Sri Lanka Scams
A common scam in Sri Lanka is so well orchestrated that you won’t even be suspicious that it is a scam until it has already been pulled on you. A local will walk up to you on the street and tell you that you are very lucky to be in Sri Lanka that day, as it is a very special festival day at the temple. He will not just talk about the festival, but will also ask where you are from and you will start to trust him as he seems genuinely interested in you. When you decide you would like to visit the festival after all, he will tell you that he will make sure you get a government tuk-tuk that is metered, so that you won’t get cheated. (Note: there are no government tuk-tuks).
All of a sudden, a tuk-tuk will pull up, and he will tell you that it is a government one. You will ask where the meter is and he will tell you, “Up there.” You will think you just can see it. The guy you were talking to will ask if he can ride with you and tell you that he was going that way anyway. They will take you to a deserted street and then tell you that you owe the equivalent of anywhere between $20-$80 for what would amount to a $2 ride. When you refuse, they will close in on you and look very threatening. I experienced this personally, and to avoid paying the unfair price, I just started screaming my head off, threw the driver $2 and jumped out of the tuk-tuk.
Make sure that you always get a metered tuk-tuk, that you can actually see the meter, and that the driver turns the meter on when you start moving. Also, if people seem too friendly or come up and start walking with you on the street, just say very firmly that you would prefer to walk alone. I wish I had done this in the beginning. I have found that this is a common scam in Sri Lanka, especially in the Colombo area. You can read more about my personal story at Scammed in Sri Lanka on the This Way To Paradise website. A similar story happened to someone else as well which you can read about on TripAdvisor. The best thing to do is just be cautious and remember you don’t have to be friendly to everyone.
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Interesting! We’re going to Sri Lanka in November for the 4th time, I’ve never come accross anything like that. Maybe they pick on solo female travellers, not nice anyway.
Maybe solo travelers in general. It’s happened to a few solo male travelers as well who have written about it on Trip Advisor. They tend to stay away from groups of people. I guess they think an entire family is too much to deal with!
Today’s my first day in Sri Lanka and no fewer than three (!) men came up to me in the first hour of my leaving my hotel and tried to get me with this. They all said that it was a festival that was “just starting” and that I was very lucky to be there. One of them claimed to recognize me from my hotel, which I had just exited; he was “just walking home.” Another, slightly craftier one, claimed to work at my hotel; he, too, was just walking home after work. The third claimed to be on assignment for the World Bank (normally lived in DC, from the Maldives originally) and was much better dressed; he ended up getting further along than the other ones with the “government tuk tuk” nonsense. Each one of them started out by asking me where I was from, how long I had been in Sri Lanka, whether it was my first time, etc. For what it’s worth, I’m a 30yr white male from California, and I was alone.
All three of them claimed that there was some festival happening at Viharamahadevi Park and that I was extremely lucky. They all tried to get me to go there immediately, but I shrugged them off because something didn’t feel right. I found this site in researching the scam and figured I’d add my input.
Thank you for your input! Yes, it’s pretty crazy what they do there. I created this site based on that scam happening to me. You can read even more detail in my first-person account and more info on my other site http://www.thiswaytoparadise.com. The link to that article is http://www.thiswaytoparadise.com/scammed-in-sri-lanka-information-you-need-toknow-before-you-go-there/. Safe travels!!
Always welcome tips on avoiding this kind of thing. Great to know!
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Good info to know. Thanks for sharing!
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As i said elsewhere please report these incidents to police .
Many tourists don’t report these incidents to police ,Just note down the number of the vehicle and report to police with the help of hotel you stay .
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90777/8440797.html
Just to advice new visitors fo Sri Lanka to stay away from gems…
The place where they scammed me is LANKA GEM&jewelry exchange in Colombo.
I knew it was easy to be scammed but the gems were nice. Consider I paid 200€ more than the real price.