I got scammed in Hanoi. Did u too?

6POSTS

9 years ago

I got scammed twice in the last 2 days.
1. First I go to buy a sim card and the guy offers to give me a sim with 30k balance for 80k. I knew that 50k is the price for a blank sim so said ok. Now this was a proper shop, not someone on the street who also sell sim cards so I trusted all is well. When I get back to my hotel and check the balance, its 0. I decided not to pursue the matter as it was just 30k dong (less than 2$).
2. This happened just an hour back. Took a taxi from Old quarter to Lang Ha. I usually prefer Uber as u know the price u’ll be paying upfront. However the 3 cabs I booked, all of them cancelled. So got into this metered taxi near the lake. I noticed the meter was running super fast. It usually costs 50-60K from Lang Ha to Old quarter and this one reached 70K halfway. The taxi driver also looked shady and since I was alone, didnt want to take any chances getting off in the middle. I just wanted to get back to my hotel. Finally I arrive and the bill is 150K, thought wth, let me just pay and be done with it, lesson learnt. But the story doesnt end here. I give him a 500K bill and ask for change, he says he doesnt have any and asks me to give smaller bills. I somehow had 150K on me so took them out of my wallet and gave it to him. The guy hands me my 500K bill back. Only when I get back to the hotel and check, there’s no 500K bill. He had swapped it with a 20K bill, which is of similar color. There were dim lights in the taxi and I never thought something like this could happen. Extremely bad experience. It sucks that I am here not for tourism but for work and might be staying for more than a year. Very disappointed. Hate this place already.

Edit: I was just venting after tonight's ordeal. Have been here for 4 days now and was loving it. The food is great, the weather is nice and the people mostly too. Its just that getting conned like this does make one feel like an idiot.

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Wald0 Serial expat

335POSTS

9 years ago

Well about those sim cards.. prices depens on numbers.. mine was 350k they can go really high! 50-70 million and even more..

And about that taxi, once.. did choose some black taxi what was wrong decision! Usually I only go for Mai Linh taxis.. (green color)

charlie2k New member

6POSTS

9 years ago

Ah.. i see.. so that could be why I was charged 80K for the sim card.
Thanks for sharing!

stddl Active member

35POSTS

9 years ago

I feel the same and I can understand your feeling. Hanoi is not a place for us, I like Saigon better, the southerner people seem open and nicer (there are bad people in Saigon too but in my opinion it is less than Hanoi). Do not trust anyone and move to Saigon as soon as you can. Good lucks to you.

Kupo Active member

61POSTS

9 years ago

Yes, but not to the degree that you've been scammed! My uncle decided to walk past the MaiLinh taxi and wave down some generic Hanoian taxi instead.

The drive proceeded to take us for a ride, both literally and figuratively. I was really mad at my uncle (a Vietnamese citizen) for going out of his way to get me fleeced, knowingly or not.

phikachu Serial expat

352POSTS

9 years ago

You should only ever use Mai Linh or Taxi Group.

Hanoi is full of scammers especially taxi scams, even Mai Linh drivers in hanoi will take a deliberate wrong turn down a traffic packed 1 way street.

There are fake taxis who dress their vehicles with the mai linh colours (white and green), if they are not wearing a uniform or you notice something ain't right with the taxi, it's dirty... damaged or the interior/meter is suspicious just tell the driver you'll wait for a real mai linh. You can usually tell by their mannerisms too, If the driver is overeager to get you into his car, it's definitely a scam.

Fred Indonesia Expert

30549POSTS

9 years ago

Almost every new expat gets scammed somewhere along the line; you have to live with it and hope you get away with a less expensive scam that teaches you the lesson.
Think happy thoughts, at least you realised you got ripped off so you won't be so easy to target next time.

Bazza139 ViP

1257POSTS

9 years ago

@ Fred

" ..live with it and hope you get away with a less expensive scam that teaches you the lesson..."

..a.k.a, learning from the mistake...

Which begs the question; why do so many repeat them..?

Fred Indonesia Expert

30549POSTS

9 years ago

My first Asia scam was a taxi driver in KL, but that only cost me 6 Ringgit so I was pretty happy at the price of the lesson.
I still get ripped from time to time but they have to catch me on a bad day and it's getting rare as I grow older and fatter.

charlie2k New member

6POSTS

9 years ago

#10

Thanks for sharing guys! I guess getting ripped off once in a while is part of an expat's stay. All we can do is take these lessons and be more prudent in the future. I've heard about Saigon being more friendly for foreigners from my work colleagues too. But sadly my company doesn't have an office there so cant move to Saigon.

Thinking about the incident again, I find solace in the fact that I just lost some money and that was the end of it. At least nothing bad happened to me. That could have been much worse. So a not so expensive lesson to keep eyes and ears open

On that point, does anyone have any advice about the safety in Hanoi? Something that we should definitely avoid? I noticed that the whole city shuts down by 10.30 (outside of Old quarter that is).

