Common money scams in Argentina, and what they cost you

This is the classic Argentine one and it works because peso notes are unfamiliar and the numbers are large. You hand over a note, the driver studies it, says something is wrong with it, and hands back a different note that is counterfeit or a lower denomination. Or he offers to help you count, and good bills quietly become bad ones. The State Department names it directly among its Argentina taxi scams. The loss is the face value of whatever you were given, so usually tens of dollars, and you only find out when the next place refuses it.

Three habits close it. Hand over one note at a time rather than a fan of them, keep your own note in sight while it is being examined, and look at what comes back before you get out. Carrying small notes and the right change removes the whole conversation, which is worth doing anyway since drivers are often short of change. If you are unsure what a real note looks like, the ones from a bank ATM are your reference set.

Two more from the same State Department list, and both are variations on being made to pay twice. In the first, a handler at the airport takes your money for the ride, and at the other end the driver says he has seen nothing and asks again. In the second, the taxi breaks down mid-journey, a second taxi conveniently appears to finish the trip, and both drivers present a bill. Neither is violent and neither is large, but both are awkward to argue in a second language at the kerb.

The State Department's own escape is the cleanest: pre-arrange the ride. Use a taxi dispatch service, a ride-hailing app, or one of the flat-rate remise services, which are private cars with drivers booked from the airport service counters or through your hotel. In city centres, it advises using taxis called by a central dispatcher or arranged by your hotel rather than flagged in the street. Uber, Cabify and DiDi all operate in Buenos Aires and fix the fare in the app, which ends the argument before it starts. The full picture is in the Argentina taxis and ride-hailing guide.

This one runs worldwide but Argentina's version is specific enough that the State Department spells it out: something, often mustard or a similar liquid, lands on you seemingly from nowhere, and a helpful person immediately appears with tissues. While they dab at your jacket, your bag, wallet or phone leaves. The stain is the entire point of the operation, so the moment to act is before you look down at it.

The rule is short: if something lands on you, hold your bag and keep walking. Do not set anything down, do not let anyone else touch you, and clean it yourself somewhere you have chosen. The same instinct covers the other close-quarters ones on the State Department's list, including bag snatching in restaurants: keep your bag on your lap rather than on the back of a chair or on the floor, and do not leave a phone sitting on the table.

Argentina's most famous piece of travel advice is now out of date, and that matters here. For years the blue dollar street rate beat the official one by enough to justify the walk down an alley. That gap has closed: the street rate now sits within a few percent of what your card gets, so following a cambio, cambio tout is a small gain at best and a net loss once short-changing or a counterfeit note enters the picture. The Argentina cash and cards guide has the current mechanics.

The State Department's instruction is simple: exchange money only at banks, hotels, and money exchangers with actual storefronts. Two practical details from the same page are worth carrying: you must show your passport to exchange money, and you should keep every receipt from buying pesos until you leave. On cards, always choose pesos rather than dollars, and expect low per-withdrawal ATM limits, which is why fewer, larger withdrawals cost less.

Look at the list and one theme runs through it: almost every trap here begins with a taxi you flagged down or a stranger who approached you. So the habits are few. Pre-arrange the ride or use an app, hand over one note at a time and check what comes back, keep walking if something lands on you, and change money only at a place with a storefront. None of it costs more than tens of dollars when it does happen.

Two more that are not scams but do cost money. The cubierto, a small per-person cover charge for bread and the table setting, goes to the house rather than your server, so it does not replace a tip; the Argentina tipping guide covers that. And tips are best left in cash pesos, since card terminals often have no tip line. For getting and spending money well while you are there, see the Argentina cash and cards guide and the Argentina cost guide.

Common questions

Quick answers.

More on Argentina

The little money things nobody warns you about.

• Do I need cash in Argentina, or can I use cards?Short answer: cards cover most of a city trip, and you want pesos for the small stuff. The old blue-dollar trick is finished, which makes this much simpler than it was a few years ago. Here is how to handle it.
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• Taxis in Argentina, and which apps workTaxis are cheap, plentiful and metered, and the money question is mostly about how you order one. An app or a radio taxi gives you a record and a price, which is why they are the better default here.
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• What does getting sick in Argentina cost a visitor?For decades the Argentine story was that the public hospital treated everyone, tourists included, for nothing. That era is ending: since the 2025 migration reform, public hospitals now bill non-residents for non-emergency care, and Argentina expects you to arrive already insured. Emergencies are still stabilized first.