Money scams
Almost none of it is crime. It is the payment.
Search this subject and you get warnings about pickpockets. The things that actually take real money off US travelers are quieter than that: a fixed airport fare you did not know existed, a card machine offering to bill you in dollars, a meter that stays off, a stranger who tells you the palace is closed today. They are mostly legal, or close to it, and they are all defeated by knowing one number or saying one word.
The single most expensive trap, and the easiest to defeat, because several cities set an official flat fare and publish it. Rome is 55 euros between Fiumicino and anywhere inside the Aurelian Walls. Athens is 40 euros by day and 55 overnight to the centre. Paris sets fixed fares from both airports. Know your number before you land, and never accept a ride from someone who approaches you inside the terminal.
The most widespread one, and it is not really a scam so much as a legal markup with a friendly interface. A card terminal or ATM offers to charge you in US dollars instead of the local currency, and quietly adds a few percent on the exchange. It is on every purchase you accept it on. Always choose the local currency, every time, on every machine.
Meter refused, meter rigged, the long route, no change for a big note, or the note swap where the driver claims the bill you handed over was smaller than it was. This one recurs across Vietnam, Mexico, India, Turkey, Egypt and Morocco. Use the app where there is a real one, agree the fare before the door closes where there is not, and carry small notes.
A helpful stranger tells you the site is closed today, or that your hotel has shut, and offers an alternative. The alternative pays them. It is the tuk-tuk gem and tailor tour in Bangkok, the redirected hotel in India, the fake guide in the Marrakech medina. Verify closures yourself, and treat unsolicited helpfulness near a famous landmark as a sales call.
Three habits that cover most of it
Look up the airport fare before you fly. Where a flat fare exists it is set by the city and it is not negotiable, so the whole scam collapses the moment you know the figure. Where no flat fare exists, find out what the normal metered range is instead.
Say local currency, always. On terminals, on ATMs, at hotel checkout. There is no situation in which being billed in dollars abroad is better for you. This one habit is worth more over a trip than avoiding every taxi trick combined.
Treat the first offer near a landmark as a sale. Not hostility, just arithmetic: the person who approaches you at the airport exit, the temple gate or the medina entrance is working, and you are the product. A polite no costs nothing.
None of this requires suspicion of a whole country. It requires knowing the four or five specific setups that recur in the place you are going, which is what the country pages below are for.
Country by country
The specific setups that recur in each place, and what each one costs. Each write-up lives in that country's guide.
ArgentinaCommon money scams in Argentina, and what they cost youThe US State Department calls Argentina generally safe for travelers and rates it at its calmest advisory level. Almost nothing here is dramatic. What tourists do meet is a small, well-documented family of money tricks, and nearly all of them happen in or around a taxi you flagged down in the street. One decision, pre-arranging your ride instead of hailing it, removes most of the list. Here is each one, what it costs, and how to sidestep it.
BrazilCommon money scams in Brazil, and what they cost youBrazil is one of the great travel countries and millions of visits pass without any of this. But we are not going to tell you a few habits defuse it, because that would be dishonest. The main ways money leaves a foreign visitor in Brazil are not an inflated bill or a rigged meter. They are a drink you did not watch being poured, and a car you cannot get out of. That changes the advice: it is about not entering the situation, and about limiting what can be taken if you do. The situations are specific and recognisable. Note that this page covers money; the US State Department has Brazil at Level 2 with a kidnapping risk indicator, so read the full advisory for the wider picture.
CambodiaCommon money scams in Cambodia, and what they cost youCambodia is safe for the great majority of visitors and almost none of this is dramatic. Because the country runs on US dollars, its money traps are unusually simple: a fake note in your change, a fee somebody padded, a ticket sold by the wrong person. They cost a few dollars at a time, and a handful of habits defuse nearly all of them. Here is each one, what it costs, and how to sidestep it.
ChinaCommon money scams in China, and what they cost youChina is safe for the great majority of visitors, violent crime against foreigners is rare, and nearly everything below is defeated by one habit: do not follow a stranger who approached you to a venue you did not choose. These are ordinary money traps clustered around a few famous landmarks, plus the usual taxi and cash-handling ones. Here is each, what it costs, and how to sidestep it.
ColombiaCommon money scams in Colombia, and what they cost youMillions of people visit Colombia and have a straightforwardly good time, and most trips pass without any of this. But we are not going to tell you a few habits defuse it, because that is not true here. The way money is taken from foreign visitors in Colombia is mostly not an inflated bill or a rigged meter. It is being made unable to refuse, by something in a drink or by a car you cannot get out of. That changes the advice: it is about not entering the situation rather than watching your wallet. The situations are few, specific and recognisable, and the decisions that avoid them are small. Note that this page covers money; the US State Department currently has Colombia at Level 3 with a kidnapping indicator, so read the full advisory for the wider picture.
