Destinations › Nigeria › Lagos › Scams
Lagos, Nigeria
10 reported scam patterns travellers run into in Lagos, what they look like, and how to sidestep them.
Advance-fee recruitment offers charging for overseas placements, visas and training that never materialise.
Online romance approaches sustained over weeks, escalating to requests for money for emergencies, travel or customs fees.
Phone and bag snatching from vehicles in traffic and from pedestrians in the crowded market districts.
Individuals presenting identification at roadside stops demanding document inspection and cash payments from foreign nationals.
Street money changers shortchanging during rapid counts, and multiple exchange rates in circulation exploited against visitors.
Unofficial airport 'officials' and porters demanding fees for services that are free, and taking luggage unasked.
Drivers refusing to agree a fare in advance and demanding several times the going rate on arrival, particularly from the airport.
Advance-fee schemes aimed at visitors and online contacts: business deals, contracts and inheritance claims requiring upfront payments that lead nowhere.
Short-let and apartment listings taking deposits for properties that do not exist or are already occupied.
Counterfeit electronics and branded goods sold as genuine in the large markets with fabricated warranties.
