Top Travel Scams - Avoid them!
Ever been victim to a travel scam? This is unfortunately one of the downfalls of exploring the world. Even if you are a well rounded traveller we still recommend reading this post as you can never be too careful. In our opinion it is definitely better to be safe than sorry. This is why Book and Go has got you covered with a list of travel scams you might fall victim to whilst travelling.
We are going to cover: visas, taxis, accommodation, rentals, surprise charges, money, imposters and more
Visa scams
As the first step to sometimes going away is obtaining a visa we decided to cover this scam first. Sometimes you may be uncertain if you need a visa for the country you are travelling to. Different countries may have different entry requirements depending on your nationality, this can get confusing at times.
You will frequently find websites offering to do your visa process for you, telling you this is a fast and hassle free way to obtain your visa. Majority of the time this will cost you much more than obtaining the visa yourself and in reality won’t save you much time either, due to still having to submit all your documents on the chosen website. An additional risk to using these websites is sharing your identity information alongside your travel plans with an unknown person online. This could put you in danger of identity theft. We recommend using your government website and the government website of your chosen country to see entry requirements for your nationality. You should only obtain your visa through the government website of your chosen country. You may also be entitled to a visa waiver or visa on arrival. This will save you money, ensure you have the correct visa and protect your identity.
Taxi scams
It can be very easy to fall for a taxi scam as soon as you land in your designated country. Maybe you haven’t got access to the internet and you are unsure of the route to your accommodation, alongside what should be the time and cost of your journey. Or maybe this is not your first taxi journey and you are just heading from one attraction to another. Taxis with a metre can sometimes choose to take you on the “scenic route” showing you famous attractions on the way. You might be unaware this is a much longer route and will cost you more. You can also negotiate prices with some taxis which do not use a metre, to find out at the end of the journey they are asking for more than you initially agreed upon. You may also be getting an uber and you think you already know how much this journey will cost you. Uber drivers can say they are going to take you on the fastest route which involves additional costs for tolls, tunnels or bridges. They may ask you to pay them directly at the end of the journey for these additional charges, despite this not being specified on Uber. This could mean you are paying for charges which are already included in the overall cost of your journey or you may be double charged with Uber taking an additional fee for these extra charges, meaning the driver will get both payments later on.
We recommend you always check how long a journey should take you, alongside the overall cost of this journey prior to getting in the taxi. You should also make sure you agree on the price beforehand. If you're getting into a taxi without a metre, you can show them the amount on the calculator on your phone so there can't be any miscommunication and stand your ground by only paying what you agreed to prior to the journey starting. Lastly if you are using uber and get asked to pay additional charges to the driver which was not specified on the app, do not do this and report the driver on the app.
Cancelling accommodation
Next we are going to talk about your accommodation getting cancelled as you arrive at your destination. Hotels can cancel accommodation which has been reserved and not yet paid for, asking you to pay them directly by card in their local currency. This could be in order for the accommodation to not have to give commission to the platform you booked through or to charge you more using local currency.
Our recommendation is booking accommodation online through secure platforms and paying the total online prior to your trip. This will protect you from cancellations, alongside being overcharged. Some websites do have disclaimers such as you will have to pay for taxes on arrival to your accommodation. As annoying as it is reading through terms and conditions, alongside the small print, this will save you from surprise additional charges. We also recommend using a card to make a booking which is not your main card, incase the hotel requests to hold money on this card as a safety deposit or takes photocopies of your card for security.
Rental scams
Another accommodation scam which you may become victim to is finding accommodation through social media, rather than an approved website. You may think you are getting a much better deal and avoiding third parties. Some people will ask for a deposit upfront or the whole payment, before you arrive or see the accommodation. When you arrive or try to contact them again, please you may find the number or account used to contact you does not exist anymore and the photos used were actually of someone else's accommodation.
What we recommend is: seeing the accommodation in person if you do find it on social media, asking for a contract and only then giving a payment, you can also ask the person renting the accommodation to you to provide you with their identification for extra security.
Another rental scam involves cars, bikes, jet skis, surf boards and more. You may rent one or more of these items whilst you are travelling, ensuring you take good care of it. Only to be told whilst returning the item that you have done some damage to it which will be an additional charge, although you know you did not do this you don’t have means to prove it. Our recommendation is always take pictures and videos of your chosen rental item, reading the contract carefully if there is one, alongside double checking the date and time of return to avoid hidden charges. You can’t pay an additional fee for an item you have proof had damaged prior to your rental.
