I Was a Victim Too: Beware of These Vietnamese Scam Tactics

① Frequent Taxi Scams in Vietnam

Vietnam has established itself as a popular destination for Korean tourists. Demand for travel to Vietnam has exploded since the outbreak of COVID-19. Thanks to the affordable cost of living and the ease of travel, many people are heading to Vietnam for leisure trips.

As the number of people traveling to Vietnam increases, so does the attention to precautions.

No matter how great a travel destination is, there are times when some individuals can cause frustration. The same is true in Vietnam. Several types of scams frequently occur targeting tourists, and these are being shared.

When taking a taxi in Vietnam, it is essential to confirm whether it is a taxi that has received official authorization.

The official taxis in Vietnam are Mai Linh and Vinasun.

There are many scam taxis, especially in front of airports, so it is important to check. Scam taxis are rigged to have their meters rise faster than regular taxis, resulting in much higher fares than average. When you get into a cab, they may claim the meter is broken and demand an outrageous fare. There are also frequent cases where they do not give change, claiming they don’t have any when calculating the taxi fare, so you must also be cautious about these situations.

Most tourists in Vietnam use Grab during their trip. It has the advantage of not negotiating prices with the taxi driver. You can confirm the driver’s identity, and the destination is set, so there is no need to explain separately. However, some people approach you as if they are the driver when using Grab.
In this case, you should confirm the driver and vehicle in the Grab app again and then get in.

Some people act as if they have come to pick you up from the airport. They mention the hotel’s name and get you into their car. But pick-up vehicles from the airport should have a picket with the hotel name and the guest’s name, so you need to check.

② There are times when they do not give the correct amount of money

Vietnamese money differs from ours in that the money unit is significant and has many bills. Vietnamese currency only varies in color, and all the bills have the same face as Ho Chi Minh, which can confuse. In Vietnam, they often do not give the correct change when buying goods and leaving change.

Because the currency unit is large, it can be difficult for tourists to calculate quickly on the spot. At the exchange office, they show you the calculator and confirm the Vietnamese currency. But sometimes, they miscalculate the exchange rate. They sometimes give you a bill that is lower than the correct amount.

When receiving change or exchanging money at an exchange office, checking whether the amount is correct is necessary.

③ Overcharging at Restaurants

There are local restaurants in Vietnam that do not list the price of food when you visit. Because the price is not listed, there are cases where they call out a higher price for the food. It is better to confirm the price before ordering food.

This is especially likely to happen when eating seafood. Seafood prices are set at the daily market price, so many menus do not list prices. There are also cases where they scam you by not measuring the weight correctly. It is essential to check the price per kilogram before eating seafood. If it’s costly, it’s better not to use that restaurant.

In our country, restaurants provide wet wipes as a service, but Vietnam does not. Especially in street restaurants, they actively provide wet wipes to customers. But wet wipes are not free.

When calculating, they include the price of wet wipes. When you check the receipt, it’s in Vietnamese, so it’s hard to confirm what the wet wipes are. Wet wipes are not expensive, but if the price is different from what I thought when calculating, it’s natural to have doubts. In addition to wet wipes, there are also cases where they add other foods to the receipt when calculating, so it’s necessary to check the receipt when calculating carefully.

In the past, a restaurant on the beach in Nha Trang caused controversy by overcharging tourists. The restaurant asked foreign tourists to pay more than 9,000,000 dongs (approx. $400) more than the original price, and the tourists who found this strange reported it. The tourist asked for an unreasonable amount of about $500 and was convinced it was an overcharge.

The Khanh Hoa Tourism Bureau stated, “In the future, we will establish a system to send a person in charge to handle the situation within 15 minutes if tourists report unsatisfactory parts in tourist spots by phone.”

By. Seo Sung-Min (fv_editor@fastviewkorea.com)