Turkey: Taxi Scams in Istanbul

No Comments | June 14th, 2006 | Trackback

The recent news about crooked taxi drivers at New York’s JFK airport being caught fleecing non-English-speaking foreigners is certainly not news in Istanbul. Taxi drivers here have a well-developed method for cheating non-Turkish speakers. With a combination of feigned agitation, sleight-of-hand and foreigners’ lack of familiarity with local currency, the crooks toss back the money handed to them as if it’s not enough, having secretly replaced the bills with old Turkish money taken out of circulation in recent years. The currency looks similar but has lots of extra zeros. In the resulting confusion, the passenger usually hands over a different denomination, thus paying the driver twice, usually with a larger bill that the driver then claims he cannot change. The best defense is to insist the meter be used, observe it to make sure it’s operating correctly, have correct change to the nearest Turkish lire, and put away all other money before handing payment to the driver. If he starts his act, pull out a pen and paper and write down his ID number as if to report him to police. That will usually stop the charade.