Istanbul, just like every world city, has to cope with its typical tourist scams. Although most Turks are unbelievably honest and would go the extra mile to help you rather than rip you off, in a city with well over 18 million inhabitants, you’ll always find a few people with different intentions. This shouldn’t scare you, on the contrary. Compared to other world cities, Istanbul has fewer tourist traps, and thanks to this post you will be able to spot and avoid these Istanbul tourist scams easily. Once you’re done, don’t forget to check out how to prevent popular Istanbul taxi scams, too.
The Setting
Before I dive into the details of each different Istanbul tourist scam, keep the following in mind:
- Most of these rip-offs occur in Istanbul’s very touristic, crowded and/or busy places, e.g. Sultanhamet Square, Istiklal Caddesi, Cumhurriyet Caddesi, Taksim Square and its surrounding streets. Therefore, you are less likely to come across scams in residential areas such as Cihangir.
- Their preferred targets are tourists travelling alone (Let’s Have a Drink) or in very small groups
- If you suspect a scam coming up and don’t accept their invitation right from the start, they will never get rude or insult you, and just move on
Let’s Have a Drink
Goal — Get you to enter one of their bars with overpriced drinks and underdressed women. The result is always the same: you end up with a huge bill, often into hundreds of Euros.
Target — Single white men
Set-up — A well-dressed man, fluent in English, approaches you and tries to start a conversation. If you’re a smoker he’ll ask you for a lighter (and if you pay close attention, you may even notice him throwing away a burning sigarette seconds earlier). If you’re not, then he may just walk up to you. And even if you’re sitting alone at a terrace table, he may sit down at the table next to you and start a conversation this way.
Regardless of his approach, the conversation will always lead in the same direction: whether you would like to join him for some after work drinks in a great place (of a friend of his) that he knows.
How to Avoid — Never take advice from complete strangers about establishments worth trying out. You’ll find a nice selection of the best cafés, bars and nightclubs on this site. Just tell him you’re waiting/meeting with two or three other friends and are not interested. Right from the start decline his invitation and move on. Don’t promise ‘tomorrow’, because he may keep on trying his chance for days to come.
Carpet or Leather Shop
Goal — Get you to buy goods in shops he works for, and where you with near certainty won’t get the best bargain.
Target — Anybody wandering around in Sultanahmet and the Grand Bazaar
Set-up — A very friendly guy, fluent in several languages, will ask if you are lost and need some help in locating some of the sightseeing spots and/or Grand Bazaar shops. And as he ‘guides’ you, he’ll pass some of his shops and remember he had to drop something off. He will of course invite you in to meet his family member(s).
Before you know it, you’ll be drinking tea, listening to how only they still make quality leather or carpets, and why you should buy something there. If you manage to keep your wallets closed, he promises to take you to the place you were actually looking for … and the whole procedure starts again.
How to Avoid — When people offer to guide you around, be aware. Instead, if you’re really lost, you take the initiative by asking someone.
Pickpocketing
Goal — Steal your wallet or other valuables.
Target — Careless tourists.
Set-up — None! Any crowded street, public transport, or place will do.
How to Avoid — Just like any Turk, keep your wallet in the front pockets of your pants, wear your handbags within eyesight and carry back-packs on the front of your body. Make sure all the zippers are properly closed. Also, never leave bags or other valuables such as mobile phones, iPods, etc. unattended on (terrace) tables or easy to grab for bypassers.
Shoe Shine
Goal — Talk you into getting a shoe shine (for free) and overcharge you afterwards.
Target — Singles, couples, small families or groups
Set-up — They have mainly two tricks up their sleeve to get them to polish your shoes. Either they walk past you and drop their brush on one of your shoes, or they walk in front of you and drop their brush hoping you would pick it up and hand it to him. The result for both cases is the same: to apologize or as a token of gratitude, they start shining your shoes. While you think it’s for free, he’ll demand you to pay much more than the price of a regular shoe shine. If you start arguing, more of his ‘colleagues’ will show up to back him up.
