Kolkata Scams to Avoid in 2026 (India)

Kolkata carries 13 documented tourist scams in our database — none classified high severity, but the volume of medium-severity reports (11 of 13) reflects an active tourist-fraud environment that travellers should know in advance. Transport fraud accounts for the largest share (3 reports), led by Yellow Taxi Overcharging: Kolkata's famous yellow Ambassador taxis are supposed to use meters, but drivers frequently refuse or claim the meter is broken, quoting flat rates well above the metered fare especially from the airport and for tourists heading to the Victoria Memorial or Sudder Street. Travellers familiar with Kandy or Kochi will recognise the broad shape of the risk environment in South Asia, though the specific local variations in Kolkata are what catch first-time visitors out.

Specific documented risk areas include Taxi stands outside Kolkata's Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at Dum Dum, outside Howrah Junction railway station, and along tourist routes between the Victoria Memorial, Sudder Street, and the Maidan; Outside Howrah Junction station on the Howrah Bridge approach and the station forecourt, and at Sealdah station's main entrance on Sealdah Station Road in central Kolkata; Park Street between Middleton Row and Russell Street, and the lanes immediately surrounding New Market on Lindsay Street. A separate but related pattern is Railway Ticket Tout Scam: Outside Howrah and Sealdah stations, touts tell tourists the ticket office is closed or trains are fully booked, then offer to "help" buy tickets through their shop, which they claim is government-approved. The single most effective protection across these patterns: Use Ola or Uber for fixed transparent pricing. If using a yellow cab, insist on the meter before moving — say "meter chharu" (start the meter). Refuse any taxi whose driver declines to meter the fare. Pre-paid taxi counters at Kolkata airport offer fixed rates.