5 Tourist Scams in Almaty

You're walking near Panfilov Park when two friendly locals —

often attractive women — strike up a conversation and suggest grabbing drinks at a nearby bar. The bar looks decent, but there's no menu on the table. After two rounds of shots, the bill arrives: 50,000-100,000 KZT ($100-$200) for drinks that should cost 5,000 KZT. When you protest, security guards appear and escort you to an ATM to withdraw cash. Redditors on r/solotravel describe this as the most dangerous scam in Almaty — the bars are in on it, splitting the profit with the lures.

You're strolling through Panfilov Park when two men in casual clothes flash what looks like a ...

You're strolling through Panfilov Park when two men in casual clothes flash what looks like a police badge and demand to see your passport. They claim your documents have an 'irregularity' and insist you pay a fine of 20,000-50,000 KZT ($40-$100) on the spot to avoid being taken to the station. Redditors on r/travel warn that real Kazakh police never demand cash fines on the street. These impersonators target tourists near ATMs and in crowded areas, banking on your fear of foreign authorities to make you pay without questioning.

You need tenge and a friendly tout outside the Green Bazaar offers a 'better rate than the banks.' ...

You need tenge and a friendly tout outside the Green Bazaar offers a 'better rate than the banks.' He counts out your money slowly, but uses sleight-of-hand to shortchange you — pocketing a 5,000 KZT note while fanning the bills. Or he quotes 1 USD = 400 KZT when the real rate is 450 KZT. Travelers on r/travel report losing 10-20% of their exchange this way. The scam relies on the confusing denominations and the speed of the transaction in a noisy, crowded market environment.

You want to visit the stunning Big Almaty Lake and flag down a taxi at the bus stop near the trailhead.

The driver quotes 10,000-15,000 KZT one way for a ride that costs 1,500-2,000 KZT on Yandex Go. He insists the app 'doesn't work in the mountains' or that 'the road is restricted and only local drivers know the way.' Redditors on r/solotravel note that some drivers type 'Big Almaty Lake' as the destination in the Yandex app, which adds an extra 1,500 KZT to your fare — but drops you at the same spot as the cheaper route to the visitor centre.

You find a seemingly perfect apartment on Krisha.kz, Kazakhstan's most popular property rental ...

You find a seemingly perfect apartment on Krisha.kz, Kazakhstan's most popular property rental platform, at a price that undercuts hotels. The listing has attractive photos and the 'landlord' is responsive over WhatsApp, requesting a deposit of 50,000-100,000 KZT to secure the booking. Reddit users on r/Kazakhstan report that after transferring the deposit via Kaspi bank transfer, the landlord goes silent, the listing disappears, and the apartment either does not exist or belongs to someone else entirely. One Redditor described spending a 'small fortune on hotels' before attempting Krisha, only to lose their deposit to a ghost listing. The scam exploits the fact that Krisha.kz has limited verification of landlord identities and tourists unfamiliar with the platform do not know which safety features to use. Locals recommend always viewing the apartment in person before transferring any money and using Kaspi's escrow-style payment features when available.