Extra charges
This is a scam which you might fall victim to anywhere. This might involve your accommodation, rental of an item, an attraction or excursion. No one wants to be surprised with additional charges at the end which you may or not have been aware of or you thought was included. This could be drinks in the mini fridge in your room, being told you have gone over the mile limit on a car you rented, additional entry fees whilst doing an attraction or photos taken of you during an excursion.
We recommend always ensuring you know what is included whilst doing anything which involves a payment, as we mentioned already, always read the terms and conditions and check if something may cost you an additional fee prior to doing it.
Free services or gifts
You may enter a restaurant and be impressed you have been given complementary water or starters whilst you are still looking at the menu deciding what you’re going to order or waiting for your meal. Only to be surprised when these “complementary“ items are added to your bill. You may also be invited for a complimentary service such as a 5 minute massage or tasting some food item or drink in a market, only to be told after this was not free or being asked for a tip. We recommend you always ask if what you are given is free before you eat or drink what has been given to you. You should also make sure any service you are invited to try out is free beforehand, you can always say prior you do not have any money on you, to see if you will still be invited to try out the service offered to you.
You may also come across someone selling bracelets, quickly putting one on your hand and asking for payment after refusing to take it off or giving you a rose, asking for a payment as you hold it awkwardly, not wanting it.
Our recommendation is if someone is trying to give you something do not put your hand out to them even touching what they are trying to “show” you in case they will not accept it back and ask for a payment for this. Unless you are interested in purchasing something yourself it's not worth touching it as it may cost you.
Money exchange
Money exchange may seem like an unusual scam. This can be a very quick and hard to spot scam. You may go to exchange money at a currency exchange with prices being shown to you on a board, you agree on the exchange rate prior to exchanging the money and receive the specified amount, only to find out later on it seems you have less money in your purse. You may be asked to count one stack of money, followed by a second stack of money whilst the one you just counted is with the currency exchange staff. As you are focused on counting the second stack, the individual holding the first stack “drops” or swipes some of the money from the first stack under their desk quickly, giving you back less money than you originally counted. We recommend you count all the money at once at least twice and do not give it back to them or you ask them to count it all for you twice as well making sure you are watching their hands as they do it.
Wrong Change
You may be in a restaurant or buying some souvenirs with the person giving you your change being friendly, making jokes with you or asking you about your plans for the afternoon. You take the change given to you, to only find out later on you seem to have less money in your purse than you expect to have.
Our recommendation is working out how much change should be given to you and counting the change after it is given to you, no matter how friendly the person may seem. They may make things awkward and make a joke about you not trusting them, that should not put you off doing this, remember people can make genuine mistakes too so it’s always worth double checking.
Card machine
This is another scam which could happen at any point during your travels whilst paying using a card machine. Some countries have a much stronger currency than others. In some countries the bill will total to “thousands” or “millions” in the local currency. It can get very easy to miss an extra zero being added to your amount when paying in such high values. This could mean your bill could go from $20 to $200 very easily.
We recommend when paying by card to always check the amount and make sure you count those zeros. This may sound silly but it is a very common scam. If you are not typing your pin in and just tapping your card you should also make sure the amount is correct, when tapping your card it can become even easier to be more careless and not check the amount.
ATM Skimming
Taking money out of the ATM feels like a “secure” way of getting cash out of your bank. Unfortunately this is another place where scams occur. Devices can be installed on top of the slot where your card goes in and on top of the pin pad. Essentially resulting in all your card data being transferred to the individuals hacking your card.
Our recommendation is always looking at these components of the ATM machine before using it. You can pull at these components to see if anything looks odd or maybe falls off. We recommend using ATMs in banks whenever possible for extra security. It’s also a good idea to have a travel card which you can transfer money to when you need to take cash out, rather than using your main card.
Fake wifi hotspots
Going on a holiday and wanting to get away from technology? Maybe your hotel provides wifi and a sim card or data package plan does not seem necessary to you. Connecting to public wifi can seem like a quick and easy way to connect online but it can come at a cost. This could essentially result in your data being stolen from you and exposing things such as your passwords and bank details, making you vulnerable to fraud.
Our recommendation is be careful when using wifi hotspots. When possible avoid public wifi and do not agree to terms and conditions which you have not read either. The best option is getting an e-sim before you travel which will protect you from falling victim to this type of scam all together.
