Destinations › India › Mumbai › Scams
Mumbai, India
10 reported scam patterns travellers run into in Mumbai, what they look like, and how to sidestep them.
Unlicensed 'tour operators' near major hotels offering slum tours or city tours, taking payment up front for an itinerary that is cut short or never runs.
Crowded suburban train carriages and station footbridges at peak hours, where bag-slitting and phone snatching are common and the crush makes it impossible to feel.
Airport and station taxi drivers claiming the meter is broken, then quoting a flat fare several times the metered rate. Prepaid taxi booths at the airport and at CST publish fixed rates and avoid the negotiation entirely.
Gem and textile shops reached via a driver's 'quick stop', where heavy pressure is applied to buy goods at inflated prices with false export-resale promises.
The spilled-substance routine on busy pavements, where a stain appears on your clothing and a helpful stranger cleans it while an accomplice works your bag.
Touts outside major attractions selling 'skip the queue' entry that is either the standard ticket at a markup or not valid at all.
Fake charity collectors working restaurant and hotel entrances with laminated sponsorship sheets, often using photographs of children.
Shortchanging on large notes at street stalls and unlicensed currency counters, relying on unfamiliarity with the note designs.
Street markets in the tourist districts selling counterfeit branded clothing and electronics, sometimes with a working display unit swapped for a non-functional one at the point of sale.
Auto-rickshaws refusing to run the meter for foreign passengers, or running a tampered meter that climbs far faster than distance travelled.
