10 Popular travel scams I have experienced as a solo traveller

Over the last 6+ years of solo travelling, I have experienced my share of travel scams and I thought I share the 10 popular travel scams I experienced as a solo traveller and how I dealt with some and learnt from them. Travel scams are everywhere, not just in popular tourist destinations, they are also in your inbox – remember the ‘join this exclusive club’ that all of a sudden wants to charge you an arm and a leg? At the beginning of my solo traveller journey, I fell victim to some of these travel scams.

Anyone can fall victim to travel scams, these days they are becoming more covet and it can be hard to tell if its a scam or not but my rule of thumb is if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Even though I have been solo travelling for a number of years, as recent as the beginning of the year, I fell victim to another scam and this is why I wanted to share the 10 popular travel scams I have experienced and share tips on how you can avoid them and if unavoidable how you can handle them.

Disclaimer: I am adding the countries where it happened for context and not to suggest that you too will experience this if you visit them as this can happen anywhere.

10 Popular travel scams I have experienced as a solo traveller

I am a great advocate for solo travelling and I absolutely encourage anyone who has the means and can make the time to give solo travelling a try. But I am also honest about solo travelling and firmly believe its not for everyone although you have to try it out first before arriving at that conclusion. On another hand, I think solo travel has been one of the best experiences I have made as an adult and I wish I had started earlier although there is nothing wrong with starting at a different time than everyone else.

As a novice solo traveller at that time, I was both a nervous wreck but also very excited to embark on a journey that fears had gripped me out of. I did not do my research in terms of what to look out for and thinks to be careful about for any destinations, I just wanted to go and explore. In hindsight, I wish I had done more research beyond where to stay and popular attractions for particular destinations. In this post, I hope to share 10 popular travel scams that I have experienced as a solo traveller and hope it will be the lesson you needed to be aware of these scams.

#1 The Lost Taxi Driver

I think we have all heard about the ‘broken meter’ taxi driver but have you ever heard of the ‘lost taxi driver’? It’s on the same wavelength as the broken meter as its aim is to cheat you out of your hard-earned money and I experienced this on my first trip to Marrakesh, Morocco. I am someone who always pre-books their taxi especially if it’s my first time in the city or country. It was my first time in Marrakesh and I f***** up my booking instead of booking for the day of my arrival, I booked for the next day (it was the booking system’s error but my fault for not checking).

After ignoring the many taxi drivers who were charging extortionate prices I found a decent one (price-wise) and the company rung-up and the driver came. Gave him all the details even started my own GPs (I always do this for safety reasons), the journey was meant to last 25 minutes and within 15 minutes I knew it wasn’t going the right way. He then was like we have arrived and it was in another part of the city, I explained to him and he was like the cab company wasn’t clear now I will have to pay more. I was livid but it was late at night so I agreed.

Solution: if you ever find yourself in this situation and its during the day, call the cab company or ask the driver to take you back to the airport. The best solution is never to use taxis with no agreed fee upfront and check more details on the company as well.

#2 The catfish hotel

We have all heard the stories, people book a ‘luxury’ accommodation and when they turn up its nothing like what the booking site shows and the reviews are either paid ones or outdated. This happened to us in Essaouira, Morocco, a well known 5* start where a booked a *junior suite* turned out to the worst room ever and when we complained we got offered an even worse room. We couldn’t believe the reviews, the pictures we saw looked nothing like what we arrived to, we ended up calling booking.com and reported this hotel and they refunded us 100% our money.

That night, we left that hotel and booked another one which we had previously stayed us, a 3* hotel but 10x better than the so-called 5* hotel. Sometimes it best to stick with what you know as sometimes they are better than trying to upgrade and thinking the grass is greener on the other side. We learned our lesson and definitely discourage anyone from staying there. What bummed us is that we had done our research on the accommodation but the reviews were either paid for or not true.

Solution: Always have a backup plan and make sure you put your complaint through if the accommodation is claiming something that is not true.

