Scams In Vietnam: READ BEFORE YOU VISIT (2025)

Come find out everything you need to know about common scams in Vietnam. Be a smart traveler by knowing the dos and don’ts during your time in the country.

It’s super important to research somewhere before you travel, so you can have stress free time when you’re exploring. The same thing goes for scams in Vietnam.

This is something I’ve always done before venturing somewhere new, and luckily, I have avoided getting taken advantage of the majority of the time.

Vietnam is definitely not a dangerous country. However, I’ll say scams here seem to be lurking around every corner, well, at least in the touristy areas.

I’ve watched so many play out in front of me to travelers! I spent a month backpacking Vietnam from the North to the South, and scams happen in every city.

Unfortunately, Vietnam is def one of those countries where you need to second guess interactions with randoms. This is especially so in larger cities such as Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, where it could cost you $20.00 or could set you back thousands.

1. Taking A Motorbike Taxi

Now, if you’re traveling solo, you may find it easier to simply take a motorbike taxi rather than a regular taxi, especially if you don’t have any luggage.

Plus, they only fit one person, rather than a car, so surely they are cheaper. Well, this is typically the case. Well, except if your driver decides to take advantage of you.

More often than not, you’ll agree on a fixed price before jumping in. As long as the driver is decent, this is your final price.

However, if not, they may chuck an extra zero on the end, and suddenly, your price has increased by 10x.

They’ll insist that you misheard, and it is the price you originally agreed to. Since there is no one else around to stick up for you, it is simply your word against theirs.

2. Buying A Motorbike In Vietnam

Now buying a motorbike in Vietnam is an incredible way to see the country. You’ll be able to get off the beaten track and discover more than most travelers.

Unfortunately, having your own vehicle in a foreign country does leave you vulnerable to more scams.

One of the most common is being scammed while actually buying a motorbike. This could come in the form of a faulty bike or dodgy paperwork.

Surprisingly, you can even have the motorbike switched on you, where everything is good up until the last minute when the bike is swapped for an inferior version of the same model.

3. Motorbike Rental Scams

Motorbike rental scams are common throughout Southeast Asia, including Vietnam. You may find your passport being held hostage while the owners demand money for damages you didn’t even cause.

Also, it has become an infamously common situation where the motorbike hire company staff will come and ‘steal’ their motorbike back from you.

Of course, the person renting the motorbike doesn’t realize it was actually the company who stole it.

This leaves the traveler in an extremely awkward and difficult situation. Now, when they turn up at the motorbike rental store without the bike, they’ll be forced to pay crazy amounts.

Though, really they already have the bike.

4. Pick Pockets & Snatch Thieves

Unfortunately, petty crime is super common in here Vietnam. You’ll need to constantly be aware of what the heck’s happening around you and where your things are.

Literally, from the moment you touch down at the busy airport.

Vietnam is an overload on the senses, so it’s not surprising that many let their guard down as they try to get their bearings.

I’ve many friends who traveled to Vietnam and were victims of the snatch thieves.

More often than not, these are people on motorbikes looking for the perfect opportunity. Someone standing a little too close to the street with their valuables, and then quickly driving past and snatching it.

Whether you’re looking at your phone for directions, opening up your wallet to pay for a cold drink, or simply walking down the road with a bag over your shoulder.

5. Taxi Scams

Ahhhh the taxi scam, one which every traveler knows all too well.

Though in Vietnam, and basically all of Southeast Asia they are all too common. The best companies to ride with here are called Vinasun (white in color) and Mai Linh (green).

For the most part, most drivers who work with these companies are reputable and honest. However, other taxis take advantage of this by copying the color schemes of the cars.

Unfortunately, in these cars, the meters go up a lot quicker than they would in a reputable taxi. Also, the drivers are known to also try out the money switch scam, more on that below.

6. Money Switches

Now, something that can happen in any country is the good ol’ money switching scam, and the same goes for Vietnam.

Usually, it’s the motorbike or taxi drivers that try this one, as they can quickly drive off never to be seen again.