Costa RicaCommon money scams in Costa Rica, and what they cost youCosta Rica is safe for the great majority of visitors and almost none of this is dramatic. The single biggest money surprise here is not a con at all, it is a rental car quote that leaves out a charge the law requires. The rest are ordinary traps: a currency gap at the till, an unofficial taxi, a stranger who is unusually keen to help. A few habits defuse nearly all of them. Here is each one, what it costs, and how to sidestep it.
CroatiaCommon money scams in Croatia, and what they cost youCroatia is one of Europe's safest countries, it absorbs nearly twenty million visitors a year without much trouble, and violent crime against tourists is close to nonexistent. What can go wrong here is almost entirely about the bill: a fish priced by the kilogram, a plate you did not order, a taxi at the port with no meter running. These are coastal-season pricing habits more than cons, and reading one document defeats most of them. Here is each, what it costs, and how to sidestep it.
CzechiaCommon money scams in Czechia, and what they cost youCzechia is one of Europe's safer countries and violent crime against visitors is rare, so almost nothing here is dramatic. Prague's old reputation for fleecing tourists has faded a long way as ride apps took over, but three traps survive in the tourist core: the taxi that finds a reason not to run the meter, the exchange booth with an unbeatable-looking sign, and the bill with things on it you did not order. There is also a Czech law that quietly gives you a way out of the second one. Here is each, what it costs, and how to sidestep it.
Dominican RepublicCommon money scams in the Dominican Republic, and what they cost youThe Dominican Republic is safe for the great majority of visitors, most trips are resort-and-beach and entirely trouble free, and almost none of this is dramatic. The traps that actually take money off US travelers here are quiet ones: a card that leaves your table, a fare nobody agreed, a website charging for a free form, a bill that grew by a quarter between the menu and the checkout. Here is each one, what it costs, and how to sidestep it.
EcuadorCommon money scams in Ecuador, and what they cost youEcuador packs an extraordinary amount into a small country and most visits pass without any of this. But we are not going to tell you a few habits defuse it, because the main way money leaves a foreign visitor here is not an overcharge. It is a taxi you flagged down in the street, or a drink you did not watch being poured. That changes the advice: it is about not entering the situation, and about carrying less so there is less to take. Note that this page covers money; the US State Department has Ecuador at a raised advisory level with a kidnapping indicator, and parts of the country carry separate warnings, so read the full advisory before you plan a route.
EgyptCommon money scams in Egypt, and what they cost youEgypt is one of the world's great trips, and the hassles that do come up are almost all about money, not danger: overcharging, pressure, and a tip expected for everything. A few calm habits defuse nearly all of it. Here is each trap, what it costs, and how to sidestep it.
FranceCommon money scams in France, and what they cost youParis has a small, well-rehearsed repertoire of money tricks, and most of them are performed on the same handful of streets. They rely on your politeness rather than any threat, and each one has a tell you can learn in a sentence.
GreeceCommon money scams in Greece, and what they cost youGreece has a reputation for taxi trouble that is now mostly out of date, and one setup in central Athens that is still worth knowing about. The useful thing is that the airport fare is fixed by law, so the biggest number of your trip is already decided.
HungaryCommon money scams in Hungary, and what they cost youHungary is a low-crime country, the US rates it at its calmest advisory level, and Budapest is a comfortable city to walk at night. There is one genuine scam here worth knowing about in detail, and it is unusual in that it is entirely optional: it only happens if you follow a stranger to a bar they chose. Everything else is ordinary money housekeeping, a taxi rule, an exchange rule and a bill to read. Here is each, what it costs, and how to sidestep it.
IndiaCommon money scams in India, and what they cost youIndia is an extraordinary trip that rewards a little preparation, and the scams that target tourists are money ones, not danger: overcharging, commission steering and a few well-known setups. They follow the same patterns almost every time, so once you know them they are easy to sidestep. Here is each one and how.
IndonesiaCommon money scams in Indonesia, and what they cost youIndonesia is safe for the great majority of visitors and almost none of this is dramatic. What tourists actually meet, especially in Bali, are money traps built on confusion: a fast count at a money changer, damage on a scooter that was already there, a meter that stays off. They cost tens of dollars rather than hundreds, and a few habits defuse nearly all of them. Here is each one, what it costs, and how to sidestep it.
ItalyCommon money scams in Italy, and what they cost youItaly's tourist money traps are mostly overcharging rather than theft, and the good news is that the biggest one has an official number attached to it. Know the fixed airport fare, read the bill, and buy tickets from the actual ticket office.
