March 18, 2025, 3:17 p.m. | Reading time: 5 minutes
It is well known that vacationers should be careful of various scams, especially in tourist hotspots. The British comparison portal GoCompare has now used official data to determine in which countries the risk of theft and rip-offs is particularly high. A travel destination that is popular with Germans turns out to be a negative leader. But: We ourselves are also represented in the inglorious top 10. All information about this at Sunnytrips.
“From overpriced souvenirs to sophisticated scams, scammers often target visitors who are unfamiliar with local customs or areas.” With these words, GoCompare, a comparison portal specializing in financial and insurance products, launches its latest investigation into this topic. The aim of the study was to raise awareness of the various and unfortunately often successful tricks used by petty criminals. It also shows at which travel destinations tourists are particularly often exposed to fraud.
This is how the rip-off strongholds were identified
Most scams occur in: Spain
Overview of the countries with the most fraud
These are the most common stitches
How you can protect yourself as a holidaymaker from fraud
If fraud has occurred
This is how the rip-off strongholds were identified
The survey is based on a survey of around 2,000 randomly selected British adults. The analysts at GoCompare determined the proportion of those who have fallen victim to fraud abroad in the past five years. The year 2020 was not included in the investigation. The survey results were compared with official figures from the UK's National Statistics Office, which show how many British holidaymakers stayed in popular travel destinations during the relevant period. Analysts then applied the percentage of casualties to the total number of trips to estimate the number of tourists affected.
Most scams occur in: Spain
The analysis showed that in no other place did more holidaymakers fall victim to fraud than in Spain. A whopping 22 percent, i.e. more than a fifth of those surveyed, said that this happened there. Based on official figures for British holidaymakers in Spain, GoCompare says this means more than 1 million tourists in Spain have fallen victim to scams in the past five years.
The USA takes second place among the places with the most scams. Around 14 percent of those surveyed said they had been cheated while vacationing there. Third place goes back to Europe, which incidentally dominates the list. The list shows that in Germany – ranked 7th – many holidaymakers from Great Britain have had unpleasant experiences with rip-offs.
Overview of the countries with the most fraud
What stands out: The value of 167:1 in the “ratio of tourists to cases of fraud” is increasing. If this is the same for two countries, but one country receives more tourists than the other, then in the end it is the country with the higher absolute number of fraud victims.
These are the most common stitches
Fraudsters are inventive. If every stitch were the same, it would logically no longer be successful sooner or later. However, some scams have proven to be particularly successful.
Also interesting: More and more cases of fraud involving the “mirror trick” in Italy!
Most holidaymakers are distracted and fall victim to pickpockets - and that is not surprising. Sunnytrips has already reported that this is a popular practice, especially on the magnificent Las Ramblas boulevard in Barcelona. According to the GoCompare study, this happened to a fifth of the fraud victims identified. In addition, numerous victims were scammed with fake tickets for supposed activities or attractions, some of which were purchased online. 8 percent of respondents fell for ATM fraud. Inflated prices and counterfeit goods were also cited as fraud methods. Two-fifths of respondents said they had been cheated in other ways, such as overcharging or counterfeit goods.
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How you can protect yourself as a holidaymaker from fraud
GoCompare provides various recommendations to protect yourself from fraud at holiday destinations. One of these is to keep valuables in the property's safe. However, Sunnytrips points out that the small safes are often easy to open, as a video shows here. But there are other important rules of conduct that you should heed.
Never leave your handbag or cell phone unattended and do not place your cell phone on tables in restaurants or cafés!
If you rented a car, do not leave any important documents or valuables in it.
Handbags should always be closed and carried close to the body. Especially in busy places with a lot of crowds, it is easy for fraudsters to get close to you without being noticed.
Thoroughly check ATMs for tampering and cover PIN entry with your hand.
Don't let anything fool you. If you do want to buy something, check the goods carefully - particularly cheap, supposedly branded products such as handbags could be counterfeits.
If fraud has occurred
If you become a victim of fraud despite taking common precautions, report the incident to local authorities and obtain a copy of the police report. If you lose your cards, inform your bank or credit card company immediately. As a precaution, change your passwords. If your ID or travel documents have been stolen, report the theft to the relevant office and request a replacement. GoCompare also recommends filing a claim with your travel insurance company. According to the survey, only around 7 percent of those affected did this - a mistake, according to the portal. “Many insurance policies cover losses due to fraud or theft,” it says.
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