Argentina Travel Scams
by Diego Torres Silvestre
Flickr CC
Be very careful when paying a taxi cab driver in Argentina. One of the common Argentina travel scams is one in which you will hand your driver the fare, and he will quickly switch out one of your hundred notes for a ten, show them to you, and tell you that you didn’t pay enough. The best way to avoid this situation is to count the bills out one by one when you pay the driver. Never just hand the driver a pile of money.
Also, while we are on the subject of taxi cab drivers, always get your luggage out of the trunk before paying the driver. One common travel scam in many countries is for the driver to tell you that you owe more money before you get your bags. They then won’t let you get them until you pay. Or sometimes, they will even drive off with your bags still inside, once you get out of the taxi.
Just be alert and aware when you are riding in a taxi in Argentina, and everything should be just fine.
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I just saw on a travel scam show that counterfeit money is prevalent in Buenos Aires, and taxi drivers, food vendors, some police, and even banks and money exchanges readily hand out fake money that looks extremely well done. Another scam prevalent in BA is the Black Widow, where a young, pretty woman flirts with traveling men, alluring them to their room, drug their drink (sounded like rufies), and rob them of everything valuable. When they wake up, it’s all gone and they have no recollection of it.