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⚠️ Staying safe in Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City is a fairly safe city, but overcharging, bag snatching and scams aimed at foreigners are common. Knowing about them in advance helps you avoid most of them.

Read the checklist for each situation and listen to the Vietnamese sentences you'd use.

🌏 In Oct 2026 we re-checked government advisories from South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the US, the UK, Canada, France and Russia and Vietnamese media reports (2023–2026), and added recent tricks. Sources are in parentheses.

👜 Pickpockets · Motorbike snatch theft

• The most common crime is motorbike snatch theft (giật đồ). Thieves target people looking at or talking on their phone by the roadside.
• Wear your bag in front of you, on the side away from the traffic.
• Even on a Grab bike, don't hold your phone in your hand.
• Snatch theft hotspots: around Bến Thành Market, Đồng Khởi, Nguyễn Huệ, Lê Lợi and Lê Lai streets, and the Phạm Ngũ Lão / Bùi Viện area (Taiwanese, French and Japanese government advisories).
• If someone approaches asking to 'see some money from your country', don't take out your wallet. The trick is to take your wallet and slip out the large notes (Japan MOFA, Mar 2026).
• In crowded places such as District 1 tourist spots, night markets and Bùi Viện Street, keep your wallet in a front pocket.
• If your bag is snatched, don't chase the thief. Many people fall and are badly hurt.
• Cash left in hotel rooms sometimes goes missing. Keep cash and passports in the room safe and split up large sums (reported case at a District 1 hotel, Oct 2024).
• Reports of cash and cards stolen from checked bags on flights have increased. Keep valuables on you and don't put them in checked luggage (Korean Consulate General, Dec 2024; Japan MOFA, Mar 2026).
• If something is stolen, report it to the nearest ward police (công an phường) and get a confirmation letter.
• If you lose your passport, also contact your country's embassy or consulate.

💵 Money · Exchange · Payments

• It's easy to mix up 20,000 VND and 500,000 VND (both blue) and 10,000 VND and 200,000 VND (similar brownish colors). Check the number of zeros when you hand over notes.
• Saying the amount out loud as you hand over notes prevents arguments that 'you gave me a smaller note'.
• Where there's no price tag, ask the price before you eat or ride.
• With coconut and snack vendors, ask the price first. Media reported a vendor in District 1 charging 330k VND for one coconut (normally just over 10k) (Aug 2026). If they follow you, say 'Không cần (No need)' and keep walking.
• Stalls without price tags inside Bến Thành Market sometimes quote foreigners several times the price (in Aug 2023 a stall was shut down for overcharging a Japanese tourist). Use shops with price tags or fixed-price stores.
• Exchange money at banks or licensed exchange counters. From Feb 2026 there is a crackdown on unlicensed exchange at gold shops and souvenir shops — if caught, you can be fined and have the cash you were exchanging confiscated (Korean Consulate General, Jan 2026).
• Use ATMs inside banks or buildings. Check the card slot for skimming devices.
• When paying by bank transfer (chuyển khoản), check the recipient's name and the amount before sending, and show the transfer-complete screen.

🚕 Transport · Taxis · Crossing the street

• The safest way to get a taxi is with an app like Grab, Be or Xanh SM. The fare is set in advance.
• When the app driver arrives, check that the license plate and the driver's face match the app before getting in.
• When hailing a taxi on the street, use big companies like Vinasun (white) or Mai Linh (green). There are fake taxis with look-alike logos.
• At the airport exit, don't follow people who come up and ask 'Taxi?'. Use the official taxi rank or an app.
• In the airport arrivals hall, ignore anyone wearing an ID badge and pretending to be Grab staff who offers to book a car for you. They take your wallet on the pretext of working out the fare and remove cash. Book the car yourself on your own phone (Korean Consulate General, Apr 2026).
• If, while you're waiting for your Grab, another driver says 'I'm the car you booked' and shows a similar app screen, don't get in. Only get in a car whose license plate, driver name and car model match your app (reported case in District 1, Jul 2026).
• If the taxi meter rises strangely fast, ask to stop right away. In 2023, taxis with meter-tampering devices were caught at the airport, and in one case a passenger was charged 10 times the normal fare from the airport to District 1 (UK and Canadian governments, Vietnamese media).
• Turn down 'city tour' offers from cyclo drivers or motorbike drivers who approach you on the street. There are many cases of outrageous fares demanded at the end. If you must ride, agree on the total in writing on paper (Japanese Consulate General, Jan 2025).
• If you booked a long-distance bus through an app and an old vehicle that doesn't match the photos turns up, take photos, don't board, and ask the app's customer service for a refund (Korean Consulate General, Apr 2026).
• At night, only ride in cars booked through an app, and send the license plate number to family or friends. The UK and Canadian governments warn of sexual assaults involving unlicensed taxi and xe ôm drivers.
• When crossing the street, walk slowly and at a steady pace. If you suddenly run or stop, motorbikes have a hard time avoiding you.
• Motorbikes ride on the sidewalk too. When walking, don't hold your phone in the hand on the traffic side.

