a coconut for $20 it must have gold in it hi everyone it's vanu from Vietnam welcome back to my channel where I usually talk about the good of Vietnam but today let's talk about the Bad and the Ugly shall we don't get me wrong Vietnam is generally safe the country has ranked as one of the safest countries for travelers however Patty thefts and scam can still happen here in Vietnam or any other country if you're not aware of them so in today's video I'm going to show you 10 Common scams in Vietnam and how to avoid them thank you Sur Shar VPN for sponsoring this video and we'll chat about them later all right let's get started when planning your trip to Vietnam you might choose to go through a travel agent or an independent operator some of them might scam You by either creating a fake website or offering cheap tour and hotel packages they'll tell you to deposit 50% up front and when when you successful make a payment they vanish with the money scammers may also impersonate an airline or train ticket agent to offer cheap tickets they will often send you fake booking codes to create trust so be careful if you're new to the City taxi drivers will try to convince you that the hotel you booked is full or had shut down and they can take you to a different hotel with cheaper price it's a scam don't fall for that because you might end up staying at an unsafe accommodation having bad food and experiencing sloppy service my advice to avoid this scam is to carefully check their credentials before booking you can read reviews on Google or trip advisors you can ask your friends who had traveled to Vietnam before and also you can use reputable websites for Ali tickets I recommend booking through booking.com travel Loca or Skyscanner for accommodations you can use aoda or ABNB for tours I have listed accredited tours in my ebook so you can check it out and if you don't know where to start you can have local experts customize your Vietnam trip go to my website at what the vm.com for more details after landing in Vietnam you will feel like a celebrity being surrounded by taxi drivers who offer you rid to your hotel once you agree to ride with them you might get into a car with broken or rigged meters get driven in cires goals or in a wrong direction then you end up paying a fortune they often Target anyone new to their local area from unsuspecting Vietnamese to foreign tourists and are located at airports train stations bus stations or tourist sites however the good news is that it's easy to avoid the scam first of all you need to use reputable taxi companies the most popular taxi companies in Vietnam are Ming or venina pay attention to the taxi logos because they might be copycats if you see anything similar but with a slight difference like milin or vam don't get in it second bring small bills to pay taxi drivers some of the drivers don't have enough change if you give them big bills like the 500,000 bank note and please be careful of confusing 500,000 Vietnam Dome with 20,000 Vietnam D because they have similar color I suggest you use other healing services in Vietnam such as V gojack or grab because they are more affordable you can know the exact amount of money that you're going to pay and you're going to know what route they going to it costs around 150,000 Vietnam D plus 25,000 Vietnam D airport fee from International Airport to District Juan hoan City if you ride with a taxi the price might be double not all Street vendors are scammers in fact many Vietnamese vendors are very friendly genuinely nice and love to entertain a great example is the mango pineapple banana singing vendor who you may have seen floating around the internet is it me you looking for I can see it in your eyes mango pineapple banana however please be careful if you encounter a coconut man who offers you free coconut water on a hot summer day he may charge you 10 times more than the normal price if you don't pay he might follow you until you do a coconut for $20 it must have gold in it to avoid this situation you might politely refuse and walk away and if you're really thirsty and want that coconut water you can ask them for the price give them the money first take the coconut and walk away [Music] Wi-Fi in Vietnam is everywhere and it's super fast however it's not always safe you need to be careful because people can hack your account and steal your personal information on unprotected networks sometimes when they know your phone number and the destination you went to scammers will pretend to be police officer saying that you're carrying illegal items to Vietnam and they will ask for your passport number your card numbers to pay fake fees to protect yourself I highly recommend using VPN I've been using surf shark VPN for over 2 years now and I'm very happy to partner with them in this video today using a VPN will change your IP address therefore scammers won't know your exact location furthermore if you accidentally download links from unwanted ads that contain viruses so shark VPN has an antivirus program that that can protect you from being hacked what I love the most about surf shark is that it creates alternative identities and emails for online registration so it can protect your personal information in case your email credit card or ID is leaked in a breach is going to alert you right away besides using Sur Shar for my online security I also use it to watch my favorite shows overseas and it gives me so many options get an exclusive discount with the Sur sharp Black Friday deal enter my promo code F pH to get up to six additional months for free I'll leave the link in the description box below so you can check it out these thieves usually work alone or in a group and they usually show up in crowded places like main streets markets KN bars and clubs they target anyone who carries visible expensive jewelry or valuable able items such as phone cameras wallets Etc thieves May reach into your back from behind or even slash your back to take your belongings some thieves even Rush by on a motorbike and snatch your phone wallet purse or back if they see an opportunity if the SE Works in a gang oh it's going to be more complicated they're going to try to put you in specific situations to distract you like fake accident and then after that they will steal your belongings