Bazza139 ViP

1257POSTS

9 years ago

#11

"..as I grow older and fatter..."

We who follow Fred prefer to think wisdom: Buddha!

Bazza139 ViP

1257POSTS

9 years ago

#12

charlie2k wrote:
Thanks for sharing guys! I guess getting ripped off once in a while is part of an expat's stay. All we can do is take these lessons and be more prudent in the future. I've heard about Saigon being more friendly for foreigners from my work colleagues too. But sadly my company doesn't have an office there so cant move to Saigon.

Thinking about the incident again, I find solace in the fact that I just lost some money and that was the end of it. At least nothing bad happened to me. That could have been much worse. So a not so expensive lesson to keep eyes and ears open

On that point, does anyone have any advice about the safety in Hanoi? Something that we should definitely avoid? I noticed that the whole city shuts down by 10.30 (outside of Old quarter that is).

Yeah? Well, living in Hanoi...
I avoid Saigon like the plague. But I hate heat too, so living outside Hanoi's
treadmill of traffic (12km) keeps me happy while having (more than)
enough benefits re infrastructure, cleaner air - and no tourists!!!

Danger is ubiquitous. You are (MUCH!!!) safer here than (my research)
anywhere else on the planet! No social strife like colour, class, religious
(or any?) intolerance. Like Fred said; Taxis are trivia.

(Please?) Read past posts to get the gist of living in (my ideal of) Utopia:
Heaven on Earth.

..but then, Saigon's districts 1, 7, 9, (etc) are my idea of Hell...

So what would I know..?

stddl Active member

35POSTS

9 years ago

#13

Uber and Grab are the best but if you have to use regular taxi, try VIC or Thanh Nga, I have had very good luck with VIC, Thanh Nga once in a while had a bad driver who took a longer route but not as bad as the others.

steaksauce Member

17POSTS

9 years ago

#14

Don't ever get your shoe cleaned in Hanoi either.

Wald0 Serial expat

335POSTS

9 years ago

#15

steaksauce wrote:
Don't ever get your shoe cleaned in Hanoi either.

Why? I do it all the time.. well.. for some reason when I need those people I have really hard time to find them 🙈

steaksauce Member

17POSTS

9 years ago

#16

Wald0 wrote:
steaksauce wrote:
Don't ever get your shoe cleaned in Hanoi either.

Why? I do it all the time.. well.. for some reason when I need those people I have really hard time to find them 🙈

I guess the moral of this story is to bargain and set the price before you engage in any type of financial transaction in Vietnam. =P

siewleng19 Member

2POSTS

9 years ago

#17

Hi,
I think there are definitely some taxi drivers out there trying to cheat the foreigners. I had 2 experiences taking this small taxi from old quarter to somewhere. The first one, the meter ran so fast, I alighted after we barely drove 50m. The second one, my journey was only 3km and the meter showed 270,000Dong upon arrival. I confronted the taxi driver and told him I have lived here for a few months and know how much a taxi ride will cost. And I walked off. As a guide, most taxi has a sticker on their windows showing how the fare is charged. Use that to calculate how much the fare should be. Alternatively, use Uber as a guide of the fare (Uber is normally 30% cheaper).

Cheers,
SL

charlie2k New member

6POSTS

9 years ago

#18

http://travelscams.org/asia/common-tour … s-vietnam/

nth161292 New member

7POSTS

9 years ago

#19

Simcards: Did you turn on the 3G or 4G on your mobile ? If yes, it could drained your simcard balance.

Taxi: Please only use Mailinh or Vinasun taxi, even I am a vietnamese but I don't dare to use other taxi brands.

trinhtu255 New member

4POSTS

9 years ago

#20

i'm so sorry
i dont think hanoi is such a bad in your eyes.
Haizzz, we have to blame ourselves first

Guest2023 Guest

0POSTS

9 years ago

#21

trinhtu255 wrote:
i'm so sorry
i dont think hanoi is such a bad in your eyes.
Haizzz, we have to blame ourselves first

Hanoi does have a reputation for scams, its been documented many times.

tvkk42 New member

9POSTS

9 years ago

#22

Sorry to hear this, but please don't feel too bad! I used to be a local and I can say that locals can definitely be scammed in the same way too. Most of us learned what kind of taxis to take by following tips from families/friends or after got scammed for the first time.

trinhtu255 New member

4POSTS

9 years ago

#23

Meanwhile, some young people like us still keep trying everyday to change something in your mind.

