7 Tourist Scams in Denver

You're sitting at a patio restaurant on the 16th Street Mall enjoying a beer on a Sunday evening. You turn your head to look at a TV for a moment. When you turn back, a stranger is drinking your beer — and your phone that was on the table is gone. This exact scenario was described by a TripAdvisor reviewer, and it's far from an isolated incident. In the past two years, 901 crimes have been reported on the 16th Street Mall alone, including 57 violent crimes — averaging nearly 38 crimes per month. The Union Station area nearby logs more crimes per square mile than any other Denver neighborhood, with purse snatchings, phone grabs, and pickpocketing topping the list. The typical pattern involves someone creating a distraction — asking for directions, spilling something on you, or starting an argument nearby — while an accomplice grabs your valuables from the table or bag. Multiple Westword reports document a wave of groups of juveniles targeting tourists along the mall, swarming and grabbing bags or phones before dispersing into the crowd. While the mall has undergone renovation and conditions have improved since 2024, the reconstructed sections still attract opportunistic thieves because tourists are plentiful and often distracted by the new shops and restaurants.

You return your rental car at Denver International Airport — no accidents, no incidents, a perfectly normal trip. Then a bill for $3,000 arrives in the mail weeks later. The reason: alleged hail damage that supposedly happened during your rental period. You never saw any hail. You never filed a claim. But the rental company insists you're liable, and they've already charged the credit card on file. Denver7 Investigates uncovered hundreds of complaints against Routes Car Rental operating from Commerce City near the airport, documenting surprise charges, refusal to process refunds, and multi-hour waits for vehicles. On TripAdvisor's Denver forum, one traveler warned that small pre-existing dents were flagged as new damage upon return, with the company demanding a $1,500 deposit to cover 'repairs.' Post-return damage claims have become a revenue stream for some off-brand rental operations at DEN, with many outsourcing collections to third-party claim companies incentivized to collect regardless of the facts. A separate grand jury investigation resulted in a 222-count indictment against 17 defendants who stole at least 190 vehicles from DEN parking facilities between 2022 and 2024, highlighting the general vehicle crime problem around the airport.

You're planning a ski trip from Denver and find what looks like an amazing deal on Craigslist: Vail lift tickets at 50% off face value. The seller seems legit, responds quickly, and sends you a confirmation email after you pay via Venmo. You drive three hours to Vail, arrive at the ticket window excited to hit the slopes, and the staff tells you the tickets are void — the credit card used to purchase them was stolen and has been cancelled. You're out the money and standing in the cold with no lift ticket. Vail Police documented 39 cases of fraudulent lift tickets in a single season — nine times the previous year's count. Steamboat Resort issued an official Facebook warning about the scam, explaining that sellers use stolen credit cards to buy tickets online, then resell them on Craigslist at a discount. The resort only processes the credit card when the buyer tries to pick up the tickets, at which point the fraud is discovered and the tickets are voided. One group of four friends lost $2,000 after buying Craigslist passes that were cancelled at the window. Colorado law makes reselling lift tickets in any form illegal, which means buyers have no legal recourse and cannot even file a consumer complaint as a 'victim' of a legitimate transaction.

You're walking near Civic Center Station when a man approaches with a detailed story: his car broke down, he's a veteran, he just needs $20 for gas to get to his daughter's house in Colorado Springs. He's articulate, well-dressed enough to seem credible, and produces a gas can as a prop. You hand over $20. An hour later, you see the same man telling the same story to another tourist two blocks away. Denver's panhandling scene has become increasingly sophisticated and, in some areas, aggressive. The Denver Gazette and multiple Reddit threads describe encounters along Colfax Avenue — historically one of the highest-crime corridors in the city — where individuals follow tourists for blocks, stand in front of restaurant doors blocking entry, or approach cars at red lights and refuse to leave until given money. Aurora police created a specific safety plan for the Colfax and Havana intersection after documenting aggressive panhandling, drug sales, and 92 crimes in a single block radius in early 2024. The Colorado Sheriff's Office explicitly advises 'don't give them money,' noting that many aggressive panhandlers use the funds for drugs rather than the emergencies they describe. While giving to panhandlers is a personal choice, tourists should know the difference between a polite ask and an aggressive hustle.

Denver's legal cannabis industry draws millions of tourists annually, and some operators specifically target out-of-towners who don't know local pricing or regulations. You walk into a dispensary near the 16th Street Mall and ask for recommendations. The budtender steers you toward premium edibles at $60 for a package that costs $25 at a dispensary two miles away. They add a 'tourist processing fee' that doesn't exist in Colorado law. You pay $120 for what a local would buy for $45. The problems extend beyond overpricing. Denver's marijuana enforcement division found some dispensaries selling products that would fail state mold standards. My 420 Tours, once Denver's most prominent cannabis tour operator, shut down without warning or refunds, leaving tourists who had prepaid hundreds of dollars for weed-themed experiences stranded. Online, fake delivery services have proliferated — they claim to offer convenient hotel delivery of edibles, collect payment through digital wallet apps like Cash App or Zelle, then disappear. Some victims received packages containing fake edibles with chemical tastes and no actual THC. The Better Business Bureau flagged marijuana dispensary scams as a growing category, noting that once payment is made through untraceable methods, refunds are nearly impossible to obtain.

You land at DEN after a late flight and order an Uber. Outside the terminal, a man in a dark sedan rolls down his window and says your first name — 'Sarah? Your Uber is here.' You're tired, the name matches, and you get in. But the car isn't your Uber. The driver takes you to your hotel and demands $150 cash for the ride — triple what the app would have charged. When you protest, he says he'll drive you back to the airport if you don't pay. You're alone, it's midnight, and you pay. This scam is particularly common at DEN because the airport's rideshare pickup area at Level 5 of the Jeppesen Terminal is confusing for first-time visitors, and flights arrive late due to Denver's frequent weather delays. Fake drivers lurk in the arrivals area, listen for passengers mentioning ride-hailing apps, and approach using first names overheard from conversations or phone screens. The same tactic has been reported at Red Rocks Amphitheatre after concerts, where thousands of people pour out simultaneously and the cell service is poor, making it hard to confirm your actual driver. The Bank of Colorado's consumer safety guide specifically warns about ride-share impersonators who charge exorbitant fees, and notes that legitimate drivers will always have their name, photo, and license plate visible in the app.

You park your rental car at a trailhead west of Denver for a morning hike, leaving your laptop bag tucked under the back seat. When you return two hours later, the rear window is smashed and everything of value is gone — laptop, camera, and the backpack with your passport. A note on your windshield from another hiker says they saw the break-in happen in broad daylight but the thieves were gone in under 30 seconds. Colorado's auto theft rate is among the highest in the nation. The Colorado Auto Theft Authority reports that Denver-area vehicle break-ins are particularly concentrated at trailhead parking lots along I-70 and at DEN airport long-term parking. A grand jury indicted 17 defendants for stealing at least 190 vehicles from DEN parking between 2022 and 2024, with the stolen cars driven across the U.S.-Mexico border. At trailheads, thieves target rental cars specifically — the Enterprise or Hertz stickers and out-of-state plates are giveaways that valuables may be inside. Smash-and-grab crews work in teams and can break a window, grab a bag, and drive off in under a minute. The Denver Police Department acknowledges that DEN is a 'target-rich environment' but notes that 99.9% of parkers are unaffected — a statistic that offers little comfort to those who are.