AVOID these SCAMS in Turkey 2024. Watch before traveling!

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00:00 Intro. Tourist Scams to Avoid in Turkey (Turkiye)
00:41 Tourist Scam in Turkey #1
03:50 Tourist Scam in Turkey #2
05:27 Tourist Scam in Turkey #3
08:13 Tourist Scam in Turkey #4
09:25 Tourist Scams in Turkey #5
10:38 Tourist Scams in Turkey #6
11:52 Is it safe to travel to Turkey in 2023?

Don’t be afraid to travel to Turkey. Turkey is a great country for travellers. For a fraction of a price that you would pay in Europe you are getting beautiful beaches, breathtaking views and gourgeous mountains.

So don’t let the tourist scams discourage you from travelling. Instead use this knowledge to feel more confident when you travel abroad.

❓What would you like to see in my next videos? Share in the comments

#Istanbul
#Turkiye
#Turkey
#travel

[OlgaProGoingPlaces]

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Living in Turkey

We are Olga and Rene. After spending 1 year in Turkey we travelled SE Asia and spend 1 year in Da Nang, Vietnam. We review local prices, cost of living, our daily life as foreigners. Subscribe to see which hidden gem of a country we will discover next!

Subscribe on Facebook and Instagram:

Become a Supporter

Your support will help me upgrade my camera, laptop, pay for editing software and make better videos :)


Don’t be afraid to travel to Turkey. Turkey is a great country for travellers. For a fraction of a price that you would pay in Europe you are getting beautiful beaches, breathtaking views and gourgeous mountains.

So don’t let the tourist scams discourage you from travelling. Instead use this knowledge to feel more confident when you travel abroad.

❓What would you like to see in my next videos? Share in the comments

[kennethdrewary]

I went to Turkey and never got scammed, but tell everyone to watch out for zebra crossings, the cars don't stop even if you are crossing. They use you as target practice. Nearly got hit twice.

[BELOVEDThessaloniki]

About a month ago we went to Istanbul . The first taxi driver asked 700 liras to take us from Ortakoy to Taksim . We turned him down because we knew it was too much. The second said he would use the taximetre and the final charge was that of about 55 liras. He also got a 20 lira bill as a tip . Istanbul was great and the people also, except perhaps from the people at some restaurants who called us "stingy " just because we didn't want to buy their cheap parfums. From Greece 🇬🇷 with love ❤.

[mervikt]

Dear Olga, as a Turkish person, thank you for your unbiased video. Believe me these scammers similarly target Turkish people too but tourists are definitely more vulnerable. When you're an empathetic and a tender person (like I am), you're always a target. So gotta ignore people whom you don't have anything to do with.

[allanizniylepunk]

As a local from Alanya, I will give u all some advice: Follow the steps of other Turkish locals/local young folk to avoid this. I mean look around yourself and watch what other young Turkish people do, where they eat their food, which bars they are going to and generally which locations they are crowdedly present..etc. I mean try to analyze the situation as a whole picture.

For example, firstly don't get scammed by that chatting personnel who always try to start a chat with u from nowhere and offer you something. (Those ankward, shitty guys who always wanna chat when they immediately see u) We generally see what happens: All of them call of u like have a seat lady, have food from here mister or they always call u for a boat tour etc. While u having fun with some service, they generally planning how to bargain your money a little bit more...Of course I wouldn't say that is all of them are like this, but it would be better if u can be a bit more skeptical to avoid scams.

What do Turkish locals/young people think about this whole process u wonder? Actually, we feel sad for you. Also, we really get full of cringe so much by seeing that. Don't listen to them. Don't play the game with their rule, and don't lose unfair money. Additionally, If you see more tourists rather than locals in a restaurant, for example, and if that restaurant or bar is located in the Alanya dock region, you probably gonna be scammed. Also, don't be fooled by those other awkward guys behaving like monkeys or dancing like idiots to entertain you. I am sorry to say this but, while they are acting as a friend to you, again, they generally thinking the money or.. they having ugly chat between themselves about your lovers and wives. Because they are mainly coming from uneducated parts of the country for just to work in summer in Alanya. As I mention above, they are generally not locals of Alanya, and if you pay attention most of the locals are missing, you can't find locals at their bars, restaurants, or other places. I hope this long writing helps.

[elenazenzolo]

Thank you for your video, I had my bad experiences, although not in Turkey... I pay attention to your words: "dont be afraid to be rude", and scammers pick their targets based on certain criterias, even if you just look kind... I came to the point Im wearing dark shades, so, I do not make any eye contact with anyone at all, I do not answer any questions, pretending not to understand: this is nowadays surviving guide, the world is not an honest place, and, what really annoys me, is the actual fact that many tourists are not so rich, but they work hard for saving the money for a well deserved holiday. And thats what they come across... great video, thank you!

[joelott]

I have traveled all over the world and Turkey is #1 for amount of scammers you will encounter

[eccentricly]

It's not only Turkey. You need to watch out for all tourist destinations. Sadly!