How to Avoid — Don’t pick up the brush and just keep on walking. In case the brush fell on your shoe, tell him that it’s ok and move on. Having said this, there are plenty of legitimate shoe shines in Istanbul doing a great job. They normally don’t move around and ask between 5 and 10 TL. Agree on the price beforehand — for both shoes! (another trick)
Restaurants 1
Goal — Overcharge tourists.
Target — Unaware tourists.
Set-up — They offer tourists a different price list (in their own language) than locals, with prices significantly higher than they would charge locals.
How to Avoid — Compare the Turkish price list with the one you got, but if nobody in your group speaks Turkish, it’s pretty difficult to do. Make sure to have a good look at the price list, and compare it with the same dishes at similar establishments. Only enter if it looks reasonable for what you anticipate to get.
Restaurants 2
Goal — Make you pay for things you didn’t order (but consumed).
Target — Unaware hungry tourists.
Set-up — This mostly happens in restaurants specifically geared towards tourists. You and your friends are hungry and tired, sit down, flip through the menu and order your meal, not really paying attention to what’s included and what’s not. You also order a few beers, for example. If you don’t specify which beer brand you prefer, surely he’ll bring you the more expensive Miler than instead of the cheaper local Efes.
While waiting for your food, the waiter brings your aperitifs and puts some nuts or bread on the table. Besides the ordered drinks, he also pour everyone a glass of water. Hungry as you are, everyone digs in and consumes the bread and plate of nuts, thinking this is complementary. Of course you’ll find those items on your bill later on. The same with “can I happen some more french fries, please?” This more often than not will be jotted down as an extra portion.
How to Avoid — Pay close attention to what you’re ordering, and when in doubt specifically ask the waiter what comes with the dish and what you need to order extra. Also be very specific while ordering, and be sure to immediately send back anything you didn’t order and without touching or trying it.
Taxi Scams
Goal — Overcharge you for the ride.
Target — Anybody
Set-up — Traffic jams, short cuts, etc.
How to Avoid — Check out Tips To Prevent Popular Istanbul Taxi Scams.
Bob Macadoo says
Can you explain why places list prices in GR rather than TL? I feel like I got scammed today buying a doner wrap. The list said 150 GR and when I asked what GR was they said lira. I have bought similar wraps mostly for 40-70 lira.
Erlend says
The GR in 150 GR means grams. That’s the amount of meat that will be in the wrap.
Tania says
The people in hoteles reception are very desperate for money. If they call a taxi, book a cruiser, excursion , diner or anything the will over charge you. Do your own research and get you own taxi. People are desperate for money especially in Istanbul. They will do anything for it. That the only thing I did not like the rest is a wonderful city
Raza says
Another common scam we came across is restaurant staff in the streets offering you discounts and free starters or desserts and what not, then when the bill comes they have a service charge labelled as TEX for the same amount as the item they offered you for free.
Another thing they can do is place items on the table which you assume are complimentary but aren’t, like small water bottles.
Erlend says
I’ve never heard of TEX so far, so thanks for sharing. Putting things like water, bread on the table that seem complementary but aren’t is not a typical Turkish style move I’m afraid. I’ve experienced this is other countries, too, unfortunately.
Raza says
We had a weird one today in Alsaray metro station. We were trying to figure out how to buy a ticket for the metro to go to halic, but the machine was showing a higher price for the ticket than what the online guides were suggesting. This man approached us and offered to help us get tickets if we have him 45 liras each. We walked away from him to look for a kiosk or a help desk. We couldn’t find one. Then we tried to make sense of a different machine and selected English as the language and this machine showed 15 liras, we couldn’t tell if it was for a single or a return journey. Another man approached us and offered to get us tickets if we gave him 15 liras each, which after deliberating for a min, we did. He then tapped his card for each of us and let us through the gates and went on his way and we went onto the tram without any further issues.
