Scams are everywhere when travelling. As Westerners, we know it’s all part of the game. However, knowing the specific types of scams that exist in different countries around the world will prevent you from being caught off-guard when you come face to face with them.
We carried out a large survey between 14th and 16th November 2017, amongst 535 RTW travellers, in which we asked them if they’d been victims of scams and, if so, to describe them and tell us which countries they happened in. Learn more about our methodology
49% of our survey respondents say that they’ve been the victim of at least one scam during their RTW trip.
Men are conned a little more often (54%) than women (47%).
Solo travellers (49%) and those who travel in a group (53%) are more often victims of scams than families (36%).
The white countries are those that weren’t visited by enough respondents.
Country | Number of scammed travellers | Number of travellers who visited the country | Percentage of scammed travellers |
---|---|---|---|
Azerbaijan | 2 | 5 | 40% |
Kazakhstan | 3 | 11 | 27% |
India | 22 | 111 | 20% |
Togo | 1 | 5 | 20% |
Tanzania | 3 | 17 | 18% |
Kyrgyzstan | 2 | 13 | 15% |
Guatemala | 7 | 47 | 15% |
Zimbabwe | 1 | 7 | 14% |
Thailand | 33 | 260 | 13% |
Vietnam | 26 | 194 | 13% |
Romania | 2 | 17 | 12% |
Colombia | 9 | 108 | 10% |
Namibia | 1 | 11 | 9% |
Combodia | 19 | 208 | 9% |
Mexico | 8 | 94 | 9% |
Laos | 14 | 171 | 8% |
Hungary | 2 | 25 | 8% |
Indonesia | 15 | 195 | 8% |
Peru | 19 | 239 | 8% |
China | 9 | 109 | 7% |
Uzbekistan | 1 | 14 | 7% |
Cuba | 4 | 58 | 7% |
Egypt | 1 | 15 | 7% |
Mauritius | 1 | 15 | 7% |
Nicaragua | 3 | 49 | 6% |
Senegal | 1 | 17 | 6% |
Fiji | 1 | 17 | 6% |
Jordan | 1 | 18 | 6% |
Madagascar | 1 | 19 | 5% |
Russia | 2 | 44 | 5% |
Brazil | 5 | 116 | 4% |
Costa Rica | 3 | 70 | 4% |
Mongolia | 2 | 47 | 4% |
Sri Lanka | 2 | 49 | 4% |
Bolivia | 10 | 233 | 4% |
Denmark | 1 | 28 | 4% |
Argentina | 8 | 212 | 3% |
Italy | 2 | 61 | 3% |
Myanmar | 4 | 126 | 3% |
Hong Kong | 2 | 66 | 3% |
South Africa | 1 | 37 | 3% |
Ecuador | 3 | 112 | 3% |
Chile | 6 | 231 | 3% |
Panama | 1 | 39 | 3% |
Turkey | 1 | 42 | 2% |
Nepal | 1 | 70 | 1% |
United States | 2 | 157 | 1% |
Spain | 1 | 81 | 1% |
Singapore | 1 | 91 | 1% |
Australia | 2 | 197 | 1% |
New Zealand | 1 | 187 | 1% |
Malaysia | 0 | 114 | 0% |
Canada | 0 | 90 | 0% |
Japan | 0 | 79 | 0% |
French Polynesia | 0 | 66 | 0% |
Philippines | 0 | 59 | 0% |
Germany | 0 | 58 | 0% |
Greece | 0 | 50 | 0% |
Uruguay | 0 | 49 | 0% |
Morocco | 0 | 48 | 0% |
Belgium | 0 | 46 | 0% |
Portugal | 0 | 45 | 0% |
Croatia | 0 | 41 | 0% |
Switzerland | 0 | 40 | 0% |
The Netherlands | 0 | 39 | 0% |
United Kingdom | 0 | 38 | 0% |
Belize | 0 | 34 | 0% |
Austria | 0 | 30 | 0% |
Paraguay | 0 | 27 | 0% |
Honduras | 0 | 26 | 0% |
Slovenia | 0 | 24 | 0% |
Poland | 0 | 24 | 0% |
Ireland | 0 | 24 | 0% |
Scotland | 0 | 24 | 0% |
Iran | 0 | 22 | 0% |
Finland | 0 | 22 | 0% |
Iceland | 0 | 21 | 0% |
Bulgaria | 0 | 21 | 0% |
Sweden | 0 | 20 | 0% |
Albania | 0 | 20 | 0% |
Tunisia | 0 | 19 | 0% |
Czech Republic | 0 | 19 | 0% |
Latvia | 0 | 19 | 0% |
Estonia | 0 | 19 | 0% |
United Arab States | 0 | 19 | 0% |
Montenegro | 0 | 18 | 0% |
Lithuania | 0 | 18 | 0% |
South Korea | 0 | 18 | 0% |
Slovakia | 0 | 17 | 0% |
Serbia | 0 | 17 | 0% |
Norway | 0 | 16 | 0% |
Salvador | 0 | 15 | 0% |
New Caledonia | 0 | 15 | 0% |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0 | 15 | 0% |
Dominican Republic | 0 | 14 | 0% |
