Bangkok Named a Top City for Tourist Scams, Mastercard Report Reveals

Taxi and Car Rental Fraud Accounts for Nearly Half of Reported Cases in Thai Capital, While Phuket Sees More Hotel Booking Fraud, as Travel Scams Soar by Up to 28% During Peak Seasons

 

Holidaymakers planning trips to Bangkok and other popular Thai destinations should exercise significant caution, as a new report from the Mastercard Economics Institute has identified the Thai capital as a city where tourists are highly susceptible to fraud.

 

The report, widely covered by CNBC, highlights the tourism industry as one of the sectors most vulnerable to fraudulent activities, with a substantial uptick in scams observed during peak travel seasons.

 

According to the comprehensive study, fraud in travel agencies and tour bookings is more than four times higher than the average across other industries.

 

This alarming trend is exacerbated by the fact that reported fraud rates increased by more than 18% at popular summer destinations during warm periods, and a staggering 28% during the cold season at winter destinations.

 

In Bangkok, specifically, the report pinpoints taxi and car rental services as the primary areas where tourists encounter the most fraudulent activity.

 

Problems with taxis and car rentals account for a significant 48% of reported fraud cases in the city.

 


"Once payment is made, the tour may never materialise or may differ entirely from what was advertised," the report states, highlighting a common modus operandi.


 

While the risk of being scammed varies greatly from city to city, Bangkok finds itself in an unwelcome league.
  



 

David Mann, Chief Economist for Asia Pacific at the Mastercard Economics Institute, elaborated on these geographical differences.

 


"In some destinations, you might find that most fraud originates from the travel sector and tour companies, while in other cities, fraud might occur in other businesses, such as food services. A clear example is Los Angeles, where we found that food businesses were the largest source of certain types of fraud."


 

The report also specifically mentions that Phuket and Antalya (Turkey) see more fraudulent activity related to hotel bookings.

 

Mastercard's data indicates that travellers reported the lowest rates of fraud in San Francisco (US), Dublin (Ireland), Seoul (South Korea), Budapest (Czech Republic), and Edinburgh (Scotland).

 

Conversely, cities where travellers reported a high incidence of fraud include Cancun (Mexico), Hanoi (Vietnam), Dhaka (Bangladesh), and notably, Bangkok (Thailand).

 

The nature of scams also differs by location. Issues with taxis and car rentals, for example, account for a mere 2% of reported fraud cases in Hong Kong and Barcelona.

 

However, this figure rockets to 66% in Jakarta, Indonesia, and as noted, a substantial 48% in Bangkok, underscoring the specific challenges faced by visitors to the Thai capital.
  



 

Fraud within food service businesses is more prevalent in the US and the Middle East, accounting for 63% of reported cases in New York City. This includes instances of restaurants overcharging for meals or stealing credit card information from unsuspecting tourists.

 

Beyond the holiday season itself, the report reveals a worrying trend of increased fraud during the booking stages of travel.

 

David Mann noted that fraud related to trip planning has risen by more than 12% over the past year. This includes deceptive practices such as overly-edited photographs, fake booking confirmation links designed to extract bank details, and other elaborate schemes.

 

Mastercard advises travellers to be wary of unusually low prices, particularly those during popular summer periods that seem too good to be true, especially when booking for high-demand destinations with large numbers of tourists.

 

To mitigate the risk of falling victim to scams, tourists are encouraged to utilise digital wallets linked to cashless payment applications such as Apple Pay, Google Wallet, or Samsung Pay, or bank apps.

 

Additionally, purchasing travel insurance and booking trips with credit cards that offer robust fraud protection are recommended measures to safeguard against financial losses.

 

The report also highlights the role of new technologies, such as tokenization, in bolstering payment security.

(2025/05/21-00:00)