments.

    Looking back I’m now convinced these cherry shots and maybe my other drinks were spiked. I don’t know what with because there’s no way I would be able to drink the amount of alcohol I had and stayed awake for 26 hours.

    Please be careful if you’re going to Krakow, especially for stag dos. They seem to prey on groups of lads. Just politely decline the PR girls around town no matter how tempting they are.

  4. I wish I’d knew all this before I went (Sep 19). Was there with a group of lads (aged 18 – 40). 1 of the group was a little worse for wear and on the way to the Hotel to take him home we were approached by 2 pretty, young women, at the main square, who wanted us to come to their bar. We’d even get free shots. We’d all had a few drinks at this stage but it was early (before midnight anyway) and most of the group still had our wits about us…or so we thought.
    We were taken to the underground bar which was down an alley way just off Ul Grodzka. It didn’t scream strip club until you were down the stairs. It was all very discreet from the street. No doormen were to be seen.

    Once in the place we were sat down and approached by the dancers. I’ve been in a few strip clubs abroad before on stag dos etc. so I kind of knew the script of what to expect now, or so I thought.

    The group was quickly split up, all done very discreetly but intentionally by the girls. This was easily done as this was a quiet Thursday night and we were really the only people in the place. Over the course the night, most of the group managed to get back to the Hotel, having had enough to drink etc.

    Once split up though, we bought drinks. 1 for the girl who was sat with us each time. Out came the “free cherry shots” with each round. I continued to decline each time, I know nothings free in these type of places. I didn’t suspect they were spiking the shots, I was just expecting the “free” shot to cost ÂŁ20 each at the end of the night.

    As time went on and I’d had a few more beers my common sense went out the window and had the “free shot”. I was pretty much forced too (in a flirty way) by the girl who was glued to me all night. Looking back, that’s when things went south…

    I was taken to the back booths for a dance, so now I was completely separated from the last of the group. I remember declining the private dances to start but out of politeness and stupidity I gave in. I’d been paying for everything by cash up until this point, even though they preferred me to by card each round. Eventually I’d ran out cash so out came the debit card…

    The first time using the card there were no issues. Then suddenly the payments were declined. The funds were definitely in my account as the transactions are were for fairly small amounts (150 zloty roughly). The female bar manager appeared, tried a couple of times, showing me the amount on the card machine, each time declined. They assured me that this happens quite often with UK banks so I had to ring my bank to authorise the payment. I went through security with my bank and everything was OK. Payment authorised, I went back to having a drink. Then next drinks round, same process. Card declined, tried a couple of times, then having to ring the bank to sort. Each time I was given the little card receipt supposedly telling me the transaction was declined. Each round I was encouraged to have the “free cherry shot” also…

    The third time this happened the bank stopped the payments. I was then frog marched to an ATM up on the main road. I didn’t check my account balance, not that I could have on those Euronet ATMs that are all round Europe. The amount they asked for (which again wasn’t alot probably 200 zloty) was declined. I was adamant I had that amount in my bank so I couldn’t understand what was going on. I had a travel money card which luckily had enough funds from a trip earlier in the year to pay the bar tab. The two girls could probably see they’d fleeced me of all they could, made their excuses about the time and I was left to go back to the Hotel.

    I got back to the Hotel at about 0900 meaning I’d been in that bar for over 9 hrs. After a few hrs sleep and nursing the world’s worst hangover I checked my online banking. I’d been cleaned out of nearly ÂŁ4000 in about 8 different transactions. Everytime they swiped my card and told me it was declined, the transactions were going through and when they were showing me say 150zloty on the card machine, it was coming out in Sterling which is massive difference. The transactions got bigger each time too. The last one was nearly ÂŁ1500.

    Cue frantic phones calls to my bank who told me that I’d authorised all these payments so nothing they could do. I don’t dispute the fact that I spent money in the bar but the amount was massively different to what actually came out of my account. After pestering the bank for weeks to investigate, explaining the whole story, they did. I wasn’t holding out much hope by this stage so to my surprise I got a phone call from my banks fraud dept saying this type of scam happens alot and I was getting every single penny back. I was stunned, I even said to the guy that I don’t dispute I used my card to pay for drinks that night just not the amounts that actually came out of my account.

    I was told the money would be back in my account within 48hrs. 48hrs went and passed. No money back. I phoned the bank back and a different person told me I should never have been given that news as this incident was still under investigation. I told them to replay the last phonecard to me, knowing it was recorded, which stated I was getting all the money back. They told me they phone back within 2 hrs with news. 30 mins later the money was back in my account.