They use sleight of hand to switch whatever money you give them for smaller denominations. Then comes the real performance, they put on a dramatic show and make it appear that you’re trying to rip them off.

Commonly this is done by switching a 500,000 VND note for a 20,000 VND note since they’re both blue.

7. Fruit Basket & Coconut Seller Tourist Scams

As soon as you start exploring the streets in Vietnam you’ll quickly see locals dressed up selling baskets of fruit or coconuts.

Both scams operate similarly where you are super impressed by the local perfectly balancing these baskets of fruit or coconuts on their shoulders, and you grab a photo.

From here, one of two things will happen:

• They’ll happily pose for the photo. Afterward, they will start demanding a large sum for the photographs.

• They will start chopping up the fruit or coconuts as they pose for your photos. Afterward, they’ll say that they chopped it up for you and that you now must buy the fruit or coconut for another high price.

Unfortunately, I saw many people fall for this scam, especially in Hanoi.

8. Duplicate Businesses

A common scam in Vietnam is multiple, completely different businesses operating all under the same name.

This is usually in the form of popular well known companies. However, in reality, these businesses have no affiliation with the actual business.

The reason they call themselves the same, or very similar name, is in hopes that travelers recognize it and then use their services over other options.

Though the problem is it’s very likely to be pretty damn bad compared to what you actually expected.

For example, a reputable business called Mekong Tours might be copied by using names like Mekong Tour, Mekong Guest Tours, or Mekong Touring.

9. Shoe Shining Scam

Unfortunately, the infamous shoe shinning scam is quite common. I’ve even seen play out in front of me multiple times, especially in Hanoi.

Usually, you’ll be completely minding your own business, and then suddenly, someone will come up to you, taking great interest in your shoes. No matter what you say or do, they won’t stop.

I have seen these shoe shinners pull off people’s shoes to start shining them, knowing they won’t walk away barefoot.

Once the shine is complete they’ll demand a price that is about 10x what you’d be expecting.

Here is a video of this scam in action:

10. Cyclo Driver Scam

Now, all around Vietnam, you’ll see cyclos and think wow, that looks like a lot of fun. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be nicely driven around a city? It’s a lot more relaxing than being on a crazy motorbike.

These cyclo drivers are everywhere and you’ll no doubt encounter them in your travels. They will offer to take you wherever you wish to go, and once you negotiate a price, you jump on.

Unfortunately, a few bad things commonly happen from here.

• The first is that the driver will take you far from your desired destination and ask you for a crazy price to take you back.

• Perhaps you have organized a sightseeing tour, well unbeknownst to you the driver has a so called “waiting fee”, typically starting at 500,000 VND / $25.00 an hour.

11. Don’t Give In To The Donut

I know, it’s just an innocent donut, how the heck can this be one of the scams? Bad news, it is.

Street food is everywhere in Vietnam, and I totally encourage you to try it all, except for those sneaky little donuts.

Though before this sounds like I am being judgy, trust me. I nearly fell victim to this scam multiple times. I mean, yummy little doughy balls of goodness covered in powdered sugar, it’s hard to say no.

Mainly in Hanoi, you will walk past people balancing baskets of good looking donuts on their shoulders. The seller will stop and ask if you’d like to try one for free.

When you say yes and taste one, the vendor will talk you into buying a small bag of donuts. However, many travelers don’t need convincing and just go straight in and buy a bag.

Unfortunately, it’s well known that the oil used to fry these donuts is unregulated. The oil could’ve been sitting there for weeks without being changed.

The donuts are also known to be stale, and you’ll often get sick after eating them.

12. Missing Prices On Menus

Unfortunately, this can happen anywhere in the world. But I know Vietnam is generally affordable, but still don’t sit down at a restaurant unless there are prices on the menu.

Without ordering with fixed prices you’re allowing the restaurant’s staff the chance to charge you whatever they wish.

13. Free Food

Now, nothing is free in this world, and the same goes for Vietnam. I know back at home you may be used to getting a free bowl of peanuts when you order a nice cold beer.