We knew he was scamming us for sure. We just didn’t know how. The machine showed 15 liras on it, and he charged us 15 liras. Does anyone know what was going on? Did he pay for a single ticket for us but took money for a double?
Erlend says
What probably happened is that the machine showed you the regular single ticket price (15 TL) instead of the discounted price when you use the anonymous Istanbul Kart, which is about 7,5 TL.
So, the person who suggested to help you, used his card to actually pay for your ride, but made minimum 7,5 TL per person because you paid him 15 and he was charged 7,5 or less.
Khashayar says
We ate 2 soup in very very normal place and local Restaurant in Istanbul actually it was Water and a little bit sheep tripe in it . At the end i paid 70 TL and agin it happend in another Restaurant 2 pide and 2 Dürum about 135 TL
Erlend says
I can’t say anything of the quality of the soup of course, but why don’t you ask for the menu / price list before you order? If they don’t have one, move on to the next establishment.
Karim says
Hi,
I wish I have read this thread before today!
I have just come back from a bar in Taksim area and my experience was horrible. I was walking alone around midnight. A man approached me and asked me in Turkish whether I have alighter. I replied No. Then he started speaking to me in English with so much details. He said that he is 52 years old, a civil engineer, married with 3 boys. He was explaining to me about his wife who prays and put Hijab, but he drinks and don’t practice religion. He asked me to offer me a drink, and it was my biggest mistake when I said yes.
He took me to a bar. I don’t drink Alcolol so he offered me a soft drink. Suddenly, two girls joined us. They ordered a few bottles of Champagne. There were many girls dancing around us. I tried to excuse my self but they insisted that I stay a little bit more. To put it short, I ended up with a bill of more than 12 thousand TL, which is about £670. I had no choice by to pay being surrounded with 5 well built guys. I regret the minute I started talking to this man. I hope no once else will get scammed.
Erlend says
So sorry to hear that Karim.
xxx says
i had the exactly same experience!
David says
Happened to me too. Surrounded by pretty girls ordering champagne etc. Came to the bill and they tried to get me to pay over £3000. I refused.
Suzy Hall says
I was walking during the day to get a taxi back to the Asian side. I was walking through Sultanahment and a man asked me where I was from and could he help me. I told him I was Scottish and looking to get a taxi. He said he’d show me his shop and phone me a taxi. I told him I wouldn’t be buying as I’d already bought things and just wanted to get back to my hotel.
He took me down a side street and we went past his shop. I asked him why he wasn’t stopping at shop for the taxi as he’d been on phone supposedly organising taxi to pick me up at shop. He said he was taking me to a private taxi where it would be “safe”. I was starting to feel incredibly unsafe. I looked back and saw a man following us, clearly videoing with his mobile phone. I looked back several times and the man was still following and videoing. I told the man who was taking me to the taxi we’re being followed but he dismissed it.
I felt extremely nervous and thankfully all of a sudden 2 girls appeared so I ran over to them and they spoke English. The man who was videoing ran down and flashed a card saying he was ‘police’ and was following to make sure this man didn’t take me to shops. None of us 3 girls saw the card correctly and he didn’t have police clothes on.
I walked back up the street with the 2 girls and they phoned me a taxi. The man and the supposed police man came up to us again and the supposed police man said I’m going to “punish him”. We thought it was all very strange and said it wasn’t necessary.
I’ve travelled solo so much throughout my life and never felt scared until today and this was broad daylight. I’ve absolutely no idea what was actually going to happen.
Moral of the story get your own taxi.
Sara says
I’m so sorry. Two guys followed me and one ripped my phone out of my hand. I travelled a lot and was in much poorer countries but got never scammed the amount I got in turkey
Lucas says
Hi, curious about something. Bumped into a croatian (not Turkish) guy in Istanbul and we spent the afternoon wandering and I ended up following him to a seedy club with girls and a 150euro bill each.
