I Got Scammed

I am writing this blog to share my experience so that you can learn from my mistake and not be as stupid as me. I’ve never been scammed before. I came close a few times, but I’m fortunate to have good intuition, which helped me avoid such situations, until now. If this can happen to me, someone who’s travelled 10 out of 12 months for numerous years, then it can happen to others.

Earlier this week I arrived in Hong Kong for a 10-day visit. Anytime I arrive somewhere new, I usually go to the official taxi rank and ignore anyone approaching me offering a ride. I took out 800 HKD, which is about £80, prior to getting a cab, as many only accept cash. As I approached the taxi rank, a lady asked me where I was going and pointed me towards one of 30+ official red cabs. There was a constant stream of people jumping into those cars, and this was as official as you can get. I asked a few people how much my cab should cost, and all said between 400–450 HKD.

The taxi ride was perfect, and soon we pulled up to my hotel. The meter read 448 HKD, which was in line with what I’d been told. In my sling I had one 500 HKD note and 3 x 100 HKD notes. I planned on giving him the 500 and leaving the change as a tip. So I grabbed what I thought was the 500 note and handed it to him. This is where I fucked up.

As I handed him the 500, I wasn’t looking at my hand, the note, or his hand. I was too busy sorting my stuff and passed the note without looking. I told him to keep the change, however he said, “Excuse me, you only gave me 100.” I looked up, and he was only holding a single 100 HKD note.

I looked in my sling and only saw three 100 HKD notes. In a moment of utter ignorance, I didn’t realise that if I’d given him a 100 HKD note, I’d have two left, not three. I have no idea what the fuck was going on in my head, but I somehow assumed I’d given him a 100 HKD note by accident and misplaced the 500 somewhere.

So I gave him the three 100 HKD notes and said I’d run out of cash. He quickly told me it’s OK, don’t worry about the 48 HKD (which should have been another red flag). I left the taxi without even realising how stupid I was. It only hit me later in the hotel when I realised that I never had 4 x 100 HKD notes. The icing on the cake is I gave him a 20 EUR note to “make up” for the 48 HKD and leave a tip.

In short, I got scammed due to my stupidity. I paid 800 HKD for a 448 HKD ride and even tipped 20 EUR for the privilege. Please laugh at my expense, because that was just silly.