If you’re visiting Turkey this year for the first time, or perhaps not even for the first time, it pays to know what to look out for.
For the most part, your visit to this beautiful and cultural country will be extremely uneventful in negative ways and focused entirely on fun. But there are some common scams in Turkey that are helpful to be aware of.
The Alcohol Situation
If there’s one Turkish scam you must be careful of in tourist resorts, it’s anything to do with alcohol.
Prices in Turkey have increased quite steeply over the last few years since the Turkish Lira has fallen in value, affecting businesses in many ways. Alcohol, in particular, is costly for bars to purchase, and in some cases, that means that some bar owners have resorted to scamming Turkish holidaymakers.
Before I go on, I should state that this is a minority. For the most part, you won’t have problems, and bars are very honest indeed. But it doesn’t hurt to be aware of what could happen if you end up in a bar and something seems like a sham.
Firstly, fake alcohol. While there is a big crack down on this, it still happens in some cases. If you order a drink that doesn’t taste right, send it back. Don’t just assume that it’s you. Also, listen to what people tell you about specific bars; if you read a bad review about a bar and they mention fake alcohol, avoid it. This is dangerous, and you don’t want to be involved in it.
However, the most common issue is watering genuine drinks down. Again, not all bars, but some. This means you’re paying for a drink containing far less alcohol than you’re paying for – a total sham. If you feel your drink is too weak, mention it to the server and ask for a new one.
The Great Shoe Cleaning Debacle
You might think you’re doing an older man a favor, but he has something else on his mind. Harsh but true.
Picture this. You’re walking along, and the man in front of you drops one of his cleaning brushes. You shout after him, and he turns, shakes his head as if to say, “Silly me,” and comes back to pick up his brush.
He then thanks you and says that he wants to clean your shoes. You assume he’s doing it as a thank you, but he’s not. He’s about to charge you for it, and once those shoes are clean, there’s nothing you can do about it. An easy ruse to fall victim to (I almost did myself!)
Please don’t feel bad about it, though. This is one of the oldest tourist scams in Turkey. Be aware of this “trick,” and don’t fall for it.
Asking You To Have a Tab
Please don’t do it. This often happens in hotels and bars you visit on a very regular basis.
When you have a tab, the drinks, and food you consume over a period of time, perhaps a week or two weeks, are added to the list, and you pay at the end. Not all places allow this; if you can avoid it, you’re best to do so.
When you’re presented with a very large bill in the end, you’ll wish you’d been more careful. It’s not easy to know how much you’re spending over a long period of time, and things can add up. Also, there’s no way to know if they’ve added extra drinks onto your bill that you never had in the first place. It happens, although rarely – it is one of the hardest scams in Turkey to prove but could end up being the most costly.
Where Is My Change?
This particular con in Turkey could happen to you anywhere, but it’s pretty standard in restaurants in Sultanahmet Istanbul. It’s one of the most common Istanbul tourist scams you must watch out for.
You’re enjoying delicious Turkish food overlooking the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia when a group of musicians comes over to serenade you. You might have had a few drinks, and you’re really feeling the love for Istanbul’s warm welcome. Then the bill comes. But you’re still distracted.
If at all possible, try and pay with the exact change or pay by card. The reason is that if your bill was, for instance, 150 Lira and you give 200 Lira, expecting 50 Lira change, you might be sat waiting for quite a while.
You would then inquire about the whereabouts of your change, only to be told that you gave them the correct amount of money.
You know you didn’t. Cue an awkward exchange, and in some cases, no change returned.
Again, this isn’t the case with all restaurants, but it’s something to be wary of. Not giving the correct change, or not giving any change back at all, is one of the biggest tourist scams in Istanbul. Don’t get caught off guard!
Adding Stuff To Your Bill
Let’s talk about this a bit more. This doesn’t only happen when you have a tab; it can happen if you run up a bill one evening, especially if there is a group of you or if you’re a little tipsy.
Again, don’t assume that it happens in all bars, but if you get an unscrupulous one, you might find that a few more drinks are sneakily placed on your bill, and you end up having to pay for them. It’s your word against theirs, and trust me, nobody will believe you.
Also, if you’re a large group of separate families or couples, have different bills for each one. You can ask the server to separate your table into family 1, family 2, etc. This makes the whole thing easier to manage, and you’ll know if your bill is correct at the end of the day.
Be Wary In Your Hotel Room
Again, not all hotels and this scam isn’t one that just happens in Turkey – this happens worldwide! I really don’t want to freak you out here, but this is a common-sense issue to know about.
When leaving your hotel room, ensure you lock your money and anything else of value in your safe. Leaving things out in the room means anyone who goes into your room, e.g., cleaners or maintenance staff, can access those things. For the most part, they won’t even get touched, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
You’ll struggle to prove that you left those things out if you didn’t put them in your safe.
Haggling Issues
If you want to buy something large or even semi-large, it’s best to get a trusted local to do the haggling for you. Shopkeepers have been known to put the price up if you’re a foreigner or ‘yabanci’ – the saddest scam of all if you ask me. However, if a local asks for you, you may find you get a better price – or at least the real one.
The Taxi Scenic Route
The taxi scam in Turkey is an issue all across the country, but especially in Istanbul. Some taxi drivers may take you on the scenic route to put the price of your journey up. However, you can avoid being conned by asking the taxi driver to put on the meter as soon as you get into the taxi and also ask for a rough price – just so they know you are aware of this common deception.
I Thought This Was Free! It’s Not
One of the most recurrent Istanbul scams is adding things to your bill that you consumed because you thought they were on the house. Sometimes, you’ll find that those things were not free and cost quite a lot of Lira.
If anything comes to your table that you didn’t individually order, either ask about it or don’t eat it. Overall, meze usually is free, but not in every single restaurant. So, again, check. If you’re eating at an ocakbasi (a typical Turkish grill restaurant), water will be put on your table, and you might assume it’s there to drink free of charge. Yet, it’s not.
The same goes for bars. You might have a bowl of nuts put on your table when you order a couple of beers. Assuming they’re free, you’ll munch along while enjoying your night, only to be charged 20 Lira for the pleasure.
Check your bill carefully when it arrives and question anything that doesn’t seem right.
The Walk on The Beach
This issue isn’t as prevalent as it used to be – thankfully! And again, this is not all by any means, just some. Basically, it was often the case that if a young Turk took a fancy to you, they would suggest going for a walk on the beach with them after work.
You might think this guy is lovely and wants to talk to you in a beautiful setting. They probably don’t. They’re probably hoping that something else will happen, and if that’s not what you’re after, it might be best to avoid an awkward situation. Then, you’ll feel like you need to avoid them for the rest of your holiday because you turned them down.
Not pleasant.
So, now that you are well-versed on the most common scams in Turkey – we hope that you have a wonderful and fraudulent-free vacation in Turkey.