The 3 US Cities Where Travelers Fear Pickpockets and Scammers the Most

The top 10 tourist cities where petty crimes are mentioned the most online. Photo: Compare the Market

Street performers are totally legal in Las Vegas, but the encouragement to give tips may be interpreted as scams by some travelers, contributing to why some people may perceive it as one of the worst US cities for pickpockets and theft. Photo: Jeffrey J Coleman/Shutterstock

Las Vegas is the home of America’s gambling industry, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that people mention the usual cliche casino crimes online: dumb travel scams, pick pocketing, and so on. With both nightlife and gambling being popular activities, it’s an environment where individuals may let their guards down more than normal, making them more susceptible to theft. Some mentions could stem from confusion or anger over gambling losses, or unhappiness about high-priced hotel fees and tourist services, which some people may perceive as scams. There are also a lot of street performers and street vendors in Vegas, and some people may see their attempts to solicit donations or payments for performances as scams, too.

The uniqueness of Vegas creates a fertile ground for stories of theft and scams, but it’s actually gotten much safer in recent years. While it’s abandoned its attempt at family marketing, it’s also made huge strides in becoming much safer, transparent, and entertainment-focused than it was in its early days. It faced some safety challenges in the 1970s and 1980s when tourism was booming and organized crime was more active, but today, it’s generally quite safe — as long as you don’t stumble down the street at 3 AM waving your casino winnings after too many free drinks.

Orlando visitors may interpret the many pricey add-on fees available at theme parks as scams, or refer to them as such online after overspending. Photo: VIAVAL TOURS/Shutterstock

Mentions of “pickpockets” and “scams” in online reviews of Orlando, particularly in relation to its major attractions like Disney World, may reflect perception more than reality. Orlando’s reputation as a family-friendly destination draws millions of visitors annually, but many may be new to traveling or could be families traveling for the first time with children, so they may feel more vulnerable to opportunistic petty crimes. Some people may think even minor inconveniences or misunderstandings are evidence of scams. And Orlando is highly commercialized, with aggressive marketing and lots of expensive, premium add-ons for experiences at theme parks — so it may lead to feelings of being overcharged or taken advantage of, even if the exchange is completely by-the-book.

A known scam in NYC is people dressed as monks, asking for donations for a temple or religious voyage. Spoiler: sometimes, they aren’t monks. Photo: Nielskliim/Shutterstock

Historically, NYC experienced high crime rates, particularly during the 1970s and 1980s. That may have ingrained a perception of danger among residents and visitors, especially older travelers today who were alive in those decades. And Times Square used to be considered a little sketchy, especially at night. But since the 1990s, that’s completely changed, and now, it’s packed with tourists every day. Naturally, crowds of tourists attract petty criminals, but serious crimes in the city are at some of their lowest numbers ever.

Of course, New York is a huge city, and it’s likely there are more scammers and petty criminals at work than you’d have in a less densely populated area. But millions of tourists visit NYC every year (more than 62 million in 2023), and while they may feel like they’re getting scammed by hotel fees, or accidentally give a few bucks to a solicitor on the street, it’s very unlikely that you’re going to straight up have your wallet stolen or purse snagged off your shoulder. You can see statistics for all NYC’s petty crimes over time at this link.

Photo: Jacob Lund/Shutterstock

That’s absolutely not what this study means. This news relies on self-reported data from travel forums, which reflect subjective experiences, rather than actual crime rates or reports of theft and scams. So the mentions are influenced by individual perceptions, and could reflect biases toward or against a city, rather than facts. And the focus on mentions in popular tourist destinations like Barcelona, Paris, and Rome introduces bias, as those cities naturally have more discussions online, skewing results toward places with more active travelers. Normalizing the data by tourist numbers is an attempt to adjust for that, but still isn’t a completely fair representation. The analysis shows that these are the cities where petty crimes are mentioned the most by future and past travelers, but not where they actually happen the most.

However, all the cities on the list have lots of tourists, which means there are higher levels of the usual vacation scams, pickpocketings, and petty crimes, just as you’d see in any large city around the world. As long as you’re staying in safe places and take some relatively reasonable precautions, like using a purse with zippers, not leaving your phone or valuables out on tables, and practicing some basic self awareness while you’re sightseeing, you’ll probably be okay.

Within the US, crime rates have been steadily dropping since the 1990s, and with technology like phone tracking, automatic credit card freezes after suspicious spending, and nearly 11 surveillance camera for every 1,000 people in most major US cities, it’s riskier than ever for criminals to event attempt even small crimes.