Travel Scams to Watch out For in Portugal

The small print: Portugalist may generate a commission from mentioned products or services. This is at no additional cost to you and it does not affect our editorial standards in any way. All content, including comments, should be treated as informational and not advice of any kind, including legal or financial advice. The author makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors or omissions or damages arising from its display or use. Links to external websites do not constitute an endorsement. [Disclaimer Policy]

Written by: | Last updated on July 24, 2023 | Est. Reading Time: 8 minutes

Travel scams are common in many parts of the world like Asia and Africa, but not so much in Europe. In Portugal, there are very few scams. Petty theft is a bit of a problem, and pickpockets and bag-snatchers do exist in Lisbon, but it’s nowhere near as bad as it is in other cities like Barcelona or Rome.

That said, there are a handful of scams (and things that seem like scams) that you should watch out for.

Euronet ATMs (not a scam, but still…)

Euronet ATMs

Euronet ATMs charge you a huge transaction fee for using them – typically it’s somewhere between 7.5% and 20% on whatever you withdraw. Withdrawing €20, for example, will cost you €3.95. 

These ATMS are springing up all over Portugal. I’ve seen them in Lisbon, Porto, the Algarve, and the Azores. They’re also very common in airports like Porto Airport and Ponta Delgada Airport. In fact, in Ponta Delgada Airport it was difficult to find an ATM that wasn’t a Euronet ATM. 

Now ATMs charging fees isn’t necessarily a scam; there are plenty of ATMs that do this. The reason Euronet ATMs are on this list is because these ATMs don’t always tell you that you’ll be charged for withdrawal. Update: It seems they do now, so I guess it’s more transparent.

The Restaurant Scam (definite scam)

The restaurant scam is probably the worst scam that’s happening in Portugal right now, partly because it’s very easy to fall for. Thankfully, it’s only currently happening in Baixa and it’s only happening in one restaurant: Made in Correeiros on Rua dos Correeiros. Note: the business changes its name every now and then.

According to Observador, this restaurant is owned and operated by a former pickpocket who used to work the famous Tram 28. The scam works like this: tourists are given a menu, which does not include prices for the drinks or for that day’s specials. Most people assume a beer or a glass of wine will cost less than €5, and that the specials will cost roughly the same as the other items on the menu.

They do not. There have been reports of people paying over €50 for a beer and over €250 for a seafood platter. And, the food apparently isn’t even that good. When people complain, a menu magically appears with the €50-per-beer prices.

So far the Portuguese authorities haven’t been able to shut the place down despite complaints and the scam making national and even international headlines. Although this is currently only limited to one restaurant, there’s nothing to stop other restaurants (in Lisbon or anywhere in the world) copying this scam. Always check the prices of anything before ordering.

“Hashish, Marijuana, Cocaine” (probably a scam)

In Lisbon, Porto, and even the Algarve, men will sometimes walk past and say “hashish, marijuana, cocaine.” In Lisbon, you’ll see these guys in Baixa, the Bairro Alto, Rossio – basically anywhere there are tourists.

I’ve read some people say these guys are in cahoots with the police, who are hiding around the corner waiting to put you in jail (or take a bribe). I don’t know if that’s true or not. Drugs – everything from cannabis to heroin – have been decriminalised in Portugal, and that sort of scam which is common in other parts of the world wouldn’t work as well here.

But even though you mightn’t get arrested, you can probably expect to be sold some licorice or washing up power in place of hash or cocaine.

Parking Scam (not a scam)

When you enter a car park, you’ll sometimes see men directing you into a parking space. In return for finding you a space, and keeping watch over your car, many people give them a tip of a Euro or two.

This isn’t really a scam, although many people see it as one. It’s something that’s common in Portugal and Spain, and also in South Africa. There’s no obligation to pay, although most people do. If you say you’re not going to, usually nothing happens although I think a lot of people would rather pay it then run the risk of having their car keyed.

In South Africa, these unofficial parking attendants can be very useful. Car crime is a big problem there, and most people are happy to pay an unofficial security guard to watch their car. In Portugal, it’s not really such a big issue. Some people feel that having someone find you a parking space is worth the Euro or two, others just see it as a charitable donation.