Begging scams
I am sure you have come across individuals begging on the streets, most likely homeless people sitting on the floor with a cup in front of them asking for money. On the other hand when someone walks up to you dressed well, asking how your day is and telling you their card and passport has been stolen, this is a very different story. This is a very famous scam, although not popular everywhere, you can quickly begin to feel sorry for someone telling you a story which seems relatable. Explaining they were on holiday just like you and out of nowhere someone stole their valuable items. It seems we are faster to give money to these types of individuals, only to look online after and find this to be a common scam in the area you are travelling. These individuals will quickly get annoyed when not being given “enough” or told you do not have cash on you.
We recommend being careful in these types of situations as in some places this has become a very common scam. We think choosing to give a small amount or saying you are happy to help them by paying for their meal seems like a better option. Although not all of these type scenarios will be scams, the majority of them are and you will quickly began to here the same type of story being sold to you.
Bump and Grab
You could be on a busy bus, stepping into a train, walking through a bustling market or walking through a crowd. You may get bumped by someone who swipes past you, smiles and says sorry whilst walking away. Only to find out later on that the wallet you had is missing, your phone is not in your pocket anymore or the watch you had on your wrist is gone. By this point it is too late to do anything and the stranger who “accidentally” bumped into you has already gone far away, nowhere to be seen.
Our recommendation is to be vidualent in busy places. Do not put all your valuable items in one pocket. It is best to have a small bag which you can put across your body, is in front of you and zipped up. Preferably it should be under a jacket and not in a bright colour on display. You definitely don’t want to make yourself stand out as an easy target unnecessarily.
Counterfeit goods
I’m sure we have all seen those happy painters sitting in a town or market, slowly painting a beautiful painting right in front of our eyes. You may think this is someone who is very talented and you chose to purchase one of the paintings they have on display. Only to later on realise this is actually a print of a painting with a few areas where paint has been applied on top, to give an illusion of this being a painting. You may also come across someone selling “local” souvenirs. You may purchase one of these souvenirs for a high price, being told this was made with local resources by local craftsmanship, making you think it's worth the price. Later on you may see the same item being sold much cheaper or you notice that small made in China label. We recommend being careful when purchasing local or hand made items. Items which cost a large amount and are authentic usually come with a certificate of authenticity. It’s also recommended to get this to avoid any issues in the airport.
Fake officials/police/tour guides
Although this may seem unusual in Western countries, individuals imitating officials can be common in some countries. You may be stopped whilst in a rental car or bike, being asked to show your documents and given a “fine” for something. You may also be visiting an attraction like a waterfall, but get stopped before entering, being told you need to go with a guide and they are that guide. These people may ask for a cash payment and it may seem legit although it is not, some of these conman are very good at their job as they do this on a daily basis. Our recommendation is always asking for documentation when stopped by someone claiming to be doing a specific job. You can record the interaction for your own safety and question the individual stopping you. Most conmen will not want to be filmed and will back off quickly. Also do research on how officials in the area you are travelling to look and if you need a tour guide for specific attractions. Make sure you are comfortable questioning people when asked to do something or pay for something, asking why you have to do this.
Ticket Scams
Ever been approached by someone selling an excursion on a street or found a “good deal” online for an excursion you want to do? You’ve got your tickets ready to go waiting to get picked up for your excursion or get to the given location only to be told your tickets are not real. We recommend only booking trips through approved websites and ticket offices. Although something may seem like a good deal at the time this is probably for a reason. It is best to find attractions which have reviews online and do your own research too.
Being taken to a private hospital far away
None of us want to have an accident whilst travelling but sometimes it can not be avoided. You may or may not have travel or medical insurance and get taken to a medical facility by your accommodation or ambulance. It may be something minor with a massive bill being given to you at the end. You notice you are being charged for every gauze and bandage used on you or 1 litre of sterile water despite only 50ml being used on your wound. This may not be a big issue if you had insurance which covers this but not everyone does. Accommodation and ambulances may also work on a commission basis with these facilities, making money out of your misfortune.
Our recommendation is firstly getting travel and medical insurance prior to your trip, alongside checking what is covered by your insurance. It is also best to do your own research before going to a medical facility, although in an emergency this may not be possible. Also do not be afraid to question why you are charged a certain fee, alongside asking to be given a bill with a run down of all your costs.
Book and Go
We hope a run down of some of the most common travel scams has been useful to you and hopefully now you may avoid falling victim to some of these scams whilst enjoying your next getaway. Why not start off your next adventure by booking your flights with us at Book and Go.