7 Tourist Scams in Prague

You spot a bright yellow Euronet ATM right on Staroměstské náměstí and think nothing of it — it's just an ATM, right? The machine asks if you want to use 'their' conversion rate instead of your bank's, and without reading carefully, you click confirm. You've just paid a 20% conversion markup on top of a fat withdrawal fee. Back at the hostel in Žižkov, another traveler shows you the r/Prague thread where dozens of tourists describe losing €30–50 in a single ATM visit this way. As one commenter bluntly put it: 'Euronet is a legal scam dressed up in a neon box.'

It's 2am and you've just left a bar on Dlouhá Street when a driver waves you over near the taxi rank on Wenceslas Square. He says 'flat rate, 500 koruna' and you get in. Twenty minutes later he's demanding 2,000 CZK and pointing at a meter that was somehow running the whole time. You recognize the scam from r/solotravel — the classic move is either a broken meter, a rigged meter, or simply arguing there's a 'night surcharge.' One Redditor lost $100 on a 15-minute ride this way, writing: 'The driver locked the doors until I paid. I should have just used Bolt.'

You settle into a charming restaurant just off the Charles Bridge in Malá Strana and order goulash and a beer. The bill arrives and looks reasonable — until your friend notices the waiter has already added a 15% 'service charge' in small print and is now handing you the card reader with the tip screen defaulted to 20% on top of that. You'd be tipping 35% total. A viral r/Prague post called 'Tourists beware of the Tip trick' warned about exactly this: some restaurants in the tourist belt stack hidden service charges then guilt-trip you for not tipping further. One commenter noted: 'Compared to Berlin, Prague old town is just a scammy tourist trap with cool architecture.'

You're admiring the Astronomical Clock on Old Town Square when someone approaches holding a clipboard and a sign about deaf children. They ask you to sign a petition and shove the clipboard into your hands. The moment your pen touches paper, they point to the 'donation amount' column and expect a large cash donation — often €20–50. The 'charity' is entirely fake. A celebrated r/Prague post titled 'Victory: the Charity Ham Scam on Old Town Square is FINALLY gone' went viral when the notorious Old Town Square ham stall shut down — but petition scammers remain. The Redditor wrote: 'They count on tourists who don't understand the sign. It's a notorious scam spot right on Old Town Square, a disgrace.'

The exchange kiosk on Václavské náměstí is advertising '0% commission!' in enormous letters and you think you've found a deal. You hand over €200 and get back far fewer Czech crowns than expected. The catch: the advertised rate was for selling CZK, not buying it, and the actual buying rate was buried in tiny print. You only realize you've been swindled when you compare rates at the hotel. Multiple r/Prague posts confirm these kiosks are considered a citywide embarrassment — a user posted: 'PLEASE!! In Czech Republic, honest ATMs at banks WON'T ever give you EUROS. Our currency is Czech koruna — these exchange offices are preying on confused tourists.'

A friendly local-looking woman near Wenceslas Square strikes up a conversation and suggests a 'nice local bar' nearby. You have a few drinks, she orders what seem like regular cocktails, and when the bill arrives it's €400 for six drinks. The bar has a bouncer blocking the door. The menu she ordered from had prices ten times higher than the regular menu you were shown — a version sold specifically to tourists dragged in by 'bar girls' on commission. A Redditor on r/solotravel described this as 'the most aggressive scam I've encountered in Europe — they had three bouncers and I had to call the police to leave.'

You rent a fat e-bike from a stand near Old Town Square that promises a 'self-guided city tour.' The operator never mentions that in Prague, riding e-bikes with motors above a certain wattage on public roads without a driver's license is illegal. When police stop you on the embankment near Nusle Bridge, you're facing a fine equivalent to hundreds of euros — and the rental operator is nowhere to be found. A r/Prague thread titled 'Tourist Scam: Fat E-Bike Tours' exposed the practice: the operators know the rules but deliberately don't inform tourists, collecting rent fees while tourists absorb all legal risk.