New Mastercard Report Helps Tourists Spot High-Risk Travel Services

BANGKOK, May 21 — According to a recent report from the Mastercard Economics Institute, Bangkok has been identified as a location with greater risk for visitors when compared to cities such as San Francisco and Dublin. The study highlights increased concerns regarding fraudulent activities related to taxi services and vehicle rentals in the Thai metropolis.

These two services make up a significant 48 percent of all documented fraud cases in the city.

“After making the payment, the tour might not happen at all or could be completely different from what was advertised,” according to the Mastercard Economics Institute’s study on 2025 travel trends published on May 15.

The research, extensively reported by international media such as the U.S.-based network CNBC, presents a concerning outlook for the worldwide tourism sector.

It flags travel-related services like tour packages and agency bookings as being four times more prone to fraudulent activities when compared to other industries.

Throughout busy holiday times, instances of fraud increased by over 18 percent in summertime attractions and climbed as high as 28 percent in wintery locations.

David Mann, Mastercard Economics Institute’s chief economist for Asia Pacific, noted that the type of scams tourists face can vary significantly depending on the city.

He stated, “In certain locations, much of the fraud could be coming from the travel industry and tour operators, whereas in different cities, fraudulent activities may surface more prominently in sectors like food service.”

He mentioned Los Angeles as an instance, where food-related enterprises experienced the most significant rate of fraud.

According to the Mastercard report, hotel reservation frauds occurred more frequently in Phuket, Thailand, as well as in Antalya, Turkey.

In contrast, cities with the lowest fraud reports include San Francisco in the US; Dublin in Ireland; Seoul, South Korea; Budapest in Hungary; and Edinburgh in Scotland.

Cancun in Mexico, Hanoi in Vietnam, Dhaka in Bangladesh, along with Bangkok experienced an increase in travel-related fraud compared to these cities.

The report revealed that taxi and rental-related fraud is far less common in places like Hong Kong and Barcelona, Spain, where such scams accounted for just 2 per cent of reported cases.

But in Jakarta, Indonesia, the figure spikes to 66 per cent, mirroring Bangkok’s own high rate of 48 per cent.

According to Mastercard's research, although traveling provides new experiences, it simultaneously creates opportunities for scammers.