Travel Scams in New York City

1. Battery Park Statue of Liberty ticket resellers

Illegal vendors work the approaches to Battery Park and stop visitors before they reach the official Castle Clinton ticket booth. They sell overpriced or invalid 'tickets' — sometimes for a different harbor cruise that never lands on Liberty or Ellis Island — and may falsely claim official tickets are sold out for weeks. Statue City Cruises, the only authorized ferry operator, has posted scam-alert signs at its booth because so many tourists arrive holding worthless resold tickets.

Warning signs

• Someone approaches you on the street or at the park entrance offering Statue of Liberty tickets
• Claims that official tickets are sold out for weeks
• Tickets sold for cash with no mention of Statue City Cruises
• Pressure to buy immediately before you reach Castle Clinton

How to avoid it

• Buy only at citycruises.com/statue-city-cruises or in person at Castle Clinton inside Battery Park
• General admission is roughly $25; be suspicious of anyone charging far more
• Ignore anyone selling tickets on the sidewalk outside the park
• If a seller says tickets are sold out, check the official website on your phone before believing them

2. Unlicensed airport ride solicitors

Inside the arrivals halls at JFK, LaGuardia and Newark, people posing as drivers or dispatchers offer rides to Manhattan. Anyone who accepts is led to an unlicensed, often uninsured car and charged far above the legal fare — sometimes with extra 'fees' invented mid-ride. The Port Authority states flatly that soliciting ground transportation in the terminal is illegal and that solicitors are frequently unlicensed and uninsured, and it has periodically flooded the airports with police to drive them out.

Warning signs

• A non-uniformed person in the terminal asks 'taxi? ride?' or offers to help with bags
• No taxi line, no dispatcher, no official uniform or badge
• A price quoted before you reach the curb, or vague answers about licensing
• Being walked away from the marked taxi stand toward a parking garage

How to avoid it

• Follow signs to the official taxi stand outside each terminal; JFK-to-Manhattan yellow cabs are a posted flat fare of roughly $70 plus tolls and surcharges
• Use the Uber/Lyft apps and meet your driver only at the designated pickup area
• Ask the uniformed Port Authority Welcome Center staff in arrivals if in doubt
• Ignore every verbal ride offer inside the terminal — legal drivers are not allowed to solicit

3. Times Square costumed characters and CD hustlers

Costumed characters and topless 'desnuda' performers pose for photos with tourists, then demand payment afterward — sometimes aggressively, sometimes grabbing children into the frame first so parents feel obligated. A companion hustle: a man presses a 'free' CD of his music into your hand, signs it with your name so you can't return it, then demands $10-20 and turns hostile if refused. The problem grew so bad the city passed rules confining performers to painted activity zones, and the NYPD runs awareness campaigns stressing that photos cannot be charged for and tipping is optional.

Warning signs

• A costumed character or desnuda waves you or your kids over for a photo
• A stranger puts a CD or other item directly into your hands
• The price is only mentioned after the photo is taken or the CD is signed
• Multiple people crowd around once money is discussed

How to avoid it

• Say a firm 'no thanks' and keep walking; do not slow down
• Never let anything be placed in your hands — hand it straight back
• If you want a photo, agree any tip amount first; know that payment is legally optional
• Warn children in advance not to run to the characters

4. Fake monks with 'blessed' bracelets

Men dressed as Buddhist monks approach pedestrians in Times Square, Central Park and along the High Line, slip a cheap beaded bracelet onto the wrist or hand over a gold-colored medallion, present a 'donation' book showing fake $20-plus entries, and then demand cash. Real Buddhist monks do not solicit money this way; NYC Buddhist leaders have publicly warned tourists that these are impostors, and the High Line's management has struggled to keep them out.

Warning signs

• A robed 'monk' approaches you, rather than the other way around
• A bracelet is placed on your wrist before you agree to anything
• A donation ledger is shown with suspiciously generous previous entries
• Pressure or a change in demeanor when you offer a small bill or decline

How to avoid it

• Do not accept the bracelet or medallion — keep your hands in your pockets or say no and move on
• Hand the item back immediately if it is placed on you
• Know that genuine monks never beg for cash in tourist areas
• Walk toward staffed areas (High Line entrances, park visitor centers) if one persists

5. Paid 'tickets' for the free Staten Island Ferry

Touts around the Whitehall terminal in Lower Manhattan sell 'tickets' to the Staten Island Ferry, often bundling them with a fake 'skip-the-line' story or a harbor-tour pitch. The ferry is run by the NYC Department of Transportation and has always been completely free — there is no ticket to buy, and no boarding pass exists. Anyone selling one is selling you nothing.

Warning signs

• Anyone selling Staten Island Ferry tickets anywhere, for any price
• 'Express boarding' or 'skip the queue' offers near the Whitehall terminal
• Tickets bundled with an unsolicited 'tour guide' pitch

How to avoid it

• Walk straight into the Whitehall terminal and board — no ticket is needed, ever
• Ignore all ticket sellers near the terminal
• Check siferry.com (NYC DOT's official ferry site) for schedules
• The same rule applies to touts selling 'Statue of Liberty views' boat rides as the ferry leaves

Practical safety briefing

• Airport arrival: At JFK, LaGuardia and Newark the trap is the in-terminal ride solicitor; walk past every verbal offer to the marked taxi stand (JFK-Manhattan is a posted flat fare of roughly $70 plus tolls/surcharges) or the app-designated pickup zone. The AirTrain-to-subway link at JFK is the cheap, scam-proof option.
• Trusted transport: Yellow cabs from official stands (hailable on the street), Uber/Lyft via their apps, and the subway with OMNY contactless payment. For licensed-cab app dispatch, Curb and Arro connect to real yellows.
• Money & payments: Cards are accepted nearly everywhere; use bank-branch ATMs (Chase, Bank of America, Citi) rather than the high-fee independent ATMs in Times Square souvenir shops and bodegas. There is no legitimate reason to exchange currency with anyone on the street.

Official travel advisories

• Port Authority of NY & NJ (official airport operator) — Official notice that soliciting ground transportation inside JFK/LGA/EWR terminals is illegal, that solicitors are often unlicensed and uninsured, and how to report them.
• NYC Department of Transportation (Staten Island Ferry) — Official ferry operator site; the ferry is free to board at the Whitehall and St. George terminals, so any ticket seller is a scammer.

Compiled from documented reports and government advisories. How we verify scams. Last verified July 2026.