September 3, 2024, 6:41 am | Read time: 8 minutes

Stubborn traders, extra prices exclusively for holidaymakers, disastrous small talk that ends up in bars with huge bills. These are all tourist traps that many holidaymakers have heard of – or, worse yet, have experienced themselves. In a series, TRAVELBOOK reveals the tricks used to rip off tourists around the world. Part 1: The Big Cab Rip-Off.

Here, you can find out which countries you need to be careful of. Also, what tricks do taxi drivers use, and how can you protect yourself against them?

Taxi rip-off tricks, where do they happen?

Taxi rip-off tricks are known all over the world. Almost everyone has experienced the classic, unnecessary driving detours. And there is hardly a country in which there are no black sheep behind the wheel of a cab. After all, it seems too tempting to steal the money of a vacationer who doesn’t know their way around, who possibly barely speaks the local language, and whom you will never see again. In the best-case scenario, they won’t even realize that they have been ripped off.

In some Asian countries in particular, such as Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, China, and India, it seems to be particularly common for cab drivers to rip off unsuspecting tourists. But you should also be careful in major European cities such as Prague, Rome, and Berlin. Also in African and Latin American cities such as Rio de Janeiro, Lima, Bogotá, and Caracas. Particular “danger zones” are airports, where exhausted vacationers are literally intercepted after a long flight. But holidaymakers also fall into the tourist trap every day near well-known night markets, clubs and party miles. This happens in cities such as Hanoi, Bangkok, and Beijing.

What are the taxi tricks and scams?

There are many taxi driver tricks. Here is a selection of the most brazen – and not necessarily the best known – taxi driver tricks and scams:

• Cab drivers give too little or no change. This scam is mainly used by drivers who pick up tourists from the airport. They are exhausted from the long flight and have only just gotten to know the foreign currency. As a result, they perhaps have not yet fully internalized the exchange rate. So the driver pockets all the money when you pay without giving you (enough) change. Before you know it, you have your suitcases in your hands and are being seen off. The trick only becomes apparent later, when you do the math.
• They demand alleged extra charges. The journey is over, and the customer has to pay – more than originally agreed or shown on the taximeter. The reason for this could be ominous slips of paper held in front of tourists’ noses. These are allegedly receipts for extra charges. Those the cab driver is supposed to have laid out, but now wants to be reimbursed for.
• The typical roundabout approach. Admittedly, this can also happen in this country. As soon as you find yourself in a city where you are not familiar with cab driving, you are somehow at the mercy of the drivers. Some take advantage of this. Instead of driving you directly to your desired destination, they do a few extra laps. Of course, you see this reflected in the price.
• They don’t set the taximeter. Probably the best-known trick is to not turn on the meter and charge a price of their own, usually far too high, at the end of the journey.
• Manipulated taximeters. In such a case, you wish the cab driver had not switched on the meter. Because sometimes the small counting machines are manipulated and the prices skyrocket, which is not immediately understandable in foreign currencies.
• The passenger is threatened with being thrown out. This is a nasty scam that some tourists to Thailand, for example, tell us about. If the driver doesn’t want to turn on the taximeter even though you insist, he may threaten to throw the passenger out. This is not so bad at first, as there are tons of cabs in cities like Bangkok. But the problem is that if you are in a hurry or have a lot of luggage and want to get to the airport, you may have to wait in vain for a new cab. And, in the worst case, you miss your flight.
• There are two drivers. If you are traveling alone and encounter two cab drivers in the car, you will most likely feel intimidated. We bet you won’t be able to negotiate prices as confidently as if there were only two of you in the car. And that’s exactly the trick.
• The driver lets you get out on the opposite side of the road. A popular trick is not to let you get out directly in front of your hotel, but a few feet away. Drivers do this to prevent hotel staff from helping you negotiate prices or making sure you get (enough) change.
• The communication has failed. At the beginning, the drivers ask with interest where you are coming from, how long you are staying, and how often you have been there. And when it comes to paying (and being ripped off), the drivers suddenly no longer speak English. The result is that price negotiations can no longer be conducted. And you hardly have a chance of getting a realistic price.

Who are the victims?

Basically, no one is immune to tourist traps. However, holidaymakers are particularly susceptible to being ripped off if their insecurity is immediately apparent. Also, if it is relatively clear on city trips that they have not yet been to the city or the country and therefore do not know the customs, routes, and prices.

Drunk tourists wandering around after a night of partying, for example, are of course also easy victims, as are tourists who show no suspicion or caution and trust strangers in good faith.

How can I protect myself?

• Find out about the most common taxi rip-off tricks. If you know them, you are best able to protect yourself and recognize the trap before it snaps shut. Talk to other tourists in the area. If you or your friends have been deceived by cab drivers, warn others too.

• Arrange to meet fellow travelers at the airport, if you have met people on the plane, go to the city center together, for example. The more people there are in the cab, the less likely the driver will dare to enter into a serious discussion.
• Be suspicious. This does not necessarily mean that you should see every cab driver as a scammer. Quite the opposite: if you are open and try to understand other cultures, the locals will also notice this and won’t label you as “easy prey”. Nevertheless, a healthy dose of skepticism is helpful.
• Find out about the usual cab prices locally – for example, from official cab companies, forums on the internet, or locals. At the airport, there is often an official cab queue where you pay the money in advance at a counter and later just hand the driver the receipt (along with a tip).

• Insist that the taxi driver switches the taximeter on. If you have negotiated what you consider to be a reasonably-fixed price, write it down on a piece of paper and show it to the driver before you set off.
• Ask for an approximate price before the journey and still insist that the taximeter is switched on. Even if the driver wants to assure you that it will be much more expensive.
• Ideally, let your hotel call the cab, so you can be sure that it is a reputable cab company.
• Insist on being let out in front of your accommodation and not on the other side of the street. This way, the hotel staff can help you with communication.
• Try to appear as if it is not your first time in the town or country. A confident and assured appearance will also unsettle potential crooks; after all, they don’t know whether you know your way around so well that you can cause them real problems if they try to rip you off.

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What if it does happen…

There is hardly anyone who has not been ripped off on vacation in Asia. What you can do is make a note of the driver’s name and license plate number. That way, you can complain about him to an official cab company. But don’t get your hopes up, taxi rip-offs and tricks are commonplace in many Asian countries, and it’s unlikely that anyone there will care about such a trivial matter.

So if you have fallen for one of the many scams, don’t fret. In countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, or Vietnam, it is often just a matter of a few cents or euros that you pay more. You should always try to resolve the situation – but endless discussions only lead to trouble. And always remember: tough price negotiations are common in Asian countries – so learn from this, and it probably won’t happen to you a second time.