Travel Scams
in Bolivia

Express kidnapping in La Paz follows a documented pattern: a tourist hails what appears to be a taxi from the street. The vehicle — an unmarked car or sometimes a vehicle with a fake taxi sign — already contains one or two accomplices in the back or appears to pick them up shortly after. At a quiet moment, the situation becomes coercive and the victim is driven to multiple ATMs. The assault typically lasts 2–6 hours and ends with the victim being dropped somewhere safe after exhausting their daily ATM limit. Physical violence is less common than in some regional equivalents but does occur.

• Never hail a taxi from the street in La Paz or Santa Cruz — this single rule eliminates the dominant risk.
• Call a radio taxi by phone: in La Paz, Radio Taxi Sur (+591 2 2771212) and Radio Taxi Miraflores (+591 2 2224222) are established operators.
• Use InDriver (widely used in Bolivia) for app-based rides with driver identification upfront.
• Hotel-arranged taxis from the front desk are reliable — always worth the slight premium for airport and late-night journeys.
• Taxis at the official airport rank are licensed — use these for the airport journey to the city.

Bolivia's most consistently reported tourist scam. It typically begins with a "drug bust" distraction: an individual approaches a tourist claiming to be an undercover officer investigating drug use in the area. A third party (accomplice) may approach first pretending to be another tourist who has just been stopped. The "officer" presents a fake badge, claims to need to inspect the tourist's wallet and passport for counterfeit bills or controlled substances, and in the process steals cash and notes card details. A dangerous variant involves a genuine uniformed officer being complicit with the plainclothes accomplices.

• Real Bolivian police do not conduct random currency or drug checks on tourists on the street.
• If approached, say firmly: "Vamos a la comisaría" (Let's go to the police station). Genuine officers will agree; scammers will not.
• Never hand your wallet, passport, or phone to anyone on the street regardless of their claimed identity.
• If concerned about an officer's legitimacy, call 110 (Bolivian police) to verify — having the badge number and reading it aloud to the operator exposes fake officers immediately.
• Sagárnaga Street (La Paz's main tourist/backpacker street) is a known hotspot — be particularly alert here.

The Uyuni 3-day/2-night circuit is extraordinary — salt flat, Isla Incahuasi, Laguna Colorada, Laguna Verde, the Salvador Dalí Desert, and geysers at 4,800m. Uyuni town has dozens of agencies competing fiercely on price. The serious traps: budget operators use vehicles with suspect mechanics on remote terrain where a breakdown means hours until help arrives; quoted prices exclude accommodation upgrades required on-site; and some operators skip the coloured lagoon circuit (the most scenic day) claiming "road conditions" when the real reason is fuel savings. The Laguna Colorada area is at 4,300m — altitude sickness on top of a vehicle breakdown is a genuine medical situation.

• Do not book the cheapest available Uyuni tour — this is not the place to save USD 20. Budget operators have documented vehicle breakdown and safety records.
• Ask specifically: How old is the vehicle? When was its last service? What is the vehicle-to-driver ratio? Does it carry emergency equipment and a satellite phone?
• Confirm the itinerary includes Day 3 coloured lagoons circuit (Laguna Colorada, Laguna Verde, geysers) — budget operators sometimes omit this.
• Read TripAdvisor reviews specifically for this operator in the past 6 months — vehicle quality deteriorates quickly.
• Book through GetYourGuide for operators with verified safety records and transparent all-inclusive pricing.

Mountain biking the "Death Road" (Camino de la Muerte) — a narrow cliff-edge track descending 3,600m from La Cumbre to Coroico — is one of Bolivia's most popular tourist activities and genuinely thrilling. The serious risk is not the road itself (tourist bikes stay on a largely decommissioned section) but the quality of equipment and guides provided by budget operators. Poorly maintained bikes (brake failures on a cliff-edge descent are catastrophic), helmets without proper certification, and inexperienced guides who don't assess individual riders' ability before the descent are documented factors in tourist deaths and serious injuries on this route.

• Use only operators with full-suspension bikes with hydraulic disc brakes — mechanical disc or rim brakes are inadequate for this descent.
• Ask specifically: Can I inspect the bike before payment? What is the brake maintenance schedule? Do guides assess rider ability before departure?
• Gravity Bolivia and Barracuda Biking are among the most consistently well-reviewed established operators for safety standards.
• This is not an activity to book through the cheapest street-front agency in La Paz — the price difference buys significantly better equipment.

Street money changers (cambistas) operate openly in La Paz's Mercado Negro area and offer competitive rates. The traps: fast-counting (palming notes during the count), substituting worn or torn notes invalid at shops, and occasionally passing counterfeit bolivianos. High-denomination USD notes (USD 100) sometimes refused or discounted if not in pristine condition. At border crossings — particularly Desaguadero (Peru), Tambo Quemado (Chile), and Villazón (Argentina) — unofficial changers use all these techniques with additional pressure from the border crossing context.

• Exchange at official casas de cambio or bank branches — rates are usually within 1–2% of street rates with none of the fraud risk.
• If using cambistas, count all notes yourself slowly before accepting the bundle — do not let the counter rush you.
• Check for obvious counterfeit signs on high-value boliviano notes: security thread, watermark, and raised print.
• Bring crisp, newer USD 100 or USD 50 notes — worn, marked, or pre-2009 USD 100 bills are often refused or heavily discounted.

A classic South American distraction technique operates throughout La Paz. A substance (mustard, ketchup, liquid, or occasionally bird dropping) is "accidentally" applied to the tourist's clothing. A helpful bystander immediately offers to clean it — while an accomplice removes items from bags, pockets, or the tourist's hand during the distraction. The initial "accident" is always deliberate. The same technique is used with map-consulting assistance, directions, and other helpful interventions that create a brief moment of distraction.

• If something is spilled or dropped on you, move immediately to a shop doorway or public space before allowing anyone to help clean it — never be helped on the street.
• Keep bags in front of you in markets and bus terminals, not on your back where zippers are accessible.
• Decline all unsolicited assistance from strangers — even apparently well-intentioned help from multiple people simultaneously is a distraction pattern.