After 18 years of living overseas in 73 countries, I have learned how to spot and avoid many of the common scams overseas.  I am not talking about $2 scams here.  You know who takes more money out of your pocket than street scammers?   The big boys.  

The big boys scam you for real money; street scammers usually only take you $10 or $20 bucks.  But I will share both kinds of scammers with you in this video.  

You see, I consider being overcharged $100 bucks on something a despicable scam, even if it is not an actual fraud.  So I am speaking about scams very broadly.  The big boys are the real scammers.  The billionaire travel companies take you for hundreds of dollars before you even leave your house.

You know where you get screwed harder than a street scammer overseas?  Flights, accommodations, and rental cars.  I know what you are thinking.  Dan, flights, accommodations, and rental cars are normal travel expenses, not scams.  

True.  But I think about this a little differently.  If you can save $200 on a flight, $100 on accommodations, and $200 on a rental car, you have saved $500 bucks.  

Then, if you get scammed paying $10 for a t-shirt you could have bought down the street for $5, you will still have $490 more bucks in your  pocket.  So I will cover the big boys first, and then the petty street scammers.      

Here is the truth.  If you don’t think carefully and do some pre-travel planning, you are letting the big boys scam you.  So, here is how I reduce the amount of money going from my pockets to the big boy’s pockets by doing a little research before booking trips.  

Pre-Travel Scams

Flights

Best Time to Book:  To save $200 to $300 on long international flights, book 2 to 5 months before you fly, but not much earlier unless you are booking a super saver sale. For short-hop international flights, book 1-2 months before flying.  Just a few days before my mother died of cancer, an airline charged me double to go see her.  Time matters.    

Finding Flights:  Search on Skyscanner to find the cheapest flight.  Enter the location where you want to fly and a possible date, and look for the green PokaDots.  Those are the days with cheaper flights.  Then click the flexible box button to get the best flights.  Once you find the cheapest flight, book directly with the airline because you can deal directly with them if you have to make changes.  This usually saves me a minimum of 30%.  

Luggage:  Add any extra luggage at the time you book your flight.  Or add extra luggage no more than a week before you fly.  The luggage fees are double if you wait to pay at the airport when you check in.  This saves me 50% on luggage fees.  

I got tired of being scammed by the bog boys.  Finding the cheapest flight, booking at the right time, and paying for extra luggage early easily saves me $200 to $300 per person.  

Rental Cars

In the last 6 years, I have only rented a car once or twice, but it was in the USA.  If you are from America, Canada, or Australia, you probably think you need to rent cars overseas.  You do not.  Not renting a car will save you about $300 to $500 per week.  I will explain why we don’t rent cars as I explain how to save money on Accommodations.

Accomodations

Picking where to stay is the most important thing when you travel.  That is why we always share the area to stay in our location reports.  Picking where to stay can make or break your time in any city.  

We always book in fun, walkable neighborhoods where everything we need is within walking distance.  That way, we don’t have to pay for a taxi every time we leave the house.  We just walk to everything.  

Car rentals cost too much. We use trains, buses, and taxi apps like Uber and Grab once we are on the ground overseas.  We save hundreds of dollars as compared to car rentals, and we never have to worry about parking, insurance, drunk driving, driving on the wrong side of the street, or traffic laws we don’t understand in foreign countries.  

Booking Return Visits: When we have been to a town before, we already know our favorite neighborhoods.  We often just contact the landlord where we stayed last and offer a slightly lower price since they don’t have to pay a commission to Booking, Agoda, or Airbnb.  Our location reports share where we stayed.  

Booking Accommodations in New Town: When we first visit a new town, we look for walkable areas with restaurants, coffee shops, grocery stores, public markets, malls, nightlife, and entertainment within 500 meters (1600 feet) of our accommodations.  We love walking for exercise.  

We Google and read blogs to find the best areas to stay.  Once we know the area, we look for the tan markings on Google maps within that area.  In this map of Puerto Princesa in the Philippines, I have circled the tan area where we decided to stay.

The tan area on Google Maps means walkability.  So, we look for a place to stay on Airbnb, Booking, and Agoda within or very near the tan area.  

Best Time to Book:  The best time to book depends on whether you arrive in low, middle, or high season.  Booking at the right time ensures more choices and lower prices.  

In high season, we save the most by booking 4-6 months ahead, or 6-9 months ahead for really popular destinations.  During the middle season, we book 1-2 months in advance, and in the low season, 1 month is often sufficient for the best selection and price.    

If we decide to stay longer than a week or two, then we will find our favorite neighborhood in that town on foot.  Here is my free report about booking apartments overseas long-term for cheap.  I’ll put a link to that video at the end of this video.

