Common money scams in Spain, and what they cost you

The single most expensive thing that happens to US visitors in Spain is not a scam at all in the legal sense: it is the offer to be charged in dollars at a card terminal, a practice called dynamic currency conversion. It looks like a courtesy and it costs a few percent on every transaction, because the machine sets the rate rather than your bank. Choose euros, every time. The same applies at every ATM screen.

Two related habits worth building. First, look at the amount on the terminal before you tap, since a misplaced decimal or an added zero is easier to fix in the moment than on a statement. Second, in heavily touristed streets, read the itemized bill: bread, olives or a plate of tapas that arrived unasked can appear on it, a menu with no prices is a warning sign in itself, and occasionally a tip line is filled in for you. Spain has no strong tipping obligation, so you are not being rude to question it. For what is normal, see tipping in Spain.

Spain is full of standalone ATMs in tourist streets, stations and airports that are not attached to a bank. They tend to charge a higher fee of their own, on top of anything your bank adds, and they push the dollar conversion hardest of all. Use a machine attached to a real bank, take a slightly larger amount less often, and decline the conversion offer.

Be wary of help you did not ask for at a machine: someone who offers to guide you through the screens, or who tells you the machine is broken and points you to another one. Cover your PIN, and if a card is retained, call your bank rather than accepting a stranger's assistance. In the same family, anyone in plain clothes claiming to be police and asking to inspect your cash or cards for counterfeits is not doing a real thing: real officers do not need to count your money. Decline politely and walk into a shop or a busy street. For the wider cash picture, see cash or card in Spain.

The classic city setups all work the same way: create two seconds of confusion, then take a wallet or phone. The familiar versions are something spilled or splashed on your clothes followed by eager help cleaning it, a petition or clipboard pushed at your chest, a sudden hug or a football-shirt tug in a crowd, and the three-cup or shell game on a busy promenade, which you cannot win. None of it is aggressive and all of it is avoidable: keep your wallet and phone somewhere a bump cannot reach, and treat any unexpected physical contact as a cue to check your pockets rather than to help.

For taxis, the honest picture is that Spanish cabs are metered and mostly straightforward. Madrid sets a single fixed fare between Barajas airport and the city center inside the M-30, posted at the rank, so ask for it by name and you cannot be metered up. Elsewhere, use the official rank or an app rather than someone approaching you in the terminal, and check that the meter is running from the start. This guide is written for US travelers departing the US. For more, see taxis and apps in Spain, cash or card in Spain, and the Spain money guide.

Common questions

Quick answers.

More on Spain

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