    I was ridiculously lucky to got a penny back never mind the whole amount. My story isn’t a way to have a free night out because 99% of the time the banks will say no when you try to cry fraud, no matter how much you have been scammed in these establishments.

    Looking back I’m now convinced these cherry shots and maybe my other drinks were spiked. I don’t know what with because there’s no way I would be able to drink the amount of alcohol I had and stayed awake for 26 hours.

    Please be careful if you’re going to Krakow, especially for stag dos. They seem to prey on groups of lads. Just politely decline the PR girls around town no matter how tempting they are.

      1. Even though I’d been taken advantage of, I was still stupid to have put myself in that situation in the first place and I urge others to really take care if they go to Krakow.

        I was incredibly lucky to get my money back. I genuinely believe I only got it back due to a mix up on the banks side, with someone telling me I was getting the money back when he shouldn’t of. The fact the call was was recorded meant they had to honour it. Reading other people’s accounts no-one else seems to have got money back.

        I felt like I’d won the lottery when the refund came through. I really didn’t fancy explaining this whole situation to my Wife…

        I fear that this scam is going to be more prevalent once travel opens back up and tourists return to Krakow I suspect.
        These type of establishments have been lying dormant for the last year and they need to recoup money one way or another…

        1. You were lucky indeed. I fear it too. My hope with this article was to rank for the keyword ‘Krakow strip clubs’ because then this page will show up when people are looking for strip clubs in Krakow before they have actually been scammed. If they read this while planning their lads’ trip, it might make them think twice about adult entertainment in Krakow.

  5. On October 28, I, my husband and my friend were at the prozak 2.0 club, we were treated to vodka, after we left this club, after which we remember absolutely nothing, my husband was debited from the card “pro explore”
    12000 UAH
    5000 UAH
    12000 UAH

    1. I just came back from Krakow. I was going to Bar Prozak but it was closed even though after 2200. I didn’t know where to go, some young Ukrainian started talking to me and said do you want to come to this bar, 2 for 1 drink, see what you think. I got talking to him about Ukraine a bit, he took me down an alleyway and into this bar, it went underground. A fat woman boss set eyes on me and asked me what I wanted to drink and said to go in here, but was pole dancing so I turned back and sat down away from there to drink my beer or some of it. Then a girl walked over to meet me and ask my name, I explained that I am not paying for anything, I was defrauded sometime back for a lot of money. She said I didn’t have to pay, was just talking to me. Cue me explaining about the fraud time. Fat woman comes over to block path between me and exit, asks me for another drink, and brings a couple of shots over which I haven’t asked for. Cherry vodka shots, not much vodka in though. May have been laced with ghb. I remember being encouraged to drink my drinks when I didn’t want to/was drinking at my own pace. I was then told I have to buy the girl a drink, I wasn’t happy, but they are right in front of you / sitting next to you. I can’t just kick them out of the way, not sure what to do am on my own in a foreign country underground. I go for the cheapest one, ‘happy’, they say I can’t do the cheapest one is not happy is terrible so I have to do the one after. So I mean I basically have to unless I get physically violent with them. I remember feeling tired at this point, May have been the spiked shots kicking in. Then another girl comes, the other one leaves, is told to by the fat boss. I am concerned as they keep telling me to drink. New girl says I don’t have to pay, I explain straight away I can’t and am not paying for anything. But I start to feel strangely relaxed and weak. Girl would get me to do shot with her. Anyway after explaining about the previous fraud to her, different boss girl comes, friendlier, not fat but still insistent I buy the girl a drink but I am very angry but physically trapped in this small alcove. I think after explaining the defrauding I get through to this girl (as well as saying if they lie they are Putin, as she said was Ukrainian). I think although the girl and I had a slight connection well I was asking about her, she realised that I am not the person to defraud and told me to leave. I was very unhappy when I had to buy her a drink (although she was friendly) and I offered to just give her less money rather than pay for a drink. It cost me 150zty these ridiculous drinks, I did not want to be in a strip club, it was my budget for the trip and I was very unhappy afterwards and for the rest of my trip. It was called Flames Bar, is not on Google maps which raises suspicions. I was going to come down the next night but was so cold and snowy and was tired with no money that I didn’t, tried to have a good night as last night there. I see Flames is on the bad list, that’s what happens there your wallet goes up in flames. Is more of a warning from me, I am very careful with money and was stone cold sober when I went in, I really worry what would have happened if I wasn’t. I showed them that I don’t want the beers/ have another time so we put them in my bag. I managed to leave although one of the beers fell out and smashed. In the end I was robbed basically, I remember thinking ‘oh they haven’t got much money so I have to buy them a drink do I? Who else, everyone who hasn’t got much money?’ The girl wasn’t happy working there I could tell, well half goes to her and half to the establishment.