[johnthompson]

Thank you so much Olga! I have lived in Turkey for 25 years but becuase I have blond/white hair and blue eyes they still try to scam me!! It is so sad because this country has so much potential and they could do so much better if they were honest!! However, there are some good ones but you need to be on your guard all the time.

[dr.saifuddin]

1. Now you know much about Turkey more than a Turkish .. lol
2. When you were talking about Taxi rent, it reminded me my sweet mom who always keep on us about these types of things .. lol
3. About BAR .. we never go to BARS .. lol
4. About Restaurant .. most of our food was in package, so not worried about scams .. lol
5. I didn't take service of any shoe cleaner or shiner, because Turkey was so clean regarding roads that my shoes never need to clean, I just clean them by rubbing with a piece of toilet paper ... Lol
6. Olga you are so sweet and honest, you post these videos and advise tourists for their benefits. God bless you and Love your efforts ❤️

[bluewaves]

I travelled to Turkey many times and never had issues with scammers. I found that it was just the opposite. Great people, great country, beautiful nature, stunning beaches and delicious food. I sincerely recommend Türkiye to everybody. Greetings from Sweden to Lovely Turkish people and to all travellers💖🇹🇷

[jorb]

Fixed taxi price: take a pen and paper and let the taxidriver write the fixed price and where to go and hold the paper in your hand during the trip. No discussions after.

[tn]

Im in Istanbul now and also with the Istanbul kart are a lot of scams They wait for you in the ATMs and apparently they want to Help you but then youre obligate to give them money. The Police are 50 m left but do nothing. Very disgusting .

[trimartono]

Once when I was admiring Hagia Sophia from outside, a man out of the blue asked me (in English) what time is Hagia Sophia closed. I thought to myself: why on earth do you ask that to me? Do I look like an officer?
But then I didn't answer him whatsoever. He then asked me where I am from, do I speak English..
I completely ignored him, and acted like he did not exist. And then I walked away.

I always bear in my mind: anyone who out of the blue starts conversation with me in good english (especially in touristy area in İstanbul), is a scammer. Do not answer him anything. Not even a gesture (nodding, shaking head, etc.). Just ignore him.

[tugbaozkan]

I am a Türk living in the States. I need to be careful in Turkey, too. People are greedy. The moment they hear my kids speak English, they may try scamming me.

[issam]

Thank you, also I experienced another scam, in taksim there’s a lot of pigeons, they’re beautiful lovely and you definitely want to take some pictures, there would be people offering you food to feed them, never accept the food even tho they wouldn’t ask for money (at first), he offered food for the pigeons, took our phone and insisted he takes pictures of us, and after he finished we wanted to tip him until he said no it’s actually my job and asked us for a lot of money! And it’s really hard to argue!

[kazak]

Another popular “dropping” scam is empty wallet dropped in front of you by someone. When you pick it up and approach the person to give it back, you are assumed to be the one who took all money from the wallet.

[svetlanawilson]

I went to Turkey and got scammed a few times and few times I also avoided scam. First was in Higa Sophia when guy decided be our guide and I tried to walk away. He was extremely angry. Unfortunately my husband decided pay him even I worn him before. I saw shoe guy and he dropped brush in front of us. We didn’t pay attention and he was disappointed. But we had really bad experience in a central bazar. Sellers offer us a Turkish rugs, they brought us to the second or third floor empty building. They turn on elevator for us, was very kind and smiley. We went to the big room and they started to show is rugs. Prices were in 10 times more than in US and most important these rugs were made in China. When I told them I need to think and maybe I will come back, they were extremely angry and didn’t turn on elevator for us. Sorry but I didn’t feel safe. They tricked us in restaurant as well, but the scariest part was when some tall guy in long leather coat follow us every step. We escaped him just stepping inside unknown building and watched him looking for us from second floor window. But I like beauty of Istanbul and anyways will recommend visit this country. Just be careful.

[sabinas]

My bf is from Canada and I must tell, it’s a horrible experience. Every person in Istanbul feel like it’s his obligation to scam him. Staring from the taxi drivers and then to infinity. About the taxi drivers yes they are official and no that means NOTHING! They will scam you with a smile. We took an official taxi from sabiha Gökçen airport in Istanbul and the driver said that we have to pay him 200 liras for the speed road. We had the same issue three months earlier. We agreed cuz it’s normal to pay for the speed roads. But I thought it was strange one guy took 100 liras and the other took 200 liras. So I called 153 (authority that deals with such things) and they told me that client has to pay 33 liras in total for that. 33 liras! And in two cafes we were also almost scammed. On one of them the waiter just put the service fee into the bill. But I know it’s wrong. You can leave the tip, but only if you want. In another cafe the guy came up to my bf and said you have to give me the tip, cuz it’s not included into the bill. Both of the cafes were in good districts where locals go. One in Nisantasi and another one is in besiktas. One is called kruvasan and another is called minoa akaretler. I always loved Istanbul, but after this kind of experience I want to get out of here as soon as possible. It’s a stress, every single day.

[vandhuymartins]

I'm going to Antalya soon and this video was extremely helpful. Thank you very much Olga!