Destinations › Serbia › Belgrade › Scams
Belgrade, Serbia
16 reported scam patterns travellers run into in Belgrade, what they look like, and how to sidestep them.
Cards copied at nightlife venues and at street cash machines, including visitors walked to a machine to settle a disputed bill with the PIN observed.
Men presenting as plain-clothes police on the main square and the central pedestrian street, claiming to investigate counterfeit currency, asking to inspect a wallet, and removing cash during the count.
Unlicensed cars at the airport and the bus station charging several times the meter; licensed taxis carry a municipal ID in the window and the airport desk issues a fixed-price voucher.
Bill padding at the river raft clubs and in Skadarlija, with rounds attributed to the wrong table and undisclosed music or cover charges.
Hired scooters and cars invoiced on return for damage that was present at pickup, with the deposit used to force payment.
Branded clothing and electronics sold as genuine rather than as copies in the central shopping streets and markets.
Drivers steering passengers to souvenir and rug shops that pay them per head, offered as a recommendation on the way to somewhere else.
Day trips and river excursions sold by street agents, taking payment for a departure that is resold on, shortened, or not run at all.
Ticket and event vouchers sold by street agents for events that do not exist or are already sold out.
Pickpocketing on Knez Mihailova and at the main bus and rail stations.
Unlicensed changers offering above-bank rates and short-counting dinar, and shortchanging on euro payments.
Bar touts leading to venues where the bill is inflated and departure obstructed, particularly targeting stag groups.
Collectors with laminated documentation and a donation book working the central pedestrian street and restaurant terraces.
Men attaching themselves to visitors at the fortress and along the central pedestrian street, narrating unasked and presenting a fee at the end.
Unofficial 'parking attendants' collecting fees on public streets.
Short-let bookings cancelled close to arrival during festival weekends.
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