Trip Scam

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Vancouver, Canada

Common scams in Vancouver

10 reported scam patterns travellers run into in Vancouver, what they look like, and how to sidestep them.

Last updated 2026-08-09

Stanley Park, Vancouver
Photo: Giuseppe Milo (www.pixael.com) · CC BY 2.0 · source

Pictured: Stanley Park, Vancouver.

high1. Fake job / work offer

Advance-fee employment and work-permit offers aimed at working-holiday arrivals, charging for placements that never materialise.

high2. Rental overbooking

Rental listings demanding deposits before viewing for properties that do not exist, targeting new arrivals and students.

high3. Distraction theft

Vehicle break-ins at trailheads, park car parks and hotel lots, targeting bags left in view. A persistent regional pattern.

medium4. Other

Fake charity collectors with tablets working the waterfront and main shopping streets.

medium5. Counterfeit goods

'Indigenous' art and carvings sold as authentic when mass-produced imports, at premium prices.

medium6. Currency shortchange

Dynamic currency conversion at card terminals and independent cash machines at poor rates.

medium7. Menu / bill switching

Restaurants applying automatic gratuity plus separate service charges, with tipping prompted again on the total.

medium8. Other

Unofficial tour and activity sellers taking payment for trips that run to a materially different itinerary.

medium9. Taxi meter fraud

Drivers taking extended routes from the airport where the rail link is direct, and refusing app-quoted fares.

low10. Fake tickets

Resold event and attraction tickets that are already used or non-transferable.

Every entry above describes a pattern reported in an area of Vancouver, not an accusation against a specific business. Sources are labelled on each entry.

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