Wald0 Serial expat

335POSTS

9 years ago

#24

There's a sucker born every minute..

vndreamer Serial expat

518POSTS

9 years ago

#25

do not feel bad, every big city around the world has scam artist, not just vietnam. for example, i can tell you that new york city cab drivers rip off foreigners on a daily basis. i remember 1 case that actually went to court in manhattan when a japanese man was charged 200 dollars for a 50 dollar cab ride. Like others said, pay upfront or use vinasun or mailinh. I have never had a problem with taxis in saigon, even when I am alone. I do not take s**t from nobody and living in NYC teaches you alot about these scam artists. Also, as a foreigner, most do not want to have a problem with you because the government is trying to increase tourism and these idiots keep pushing foreigners away with their narrow minded view that I can ripoff a foreigner today, not thinking about the impact it has on future tourism.

phikachu Serial expat

352POSTS

9 years ago

#26

tvkk42 wrote:
Sorry to hear this, but please don't feel too bad! I used to be a local and I can say that locals can definitely be scammed in the same way too. Most of us learned what kind of taxis to take by following tips from families/friends or after got scammed for the first time.

My ex from Saigon would often say that even she was scared off getting scammed in Hanoi. She's not the only Vietnamese I heard say this about Hanoi scams especially taxi ones. Has never happened to me in Saigon.

Another scam unique to hanoi. A xe om approaches you and offers to take you to your destination. They quote a price but 1/3 of the way pretend to find directions and get lost. As if anyone living in Hanoi doesn't know what or where Hoa Kiem lake is... They then say you need to pay more to get there, more than a taxi would have cost. If you get off now, they ask for 2/3 of the new price or get aggressive.

Fortunately for me, the idiot stopped outside a police training school and a young off duty police man was nearby so he backed off when he sided with me. I gave him 50,000 vnd anyway and told him to get lost. Police was actually really nice and helped me call a Mai linh taxi after I refused to get in the one he waived down for me. The only time I will say anything good about the police there. Stick to the rule of Mai Linh or taxi group only and you won't get in trouble.

KruChris Serial expat

301POSTS

9 years ago

#27

Well, Hanoi has a bad reputation among those from the South.

A fake motorcycle taxi (wouldn't give me the 2nd helmet). Then the guy snatched currency out of my wallet, with a local old woman witnessing it all 2 meters away, outside my hotel.

I held on to the guy and would have fought him.
---

A "conductor" on a bus conned me into paying double. Once 5 x the normal fare was demanded (bus from Ha Long to MY Dinh, Hanoi).

Shame? They did not care that many locals observed their actions!
---
TBH, I have had 95% good experiences with Hanoi taxis.

Once, a young man clearly could not drive. He was torturing the engine and it was a terrible experience. WTH is a taxi company's boss letting someone mistreat their taxi?!?

wellfed Member

21POSTS

9 years ago

#28

I stayed in Saigon for almost a month and nothing happens. I go to Hanoi for business and got the taxi scam when I went to the old quarters. Like you said, the meter was going super fast for a half mile ride to my hotel. I had lots of luggages so taxi was the only option. Next time, I will stick with Uber or Grab or Mai Linh taxi like many have suggested. Even among the Vietnamese, the northerners in Hanoi can't be trusted. Bunch of crooks. Now I know why they get that impression.

KruChris Serial expat

301POSTS

9 years ago

#29

Now let's talk about what to do about it when this happens?

- take photos?
-write down some details of the cab?

trinhtu255 New member

4POSTS

9 years ago

#30

so sad!!!!
it is result of a troubled society. maybe we thought it is not too bad because we have to live and got acquainted with this everyday.
Sometimes when i sell some things, i realize the precaution from you.

rappi Member

3POSTS

9 years ago

#31

hello charlie2k,
im Dao, im a student in Ha Noi city. im very sorry hear about that and i disappointed . i hope you are better . if you need information or help contact with me. i hope i can help you some thing

Hannahpham Member

10POSTS

8 years ago

#32

I feel sorry to hear this. i have been in HN for more than a week and been fooled 3 times by UBER drivers, different tricks each time. it was unbelievable. I'm Vietnamese and speak Vietnamese but these is no exceptional i guess. Just have to be careful next times.

Wald0 Serial expat

335POSTS

8 years ago

#33

How can you get fooled by UBER drivers???

Hannahpham Member

10POSTS

8 years ago

#34

First one was when i couldn't pay by card, i asked the drive that i can pay in cash for him and he said yes and i just need to pay him the estimate amount on my phone. this is the first time i have a problem with payment method and didn't know that i can pay in my next trip. i gave him money and UBER didn't know this so i was overcharge on my next trip.
Second one. the drive told me his UBER app have a problem so can i pay him his estimate amount on my phone. At the end, i realized i was over charged more than double.
Third times. because of the complaining so Uber gave me some friendly promotion so this trip only cost me 9000d but when the trip end, i asked him to so show me the price on his phone, i saw some weird expression when he check his price, he did something with his phone and show me the price of 39.900d. i was late for work so i just don't want to argue so i let it go and gave him the money.
i reported with uber and get some of my money back but feel disappointed with drive in HN.