Bangkok named a top city for tourist scams Mastercard report reveals

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 per cent at popular summer destinations during warm periods, and a staggering 28 per cent 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 per cent 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.

Mr 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,” he said.

The report specifically mentions that Phuket and Antalya, Turkey, see