Destinations › Vietnam › Hanoi › Scams
Hanoi, Vietnam
8 reported scam patterns travellers run into in Hanoi, what they look like, and how to sidestep them.
The 20,000 VND and 500,000 VND notes look similar; a vendor may swap a tourist's large note for a small one and claim it was given short.
Unmetered taxis (especially outside the Old Quarter) use rigged fast-running meters or quote inflated flat fares — stick to Vinasun, Mai Linh, or apps like Grab/Be/Xanh SM.
Cyclo or motorbike-taxi drivers quote one price before the ride and demand a much higher amount on arrival, sometimes claiming the tourist misheard.
Impostor "Sinh Tourist"-branded operators (exploiting lax trademark enforcement) sell bus/train tickets for substandard service, sometimes with unexpected overnight stops at overpriced hotels.
Taxi or hotel touts claim a tourist's booked hotel is "full" or "closed" and redirect to a different, commission-paying property.
Market stalls selling counterfeit branded goods at tourist-inflated prices.
Street shoe-shiners in the Old Quarter grab a foot and start polishing an already-clean shoe before the tourist can object, then demand payment.
Pickpocketing in crowded night market areas of the Old Quarter, sometimes by children.
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