3-5 Days Before Flying

Airport Transfer Scams

One of the biggest scams used to be getting from an international airport to your first accommodations when you land.  But that scam is mostly gone now because of taxi applications like Uber and Grab.  

So, 3-5 days before flying, we Google the following:  “Are taxi applications like Uber or Grab allowed to pick passengers up at XYZ international airport?”  If so, we download that application to our smartphone and order a taxi when we land.

If not, we email our accommodations and ask them how to get there from the airport.  Most accommodations will explain how to do that for a reasonable price.  Many accommodations will even have someone waiting at the airport with a sign with your name on it.

If that doesn’t work either, Google the words, “How do I get from XYZ international airport to my accommodations in the city, the cheapest way?”  That usually tells you not only how to save money but also the scams to avoid at that airport.  

Bank Travel Notification

Set up a travel plan online at your bank in your home country.  Log in to your bank and look for the travel notification option.  You will be prompted to enter your travel dates and destinations, and to select which cards you will use on your trip.  

Now, when you arrive in that foreign country and try to get money out at an ATM, they won’t shut off your ATM card.  But bring some dollars, UK Pounds, or Euros in case the ATMs are down when you land.  This almost never happens, but bring around $300 to $500 in cash just in case.

Next, search, “What ATM machines in this foreign country have the lowest ATM fees and best foreign currency exchange rates?”  Now you know what ATM to pick if you have multiple choices when you arrive at the airport.

Exchange Rates

Next, search online to find the exchange rate for the foreign currency for the country you are visiting.  Search on, “How many Malaysian Ringgit can I get today for $200 USD?”  Now you know how much foreign currency to pull out of an ATM when you land in that country.

The Day You Fly Scams

Onward Flight Scams

Many countries around the world no longer ask for proof that you have a flight leaving the country before they let you enter the country.  But when you try to check in for your flight, many airlines will try to sell you a return or onward flight.  

I recommend searching for the phrase “Onward Flight” on Google and purchasing an onward flight for $12 USD.  Do this about 4 hours before heading to the airport. We have been using these $12 onward flights for about 6 years and have only been turned down once.

The airline said it was only a reservation and not a paid-for flight.  Then they offered to sell us a return ticket for $600 USD.  I said no, thank you.      

Here is what you do instead.  Arrive at the airport 3 hours before your international flight and try to check in.  When they refused our $12 Onward Flight proof, we just stepped to the side and purchased an actual flight to the nearest country for $100.  

We saved $500 by buying an actual flight to the closest nearby country for $100, rather than buying a return flight to our home country that the airline was trying to sell us for $600.  Then they let us board our flight.

Plus, when we landed, the immigration officials never asked for proof of our onward flight.  It seems like the airline was just trying to scam us for $600.  You see, the big boys try to take you down for hundreds of dollars.  Most street scammers are not so ambitious.  

Feet On The Ground Scams

ATM Scams

Now you are on the ground in a foreign country.  Examine the ATM for anything that seems suspicious.  Google now and read about that if you have no knowledge of it yet.  Get local currency out of the ATM in the amount you determined earlier.    

After entering your ATM PIN number, the ATM may ask you a few things you have not seen before.   First, is the account you are withdrawing from a Current account, Savings Account, or Credit Card?  Many countries overseas refer to checking accounts as current accounts.  

Select the current account if your ATM card was issued on your checking account.  

Next, the machine may (or may not) ask you whether you want your bank at home to do the currency conversion or the foreign bank to do the currency conversion.  

My Charles Schwab account seems to give me a better conversion rate when I am overseas, so I select to proceed without conversion.

Then I exit the airport and use whatever method I determined earlier to get from the airport to my accommodations.

English Speakers 

If you are in a country where everyone speaks a foreign language, and you are approached by someone who is smiling and talking near-perfect English, be skeptical.  When that happens overseas, about 50% of the time, they have an ulterior motive.  

I just steer away from them these days. Back when I used to listen to them, it seemed like their goal was to spend time with me, and then try to make me feel guilty, and then try to get me to pay them something out of guilt.

My rule these days is I don’t engage with people who approach me.  When I need or want something, I approach whatever business is selling that.  I hunt for whatever I want.  I am no longer comfortable being hunted

Money Exchangers

I don’t use money exchangers.  I keep some dollars with me in case of an emergency, but I normally pull money out of my American banks at foreign ATMs as needed.  The few times I have used Money Exchange, I always read Google reviews before picking which money exchanger to use.  

