1. Fake taxi drivers at Jorge Chavez airport
Criminals posing as taxi drivers — and thieves pretending to be tour operators — approach arriving passengers at Lima's airport and bus terminals; robbery by fake taxi drivers is a documented risk. The UK FCDO directs arrivals to the official taxi company desks located directly outside the baggage hall and advises against hailing any taxi on the street.
Warning signs
- Drivers soliciting you inside or just outside the terminal
- No company branding or airport registration on the vehicle
- An offer undercutting the official desk price
- Pressure to leave before you reach the official counters
How to avoid it
- Use only the official taxi desks directly outside the baggage hall
- Book app-based taxis (Uber, Cabify) and verify the plate
- Ask your hotel to arrange the pickup
- Never hail taxis on the street anywhere in Peru
Sources
2. Express kidnapping via bogus taxis
Armed criminals posing as taxi drivers — or real drivers working with gangs — abduct passengers, usually solo travellers at night, and force them to withdraw money at ATMs before release. Both the UK FCDO and Australia's Smartraveller record express kidnappings in Peru; Smartraveller adds that users of unlicensed taxis have been robbed, assaulted and raped.
Warning signs
- An unbooked car stopping for you at night
- A driver diverting from the agreed route with doors locked
- A second person joining mid-ride
- Demands for cards, PINs or phone transfers
How to avoid it
- Use phone-dispatch or app taxis, booked through hotels and restaurants
- Avoid riding alone, especially at night, per Smartraveller advice
- Use ATMs inside banks or malls during business hours
- Comply if targeted, then report to police at once
Sources
3. Cusco street money-changer inti scam
Street changers in Cusco's tourist areas offer attractive rates, then pass worthless Peruvian intis — a currency withdrawn from circulation decades ago — or counterfeit soles and dollars among the genuine notes. The UK FCDO specifically records street money changers in Cusco tourist areas fraudulently using intis and warns that counterfeit US and Peruvian notes circulate.
Warning signs
- Rates noticeably better than the banks
- Changers working the plazas and streets around tourist sights
- Old-looking notes mixed into the stack
- Pressure to count quickly and move on
How to avoid it
- Exchange only at banks, authorised casas de cambio or your hotel
- Never change money on the street, whatever the rate
- Learn what current soles notes look like before you arrive
- Check large bills for watermark and security strip
Sources
4. Unscrupulous Cusco tour agents
Bogus and predatory tour agents work the Cusco area, selling Machu Picchu and Sacred Valley packages that may never materialise; the UK FCDO records unscrupulous tour agents targeting young women travelling alone around Cusco, including sexual assaults, and points travellers to the official iPeru service for reputable operators.
Warning signs
- Street sellers with no office or licence you can verify
- Prices far below established agencies
- Pressure for full cash payment up front
- Uninvited personal attention from a 'guide' to solo women
How to avoid it
- Verify agencies through the official iPeru information service before paying
- Book Machu Picchu entrance and trains through official channels
- Pay by card where possible and get itemised receipts
- Solo travellers should share itinerary details with their hotel
Sources
5. Drink and food spiking
Spiked drinks and food are used to rob or assault travellers, particularly those leaving bars and nightclubs alone. Smartraveller advises never accepting drinks, food, gum or cigarettes from strangers or new acquaintances in Peru, and the FCDO links spiking to attacks reported mostly in the Cusco and Arequipa areas.
Warning signs
- Strangers offering drinks, food, gum or cigarettes
- Feeling abruptly unwell after one drink
- New acquaintances eager to leave the venue with you
- Waking with missing belongings and memory gaps
How to avoid it
- Buy your own drinks and keep sight of them
- Do not accept anything consumable from strangers
- Leave venues with people you came with
- Report incidents to police promptly, per FCDO advice
Sources
6. Ayahuasca ceremony exploitation
Unregulated shamans market ayahuasca ceremonies to tourists around Cusco and the Amazon; participants have been robbed and sexually assaulted while incapacitated, and some have died. Both the FCDO and Smartraveller warn the brew is unregulated, retreats are far from medical help, and assaults during ceremonies are documented.
Warning signs
- Operators who cannot show credentials or safety protocols
- Remote locations with no medical plan
- Pressure to attend alone without a trusted companion
- No screening of your medical conditions
How to avoid it
- Research operators through iPeru and independent reviews before committing
- Never attend without a trusted friend present, per Smartraveller
- Confirm the retreat has an emergency and evacuation plan
- Consider not participating — both governments stress the risks
Sources
Practical safety briefing
- Airport arrival: At Lima's Jorge Chavez, walk past every solicitor to the official taxi company desks directly outside the baggage hall, or have your hotel send a driver — fake airport taxi drivers are the country's signature trap and a known express-kidnapping vector.
- Trusted transport: App-based taxis (Uber, Cabify) and phone-dispatch cabs booked via hotels and restaurants; in Cusco, arrange transport through iPeru-verified agencies.
- Money & payments: Use ATMs inside banks, supermarkets or malls in business hours. Exchange currency only at banks or authorised casas de cambio — street changers in Cusco are documented passing obsolete inti notes and counterfeits.
Official travel advisories
- UK FCDO — Documents fake taxi drivers at Jorge Chavez airport, express kidnapping, the Cusco inti money-changer scam, unscrupulous Cusco tour agents and ayahuasca ceremony assaults.
- Australia Smartraveller — Records robbery, assault and rape of unlicensed-taxi users, express kidnappings, drink spiking and ayahuasca tourism risks.
Compiled from documented reports and government advisories. How we verify scams. Last verified July 2026.