Avoid Travel Scams | A complete guide 2021 | Young Globetrotter

Before I start off this post, I would like to make a slight disclaimer, that this blog post is actually about “how to get LESS Scammed while traveling”.

I hate to break it to you, but I have to be honest, in some countries, especially those where you have to bargain and haggle your way through everything, you will always get ripped off and over charged. Unfortunately when traveling in some destinations,

based off of what you look like and what language you speak, you really may not be able to hide the fact that you are a tourist and not a local,

which will automatically get you the over priced tourists prices for things like clothes, transport, souvenirs, and even sometimes food.

Footpath Stores

Photograph by Dani De Leo

So, without further ado, here are 8 ways to get LESS scammed while traveling:

1. If it is too good to be true, it probably is 

2. Try to blend in as much as possible

3. Ask a local what price THEY would pay 

4. Always go at least 50% lower than the price they ask for 

5. Never get too attached to a product 

6. Try to learn some of the local language 

7. Look up common scams on the internet beforehand 

8. Don’ t compare prices in the host country to the prices in           your home country 

I try to remember to tell myself this every time I come across something that may or may not be a scam. If you find a deal for something like a hotel, an excursion, or even souvenirs, and it is A LOT lower priced than you expected,

it probably is too good to be true and a scam. Make sure to look up the company online, read reviews, or ask locals if the price you have been quoted is NORMAL or if it is too cheap to be real. I,

especially as a budget traveler, have gotten way too excited by cheap deals I have found way too many times, just to find out that they were scams or had disclosed information that was not known. Always do your research and don’t be willing to trust just anyone!

Depending on where you are traveling to, you may never be able to blend in like the locals and will always stand out like a tourist. For example, if you have blond hair and blue eyes, no matter how much you cover up, traveling in countries such as India, Nepal, Egypt, etc. will always make you stand out.

I remember while traveling in India, I always dressed modesty and inline with culture guidelines by covering my legs and shoulders as well as my arms too. However, I still go starred at constantly while walking on the street, and when I saw constantly, I mean by every single person I walked by.

It was impossible for me to blend in and because of my skin color, everyone could immediately assume I was not from there. Because the locals can tell you are not a local just by your looks, you will immediately get ripped off for everything and be charged a touristy price. Sometimes, you can’t blend it completely,

but you can still put the effort in to try and blend in a little more such as by dressing modest and not walk around wearing a fanny pack and carrying a big camera, taking pictures of everything in

This is probably the most important and crucial tip that I would suggest upon arriving in a new country, especially countries in places like Asia,Africa, and South American where you will be bargaining the majority of your time there. Not only are you dealing with new prices in a new country,

but you are also dealing with completely different currencies that have a different value and exchange rate than your own. It is important to know beforehand what locals pay typically for things, so that you can know if you are getting ripped off and how much lower you should bargain your prices to be.

For example, if you are buying a bag of chips and the store owner if asking $5 for it, but normally locals pay $1, you know that you are getting a very inflated touristy price and can try to bargain for $1 or at least $2.

You may not end up getting the local price in the end, since you are a tourist, but you can at least know which price point you should be bargaining to instead of being completely clueless and actually think that you are being charged a decent and reasonable price. Asking locals about TRANSPORT particularly can be a huge money saver.

If I am taking a taxi, I always ask a local how much a taxi should be from the airport to my hostel because taxis without meters (they normally do not have a meter in developing countries and you will be given a set price) are the worst and something you really have to haggle the price down for.

I learned this bargaining tip when I was living in China and was trying to master bargaining at the famous pearl and silk markets. Make sure to always slash their price in at least half while trying to bargain for a price, and DO NOT feel guilty about it

because I PROMISE that as a tourist, you are getting ripped off 100% and will never get an honest price. Determine how much you are willing to pay for a product before asking the price, so that you are not taking too long to calculate things while they are staring at you and waiting.

So make sure to have some confidence and don’t be afraid to cut their offered price in at least half, even if the store owner seems very offended that you are valuing their product at such a low price.

