Scams that target travellers

Travel scams are consistent enough across countries that a single list covers most of what a visitor will encounter anywhere.

The transport ones

The broken meter. A taxi driver claiming the meter is not working and quoting a fare on arrival.

The defence: agree a fare before departing, use an application, or use official ranks with published fixed fares.

The long route, taking a circuitous journey.

The defence: watch the route on a phone map, which drivers notice you doing.

The wrong destination. A driver claiming your hotel is closed, full or dangerous, and offering an alternative where they receive a commission.

The defence: insist on the stated destination.

The closed attraction. Someone near a site informing you it is closed today, and offering an alternative.

The defence: verify at the entrance yourself.

The unofficial ticket seller, selling tickets to something free or overpriced tickets to something else.

The distraction ones

All variations on separating attention from possessions.

Something spilled on your clothing, followed by someone helping to clean it.

A dropped item requiring you to bend down.

A petition or a survey presented on a clipboard held at chest height.

A staged argument or commotion.

A person asking for directions with a map spread over your bag.

Someone placing a bracelet on your wrist or a bird on your shoulder and then demanding payment.

The common structure: an unexpected event requiring your attention, with a second person operating while it holds.

The money ones

Short change, particularly with unfamiliar currency and similar-looking notes.

The defence: count change, and learn the notes early.

The note switch, where a large note handed over is replaced with a smaller one and you are told you gave less.

The defence: state the denomination aloud when handing it over.

Card skimming, from compromised machines.

The defence: use machines inside bank branches, cover the keypad, and check statements.

Dynamic currency conversion, discussed elsewhere on this site, which is not a scam and costs more than most of them.

The unlicensed money changer offering a better rate, with sleight of hand at the exchange.

The friendly ones

The most effective category, because they operate through social obligation.

A person who approaches, is charming, invites you for a drink or to a bar, and produces a bill of extraordinary size with staff supporting the demand.

A person offering to show you something, which becomes a tour requiring payment.

A tea ceremony, a shop visit, or a gem purchase arranged by a new acquaintance who receives commission.

The defence is uncomfortable and simple: be cautious about invitations from strangers who approached you, particularly near tourist sites, and be willing to leave.

Genuine local hospitality exists and is generally offered in a context — a shop, a home, a shared activity — rather than initiated by a stranger in a street where visitors gather.

The accommodation and booking ones

Fake listings on rental platforms, which the platforms have reduced and not eliminated.

Requests to pay outside the platform, which removes any protection and is the clearest warning sign.

Fake booking sites imitating a hotel's own, which appear in search advertising.

And the property that does not match its photographs, where the recourse is the platform's process.

The general defences

Which cover nearly all of the above.

Be sceptical of anyone who approaches you rather than the reverse.

Never make a financial decision under time pressure.

Verify independently rather than accepting information from the person offering the solution.

Do not follow a stranger somewhere.

Keep valuables secure and know where your possessions are in crowds.

And be willing to be rude, which is the actual barrier for most people and which costs nothing.

If it happens

Report theft to police, which is required for any insurance claim.

Contact card issuers immediately for financial fraud.

Contact the platform for booking problems.

And note that embarrassment prevents most reporting, which is why the same techniques continue to work in the same locations for decades.