Destinations › Colombia › Medellín › Scams
Medellín, Colombia
18 reported scam patterns travellers run into in Medellín, what they look like, and how to sidestep them.
Card skimming at street cash machines, and cards taken out of sight to be processed at bar counters in the nightlife districts.
Bills in the nightlife districts inflated with rounds and covers that were not ordered, with staff crowding the table when the total is challenged.
Unmarked vehicles accepting a street hail or offered outside nightlife venues, then driving a circuit of cash machines while the passenger is made to withdraw the daily maximum from each.
Men in police-style uniform stopping foreign visitors and asking to inspect a wallet for counterfeit notes, removing cash during the count. Serving officers do not ask to examine a wallet in the street.
Drink spiking in the Parque Lleras and Provenza nightlife, followed by robbery.
Phone snatching in El Poblado, the centre and at metro entrances, frequently from a passing motorbike.
Dating-app meetings ending in scopolamine drugging and the emptying of accounts and phones — a documented and recurring pattern in the city.
Change short-counted or returned in worn notes at market stalls and street kiosks, relying on unfamiliar denominations.
Scooter and car hire where damage already present is invoiced on return, with the deposit or a retained document used to force payment.
Drivers and street guides steering visitors to emerald and 'artisan' shops that pay them per head, presented as the trustworthy option rather than a paid arrangement.
Day trips to the lake towns and coffee farms sold through hostel desks and street agents, taking payment in advance and running with a downgraded vehicle and a shortened itinerary, or not running.
Bill padding in El Poblado bars, with rounds attributed to the wrong table.
Comuna 13 tours sold by outside operators with no connection to the neighbourhood, at prices well above the local guides.
Imitation emeralds and mass-produced 'artisan' goods sold at handmade prices in the tourist districts.
Coordinated theft in the downtown plazas and around Plaza Botero.
Airport kerbside offers below the official shared-van price that resolve into a long wait for the van to fill, or a raised fare en route.
Collectors with laminated documentation and a donation book working restaurant terraces and the metro entrances.
Men attaching themselves to visitors in the central plazas, narrating the sculptures and buildings unasked, then presenting a fee once the group has been walked some distance.