Couvert (not a scam)

When you sit down at a restaurant in Portugal, the waiter will put some things on your table: usually bread, sardine paste, shrimp paste, butter, olives, and maybe Algarve carrots as well.

This is known as the couvert, and it is not a scam. You’re legally supposed to be asked if you want the couvert but, in practice, this doesn’t always happen.

Don’t worry, though: you can send back anything you don’t want, including the whole thing. If you open up the menu, the prices for everything should be included and you can decide whether you want it or not. Most people take the couvert as it’s nice to have something to pick at while you wait for your meal.

Now, I have seen some places come over with plates of meats and cheese that turn out to cost around €5 each. Some tourists say yes to everything, and then end up with a bill for €20+ euros just for the couvert.

I’ve only seen this done once or twice, but to be on the safe side always check the prices inside the menu.

The accidental extra item on the bill (scam)

Sometimes when you get your bill at a restaurant in Portugal, there’ll be an extra item on there that you didn’t order. The cost of this item varies, but it’s usually small — say €2-5. Not the end of the world, and certainly not the most ambitious scam ever conceived, but nobody likes to be ripped off. This is especially likely to happen if you have a large bill with many different items, and if you are in a touristy location.

Speak to the waiter about it, and they’ll immediately take it off. They never question it. You just get told it was an honest mistake, and they then come back with a corrected bill.

This doesn’t happen all the time, and it only happens in a small percentage of restaurants, but it does happen from time-to-time. And, because it doesn’t happen all the time, it’s easy to forget to look out for it.

Thanks Charles, from the comments, for reminding me of this one.

Forgotten Change (Possibly a Scam)

Similar to the accidental item on the bill is the server forgetting to bring you your change. If it was roughly the amount you were planning to tip it obviously doesn’t matter, but often it’s just a little bit more than that.

Of course, this could be completely accidental, so don’t just to conclusions. Being a waiter or waitress is a tough job, especially during mealtimes when it’s busy, and it must be very easy to forget someone’s order or forget to bring them their change.

That said, this does seem to happen a bit more frequently than it should — and usually in places where tourists frequent. The best way to avoid this is to pay with the exact cash or with a card. However, be aware that some places will only take Portuguese bank cards.

Holiday Rental Scams (scam)

Holiday rental scams used to be a much bigger thing. People would show up at their villa in Portugal, only to find out it didn’t exist. It’s still something to look out for, but it does seem like it’s less of a problem.

These days, most people book their accommodation through travel booking websites like Booking.com, hotels.com, and TripAdvisor, where they can pay attention to the number of reviews as villa or self-catering apartment has. Reviews can be fake obviously, but there are usually a few telltale signs: the reviews are all gushing with praise, the price is too good to be true, the owner wants payment via an unusual method, or the apartment or villa is newly listed.

Holiday rental scams do still happen, and you need to be careful when booking, but thankfully they do seem to be less of a problem than they once were.

Petitions (definitely a scam)

The petitions scam is something that I’ve seen in almost European capital city. I’ve seen it in Lisbon, and I’ve heard of it happening in the Algarve as well.

Usually what happens is some (apparently) deaf and often mute people will come over and ask you to sign their petition. Most people readily say yes: petitions are almost never about anything bad. You sign your name, put in your e-mail, and then there’s another column for your donation. Some forms will even suggest a minimum donation amount.

Obviously petitions don’t usually require a donation, but the scam is supposed to put people on the spot and make them feel like they have to give a donation. The people asking for it are deaf and dumb, after all.

Are they deaf and dumb? According to a French newspaper, they are until the police come along.

Have you spotted any scams in Portugal? Let us and other travellers know in the comments below. 

Written by

James Cave is the founder of Portugalist and the author of the bestselling book, Moving to Portugal Made Simple. He has visited just about every part of Portugal, including Madeira and all nine islands of the Azores, and lived in several parts of Portugal including Lisbon, the Algarve, and Northern Portugal.

You can contact James by emailing james@portugalist.com or via the site's contact form.

Spotted a mistake? Suggest a correction

There are 20 comments on this article. Join the conversation and add your own thoughts, reviews, and stories of life in Portugal. However, please remember to be civil.

Comments

  1. I’ve survived Portugal and I’ve enjoyed many things in Portugal, and some of the wonderful people Portugal has aside from all the greedy and egoistic people living next door to the wonderful people, but since this blog is about Downsides, let me mention something that bothers me till this day.

