Destinations › United States › Los Angeles › Scams
Los Angeles, United States
10 reported scam patterns travellers run into in Los Angeles, what they look like, and how to sidestep them.
Street sellers offering studio-tour and attraction tickets at a discount that are counterfeit, already used, or for a different date.
Vehicle break-ins at trailheads, beach car parks and tourist viewpoints, frequently in daylight.
Costumed characters on the tourist boulevards posing for photographs then aggressively demanding payment, sometimes surrounding visitors.
Advance-fee 'talent representation' and audition offers charging registration and portfolio fees that produce no work.
Dynamic currency conversion at card terminals and independent cash machines at poor rates.
Counterfeit branded goods sold in the fashion district and at street stalls as genuine.
Restaurants applying automatic gratuity plus a separate service or 'wellness' charge, with tipping prompted again on the total.
Short-let listings taking deposits for properties that are unlicensed and unavailable on arrival.
Drivers taking extended routes from the airport and refusing app-quoted fares in favour of inflated flat rates.
Unofficial 'star map' and tour sellers on the boulevards taking payment for tours that are cut short or never run.