#3 Currency Exchange

The currency exchange scam is one of the most common travel scams ever and it’s shocking how many people get scammed. We experienced this in Bali when we were really in need of a currency exchange bureau but everywhere was closed. Someone offered us a ‘very competitive rate’ which turned out was fake and we lost out on some money. By the time we informed the hotel about this, it was too late and we couldn’t obviously get our money back although for us it was pennies, locally it was a lot of money.

Solution: if you ever find yourself in need of local currency – go find a bureau or an ATM and withdraw cash there, better a bank charge than being scammed out of your money.

#4 Free Group Photo

Until the scam, I had never been a fan of selfie sticks and now I am wiser and I use a tripod but back then, someone taking a picture especially on their professional looking camera was a better option. But obviously, it wasn’t because as soon as they took our picture the extortionate price came and we walked away. They pestered us so much that we bargained for a lower fee but it was still money wasted that we had not planned to spend and we accepted the ‘free’ picture in good faith.

To avoid finding yourself in the same situation as us, make sure to carry your tripod or selfie stick and take your own damn pictures. All better yet, I recommend if you want professional pictures, hire a local photographer and have them take pictures at locations you wish to have professional pictures done. Another tip is to never let them take pictures using your device as we have seen people who have run away with other people’s stuff.

#5 Unwanted escorts

When I went to Nigeria for a friend’s wedding I found myself with a lady that followed me from the airport through to the car which a friend’s relative was picturing me up in. I didn’t know why she followed me and why she seemed so friendly with me as if she knew that (1) I was a foreigner, (2) knew who I was and (3) I could be easily scammed once you play the sympathy card. She was harmless enough but I was surprised that after following me she wanted me to give her money to go about her day and do her own thing. Because she wouldn’t leave our car, I ended giving her like $5 and she left us alone.

Solution: In instances were people start following you, ask them politely to leave you alone and go about your business without paying them no never mind as that was my problem – I bored to care.

Other 5 travel scams I have seen

The 5 popular travel scams have I experienced are just some of the scams fellow travellers have also experienced and shared with me. There are a few others I have seen happen to others and also myself unwittingly and unbeknownst to us at that time.

• Free tour guides (after your normal paid tour ends) – I have experienced this in most Asian and European countries like Thailand and Italy where you pay for an all-day tour and somehow find yourself in another stop which they ‘just want to show you’ but actually ‘make you pay’ for the ‘entrance fee or to enter another part’ of the attraction. Read the fine print and also politely tell them you don’t wish to be part of that, you will wait on the group to return.
• Free Souvenirs – this is something that took me by surprise, I was in Italy enjoying my trip when a street vendor gave me this cute bracelet. I instantly refused and thanked them for their generosity and walked away, only to find I was followed until I accepted and before I knew it they were tying it around my wrist and it was £3 please and thanks. My advice is to say no and do not even look back or entertain any chat.
• Fake Police Toll – if like me you are scared of the police then anytime you encounter law enforcement you do whatever they say and question within reason. In some of the African countries I have visited I have found some fake police tolls but the locals pay because it stops the aggro. Often its real police but setting up fake tolls which you have to pay to cross and in most instances, we have paid and moved on because in some places it is unavoidable.
• Fake ATM – this is something I didn’t know until an ex had his card copied from the one ATM he used and took a lot of money. He had to prove to the bank that at the time of the withdraw he wasn’t in that country. Whenever I travel abroad I always check the ATM and if looks suspicious then I don’t use them and always search for the bank and withdraw inside the bank if possible.
• Fake discounted tickets – I remember a friend and I travelled to Bali and whilst there she found a really cheap ticket for a popular attraction. I had a bad feeling about it and decided not to book but she didn’t heed my warning and went ahead. When she called the company and gave them the reference number, it didn’t exist, gave them the confirmation e-mail and it was all fake. My advice is to always check and double-check before booking everything especially if it looks too good to be true.

I don’t wish to deter anyone from travelling whether solo or otherwise but I want to educate and empower fellow travellers to be smart on their travels. I hope these 10 popular travel scams that I have experienced will be a lesson for anyone new to travel and for experienced travellers never let your guard down. Have you ever experienced a travel scam before and how did you handle it?