    What bothers and even scares me are the bankers, both the cashiers and the branch managers, not only in Portugal, but also in the USA and in many other countries, but the IMPUNITY of the bankers in Portugal is staggering. And their trickstery is world class! The way a Portuguese bank branch manager is able to manipulate the ATM machines, swindle and defraud the branch’s customers is beyond shocking. And the way the bank cashiers manipulate cash withdrawal over the counter and cheat the older and unsuspecting customers, is disgraceful.

    Just some of the crooked bank manager’s swindling techniques:

    1. (The crooked branch manager) Sees the customer approaching the indoor ATM and runs behind it to jam the customer’s debit card inside of the ATM past the stage where the customer has already made an electronic withdrawal but did not withdraw his cash from the ATM yet. Since the branch is already closed (after 15:00 H) the branch manager apologizes but can’t open the door. So the customer suffers a loss of several hundred Euros.

    2. While withdrawing a large amount of cash (say €2500) over the counter, the same crooked bank branch manager hands the customer €2000 in cash and says in Portuguese: “This is your €2500, Sir. Have a nice day! (Mr. Foreigner)”. Knowing that foreigners can’t speak much Portuguese and can’t fight back. When confronted, in Portuguese, the thief-in-house apologizes, and hands the remaining (€500) to the customer and begins his explanation tirade on why this has happened.

    3. After the above trickstery happens more than once and the upset and concerned (for other people’s safety) bank Customer submits a serious and well written report to the HQ of the Bank in Lisbon, both via mail and email and even via a phone, after waiting for several months, repeating the report again, then waiting for several years, and realizing nothing was done and the same crooked bank branch manager is still working there and pulling his tricks on other people, the concerned customer understands the seriousness of the situation and leaves Portugal for good. (Or continues to live there, while being alert of the “surroundings”).

    4. This extra story was uncalled for, but I remember dealing with a lawyer having office in a building without any sign of the law firm at the entrance, and then realizing the lawyer just took my money and did nothing, while further ignoring my inquiries. Just a desert snack on top of the crooked banker’s story. Happens just about anywhere, does it?

    Reply
    • Hi Craig,

      This isn’t something I’ve come across in Portugal, but maybe other people will comment and share their experience. From your comment it sounds like it was one particular bank branch where this was happening. Is that the case?

      On point 1) I was under the impression that if you don’t actually take your money from the ATM and it gets sucked back in, your account is recredited.

      Reply
  2. Hello, I would suggest to add one scam to the list.
    I just bought openmail stamps today together with the postcards. When back to the hotel, I realized that it is an alternative service to the national postal service. This is not a great surprise as nothing has been told to me by the shop but as long as my postcards are delivered, which I hope it will, I can live with this. What I’m really disappointed about is the fact that I have been charged the price of 20-50 gr stamps while I got a 20 gr stamps building on my ignorance of the postal system in Portugal. This is obviously a scam by the shop located rua de sao joao da praca in Lisbon as the service seems to exist but I doubt about its seriousness due to the lack of trace on the internet beyond an official website and 2 light forum posts.

    Reply
  3. Beware in Lagos, Algarve the drug harrasment is a scam. Don’t believe the guy who propose you drugs, they will give you fake. Some of them actually has attacked people also. If they ask you, you can complain to the police as harrasment is ilegal !

    Reply
    • Hi Jorge,

      Yes, this is common throughout Portugal, especially Lisbon. Some of them can get quite aggressive. It’s normally bay leaves.

      Reply
  4. Hi James,

    Thank you for taking the time to compile this very useful list of scam. It is actually really good to know them as a first timer to Portugal. My experience, however, does not fall into this category as it it related to a long con in regard to what we (me and my family) saw as a long term rental.

    It is a long story that stretches over the lenght of almost 8 months which I will tell you about in detail by email. I think it is the best way to go as it will give you the time to analyze whether it is worthy of having a category of its own on your website.

    Here is a summary:

    Me, my wife and 16 months old baby moved to Portugal in October, 2019. On November, 20th we moved in one of the houses on the property where the house in this ad is located: https://www.idealista.pt/en/imovel/30649991/ .

