7 Tourist Scams in Panama City

A solo traveler at Tocumen International Airport asked a taxi driver how much to get to his hotel in Casco Viejo. The driver said '$40.' Having no frame of reference, he agreed. A local later told him the real rate was $15-20. The return trip with Uber cost $8. Panama City taxis have no meters, and drivers routinely quote inflated prices when they see foreign tourists, especially at the airport and in Casco Viejo. Some drivers take deliberately longer routes. Others quote a price, then claim at the destination it was 'per person' — doubling or tripling the fare for groups. Lonely Planet and multiple travel blogs warn specifically about this as the most common tourist headache in Panama City.

Two tourists walking through a quiet street in Casco Viejo were stopped by two men in plainclothes who flashed what appeared to be police badges. They claimed to be conducting a routine check and asked to see their wallets to 'verify they weren't carrying counterfeit bills.' One tourist handed over his wallet. The 'officer' rifled through it, palmed $200 in cash, then handed it back and walked away quickly. Only when counting his money later did the tourist realize what happened. Travel safety guides for Panama consistently warn that real police officers in Panama never ask to inspect your wallet or cash on the street. Legitimate document checks involve uniformed officers asking only for identification.

A couple photographing the colorful buildings in Casco Viejo was suddenly surrounded by children asking for money and tugging at their clothes. While the husband tried to politely disengage, the wife felt a hand slide into her crossbody bag. Her phone was gone in seconds. Travel advisories consistently identify Casco Viejo and the ruins of Panama la Vieja as hotspots for organized pickpocket teams. Thieves work in coordinated groups — one or more create a distraction (asking for directions, offering to take a photo, or sending children to crowd around you) while an accomplice lifts phones, wallets, or cameras from bags and pockets.

A traveler at a hotel bar in Panama City was approached by a tall American who told an elaborate story: he was a US Air Force member stationed in Afghanistan, in Panama to surprise his family arriving on a cruise ship, but his taxi driver stole his bag containing his passport, phone, and wallet during a convenience store stop. He needed to pawn his wedding ring for cash to fly to Honduras, where his military ID could be replaced. The traveler, feeling sympathetic, lent him $150 and held the ring. The man never returned, and the ring was worthless costume jewelry. Multiple Facebook expat groups in Panama document this exact scam running for years — the same person or copycats use the identical story: military, Afghanistan, wedding ring, pawn shop, Honduras, cruise ship, family.

A tourist used a standalone ATM outside a convenience store in Calidonia to withdraw cash. The card slot felt slightly loose but he thought nothing of it. A week later, his bank called about suspicious transactions totaling $3,000 from his account. In a separate incident documented by travel safety reports, a tourist was forced into a taxi after withdrawing money from an ATM late at night. The criminals drove him to three different ATMs, forcing him to withdraw the daily maximum at each. Express kidnappings involving ATM withdrawals are estimated to go 90% unreported in Panama due to fear of retaliation. Skimming devices on standalone ATMs remain a persistent problem across Latin America.

A tourist near the cruise terminal was approached by a distraught man claiming to be an American military veteran who had just been robbed of everything — his passport, phone, and money. He tearfully explained he needed to pawn his wedding ring to buy a plane ticket to a military base in Honduras to get replacement documents. He asked for help getting to a pawn shop or for a small loan, offering the ring as collateral. The tourist lent him $100. The man never returned, and a jeweler later confirmed the ring was base metal worth under $2. This is the same scam as the 'Distressed Military' con but focused on the emotional prop of the wedding ring, which is always worthless costume jewelry mass-purchased for the scam.

A group leaving a bar in Casco Viejo at midnight opened Uber and saw prices surging to 3x normal rates. A taxi driver appeared immediately, offering a ride for $25 — still twice the normal fare but cheaper than the surge. They accepted. The driver took a circuitous route and demanded $40 at the destination, claiming the original quote was 'per person.' TripAdvisor users report that some taxi drivers wait near popular nightlife areas during known Uber surge periods, and some travelers suspect drivers deliberately flood Uber with fake ride requests to trigger surge pricing. While this is unconfirmed, the pattern of taxi drivers appearing with 'better deals' during surges is well-documented.