Look for both foreign and local reviews of a money exchanger.  If a money exchanger’s reviews don’t look authentic, they probably aren’t.  

Overseas Bank Accounts

Over the last 18 years, expats around the world have shared various stories with me about how they have been mistreated and given the run-around by foreign banks.  

I do not keep money in foreign banks.  I keep my money in US Banks and pull money out at foreign ATMs overseas as needed.  One of my US banks is Charles Schwab, and it rebates my foreign ATM fees.  

Other people will tell you to open foreign banks in case of an emergency.  I have a different emergency plan.  I keep my money in two separate US Banks, each with its own ATM card and credit card.  And I keep these two sets separate.  

I also have online access to both US banks with two-factor authentication enabled.  In 18 years of living overseas, I have never once lost access to my money using this strategy.

I recommend waiting at least 2 to 3 years living overseas before opening any foreign accounts.  And before you do, verify whether your home country requires you to report the opening of foreign bank accounts to them, as the USA does.

Passport Scams

U.S. Department of State warns that American Citizens should never provide their original passport to a hotel, rental company, or anyone else.  At most, give them a carbon copy of the photo page of your passport.  Letting your passport out of your possession can lead to serious consequences if the document is misused.  I will give you an example now in Scooter rentals.

Scooter Rentals Scams

Many scooter and car rental agencies will try to get you to give them your passport as collateral for a rental contract.  There are many stories of people who have rented older high-mileage used scooters worth less than $1000, and gave their passports away as security.  

Then, after wrecking the scooter and offering to pay the $1000 value, the rental company demanded $2500 or more to replace the old scooter with a brand new scooter.  Don’t do that.  I am usually able to negotiate a $100 to $300 deposit on a scooter rental, or no deposit at all, depending on the country.  

Also, never rent a scooter from anyone without reading the reviews they have on Google or Google Maps.  

When you are renting a scooter, walk around the scooter slowly as you film it, paying close attention to any scratches or blemishes.  Then email that video to the scooter rental company.  It shows the condition of the scooter before you took possession.  

If possible, add language to the contract saying something approved by your lawyer, such as if you completely destroy the scooter, you will replace it with a scooter of similar age, mileage, and condition, or $1000 in cash, at the option of the scooter rental company.

Rent Security Deposits

Don’t pay a full month’s rent for an apartment rental security deposit.  In many parts of the world, landlords routinely refuse to refund apartment security deposits for temporary renters visiting from another country.  

When we are going somewhere for just a week or two, we rent on Booking, Agoda, or Airbnb without paying any security deposits; we pay online only for the period rented.

If we plan on staying for a month or two, we book a cheap hotel online for a few days, and then we hunt for a longer-term apartment with our feet on the ground.  We negotiate directly with landlords and refuse to pay rent security deposits.  More free details here.  

Food Scams

If you are walking along and see a restaurant that you want to eat at, check the social media to see if it is well reviewed by both foreigners and locals.  Google Reviews are automatically translated into your primary language when you are in a foreign country.  

Never order anything without pointing at the item you want on a menu that includes a price next to the item.  95% of the restaurants you will visit are trustworthy.  But a very few restaurants will offer you something that is not on the menu.  

Also, if they set the food down in front of you and say something like, “Would you like water, bread, or soup with that,” do not assume it is free.  Ask, “How much more for the bread or soup?”  Never assume that something offered verbally will have a fair price.  

The same goes for happy hours.  Ask what time it starts and ends, and look for the happy hour price in writing on the menu.  And if you decide to have another, always ask, “Is this still at the happy hour price of $xx?”  Assume nothing about prices.  Always see it in writing.  

Never assume anything is free or included.  The problem of overpriced off-menu items is not common, but has happened to us multiple times in Turkey and Morocco, and only in tourist areas so far.    

Tour and Transportation Companies

Always read the Google Reviews before booking trips with tour companies and Transportation companies.  If a tour or transportation company has no social media presence, I do not recommend booking with them.  

If you are walking in a tourist area and someone approaches you offering you a tour of any kind.  Listen and take their brochure.  But never buy on the spot.  Walk away and then search on Google Maps to see the tour operator reviews.  

It is better to search and find tour and transportation companies online than to pick one while walking down the street.  

Getting into a vehicle isolates you, which can be very dangerous if the tour operator is not legitimate.  And you will never know if they are legitimate if they don’t have a substantial social media presence.

That reminds me, avoiding street scammers is important to save money.  But your life is even more important than your money.  Watch this video to learn how I have remained safe living overseas for 18 years, and watch this video to learn how I save money renting perfect apartments all over the world.  And grab my free eBook about the most important things to know about living and making money overseas.