My comeback for these remarks, when a store owner causes me of having too low of a price and being rude, I like to turn the tables onto him and say that I know he is ripping me off and I know that locals do not pay this high kind of price and that I would rather keep looking because I know I can find the same product somewhere else.

This is a mistake that many tourists make while shopping in foreign countries, especially at markets and souks. They find the perfect souvenirs shirt or hat or the prettiest lamp or rug and fall in love with it on the spot.

Then , once they try and bargain for it, they are not able to get the low enough price that they were hoping to get, so they give in and buy the product anyway. Not only can the shop owner SEE and observe that you are hooked to their product, but they know how to say just the right things to get you to give in.

One thing that is important to remember that most shoppers don’t realize, is that most products in these markets aren’t unique and you can find MANY other stores with the same exact or similar products right next to it or down the street.

So if you do not get the right price that you are looking for, do not be afraid or disappointed to reject the offer, as I am sure you will find it at the next shop. Make sure to make it known to the seller “I will go find it at the next store instead,” which is a sentence that sometimes will get you your product price lowered, as the store owners are already aware of that their products are not unique to their particular shop.

Depending on how well you know the language in the host country, this may help you have an advantage when it comes to bargaining and communicating. You will still look like a tourist in most instances,

because a native speaker can usually notice when a non native speaker is speaking to them, if not also based on their foreign appearances, but it still may help you and help them like you more.

You can also tell the merchant that “I live here, I know how much things should cost”, implementing that you will not be ripped off like a tourist. Learning basic bargaining words in the host countries language such as “how much”, “too high”, “lower”, “I’ll keep looking”.

Sometimes if the shop owners see that you are trying to speak their language, they will sympathize with you or assume you may live there and lower the prices a little.

This is something that can be done with a quick Google search. Most countries have at least a couple of scams, some more than others, that are known and will be posted online. This is a good thing to look up BEFORE exploring the country, so if you come across any kind of scams you can immediately recognize it and avoid the situation.

There is an infamous scam in India and Nepal that I had been warned about by dozens of travelers and I have seen for myself multiple times. I remember being in Kathmandu and seeing tons of women on the streets, appearing to be homeless, and begging for people to buy milk for their little baby, which they are holding. This kind of situation is always heart breaking to see and it is hard to resist offering them some kind of help.

However, it is a common scam and one that you should be aware of. The mother is standing next to a grocery store and begging for you to buy milk for her baby, which most tourists fall for, leading them to enter the grocery store and purchase milk to give to the mother. Unfortunately, after the milk is given and the tourists walk away,

the mother returns the unused milk to the store owner and both make a commission from this scam. My advice is to become familiar with the scams, don’t entertain any beggars or people who come up to you on the street, and make sure to try and blend in and know exactly where you are going and the address of your accommodation.

I always had people coming up to me in Nepal, asking me if I needed directions or help getting to a location, of course to be compensated by money. No one likes to be scammed while being a tourist and traveling around a new country, so doing your research beforehand can make you feel a little less vulnerable and naive.

Also remember to use your gut feeling. If a situation doesn’t feel right, it is probably a scam and you should get yourself out of the situation. Remember: in a lot of third world countries, for the most part, it is not about helping tourists out of the goodness of their heart, it is about helping tourists and getting something in return, whether it be a tip, commission, or something bought from their businesses.

This is one of the biggest mistakes that I always make while traveling in cheaper and less developed countries. I am constantly comparing prices to prices in America, which makes me think that prices in the host country and super cheap and affordable, but little do I know, I am paying WAY more than the locals, despite what I think is a cheap price for something.

This happened most recently while I was traveling in Egypt. I would find something at the market and think “wow this lamp is only $10. That’s a great price! I would pay so much more for this kind of lamp back in the US.” Although this statement might be true, and you truly wouldn’t find this specific product this cheap in the US, for Egyptian standards, a $10 price point for this product is way overpriced and a price that the locals would never end up paying.

If you are coming from a Western country, generally you stand out and locals think you are rich and will pay anything. Although it may be cheap compared to your home country, it is still a lot higher price than you should be paying and you are still getting ripped off essentially.

Remember not to compare these prices to what you would get for that money in your home currency, because their value of currency and standard of living is lower than what you are accustomed to. 

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