Taiwan is among the safest destinations anywhere - pickpocketing and robbery are rare even late at night. The one scam worth knowing is the taxi meter: near Taipei 101 a driver may claim it is broken and demand a flat NTD 500 for a NTD 180 ride. Photograph the licence on the dashboard and they usually back down.
- Taiwan is one of the safest destinations in the world - pickpocketing and robbery are extremely rare, and there is no tourist-targeted crime worth planning around.
- The one real scam is the unswitched taxi meter near Taipei 101 and the Xinyi towers, ending in a demand for 500 NTD on a ride that costs 180 NTD.
- Check the meter is on before setting off, and if the driver says it is broken, get out. Photographing the dashboard licence usually settles it, because a third meter violation costs the driver their licence permanently.
- Never leave your original passport as a scooter rental deposit - it is illegal and it invites extortion over pre-existing scratches. Hand over a photocopy and film the whole vehicle in front of staff first.
- The tea house scam of mainland China practically does not occur here, though caution still applies if a stranger offers to walk you to an opaque venue.
Safety and common scams
Taiwan is rated globally as one of the safest destinations, with an exceptionally low crime rate. Pickpocketing and violent robbery are extremely rare, even at night or in side streets. There is no aggressive tourist-targeted crime or organized gangs preying on foreigners. Still, a few isolated scams can occur:
- Taxi meter scam: While the vast majority of taxi drivers are honest, near major tourist attractions (e.g. around Taipei 101, the Xinyi skyscrapers, or the Grand Hyatt hotel) some dishonest drivers may deliberately not switch on the meter and then demand an inflated flat fee at the destination (e.g. 500 NTD for a ride that normally costs 180 NTD).
- Protection: Before setting off, make sure the driver has switched on the meter. If they claim it's broken and refuse, get out immediately. If a dispute arises, photograph the driver's license (always displayed on the dashboard) and the vehicle's license plate. Simply photographing the license is usually enough to make the driver back down and accept the real fare, since a third reported meter violation results in permanent license revocation in Taiwan. The safest prevention is booking through the Uber app, where the price is fixed in advance.
- False scooter damage claims: When renting a motorbike or scooter, a dishonest rental shop may try to charge the customer high repair fees for scratches that were already on the vehicle before rental.
- Protection: Never leave your original passport as a deposit at a rental shop - this is illegal and exposes the traveler to extortion - always insist on providing a photocopy of your passport instead. Before taking the scooter, photograph and video the entire vehicle in detail in front of a rental-shop employee. Use only licensed, highly rated rental shops.
- Tea house scam: This scam - where foreigners are lured by fake students under the pretext of practicing English or attending a festival into private tea rooms and then hit with an astronomical bill (running into hundreds of USD) - is typical of mainland China (Shanghai, Beijing) but practically does not occur in Taiwan. Even so, caution is advised when strangers on the street offer to accompany you to opaque venues.
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