In this guide
💡 The Short Version: Do not follow a friendly stranger to a bar or a restaurant: Smartraveller says the inflated bill, often thousands of dollars, is regularly reported in Istanbul, and the Foreign Office says drinks from strangers could be spiked. Use a registered taxi with the meter running, the yellow-taxi tariff being a 71.94 TL start and 47.92 TL a kilometre. Do not pick up a dropped shoeshine brush. The Blue Mosque is free, so no ticket site is selling you anything you need. Use ATMs inside a bank. Or book a transfer: a private transfer from Istanbul Airportad is from €55 for a group of up to 4.
The scams, at a glance
| Scam | What happens | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The friendly stranger and the bar | An English-speaking local befriends you and takes you to a bar or restaurant, where you are given an inflated bill and threatened if you do not pay | Decline. Choose your own restaurant |
| Spiked drinks | Food or drink offered by a stranger is drugged, and your belongings and passport are stolen | Buy your own drinks, keep sight of them, accept nothing from new acquaintances |
| Taxi without a meter | A flat price agreed in advance, a longer route or an inflated fare | Insist on the meter, note the registration number |
| The shoeshine brush | A man drops a brush, you pick it up, he shines your shoes and demands payment | Walk on without picking it up |
| Carpet traders | A shop sells a carpet and offers to post it to you | Be wary of deals where the trader arranges to send the goods by post |
| Changing money | A stranger approaches you to change money | Use a bank or an exchange office, and refuse US$50 and US$100 bills |
| Ticket sites | A site named after a sight sells you a ticket at a mark-up, or to a free mosque | Use the operator’s own page |
Taxis
The Foreign Office says accepting lifts from drivers of unofficial taxis is highly risky. Find a registered taxi, note the registration number before you get in and make sure the fare is metered. App-based and pre-booked taxis are widely available. Smartraveller says inflated fares and longer routes are particularly common to and from the airports, and advises you to check the amount the driver enters in a ride app at the end of the trip. Canada says to use only officially marked taxis and to check the driver’s licence plate. See Istanbul airport to the city for the airport options.
Yellow taxis on an Istanbul street. Photo: Alexxx1979, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
The tariff for yellow taxis, set by the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality from 20 July 2026, is a starting charge of 71.94 TL, then 47.92 TL a kilometre, with a minimum fare of 230 TL, and every taxi runs on the meter (IBB). A trip of 10 km therefore costs about 551 TL. Tolls on bridges and tunnels are added to the meter. In June 2026 Istanbul’s traffic police fined a taxi driver in Karaköy 141,500 TL in total and revoked his licence after he took a passenger to Taksim without running the meter, agreed a fare of 50 euros and then charged 7,300 TL to the passenger’s card (Hürriyet Daily News).
The bar scam and strangers
Smartraveller says the scam works like this: friendly English-speaking locals take you to a bar for food or drinks, you are presented with an inflated bill, often thousands of dollars, and you are threatened with violence if you do not pay. It is regularly reported, particularly in İstanbul. Canada says a particularly common scam in Istanbul invites tourists to bars and forces them to pay a steep bill, and advises avoiding down-market bars and neighbourhoods. The Foreign Office says to be wary of strangers who approach you to change money or take you to a restaurant or nightclub. The rule that ends all of these is to choose the bar or the restaurant yourself, and to read the menu prices before you sit down: where to eat in Istanbul names places to start.
Drinks
Food and drink offered by strangers could be spiked, and the Foreign Office says to buy your own drinks and always keep sight of them. Smartraveller says foreigners have been drugged by English-speaking strangers, who then stole their belongings and passports, and that the drugs can be in drinks, food, chewing gum and sweets. Alcohol has its own risk: people have died or become seriously ill in Istanbul after drinking illegally produced local spirits and counterfeit bottles of branded alcohol. Even small amounts of methanol can kill and it cannot be detected by taste or smell, so buy alcohol from reputable places and seek urgent medical help if you feel unwell.
