Vietnam is included in the top 10 destinations with the most taxi fraud

On February 19, SEA Infographics, a Southeast Asian information site, posted a ranking of countries with the most taxi fraud in the world. The study, conducted by travel insurance company AllClear, is based on an analysis of more than 450 posts and 30,000 comments on social network Reddit about the countries that attract the most complaints about taxi services.

Two Southeast Asian countries, Thailand and Vietnam, are in the top 10, in third place (2,169 comments) and fourth (1,741 comments), respectively.

In Vietnam, cases of taxi drivers ripping off tourists often occur in big cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. In July 2025, a group of Filipino tourists were charged more than 1.4 million VND for a distance of about 1 km in the old town. Earlier this year, a French tourist also accused a taxi of being charged 900,000 VND for the distance from Noi Bai airport to the city center – three times higher than normal.

There are also many cases of foreign tourists being ripped off but not reporting to the authorities for fear of wasting time or complicated procedures.

In Thailand, user Natthasorn commented that local people are also afraid of being cut off from taxi fares. This person advised downloading car booking applications to check prices before deciding.

“Thai taxis are good for my health because I always walk here,” user Drek humorously commented.

Türkiye leads this list, recording 4,224 negative comments, twice as high as the second-ranked country, India, with 2,301 comments. The next positions in the group of 10 countries with the most complaints are Thailand, Vietnam, Egypt, Australia, Mexico, Morocco, USA and Canada.

Other countries also on the list include France, Colombia, Philippines, Italy and Norway. Research shows a common point is that nearly 33% of fraud cases take place in the airport area. This is where tourists are most likely to lose their guard because they have just had a long flight and are not familiar with the local transportation system.

The most common form of fraud recorded is drivers intentionally not turning on the meter. In crowded tourist areas or late at night, drivers often quote a fixed price many times higher than the actual price. Experts recommend that tourists should agree on a price before getting on the bus or insist on turning on the meter, and also need to find out the local fare frame in advance.

Another trick that is often mentioned is the driver quickly taking the passenger’s luggage and putting it in the trunk. This action is intended to put pressure on tourists to agree to high prices in a rushed situation. Travelers are advised to keep their hands on their luggage until fare confirmation or the driver’s consent to use the meter is obtained.

Drivers reporting broken card machines are also very common. The purpose of this is to force customers to pay in cash to easily collect additional fees or use the excuse of not having change to not return change.

Many tourists also reported that drivers deliberately drove around, avoided short routes or pretended to go the wrong way to increase the number of kilometers on the clock. To cope, visitors should actively monitor the route using GPS on their personal phone and politely remind them if they see the vehicle deviating too far from the map.

At airports, the situation of illegal “umbrella” taxis is still a big danger. These people often approach guests in the arrival hall and offer to skip the long waiting line.

Ms. Letitia Smith, representative of AllClear, commented that taxi fraud can happen “anywhere and at any time”, especially when tourists clearly appear not to understand local prices. Reporting incidents to management agencies and purchasing travel insurance are necessary ways to protect your rights in the event of an unexpected incident.

AllClear is one of the leading reputable travel insurance companies in the UK, established in 2000. AllClear regularly conducts research based on big data to provide real-life risk warnings to the global travel community.