Tourist Scams in Middle East

The UK Foreign & Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) updated its UAE travel advice on 14 April 2026, advising against all but essential travel due to escalating regional tensions. The Iranian regime has publicly stated its intention to target locations associated with the United States and Israel. Further missile or drone attacks could occur at short notice. While Iranian strikes have decreased in frequency, the FCDO considers the underlying threat level unchanged.

How to avoid: Check the FCDO and US State Department advisory pages before and during travel. Register with your embassy on arrival. Know the location of your nearest shelter — if authorities issue a shelter-in-place order, move immediately to a secure interior room away from windows. Limit movements to essential journeys, travel during daylight where possible, and avoid large crowds.

In bars and nightlife venues around Shmeisani and Abdoun, an attractive local strikes up a conversation and begins ordering drinks for the table without showing a menu. Each drink is priced at 40–70 JOD, and a cover or table reservation fee of 100–200 JOD is added to the bill at the end. The person ordering works for the establishment. Multiple travelers on TripAdvisor forums have reported bills exceeding 500 JOD for what appeared to be a casual evening out.

How to avoid: Ask for a printed menu with prices before any drinks are ordered. If a companion is ordering on your behalf, insist on seeing the menu yourself. Prepay or set a spending limit upfront, and leave any venue that refuses to show prices.

Locals positioned at cliff ledges overlooking the Treasury claim tourists must pay an unofficial "entry fee" of 5–20 JD to access the viewpoint, even though no such fee exists.

How to avoid: All areas within the Petra Archaeological Park are included in your entry ticket. Refuse firmly and report to the tourist police.

A shoe shiner walks ahead of you and deliberately drops one of his brushes. If you pick it up and return it, he insists on shining your shoes as a thank-you gesture. Once finished, he demands an inflated fee of 50–100 USD and turns aggressive if you refuse to pay.

How to avoid: Do not pick up dropped items from shoe shiners. If a free shine is offered, decline immediately. If you do accept, agree on a firm written or spoken price before they start work.

Iran's dual currency system (rial and toman, where 1 toman = 10 rials) is routinely exploited in tourist transactions. Taxi drivers, souvenir sellers, and small restaurant owners quote prices in toman verbally but then demand payment in rials, or vice versa, effectively multiplying the price tenfold. At sarafi (exchange bureaus), some operators quote a favorable exchange rate but then hand over significantly fewer notes than agreed, counting on the tourist's unfamiliarity with large-denomination Iranian banknotes.

How to avoid: Always clarify whether a price is in rial or toman before agreeing. Count your banknotes carefully at sarafi windows before walking away — Iranian notes come in denominations of 10,000, 50,000, 100,000, and 500,000 rials. Use licensed sarafi bureaus (look for a posted government license) rather than street exchangers. Keep a small calculator or phone app handy for conversions.

Restaurants along the Byblos Old Port waterfront maintain two effective price tiers: a standard menu for Lebanese regulars and a significantly inflated tourist menu for foreign visitors. A mezze spread for two that costs $25–30 USD at an inland local restaurant can reach $80–120 USD at the same quality port establishment, with hidden service charges of 10–18% added at the bill. Some restaurants verbally quote a price for a dish but list a different price on the bill, relying on the guest not checking each line item.

How to avoid: Ask to see the full printed menu with prices before sitting down, not after. Confirm whether service charge is included. Compare prices on Google Maps reviews or ask your accommodation for a realistic price range before dining at the port. Restaurants one or two blocks inland on Rue de la Mer side streets charge substantially less for equivalent food.

In the narrow, crowded lanes of Downtown Amman — particularly around the Al-Husseini Mosque souk, the gold market on King Talal Street, and the produce markets near the Roman Amphitheatre — pickpockets and bag-snatchers work the dense crowds. The US State Department and multiple travel advisories specifically flag the older parts of Amman city center as the primary location for theft targeting foreign nationals. Thieves often work in pairs, with one creating a distraction while the other takes wallets, phones, or camera bags.

How to avoid: Keep phones and wallets in front pockets or a buttoned bag worn across the chest. Avoid having your camera dangling loosely. Be especially alert when crowds thicken around market stalls or when someone bumps into you unexpectedly.

Tourists are befriended by a local who offers a free guided tour of the Grand Bazaar area, then steers them into a family carpet shop. Intense psychological pressure, inflated prices, and claims of rare collectible value push tourists into purchases worth thousands of dollars.

How to avoid: Decline unsolicited offers of free tours from strangers near the bazaar. If you want to buy a carpet, research market prices beforehand and visit shops independently. Never feel obligated to buy because of hospitality shown.