Was wondering if the Croatian was in on the scam or whether we both just walked into it? I’d be surprised because 1) he wasn’t so well dressed 2) his Turkish wasn’t good and 3) he seemed like he was naive and stumbled across the place. He said he was an electrician in Izmir and it was his last night before going home. This could all have been an act though.
I guess since the club were not that forceful and just made me pay the (annoyingly) very expensive bill, maybe we’d just walked into the scam thanks to my Croatian friend rather than him leading me there.
Just interested though if anyone has heard of the ‘let’s have a drink place being carried out by white guys, so eastern or even Western Europeans? Could be an extra level to watch out for.
Thanks
Erlend says
Hi Lucas,
Thanks for sharing. It’s hard to say. Normally they don’t spend a whole afternoon just to get you into a bar.
Zebra says
Huh, that electric guy from Izmir… I had same/similar guy, though he claimed he was from Cyprus. I turned down his offer because I found it strange that he was so friendly right from the start. I also told him I don’t drink and he lost interest quickly.
Bee says
Be very careful in Taksim. Many pickpockets!
As a rule i found most areas to be safe.
If you are staying Sultan Ahmet area, do not pay for walking tours. Most places can be found by google map and i deffinitely recommend buying the travel card for the trams. Frequent and inexpensive.
I like to travel to the smaller areas and wander round the back streets.
The boats are also inexpensive.
Some little back street stores where the locals go are amazing.
Just as in Marmaris, be careful.
I agree, don’t let anyone take you to their shop, their friends shop.
Shop around, have an idea of prices, you can often get a cheap meal for a fraction of a price in a local restaurant.
Simit with Nutella is a must!
Dean says
This is so true. When I was in Istanbul, I exited a restaurant and a guy came up to me and said ‘thank you for coming to my restaurant’. I s/h known there and then. He then led me to his ‘new’ cafe. we had a drink and when the bill came, basically I lost about $700. When I tried to speak 5 tough guys showed up. Fortunately, I still had some money back at the hotel. Never again will I be so naive.
Jay says
A victim of a common scam in Istanbul – on 27th January 2020
Dear readers,
I would like to describe my experience of how I unfortunately became a victim of a common scam in Istanbul.
I was a tourist and stayed in Sultanahment, Istanbul, Turkey for 5 days. I was approached by a Turkish man on a Monday evening, who spoke exceptional English and Turkish. He appeared to be quite knowledgeable with regards to tourist locations and the history revolving such places. He was dressed in fashionable clothes. He offered to be my guide for around 1-2 hours showing me the major landmarks. As I had no particular plans that evening, I let him accompany me.
We soon arrived at a local cafe and had two cups of chai (tea), which I offered to pay for. At this point I recall the man looking into the contents of my wallet, possibly to assess how much money I had. I didn’t think much about it at the time. The man then bought a cheap loaf of bread. As the evening drew on, he suggested that we go to a bar for a quick drink. I didn’t want to be disrespectful, so I said I would join him only for a short while (in hindsight this was a major mistake on my part, I should have been more vigilant).
We arrived at a bar located in Taksim square, the entrance to the building was quite narrow, and it had a title “tattoos and piercings”, we went to the top floor (3rd floor). There was a bar and girls and mature women parading without much clothes on. The man “offered to buy me a drink”, and I initially declined. When he kept on insisting about a drink, I said a fruit juice would be good. He ordered a beer for himself. We were soon accompanied by a couple of girls along with a bottle of champagne. During this time the man leaves you with the impression that the drinks are entirely on him!
The champagne bottles kept on arriving (I don’t drink alcohol), so the champagne was consumed by the girls and the guy that brought me to the bar. At this point it looked very suspect, and I asked where the toilet was, as I really wanted to escape. I was told the toilet was out of order, (the toilets were on the ground floor), and I was told that I couldn’t leave until the bill arrived (again more alarm bells ringing).
