Top 10 Scamming Countries in the World | Travel Edition | Ratepunk

The top 10 scamming country in the world in 2023 are enlisted in this article.

1. South Africa

South Africa is one of the countries you usually see on top of the list of countries for scams. The University of Johannesburg's Center for Cyber Security found that in 2015, South Africans were most negatively impacted by scams involving banks. In Gauteng province, which is one of the most reported provinces for scammers, reports of phishing, visiting fake financial websites, and receiving incorrect SMS notifications of bank deposits or payouts were all made.

For travelers, it is important to be cautious when traveling by car on the roads outside of the cities. If you would like to have a rest, stop at special places such as petrol stations instead of in the middle of the road. If traveling by airplane, pay attention to your luggage and belongings. 

You should also be careful at ATM vendor machines. There are people who would try to take your money or information from you in some way. Make sure you use the machines that are located inside the shopping malls and stores instead of using the ones that are on the streets.

2. Nigeria

Nigeria is famous for its Internet romance, friendship, and employment scams. So make sure you are aware of these scams even before traveling there. There are people who have been contacted by Nigerians who claim that they are rich and due to some problems can not access their money. They will ask for your bank account. Make sure to avoid falling for these tricks.

When traveling to Nigeria, be aware of fake wifi hubs scams! You might come across many non-passworded wifi accounts that you can connect to. Many of these are set up to get access to your information. Make sure your device settings are not put in a way to connect to any possible internet access to avoid this scam.

The slow-count scam is also very popular here. There are many ways this can happen, but the most common is when a cashier at a fast food restaurant, bar, or restaurant engages you in a torturously slow process while calculating your purchase or counting your change so that you anxiously pay no attention to details and leave without verifying the amount you have been given until you are already far away.

Lastly, make sure to exchange your money before visiting Nigeria or exchange it at valid places. Many people will try to sell fake currencies or overcharge you.

3. India

While in India, many people will try to help you in many ways, but usually by trying to pick up your bags, especially at the airport. They will look as if they are trying to help you carry it but they will be disappearing in the crowd with your luggage. 

Also, make sure you know how much you are going to pay for a service in full. Sometimes you might pay for a service such as renting a car and in the end figure out that you should pay more than expected due to hidden fees.

Some taxi drivers will tell you that your hotel is closed and even call a friend to confirm it in front of you. They will try to persuade you that you need another hotel to stay at! In this case, they will take you to the other hotel where they will receive their commission.

4. Venezuela

Any arbitrary person would be justified in assuming or deducing that the numerous scams, ranging from online dating to phony government bonds, have taken place since the Venezuelan national economy collapsed into crisis. 

There are many scammers with different creative scams targeting travelers in Venezuela. One of the most common ones is taxi overcharging. When entering a taxi, make sure you have checked the destination between from start and the arrival point. Taxis can go all around the city and then put you at your destination, which will make you be charged more! To avoid this, make sure you are following the path with your phone in google maps, also it is a good idea to ask the driver prior to entering the cab about the travel duration and the approximate price to be paid.

One other common scam is the picture scam in which a local person will ask you to take a picture from them and hand you their phone. When you hand them back their phone, they will drop it and put the blame on you. In this case, you will need to pay money to the person.

Bar scams are also very popular here. People who seem friendly will approach you and offer an evening together for some drinks. You will end up in a bar where you are overcharged for all the drinks and need to pay the full amount not to get caught by the security guards.

5. China

China also consists of many scams that we already mentioned above. Taxi scams are very common here as the drivers try to overcharge you in many ways. They may claim that their meter is broken and will charge you more or they claim that the initial price was for 1 person and will double the price if you are two.

Also, people might approach you and be interested in spending some time with you in a bar or coffee in order to learn more English. The scams work when they leave the place with the excuse of going to the bathroom and you stay there with a big bill to pay!

Make sure to book good quality tours, otherwise, you might caught up in tours that are designed to take you to the parts of the city where you will buy many unuseful products very expensive and will not get enough value out of your tour!

6. Pakistan

When visiting Pakistan you need to be careful of some of the scams mentioned above such as overpaying for taxis, dodgy tour guides, and currency exchange scams.

Also, you need to be careful of fake policies as they might stop you and try to charge you for some sort of ticket penalties. Be aware of them and never hand cash to police officers that ask for it.

Snatch theft is also very popular here. Although it might not come across as a scam, it is worth mentioning that you should be very careful with your belonging on the streets and bazaars! 

7. Romania

Romania is one of the countries in Europe that has relatively high rates of scamming. Pickpocketing, False policemen, and High taxi rates are the most common forms of scamming. However, there are many famous places in Romania to visit, and it does consider to be a great travel destination.

8. Philipines

Scams such as pickpocketing and taxi scams are very common here.

Additionally, you should always be careful with your drinks at the bars and never accept drinks from strangers' hands or leave your drink unattended. There are wrong people that might put something in your drink and take your stuff.

Also, be aware of the Tanim-Bala Scam, also known as the Bullet Scam, where they might put bullets inside your luggage if they get a chance and demand lots of money! Make sure your luggage is locked all the time.

9. Brazil

Many different scams happen in Brazil, and many at the beaches!
It is common that people will approach you at the beach and start a conversation with you in order to distract you. Meanwhile, their partner will take your belongings with them.  Also, there are many people near the beaches that offer to shine your shoes. Sometimes these people demand more money than agreed, and if the tourist refuses to pay, they will start making a scene. 

Also, some salespersons at the beach might claim that their display of the credit card machine is broken and does not show the price. If you do not check properly, they might put higher prices on the machine for you to pay!

Knowing these scams is good to be aware of the potential discomfort, but it should not stop you from traveling to Brazil as there are many tourist attractions in Brazil.

10. Russia

Russia has many of the scams mentioned above and some more. Among the common scams are Taxi scams, Photo scams, and tour guide scams.

Also, as the theater is popular in Russia, many people might try to sell cheap theater tickets to you. Make sure to validate the ticket if you are buying it from a person. 

This might not come across as a scam, but when ordering food, make sure to check whether you are paying for the food price to the gram! As you do not know the language, this might cause you inconvenience. 

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