Destinations › Chile › Santiago › Scams
Santiago, Chile
8 reported scam patterns travellers run into in Santiago, what they look like, and how to sidestep them.
Phone snatching from the hand in the centre and at metro entrances, frequently from a moving bicycle or scooter.
Organised distraction theft in Plaza de Armas, on the metro and around Bellavista — a spill, a dropped item or a helpful stranger, with a second person on the bag.
Glass and resin sold as lapis lazuli at street stalls and on the craft streets.
Bar bill inflation in Bellavista, with drinks ordered by a companion appearing on the visitor's tab.
Touts at Mercado Central steering visitors to the central restaurants at several times the price of the surrounding stalls.
Note-switching by unlicensed changers, and shortchanging on high-value peso notes.
Unofficial drivers in the airport arrivals hall offering fixed dollar fares well above the metered and app equivalents.
Short-let apartments cancelled at short notice in high season and relisted at a higher rate.
