Tourists planning trips to Bangkok and other popular destinations in Thailand are being advised to stay alert, following a recent report from the Mastercard Economics Institute that flags the Thai capital as a major fraud risk for visitors.
The report, cited by CNBC, identifies the tourism sector as one of the most vulnerable to scams, especially during peak travel seasons.
Fraud linked to travel agencies and tour bookings was found to be more than four times higher than in other industries.
Seasonal spikes make the problem worse. Fraud rates rose by over 18% in popular summer destinations and by 28% during the winter season at cold-weather getaways, according to the report.
In Bangkok, taxi and car rental scams were found to be the biggest source of trouble, accounting for 48% of reported fraud cases involving tourists.
This places Bangkok among the most problematic destinations globally when it comes to travel-related scams.
“Fraud risk varies significantly by city,” said David Mann, Chief Economist for Asia Pacific at the Mastercard Economics Institute, noting stark geographical differences.
The report also highlighted Phuket and Antalya, Turkey, as cities with a high number of hotel booking scams.
Jakarta topped the list with 66% of fraud cases linked to travel services, while Bangkok followed closely with 48%.
On the other end of the spectrum, cities such as San Francisco, Dublin, Seoul, Budapest, and Edinburgh reported the lowest fraud rates.
Meanwhile, destinations like Cancun (Mexico), Hanoi (Vietnam), Dhaka (Bangladesh), and notably, Bangkok (Thailand) were flagged for having the highest number of tourist fraud cases.
The type of scam also differs by city—for instance, taxi and rental car fraud represents just 2% of reported cases in Hong Kong and Barcelona.