Malta | 0 | 14 | 0% |
Monaco | 0 | 13 | 0% |
Luxembourg | 0 | 13 | 0% |
Kenya | 0 | 12 | 0% |
Georgia | 0 | 12 | 0% |
Saint Lucia | 0 | 11 | 0% |
Botswana | 0 | 11 | 0% |
Macedonia | 0 | 10 | 0% |
Israel | 0 | 10 | 0% |
Vanuatu | 0 | 8 | 0% |
Swaziland | 0 | 8 | 0% |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 0 | 8 | 0% |
Malawi | 0 | 8 | 0% |
Ehtiopia | 0 | 8 | 0% |
Dominican Republic | 0 | 8 | 0% |
Ivory Coast | 0 | 8 | 0% |
Zambia | 0 | 7 | 0% |
Ukraine | 0 | 7 | 0% |
Seychelles | 0 | 7 | 0% |
Palestine | 0 | 7 | 0% |
Oman | 0 | 7 | 0% |
Maldives | 0 | 7 | 0% |
Burkina Faso | 0 | 7 | 0% |
Antartica | 0 | 7 | 0% |
Turkmenistan | 0 | 6 | 0% |
Mozambique | 0 | 6 | 0% |
Lebanon | 0 | 6 | 0% |
Lesotho | 0 | 6 | 0% |
Haiti | 0 | 6 | 0% |
Cook Islands | 0 | 6 | 0% |
Cape Verde | 0 | 6 | 0% |
Cameroon | 0 | 6 | 0% |
Benin | 0 | 6 | 0% |
Venezuela | 0 | 5 | 0% |
Tajikistan | 0 | 5 | 0% |
Qatar | 0 | 5 | 0% |
Mauritania | 0 | 5 | 0% |
Mali | 0 | 5 | 0% |
Guyana | 0 | 5 | 0% |
Cyprus | 0 | 5 | 0% |
Belarus | 0 | 5 | 0% |
Armenia | 0 | 5 | 0% |
Syria | 0 | 4 | 0% |
Suriname | 0 | 4 | 0% |
San Marino | 0 | 4 | 0% |
Pakistan | 0 | 4 | 0% |
Liechtenstein | 0 | 4 | 0% |
Jamaica | 0 | 4 | 0% |
Brunei | 0 | 4 | 0% |
Bahamas | 0 | 4 | 0% |
Saudi Arabia | 0 | 4 | 0% |
Algeria | 0 | 4 | 0% |
Holy See | 0 | 3 | 0% |
Uganda | 0 | 3 | 0% |
Moldova | 0 | 3 | 0% |
Gambia | 0 | 3 | 0% |
Angola | 0 | 3 | 0% |
Afghanistan | 0 | 3 | 0% |
Trinidad and Tobago | 0 | 2 | 0% |
Tonga | 0 | 2 | 0% |
Samoa | 0 | 2 | 0% |
Papua New Guinea | 0 | 2 | 0% |
Nigeria | 0 | 2 | 0% |
Libya | 0 | 2 | 0% |
Guinea-Bissau | 0 | 2 | 0% |
Guinea | 0 | 2 | 0% |
Grenada | 0 | 2 | 0% |
Ghana | 0 | 2 | 0% |
Gabon | 0 | 2 | 0% |
North Korea | 0 | 2 | 0% |
Barbados | 0 | 2 | 0% |
Bangladesh | 0 | 2 | 0% |
Bahrain | 0 | 2 | 0% |
Timor-Leste | 0 | 1 | 0% |
Chad | 0 | 1 | 0% |
Sudan | 0 | 1 | 0% |
Sierra Leone | 0 | 1 | 0% |
Solomon Islands | 0 | 1 | 0% |
Rwanda | 0 | 1 | 0% |
Democratic Republic of the Congo | 0 | 1 | 0% |
Central African Republic | 0 | 1 | 0% |
Niger | 0 | 1 | 0% |
Nauru | 0 | 1 | 0% |
Micronesia | 0 | 1 | 0% |
Kuwait | 0 | 1 | 0% |
Iraq | 0 | 1 | 0% |
Republic of the Congo | 0 | 1 | 0% |
Antigua and Barbuda | 0 | 1 | 0% |
The country or countries in brackets indicate where the scam takes place, and this is based on responses from our survey. But, it’s very likely that it’s also used in other countries.
Rickshaw drivers can get pretty creative
It’s not a good idea to buy bus tickets from a street vendor.
Don’t rent your scooter from just anyone.
Taking the train in India, Darjeeling Limited-style.
Travelling by train in India is a unique experience that we highly recommend. Don’t be scared. You just have to be cautious and everything will be fine.
Police officers sometimes like to make a little extra money on the side.
A “100% official” Indian tourist office.
Weren’t you told that there was a tax for the sea view?
Crowds allow con artists to escape quickly if they’re caught red-handed.
Sorry, the attraction is closed today. But, if I were you, I’d go to that shop over there.
The border between Laos and Cambodia – proceed to checkout!
It isn’t easy to count all those zeros that quickly.
Bank card scams can sting the most.
If you’ve been the victim of a scam or an attempted scam that isn’t listed here, let us know in the comments. We’ll add it and this’ll prevent other travellers from falling into the same trap.