Common Tourist Scams in La Paz (and How to Avoid Them)
The 'fake police' scam — recognise it
- The pattern: people in plain clothes claim to be plainclothes police, sometimes with fake badges. They demand to see passport, money, ATM card, claim there's a "drug check" or "currency check". Real Bolivian police don't operate this way for tourists.
- What to do: refuse to hand over passport or wallet. Demand to go to the nearest police station ("comisaría"). Demand to call your embassy. Don't get into any vehicle.
- Variant: someone "falls" or stages a distraction; an accomplice grabs from your bag.
- Where: most reported around Plaza Murillo, the Witches' Market, the bus station, and the airport approach.
- Real police uniforms: green; visible badge with photo and badge number.
- If you're certain it's a scam: walk briskly into a busy shop, hotel, or tourist police booth. Don't engage further.
FAQ
- What's the biggest scam to avoid in La Paz?
- The 'fake police' scam, which has been the dominant tourist-targeted crime pattern in La Paz for two decades. The pattern: someone in plain clothes approaches asking for documents or claiming you've broken a rule, a uniformed accomplice (sometimes wearing genuine-looking police gear, sometimes fake) arrives 'to help'; you're walked or driven to a quiet spot or ATM and forced to hand over cash and PIN. Real Bolivian police DO NOT stop tourists on the street to check documents, do not enter your taxi, and do not insist on going somewhere quiet. If approached: refuse to move from a public location, ask for the nearest police station ('comisaría') and walk there yourself, call the tourist police on 800-14-0081, and if necessary make a scene — the scammers depend on tourist compliance and quietness. Keep a colour photocopy of your passport, not the original, in your pocket for these encounters.
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