Destinations › Panama › Panama City › Scams
Panama City, Panama
16 reported scam patterns travellers run into in Panama City, what they look like, and how to sidestep them.
Unofficial drivers soliciting at the cruise terminal and the long-distance bus station, quoting several times the standard zone fare.
Men presenting as plain-clothes police asking to inspect a wallet for counterfeit notes, and removing cash while counting it.
Reader overlays on standalone cash machines in the old quarter and the banking district, and cards taken out of sight to be processed at bar and restaurant counters.
Bag and phone theft in Casco Viejo at night and around the Calidonia and Curundu edges.
Street taxis are unmetered and priced by zone; fares are commonly quoted per person after everyone is seated, and additional passengers are collected en route without discussion.
Hire cars invoiced for pre-existing damage on return, with a compulsory insurance excess that was not disclosed at the counter.
Bills in the old-quarter bars carrying rounds and covers that were not ordered, particularly where a group has been walked in by a street promoter.
Drivers steering passengers to jewellery and handicraft shops that pay per head, presented as a recommendation on the way to somewhere else.
Canal, rainforest and island day trips paid for in advance that run with a downgraded vehicle and a shortened route, or are resold on to another operator.
Unofficial airport 'assistants' guiding arrivals to unlicensed cars at fixed dollar rates.
Undisclosed service charges and inflated per-item pricing in the Casco Viejo rooftop bars.
Shortchanging on US dollar payments, and refusal of legitimate notes as 'damaged' to force smaller change.
Printed imitations sold as hand-stitched Guna molas at handmade prices.
Canal and island tour operators selling trips that omit park entry fees and transfers, collected in cash once committed.
Men attaching themselves to visitors in the old quarter and at the canal viewing points, presenting a fee for commentary once the walk is over.
Short-let bookings in Casco Viejo cancelled close to arrival during peak weeks.
