Be aware of these common tourist traps and money scams in Hungary

As a foreign tourist, you should always pay extra attention to managing your finances wisely. Otherwise, you can easily get caught in a trap and forced to pay a high price for the ’cordial’ hospitality. Check out what to look out for as a foreigner in Hungary!

With the lifting of restrictions, tourism is booming again in Hungary. Still, it is important to be careful about how and how much we spend on each and every service.

The bill, please!

No matter whether you are trying the irresistible Hungarian flavours at a local restaurant or stopping by for a few drinks at a local pub,

always check the prices on the menu and compare them with the ones on the invoice.

Those visitors who are unfamiliar with the Hungarian forint can easily fall victim to fraud. Such cases have become more frequent in recent years. A few years ago, a Japanese guest was charged EUR 460 for 2 short drinks and 2 glasses of champagne in Budapest. Since the tourist did not have enough cash with him, he was accompanied to an ATM to withdraw the missing amount. A Korean tourist had similar experiences in Budapest. He was charged EUR 1,680 for a few drinks.

Morning call at the hotel

Most hotels have a landline phone on the bedside table. Nowadays, few people give out the phone number of this device as they prefer to use their own mobile phone instead. Therefore, it is fair to assume that only the hotel staff knows the number.

As the Hungarian news portal Femina reports, scammers often use this as a basis to call hotel guests to obtain their credit card details. The scam usually takes place at dawn. The drowsy guest gives the details, without thinking, to the fraudster who poses as a receptionist. After the call, the victim goes back to sleep without any suspicion. By the time he wakes up, his savings may have disappeared without a trace.