The Most Common Scams in Grab and Taxis in Thailand: How to Avoid Them
If you’re in Thailand or planning to travel soon, probably you’re thinking about using popular transportation apps like Grab or Bolt. Great choice! These apps are among the best options to get around the cities.
But be cautious—scams in these apps are on the rise, and you might have already encountered some situations that seemed normal but weren’t.
In this blog, I’ll share the most common tricks used by Grab and taxi drivers to get more money from tourists and teach you how to avoid them.
List of the Most Common Grab and Taxi Scams You Should Avoid
Here’s a list of the most common scams happening with Grab and taxis in Thailand:
1. Grab driver asks me to cancel the trip right after accepting it.
Many Grab drivers, right after accepting the trip, send a message with an excuse like:
I need you to cancel the ride; there’s an accident.
I’m eating and can’t pick you up. Could you cancel the trip?
I’ll take too long; you need to cancel the ride.
While this might seem normal, the real problem arises when the driver is less than 7 minutes away from you. When you try to cancel, Grab shows a warning like:
To cancel, you must pay a fee of 35 Baht (€1).
This is one of the most common scams drivers use to earn extra money.
It’s not a huge amount, true, but why should you pay a fee when the driver accepts the ride, knowing they can’t pick you up? And why don’t they cancel it themselves?
This has happened to us several times, and it’s quite frustrating—especially if you’re in a hurry and have no other option.
2. Grab charged me twice.
Another scam you might encounter with Grab is when the driver asks you to pay in cash, even though you’ve selected “Pay by card.”
Before starting the ride, always confirm your payment method—whether it’s cash or card. If you’ve chosen card, the app will process the payment automatically. Don’t let the driver convince you otherwise.
3. Grab driver asks me to cancel midway through the trip.
This scam left us quite shocked at how it happened. At first, we thought it was a genuine problem, but later we realized we’d been scammed.
After starting the trip, the driver stopped after 5–10 minutes, claiming the car had issues and couldn’t continue. He got out to check the engine and told us to either cancel the trip or change the destination to the current location (where we had stopped).
When you change the destination, the app marks the trip as completed, charging you almost the full fare—even though you only traveled a short distance. After confirming, the driver got back into the car, and magically, everything worked fine, and he drove off.
We were left stranded 20 minutes from our hotel and had to find another ride, paying twice the original price.
We investigated and found that some common excuses drivers use include:
I need to use the restroom, and it’ll take a while. You should cancel the ride.
I have a family emergency and need to leave you here.
4. Taxi driver increases the fare at the end of the ride.
Personally, we don’t usually take taxis in Thailand; we prefer Grab or, more recently, Bolt. However, sometimes you have no choice but to take a taxi.
One of the most common scams is when the driver agrees to a price—let’s say 100 Baht—to take you to your destination. But as you’re about to arrive, or once you’ve arrived, they suddenly ask for 150 Baht.
This happens a lot. Always confirm the price before getting in and remind the driver of it. Once you arrive, give them the agreed amount, no more and no less. If the driver gets upset, don’t engage in their game.
5. Grab/Taxi driver asks for extra cash.
In most cases, when a driver asks for extra cash, it’s just a scam to get more money. However, during our time in Bangkok, we experienced this multiple times and decided to investigate.
It turns out that if you want to take the highway for a faster trip, the driver might ask for an additional 50–100 Baht (depending on the toll fee). This has happened to us when heading to the airport, and it’s quite common. In our case, the driver asked for the money when we reached the toll booth and handed us the receipt.
Usually, Grab doesn’t include toll fees in the trip cost. This is why you should always check if the extra money requested is actually being used to pay a toll. If not, it’s likely a scam.
Grab charges me an extra fee for using an international card.
This isn’t exactly a scam, but it’s something you should keep in mind when using Grab. If you’re a foreigner in Thailand, Grab will charge a 3% fee on every transaction, and you’ll often notice that the price charged is slightly higher than what’s shown in the app.
How to avoid Grab/Taxi scams in Thailand
Now that you’re familiar with the most common scams involving taxis and transportation apps like Grab, here’s a list of tips to help you avoid them:
Never cancel a ride if the driver asks you to.
If a driver asks you to cancel, first check whether you’ll be charged a cancellation fee. If you would be charged, tell the driver you can’t cancel and that they should cancel the ride instead.
Don’t pay in cash if you’re using a card.
If the payment method you selected in the app is a credit or debit card, do not give the driver any cash. Grab will process the payment automatically.
Don’t change the trip destination if the driver asks.
If you’re mid-trip and the driver stops and asks you to change the destination, don’t do it. Let them know they need to cancel or update the destination themselves.
Contact Grab support.
If you face any issues, contact Grab’s support team directly and inform the driver that you’ll report the problem—or even call the police if necessary. Always take photos or record videos. Evidence is crucial.
I hope this blog helps you avoid many issues while traveling in Thailand. If you found it helpful, follow us on Instagram and TikTok!
