We often hear about the scams people face when they travel to another country and taxi scams have emerged as the biggest ones in recent years! One of the latest examples was shared by Indian travel content creator Komal Maheswari, who was travelling to Kazakhstan. She took to Instagram to share the terrifying experience that she faced while getting a taxi at the Kazakhstan Airport during her visit. In her video, she explained that she was told that her ride would cost 1,000 Tenge (about ₹170). However, at the end of the ride, she was asked to pay around 77,000 Tenge (about ₹13,000)! Scroll on to read about her experience.
Indian Tourist Shares Terrifying Taxi Scam In Kazakhstan
Indian travel content creator Komal Maheswari blogs about her travel experiences and shares travel tips with people online. In her recent videos, she shared about a taxi scam she faced during her recent visit to Kazakhstan. Talking about her terrifying experience, she shared how a local taxi driver at the airport tried to charge them over the decided amount. When they refused to pay the extra money, he got really aggressive.
In the video, she explains that, unlike her usual trips, she did not purchase a local SIM card beforehand. Also, there were no SIM card shops or kiosks at the airport. Because of this, she was not able to book a cab online. While Komal and her group tried to think of their next step, a taxi driver approached her to help her. Since she had already been scammed similarly in Vietnam, she asked the taxi driver for an estimate for the ride. He said a ride from the airport to her hotel would cost around 1,000 Tenge (approx ₹170). Satisfied, she decided to go ahead with the ride.
There were many “red flags” that Komal noticed while she was getting in the taxi. She noticed that there was another man already seated in the cab. However, the taxi driver claimed that the other person was a “business partner” and could ride along with them. She then noticed a child lock on the door as well. Unfortunately, she didn’t think much about these issues and continued with her ride.
She then went on to explain that once they reached their destination, the taxi driver demanded 77,000 Tenge (₹13,378)! When she refused to pay such an exuberant amount, the “nice” driver suddenly got extremely aggressive. He took a U-turn and threatened that he would take them back to the airport if they didn’t pay him up.
Called The Experience The “Scariest Thing To Have Happened To Her!”
To get out of this terrifying situation, Komal Maheswari tried to negotiate with the driver. The group tried to calm him down and after a lot of back and forth, paid 30,000 Tenge (approx ₹5,200). Komal called this entire experience by far, the “scariest thing that has ever happened” to her.
Despite this terrifying experience, Komal Maheswari still maintains that Kazakhstan is a beautiful country and should be visited once in your life! She says a few bad people cannot change the fact that people in this Asian country are quite kind and helpful. Her only aim in making this video was to caution people and make sure such an incident doesn’t happen to anyone else.
Things to keep in mind to avoid such scams while travelling:
1. Get a SIM for the country you’re travelling to beforehand. This will make online booking easier.
2. Make sure you only make bookings for hotels, taxis, and everything else from legit websites.
3. Research well. Read, and talk to people who have travelled to the country recently and know about things you should be aware of while travelling, especially solo.
4. Check the IDs of taxi drivers and ensure the legitimacy of the taxi company with local authorities.
5. Always keep your important documents handy and safe.
Also Read: Planning A Trip To Kazakhstan? From Visa To Budget, X User Posts 10 Things You Should Know
Scams, especially taxi scams, have become quite common. Our advice to anyone travelling is to make sure you research well before planning your trip and be vigilant at all times!
Cover Image Courtesy: Instagram/komalified & Canva