    After 8 months of going thru hell, we finally managed to get out of that place (that is the exact choice of words) with legal assistance.

    In the beginning, everything seemed almost perfect: the house, the surroundings, the administrators (we saw the actual owner maybe 3 times and never once on his own initiative), but things degraded rapidly to the point we (and also our French next door neighbours) had to call the GNR and, as I said earlier, look for legal advice.

    The long con with long term renting is this: there are cases, isolated as I have learned so far, where owners prey on the uninformed (tipically foreigners and low income, low educated Portuguese citizens) appearing as godsent (offering to help with documents, utility contracts and other minor assistance) and, taking advantage or the latter’s lack of knowledge about legal aspects related to this situations (details about a long term contract, specific laws about renting and tenants rights etc), lead the relationship into an abusive, deeply disturbing and scaring experience.

    I will comeback with a detailed account (including photos and videos and also documents should you need them) over email.

    Stay safe, always keep yourself informed and never ever back down when justice is on your side.

    Reply
  5. Kinda a scam, my wife and I moved to the Algarve in 2015. My wife speaks Portuguese as a second language. We would eat in restaurants and when we would receive the bill there would (somtimes) be an extra charge. The extra charge would be for an item worth 2 to 5Eu. The bill would be in Portuguese and I would have my wife look it over, at least 5 to 10 times we found something we didn’t order. We would inquire about the extra item and the staff would politely take the item off the bill. I just found it funny because if my wife didn’t read in Portuguese we’d have been paying extra. Now that we’ve lived here for a while it never seem to happen anymore.

    Reply
    • Hi Charles,

      That’s a good point actually! I have had this happen to me a few times. It depends on the restaurant and the location but if I’m in a very touristy area and they think I’m a tourist, it’s more likely to happen.

      Reply
  6. Hi James, great informative post. You might like to add this scam we fell victim to on Sept 2nd. Be careful if you in Praia da Luz people coming into restaurants trying to swipe valuables like phones from your table, they distract you with a fake flyer and take valuables off table when they put flyer down. They don’t speak English or Portuguese and kept mumbling. They took a phone from us.

    Reply
    • Hi Alex,

      Sorry to hear about that, and thanks for letting me know. I often have my phone on the table, so they would have got me too!

      Reply
  7. Hi, James
    I live here in Lisbon, saw many people at Baixa offering “ drugs “ but it is not.
    There’s also a scam at Airbnb, normally they tell you they live somewhere else in Europe, can’t go to Lisbon – the acomodation is very well located, the price is low- and the person asks some money to “ block “ the property for you…

    Reply
  8. Hi James,

    Could you advise if you know anything about Sunriseinalgarve.com

    Is this legitimate or are they scammers?

    Reply
    • I’ve never heard of them, so don’t know either way. Was there something that made you think they were scammers? I couldn’t see anything about them good or bad.

      Reply
  9. I came to Lisbon a month ago. I’d like to get a card that most passengers use on the bus. I have a viagem card but they have an official card with their photo on it and use it for every journey whereas mine was purchased at a Metro station and was only good for one journey. When I went to top it up the options were for just a single trip €1.50 or else a 3 day usage, presumably these were mainly for tourists. I asked the bus driver, he told me but I couldn’t quite catch or remember his reply. I have a fiscal number and intend staying for some time. Could you help me James. I would need the official name of the office, and then I would be able to look up the street. Thanks very much.

    Reply
    • Hi Loretta,

      It sounds like you’re looking for the Lisboa Viva Card. This webpage here shows you the ticket offices where you can buy the card in Lisbon. There’s also some good info on this page (see the information for frequent users).

      P.S. The Viagem card doesn’t just have to be topped up for single trips. You could put €15 on it, for example, and get 10 trips out of it. You can keep topping it up as much as you want.

      The downside is that it’s flimsy, so you have to take good care of it while the Viva Cards are plastic.

      Reply
  10. Never buy drug to this people who ask “smoke, smoke….” they sell fake. Buy in the street its always scam of course. It’s leaf or gum but never Marijuana, and its perfumed to smell like the real one. Thats why the police is close by but cannot arrest them. They have no drugs to sell. Every tourist town or city is like that.
    Also don’t give your money to petitions or association who “care of children’s…” im the street, its also scam, the money go to the mafia.

    Reply

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.