On the street
The shoeshine brush. A man walking in front of you drops a brush. If you pick it up, he thanks you, offers to shine your shoes for nothing and then asks for money. The advice a security expert and a retired police officer gave in a press report is not to stop, engage or pick up the brush (Turkmenportal).
Fishermen on the Galata Bridge, with the Yeni Cami behind. Photo: Martin Falbisoner, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Carpets. Smartraveller says scams are common among carpet traders, and to be wary of deals where the trader arranges to send your goods by post. See the Grand Bazaar for the shops that visitors use.
Pickpockets. The Foreign Office calls street robbery and pickpocketing common in the major tourist areas. The places and the rest of the government advice are in is Istanbul safe?.
Money
- Cash machines. Use ATMs inside a bank, a shop or a shopping centre, and not on the street at night. Cover the keypad when you enter your PIN, and watch others handling your card (Smartraveller, Canada).
- Counterfeit notes. Banks and exchanges may not accept 50 and 100 US dollar bills because of a reported surge in counterfeits, so do not accept them where possible (Foreign Office).
- Online strangers. If you travel to Türkiye to meet someone you have only met online, or they ask you to wire money, you may be the victim of a scam. Do not send money to someone you have never met in person (Canada).
Tickets
Many websites named after a sight present themselves as its ticket office but are resellers. The Blue Mosque is free: its conservation association sets the visiting hours and there is no ticket: see visiting the Blue Mosque. For the sights that charge, buy from the operator’s own channel: the on-site office or the combined ticket online for Hagia Sophia, the National Palaces’ ticket page for Topkapı Palace and Dolmabahçe Palace, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s e-ticket page for the Galata Tower, and the operator’s own page for the Basilica Cistern. A guided tour that includes the ticket is a different product from a reseller’s ticket, and its listing says what is included.
If it happens
- Call 112 for the police, the ambulance and the fire service (Foreign Office). The Tourism Police are on +90 212 527 45 03 and the municipal help desk on 153 (visit.istanbul).
- Cards. Ring your bank at once if a card was used or cloned.
- Passport. If it was stolen, tell your embassy or consulate.
- One thing that ruins a trip. Following a stranger to a bar.
Is Istanbul safe? gives the governments’ advice in full. For the rest of the planning, see what to book before you go to Istanbul, 3 days in Istanbul, Istanbul in one or two days, where to stay in Istanbul, hotels near the Blue Mosque and the best time to visit Istanbul.
Common questions
What is the most common scam in Istanbul?
The bar scam. Friendly English-speaking strangers take you to a bar for food or drinks and present an inflated bill, often thousands of dollars, and threaten you with violence if you do not pay, according to Smartraveller, which says it is regularly reported in Istanbul. Canada calls it particularly common.
How do I avoid being overcharged by a taxi in Istanbul?
Use a registered taxi, note its registration number before you get in and make sure the fare is metered, as the Foreign Office advises. The yellow-taxi tariff is a starting charge of 71.94 TL, 47.92 TL a kilometre and a minimum fare of 230 TL. Smartraveller says inflated fares and longer routes are particularly common to and from the airports.
What is the shoeshine brush scam?
A man walking past drops his brush. If you pick it up, he offers a free shine and then demands payment. The advice a security expert and a retired police officer gave in a press report is not to stop, engage or pick it up.
Is the Blue Mosque free to enter?
Yes. Entry to the Blue Mosque is free. Websites named after the mosque that sell tickets are resellers, so do not pay for entry.
Can a stranger spike my drink in Istanbul?
Yes, the Foreign Office says food and drink offered by strangers could be spiked. Buy your own drinks, keep sight of them, and do not accept snacks, drinks, gum or cigarettes from new acquaintances.
Who do I call if I am scammed in Istanbul?
Call 112, which the Foreign Office gives for the police, the ambulance and the fire service. The Tourism Police are on +90 212 527 45 03 and the municipal help desk on 153. Ring your bank at once if a card was used.