However, this isn’t always the case in Vietnam.

More often than not, in Hanoi and Nha Trang you’ll find yourself being charged for these bowls of peanuts quickly brought to you.

14. Luggage Scams On Buses

You won’t have these issues with the larger bus companies or those more reputable ones. However, on some bus companies, the staff will tell foreigners that they have to pay a fee when their bags are being loaded underneath the bus.

Unfortunately, a lot of the workers there know travelers will happily pay a small amount to avoid confrontation, and then they can just pocket the cash.

15. Shopping Scams & Fake Items

Now, if you’re coming to Vietnam, of course, you can’t miss out on a spot of shopping. I mean, prices here are often too good to pass up!

However, there’s a few things you should know to prevent you from being scammed while shopping.

One of the most common is sellers passing off fake goods as real.

Tip: If you are buying a leather item that is supposed to be real, but you suspect it is fake, then you can heat a piece of metal with a lighter and hold it to the material. If it is not real leather, then it will melt.

16. SIM Card Scams

When I touch down in a new country, one of the first things I do is buy a SIM card. This keeps me connected, and I can easily access maps and Google Translate.

You can buy a SIM card anywhere in Vietnam. Seriously, every little corner store will sell them with speedy data and unlimited texts. The process is also super easy since you don’t need to provide any personal information.

The SIM card scam operates as these small corner stores purchase the cards in bulk to sell to travelers at higher prices. That’s just business, right?

Well, unfortunately, as soon as they purchase them in bulk, the plans on them have already started, and the days of usage start being used up.

This means that when you are promised unlimited data for 30 days, that actually may not be what you are getting. In some cases, travelers have reported that SIM cards stop working in just a couple of days.

This is also a scam that has been operating at airports.

17. ATM Skimming

Unfortunately, something that is popping up all around the world is ATM skimming. Since Vietnam is mainly a cash society, you will visit the ATM fairly often.

Unbeknownst to you, that shiny, air conditionined ATM you just visited had a skimmer installed and recorded your card details.

Other Important Things To Be Aware Of In Vietnam

These aren’t considered scams per se. They are everyday things that you should simply be aware of to save you money.

Corrupt Police When You Rent/Own A Motorbike

Like many places around the world, you don’t need to look too far to find corrupt police here in Vietnam. This often will come in the form of asking for bribes to get out of a ticket, etc.

The best thing to do here is to drive around with a fake wallet, only carrying a small amount of cash.

That way, when you are pulled over and asked to pay a bribe, it looks like you only have a small amount on you.

Picture Perfect

Not so much a scam, but more something to be aware of is people asking for payment for photos.

This is rather common throughout Southeast Asia, though if you aren’t prepared for it, it can be quite a surprise.

In my experience, you’ll generally know who these people are before taking their photo. In my case, it was someone perfectly perched on top of a water buffalo in Hoi An.

The local ‘model’ will generally encourage you to take the photo and pose, compared with a regular person who would ignore you and go about their own business.

ATM Fees

Seemingly nearly impossible to avoid, ATM fees can add up fast! This is especially true when backpacking Vietnam on a budget.

Though here some ATMs charge a lot more than others.

Agribank is the cheapest ATM to use with fixed fees throughout the country.

USD to VND Conversions

Now the currency in Vietnam is rather large, so you will often find yourself getting a few million out of the ATMs.

Being such a crazy amount, it’s rather common that prices are abbreviated, e.g., 500,000 becomes 500.

Also, USD is sometimes used in tourist bars and restaurants. So, make sure you are reading menus and prices carefully to fully understand how much you are paying.

Wrap-Up: Top Scams In Vietnam You Should Know

Vietnam is a beautiful country, but straight up, getting scammed can for sure ruin a trip and leave you with bad memories.

However, now you should know some of the most common scams and exactly how to avoid them.

Just remember, not all Vietnamese people are looking to take advantage of you, most are friendly and welcoming!