The bill was brought and the amount was for 4, 400 Turkish lira, around over £500. I disputed the bill, and said to the owner of the bar (who was about 6’ 2”, and well built), that the man brought me here and offered to buy me a drink. At this the owner pushed the man who fell onto a comfy sofa cushion (it was obvious this was nothing but drama, a well scripted pantomime being played out). The owner then looked towards me as if hinting to do the same to me. There were many other staff around who were blocking my exit to the building. In order to prevent any form of further altercation, and possibly also prevent sustaining bruises at least to myself, I very reluctantly had to hand over the contents of my wallet. This was 300 Turkish lira and cash of £60, so in total about £100 cash (i.e. British Pounds).
Whilst they were counting the cash and security checking the £60 notes, I discreetly slipped my debit card into my pants and fortunately they didn’t get me to strip! Once they were satisfied the cash I had was legit, and once they gave up on looking for any debit/credit cards, only then was I allowed to leave the premises.
The morale of the story is, if a complete stranger approaches you in Turkey, please just kindly say “no thank you”, and promptly walk away. I promise you, it will save you at least £100 in cash!
P.S: the above was definitely a scam. After I excited the building I attempted to take photos of the man that lead me to the bar. He kept on blocking the camera on my phone. I managed to get a photo from the side of his face and took a photo of his back whilst he was briskly walking away from me. Essentially the man gets a big commission from the bar, for swindling unsuspecting tourists, hence this explains the modern trendy and expensive clothes he was wearing.
If you don’t look Turkish then you will be a prime target. These fraudsters prey on tourists.
Erlend says
Hi Jay,
Thanks for sharing this, a perfect example of the “Let’s have a drink” scam in my article. I’m glad you could hide your credit card, if not the would have accompanied you to an ATM to withdraw the rest of the money.
Again, most Turks are very welcoming and hospitable, with the best of intentions to make your stay as nice as possible. Unfortunately, there are always a dozen of rotten apples who ruin it for everyone.
Barry says
Hi,
I was walking in Istikal street. Man started speaking Turkish and I said sorry. He said aww you look Turkish … would you like me to come to my restaurant. I declined as I was tired. He insisted he showed me it and would like to give me a card to give to friends. Anyway, went up side street and he went into a shop and came out and put what looked like a packet of weed on my hand ( it was just spices) . I said I didn’t want but he wanted me to pay. He marched me to ATM and I lost about 500 quid. I was too scared to go to tourist police as a I suspected that they might be in on the scam . The guy was operating on a busy street.
Erlend says
Hi,
Sorry to hear about your adventure. But you should have gone to the police and report it, the police is never part of a scam, on the contrary. They try hard to protect tourists as good as they can.
marilen tomacruz says
Me and my husband are traveling to istanbul this april for a week, Is Sultanamet the best area to stay at? Thank you.
Erlend says
Hi Marilen,
Have you read this post on how to choose between Sultanahmet and Taksim?
Hope this helps.
Amir says
Be careful of the fake money!! A taxi told me that if a money has a letter for example, C before the numbers its not for taxi and its only for shopping!! Lol what a BS!! And he told me that i need to give him 100 turkish lira so he can exchange the rest. If you give the money, in return he will give you fake copied money. And also this happen near Bosphorus cruise trip
Erlend says
Thanks for sharing this Amir.
Nasi says
I m now in Istanbul and I faced few of these scams
I suggest For single tourist to be very careful before visiting any night club or bars . Group of people targeting and trying to steal money from single tourists … in fact I say , never go alone to any bars or nightclubs near Taksim.
Panca says
Another type of approach they are doing is pretending to take selfie and asking for help to take the picture..introduce himself as a civil engineer, offerring you meals and he paid for it, then ask you to spend sometime with beer in the bar..come out with extra ordinary bill.
Erlend says
Thanks for sharing this.
Habib Mahdaoui says
A white man who bring you to a Bar (their Bar), and the bill is $120 a bottle! Because one of their girls set beside you and wa talking to you.. according to the boss, you were enjoying girl sitting beside you 😆😆😆 crazy people..