my advice is to be aware of your surrounding in busy areas so always keep your back or your purse in front of you put all your valuable belongings in the anti staff bag don't keep your money and valuable items in the same place try to split and hide them in the money belt or your bags or hidden Pocket your socks wherever you can hide them also make sure to make copies of important documents such as ID cards and passports and bring them with you just in case you lose the real ones well just in case you're worried too much about pickpockets in Vietnam you should purchase travel insurance and I suggest using safety Wing since they have an add-on to their Nomad insurance policy that covers electric Goods such as stolen phones computers cameras and you can get reimbursed up to $1,000 better safe than sorry [Music] Vietnam is a beautiful country with unique conical hats and vendors selling colorful fruits and flowers in their bamboo baskets while you're out exploring the vendors might invite you to take picture don't fall for that because they might demand payment or force you to buy their products and overcharge you these vendors often Target foreign tourists and you may find them at beaches markets or any crowded tourist Des destination photo scam doesn't only happen in Vietnam but it did happen to me when I was randomly walking in Time Square in New York I accidentally took picture with Mickey Mouse and was asked to pay and I don't even like Mickey Mouse so how can you avoid this photo scam if you really want to take pictures with the vendors and their beautiful bamboo baskets you can ask them for the price first and then give them the money up front then take the picture if they keep following following you and asking for more money firmly say no with a smile and walk away many Travelers rent motorbikes and drive across country to enjoy the Landscapes along the way it can be a unique and fun way to experience authentic Vietnam especially the Hang Lop however please be careful when renting a bike especially for long rides because some bikes look like they're in good condition but they might might break down later these bikes may have fake or defective components and you may be forced to pay to get it fixed sometimes owner may even hire someone to steal your rented motorbikes and they force you to pay for the compensation and if you don't pay for it they're going to keep your passports to avoid this scam you should choose the reliable motorbike rental shops you can ask your hotel receptionist or accommodation owner to book one for you you should also Al check the motorbike thoroughly and take photos before renting it also help if you can get a local friend to come with you when you rent a motorbike finally remember to ask if the motorbike renters offer any supports in case the motorbike breaks down if they do it's a good sign when you travel to Sapa or hang you might see kids following you around and asking you to buy souvenirs in largest city you might see homeless people fake a disability or carry babies around to take advantage of your kindness in crowded tourist areas you might be asked to buy lollipops flowers pant as a donation for offes and nonprofit organization please don't give children money because it incentivizes them to quit school and make money in the easier way if people approach you and ask for money shake your head ad don't make eye contact and walk away Vietnamese food shop owners can often be very friendly and hospitable as well you might run into very kind food shop owners here and there in Vietnam they might give you extra food or invite you for a drink and talk about life on the other hand however over charging is still a common scam in Vietnam vendors might take advantage of you if you don't know know the currency conversion exchange rate for example some restaurants do not display prices on their menu and after that they charge you unreasonably high prices after your meals this type of scam can often occur at small food stalls tourist markets or souvenir shops sometimes they jack up the prices for services such as riding Cycles or booking a boat as well so how to avoid this scam make sure you ask for the price first before ordering or buying anything you can also research online or use Food review apps to choose reliable restaurants and check the price in offense also don't be afraid of bargaining in Vietnam because it can be a fun experience my tip is to bargain at least 50% of the offered price or better yet you can go with a local friend who can help you avoid getting scammed you can also hire a guide or book a food tour if you want to enjoy local street food with a peace of mind Vietnam has some of the best nightlife spots especially in hochan City AKA Saigon however you should be careful when you're out partying recently an Australian man was scammed with a bill of $45,000 after going to two bars in Vietnam according to the article the staff told him that he did not need to enter his pin and they couldn't provide him receipts because of the issues with with their payment system in Vietnam confirming transactions with a pin code is uncommon and most transactions are validated with a signature instead many bars take advantage of you being drunk and charge you unreasonable amount so make sure that you go to reputable bars that are recommended by your friends and also remember to check the receipts or the price before signing anything so those are the most common scams that you should know before traveling to Vietnam to be hon honest it doesn't feel good talking about the Dark Side of Vietnam but I care about you guys so much so that's why I want to make sure that you stay safe and sound while traveling Vietnam is a beautiful country with flaws here and there just like any other country scams can happen anywhere if you're not smart about it so make sure that you do a thorough research before coming to any country download your SAR VPN and also comment down below if you know any other scams that people should know before coming to Vietnam also if you want to know more about the tours the ebooks and more information about Vietnam go check out my website at what the fan.com and I'll see you guys in the next video bye is after the meals for tours I have listed accredited thank you for watching until the end
