A new report by the Mastercard Economics Institute has ranked Bangkok among the global cities with the highest risk of tourist fraud, raising concerns for travelers planning visits to the Thai capital. The findings, released in May 2025, highlight the need for heightened vigilance as the tourism industry enters its peak season.
According to the analysis, fraud within the tourism sector significantly surpasses that of other industries, with incidents related to travel agencies and tour bookings reported at a rate more than four times higher than the average. The report, which was also covered by CNBC, attributes part of the surge to seasonal travel spikes, noting fraud rates rose by 18% in summer destinations and climbed by 28% in popular winter locales.
In Bangkok, scams tied to taxis and car rentals emerged as the most prevalent, making up nearly half—48%—of all reported tourist fraud cases. This places the city near the top of a global list that also includes Jakarta, where 66% of fraud incidents were connected to travel services.
Elsewhere, hotel booking scams were frequently reported in Phuket and Antalya, Turkey. In contrast, cities such as Dublin, San Francisco, Seoul, Budapest, and Edinburgh were identified as having relatively low fraud activity.
Fraud patterns vary across destinations. In Hong Kong and Barcelona, for example, taxi-related scams accounted for just 2% of reported cases. Meanwhile, Bangkok was flagged alongside Cancun, Hanoi, and Dhaka as locations with notably high levels of tourist-targeted fraud.
While the report provides a data-driven overview of travel risks, it also serves as a caution for both tourists and local authorities to enhance fraud prevention efforts. Officials and economic analysts, including Mastercard’s Chief Economist for Asia Pacific, David Mann, were cited in the report, offering insights into the regional discrepancies in scam prevalence.
