BANGKOK, Thailand – Bangkok, a top destination for international travelers, is now under global scrutiny as one of the cities with the highest levels of tourist fraud, according to a new report by the Mastercard Economics Institute. The report singles out Bangkok’s taxi and rental car sectors as the most problematic, where tourists often fall victim to inflated prices, meter tampering, or outright scams.
The CNBC-reported study warns that the tourism industry is now one of the most fraud-prone sectors globally, with scam cases rising by 18% during the summer travel season and surging by 28% during the 2024 winter holidays. In Bangkok, taxi drivers and rental services are responsible for nearly half—48%—of all reported fraud cases involving tourists.
“Sometimes, the tour you paid for never even exists—or turns out to be completely different from what was advertised,” the report cautions. Fraud related to fake tour bookings or dodgy travel agents was found to occur at a rate four times higher than in other industries.
While cities like San Francisco, Seoul, and Dublin recorded the lowest rates of tourist scams, travelers heading to destinations such as Cancun, Hanoi, Dhaka—and notably Bangkok—reported high levels of deception.
The report also notes that fraud during the trip planning phase has increased by over 12% in the past year, including fake booking confirmations, edited travel photos, and scam links designed to steal banking information. Travelers are advised to be particularly wary of travel deals that appear “too good to be true,” especially during peak travel seasons.
To stay safe, experts recommend using digital wallets like Apple Pay or Google Wallet, purchasing travel insurance, and booking through credit cards that offer fraud protection. David Mann, Chief Economist for Asia-Pacific at Mastercard, emphasizes that while fraud patterns differ from city to city, Bangkok consistently appears on the high-alert list due to the volume and type of scams reported.
As Thailand continues to welcome millions of visitors each year, the country’s image as a tourist paradise is now shadowed by growing concerns over street-level and online deception. For travelers to Bangkok, caution is no longer just an option—it’s a necessity.
