Before you go
Common Tourist Scams in France and How to Avoid Them
Quick answer
Most scams in Paris are distractions: someone wants your signature, your bet or your attention while a partner reaches for your bag. The fix is simple. Keep walking, say “Non, merci,” buy tickets and taxis only from official desks and ranks, and pay in euros.
Sources for this answer · Checked
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| Approach | What to do instead |
|---|---|
| A clipboard petition, sometimes from someone saying they are deaf | Keep walking. The police say these collectors represent no charity. |
| A shell game with cards, dice or cups on a sidewalk or bridge | Do not stop to watch. The police say the dealer wins every time. |
| “Police” asking for your papers and money | Real officers never ask for money. Ask to see the official card, or call 17. |
| A stranger offering metro or RER tickets | Use station ticket windows and machines only. |
| A driver who approaches you inside the airport | Take an official taxi from the rank: €56 to the Right Bank or €65 to the Left Bank from CDG in 2026. |
| A card terminal or ATM offering dollars | Choose euros. |
The pattern behind almost every Paris scam
The Paris police guide for visitors describes the same move again and again: something to look at, sign or bet on, and a second person working on your pockets while you do. The tourist office puts it plainly: being asked to sign a petition or watch a street game is often a way to take your attention off your belongings. You do not need to work out which approach is which. If a stranger starts a conversation that ends with your hands busy or your wallet out, keep walking. A polite “Non, merci” without breaking stride is enough. Paris je t’aime safety tips, checked November 9, 2026
Petitions and clipboards
The police guide describes young people at the big sights who hold out a petition, sometimes saying they are deaf and unable to speak, and then ask for money for a charity. They are not collecting for any charity, and while you sign, an accomplice may go through your bag. Do not take the clipboard or the pen. Paris police safety guide (French)
The shell game on bridges and sidewalks
Bonneteau is played on the street with three cards, dice or cups. A dealer moves them and invites a bet, at least €50 in the version the police describe, on where the red card or the ball ended up. The “players” winning around the table are accomplices. The police guide is blunt: the dealer wins every time. Watching is part of the trap, because a crowd watching a game is a crowd not watching its bags.
Fake police officers
Someone may claim to be a police officer and ask to check your passport and your cash. A real officer never asks you for money. Ask to see the card: the police describe it as white plastic, credit-card size, marked “Police” across a blue, white and red stripe, with text on both sides. If you are unsure, say you will go to the nearest police station with them, or call 17.
Street sellers and ticket resellers
The police ask visitors not to buy from unlicensed street sellers, known in French as vente à la sauvette, the goods sold straight off the sidewalk by roaming vendors, as the police describe it. You do not know where the goods come from, and the money funds clandestine networks. The same goes for anyone offering metro or RER tickets: the police say resellers can charge up to ten times the price. Buy from the windows and machines in the station, and do not let a stranger follow you through the ticket gate.
Airport taxis
Inside the terminal, ignore anyone who walks up and offers you a ride. The police call these illegal taxis: they lack the regulated equipment and the professional insurance of a licensed cab. Follow the signs to the official taxi rank. In 2026 a Paris taxi from Charles de Gaulle costs a flat €56 to the Right Bank or €65 to the Left Bank; from Orly it is €45 to the Right Bank or €36 to the Left Bank. Booking ahead adds €7, booking for an immediate pickup adds €4, and a fifth passenger adds €5.50. Ask the driver to confirm the flat fare before you leave the rank. 2026 Paris taxi fares from Service Public (French)
At the ATM and the card terminal
Cover the keypad when you type your PIN and do not let anyone “help” you at a cash machine. The police also advise against changing money on the street. When a terminal or ATM offers to charge you in dollars, choose euros: Visa says that home-currency option often costs 3 to 5 percent more through the exchange rate. Visa on foreign transactions
If it happens anyway
Move somewhere busy, then call 17 for the police or 112 for any emergency. A theft by someone you cannot identify can be reported online (in French), or at any Paris police station, where the police guide says the S.A.V.E. system takes complaints in about 30 languages and hands you a receipt in yours. If your passport was taken, read what to do after a theft in Paris before you go to the embassy.
Book your trip
Book tickets and rooms on official sites or trusted booking platforms before you land, so nobody on the street has anything to sell you:
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Then read how to get in from the airport and the Louvre, Orsay and Versailles booking guide.
Free printable
The France Trip Checklist for Americans
Three pages to save before you fly: passport and EES/ETIAS status, the proof the border police can ask for, cards and phones, driving rules and the bookings worth making early. Every line links an official source, checked November 9, 2026.
Sources and check dates
The Paris police guide describes young people at tourist sites who approach with a petition, sometimes claiming to be deaf, ask for money on behalf of charities they do not represent, and may work with accomplices who steal while the visitor signs.
Préfecture de Police and Ministry of the Interior · Paris en toute sécurité: visitor safety guide (French) ↗Checked · Paris tourist sites.The guide describes bonneteau, a street game with cards, dice or cups, played for stakes of at least €50, where accomplices pose as players and the dealer always wins.
Préfecture de Police and Ministry of the Interior · Paris en toute sécurité: visitor safety guide (French) ↗Checked · Public streets in Paris.The guide warns of fake police officers who ask for papers and money, says real officers never ask for money, and describes the white credit-card-size police card with a blue, white and red stripe.
The guide tells visitors never to buy transit tickets from street resellers, who can charge up to ten times the price, and to use station windows and machines.
Préfecture de Police and Ministry of the Interior · Paris en toute sécurité: visitor safety guide (French) ↗Checked · Paris public transport.The guide says buying from unlicensed street sellers funds clandestine networks and that the origin of the goods is unknown.
Préfecture de Police and Ministry of the Interior · Paris en toute sécurité: visitor safety guide (French) ↗Checked · Paris sidewalks and tourist sites.The guide warns against accepting a ride from anyone who offers transport in airports, stations or the street, describing these as illegal taxis without the regulated equipment or professional insurance.
Préfecture de Police and Ministry of the Interior · Paris en toute sécurité: visitor safety guide (French) ↗Checked · Paris airports, stations and streets.Service Public lists the 2026 flat fares for Paris taxis between the city and the airports: €56 CDG–Right Bank, €65 CDG–Left Bank, €45 Orly–Right Bank and €36 Orly–Left Bank, with a €4 supplement for an immediate booking and €7 for an advance booking.
Service Public Entreprendre · Taxi fares for 2026, including Paris airport flat fares (French) ↗Checked · Direct rides by Paris taxis in 2026.Paris je t’aime says being approached to sign a petition or play bonneteau is often a way to divert attention from your belongings, and advises carrying bags closed and in front in busy tourist areas.
Visa says the option to pay in your home currency often costs 3–5% more through the exchange rate.
Visa · Foreign transactions and conversion options ↗Checked · Card payments and ATM withdrawals abroad.