        1. It’s been happening since 2005/2006 at least. It might have been the case much earlier. I studied in Cracow. Same stories. Same pattern. Cherry spiked vodka, other spiked drinks and all of the money taken off credit cards. At least one died, at least one lost his eye. It is still happening, not necessary in a strip club. There are hundreds of such stories if not thousands right now.
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCi-lsJTkws
          https://www.local-life.com/krakow/news/1658-fraudulent-night-club-chain-under-scrutiny
          https://cbsp.policja.pl/cbs/aktualnosci/224002,Kolejne-zatrzymania-dotyczace-oszustw-w-klubach-go-go.html
          https://krknews.pl/wielkie-oszustwa-w-klubach-go-go-tajemniczy-zgon-w-krakowie/
          https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3079685/British-tourist-eye-removed-shot-Polish-bouncer-argued-100-bar-bill-four-vodkas.html
          https://www.rp.pl/przestepczosc/art36419551-oszustwa-i-tajemniczy-zgon-w-klubach-go-go

  6. Another bar/Strip Club to absolutely avoid is Blow located at Floriańska 23
    31-019 very close to the main square. Like many of these stories, ours is pretty similar although we realized how lucky we got. My friend and I are both exchange students and we decide to travel to krakow during Easter week. We were looking for a place to drink and were approached by a guy who asked if we were looking for a place to drink. He told us it was 8 Zloty for 1 beer and 2 shots. I didn’t think anything suspicious of this, I’ve been approached and invited into bars/Clubs on the street in Spain and they were legitimate and good bars. Anyways, my friend and I didn’t want the shots but we decided to go for a couple of beers as it was cheap. The man told us that one side of the bar was just for drinks and that the other side was a strip club but we’re only going to have drinks. We got to the bar, and there wasn’t many people but everything seemed fine. The waitress took our order and she brought us a beer and 2 shots each. My friend paid for the 2 beers with his card and it was fine. They didn’t try telling us that the payment was declined or something like that. After about 5 minutes, 2 strippers from the other side of the bar came and sat next to us. They were just chatting and asking us questions “where are you from, do you like Poland, what’s your name”… so we didn’t think anything of it. Nothing seemed off. After we were almost done our beer, the strippers were trying to get us to take the shots. The girl talking to my friend grabbed the shot and litterally put it near his mouth. The shots looked mixed and my friend said that they were already poured before they were served to us, but the beer was freshly poured so we knew not to take the shots. We knew something was off at this point so we finished our beer and decided to leave. When we got up and headed for the stairs, the waitress got in front of me and said that we needed to pay for talking with the strippers. We had legit spent less than 10 minutes talking to them and we never asked to talk to them or agreed to paid so I refused. I kept trying to go around the waitress but she kept putting her body in front of me and not letting me pass through. I was a bit nervous at this point. I told her the guy who brought us in said that we could just have drinks and not go the side with the strippers. She demanded that we pay. While paying for having talked to a stripper for less than 10 minutes was ridiculous, the waitress was not letting me leave so I wasn’t trying to get into any trouble. I asked her how much do we owe for the strippers time. She told me “1000 Zloty”. As soon as me and my friend heard her say that, we knew this was all a scam to try to get money out of tourist. I told her that was ridiculous and that I was not paying that. I kept trying to go around her and leave but she was not letting me pass through. I was pretty nervous at this point and was unsure if this girl was going to like pull a knife on me or something If I wasn’t going to pay. We didn’t see a bouncer and the guy who brought us in wasn’t in the bar anymore. My friend was already at the stairs so it was just me who needed to get pass the waitress and get out of the is place. I was not about to let myself get scammed this much money so I pushed the waitress to the wall and my friend and I ran out as fast as we could. Thankfully, there was no bouncer at the top of the stairs waiting for us otherwise we most likely for sure would have had to pay up. Avoid these places at ALL COST. We are very lucky to have gotten out without getting scammed. While my friend did watch them pour the beers, it would not have been hard for them to spike the drink. It’s a shame that this “strip club scam” has stolen so much from tourists and has litteraly ruined the lives of many people. Other then this experience, my friend and I have been having a great time in Krakow. Whenever we get approached now on the street, we litterally just speak in french and say we don’t speak english so that they leave us alone.

  7. Sogo Club, Warsaw, al. Jerozolimskie 6, 00-375 Warszawa – VERY, VERY EVIL PLACE.

    Rape drugs, robbery, violence – EVIL GANGSTERS.

    A class-action suit is being launched against them. They’ve brazenly done their ‘business’ in Warsaw for long enough. Jail is coming for these people.

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