JapanCommon money scams in Japan, and what they cost youJapan is one of the safest countries in the world to visit, and on the great majority of trips none of this comes up at all. Most of what surprises Americans is not a con but a charge nobody explained: a seat fee at an izakaya, a service charge at a hotel restaurant, a card machine offering dollars. There is one genuine scam, it lives in a handful of nightlife blocks, and a single habit defuses it completely. Here is each one, what it costs, and how to sidestep it.
MexicoCommon money scams in Mexico, and what they cost youMexico is safe for the great majority of visitors, and almost none of this is dramatic. These are ordinary money traps, overcharges and pressure tactics aimed at tourists, and a few simple habits defuse nearly all of them. Here is each one, what it costs, and how to sidestep it.
MoroccoCommon money scams in Morocco, and what they cost youMorocco is a spectacular trip, and the medina hustle you have heard about is almost entirely about money, not danger: pressure, misdirection and manufactured goodwill aimed at your wallet. Once you know the pattern you see it coming, and a calm, firm no defuses nearly all of it.
PhilippinesCommon money scams in the Philippines, and what they cost youThe Philippines is safe for the great majority of visitors, Filipino hospitality is real, and almost none of this is dramatic. The traps tourists actually meet are ordinary money ones: a fare quoted instead of metered, a stranger who is unusually keen to help, a card machine offering dollars. They cost tens of dollars and a few habits defuse nearly all of them. Here is each one, what it costs, and how to sidestep it.
PolandCommon money scams in Poland, and what they cost youPoland is a genuinely low-crime country, it sits at the calmest US advisory level, and violent crime against visitors is uncommon. Scams here are rare and usually small, and most travelers meet none of them. The short list worth knowing is: a driver who approaches you at the airport, a bar that hands out discount flyers, a phone call from someone claiming to be reception, and an exchange booth with a sign that is too good. Here is each one, what it costs, and how to sidestep it.
South AfricaCommon money scams in South Africa, and what they cost youSouth Africa is a magnificent country to travel in and most visits are trouble free, and the money scams here are unusually well documented, which makes them unusually avoidable. But we are not going to pretend the context is ordinary. The US State Department has South Africa at Level 2 with crime, terrorism, unrest and kidnapping indicators, and it notes that kidnappers target foreign travelers specifically to make them withdraw cash or hand over account passwords. So the advice is partly about the con at the cash machine, and partly about limiting what anyone can take. Read the full advisory for the wider picture; this page covers money.
SpainCommon money scams in Spain, and what they cost youSpain is a safe, card-friendly country, and the things that cost visitors money here are rarely dramatic. Most of it happens quietly, on a card terminal or at the bottom of a bill, and every one of them is easy to sidestep once you know the shape of it.
Sri LankaCommon money scams in Sri Lanka, and what they cost youSri Lanka is a warm, welcoming country and the money traps here are small ones. Fares are so low that overpaying is usually a matter of a few dollars, and the two that can reach real money, the gem shop and the damage claim, are both defused by a decision you make before you spend anything. Almost all of it starts in the same place: a tuk-tuk driver who suggests somewhere you were not going. Here is each one, what it costs, and how to sidestep it.
ThailandCommon money scams in Thailand, and what they cost youThailand is one of the safest countries in Southeast Asia for visitors, and almost none of what follows is dangerous. It is ordinary money stuff, overcharging and a few well-rehearsed setups aimed at tourists, and recognizing the patterns sidesteps nearly all of it. Here is each trap, what it costs, and how to avoid it.
TurkeyCommon money scams in Turkey, and what they cost youTurkey is safe and welcoming for the great majority of visitors, and the tricks that target tourists, mostly in Istanbul's busy quarters, are about money rather than danger. Each one relies on your politeness or confusion, and each is easy to sidestep once you know it.
VietnamCommon money scams in Vietnam, and what they cost youVietnam is a wonderful and largely trouble-free trip, and the scams that target tourists are mostly small-value money hustles, not danger: overcharging, sleight of hand and a few transport tricks. They rely on confusion, and a few habits defuse nearly all of them. Here is each one and how to avoid it.Official flat fares and published rates are checked against the city or authority that sets them and dated on each page. The recurring setups themselves are our own read from experience and consistent traveler reports, not an official register, and they change as apps and enforcement change. For the pay-in-dollars problem in detail, see cash or card by country, and for airport transfers specifically, taxis and ride-hailing. More on how we work is on our methodology page.
Compare a whole region
Weighing up where to go? See how the countries in a region stack up on cost, cash, tipping and getting around, with a clear pick for each.