📱 Phone · Online scams

• If someone calls claiming to be from the police, a court or the tax office and tells you to send money, it's 100% a scam. Vietnamese police don't ask for transfers over the phone.
• If you get Zalo or Facebook messages like 'your parcel is held up', 'you've won a prize' or 'easy money jobs', don't tap the links.
• Never send your OTP code, banking app password or passport photo to someone you don't know.
• In house-hunting Facebook groups, being asked to send a deposit before you've even seen the place is very likely a scam.
• If a Grab driver suggests riding off the app for cash, refuse.
• Calls claiming to be from your embassy or consulate, or the police or prosecutors back home, are scams too. Hang up and check directly by calling the embassy's or consulate's official number.
• Don't accept offers of 'high-paying jobs abroad'. There have been cases of people taken to Vietnam or neighboring countries and forced to work in phone-scam or gambling operations (Chinese Consulate General, Aug 2023).
• Social media posts and fake websites selling cheap hotels, tours and tickets have increased (HCMC Department of Tourism, Aug 2026). Buy only from official sites or major booking apps, and don't transfer money to personal accounts.
• If someone you've befriended on the street invites you to their home or lodging and suggests a card game, it's a scam. They let you win at first, then get you to bet big. In Jul 2026 a gang targeting elderly foreigners around Bến Thành Market was caught.
• If someone in monk's robes ties a string or bracelet on your wrist and asks for money, pull your hand away and walk on (caught around Bến Thành Market, Aug 2026).

🍸 Bars · Nights out · Massage

• Don't follow touts on the street who offer to take you to 'a cheap place to drink'. Outrageous bar bills have resulted, and in some cases card charges were inflated later (Japanese Consulate General, 2022 and 2025).
• Only go to places with a menu that shows prices, get an itemized bill and check there's nothing you didn't order. Check the amount on card receipts before signing. The Canadian government warns that some bars inflate bills for drunk customers.
• Order drinks yourself and watch them being made, and don't drink from a glass you left unattended. Several countries warn of drugging with drinks, snacks or cigarettes from strangers, followed by robbery or forced ATM withdrawals (Canada, UK, Australia, US).
• Avoid spirits of unknown origin and suspiciously cheap cocktails. There have been deaths from fake alcohol (methanol) poisoning. If your vision blurs or you feel very ill after drinking, go to a hospital immediately (UK and Canadian governments).
• Don't accept laughing gas balloons or e-cigarettes ('pods') from others. Laughing gas is illegal, and in police raids customers on the premises are drug-tested too and can be arrested if positive (US Consulate General, Aug 2026).
• Card games (poker, etc.) in hotel gaming rooms, and mahjong or pachinko places aimed at foreigners, are often illegal. In raids, customers can also be arrested and detained, and some countries (e.g. South Korea) can also prosecute their own nationals for it after they return home (Korean Consulate General, Mar 2026).
• Avoid spas and massage places with touts on the backpacker streets (Bùi Viện, Đề Thám, Phạm Ngũ Lão). In a Dec 2025 crackdown on prostitution disguised as spas, foreign customers were caught too. For massage, use the chains in the 🎉 Massage & Spa guide.
• Don't eat or drink in your lodging with people you've just met. There are reports of people passing out and losing all their money (Japan MOFA, Mar 2026).

🛂 Visas · Residence registration · Driving

• Foreigners must have temporary residence registration (khai báo tạm trú) done where they stay. Hotels do it automatically; if you rent a home, the landlord must register you. Be sure to check when signing the lease (more in Level 3).
• Carry a copy of your passport instead of the original, and keep the original safe at home.
• Don't leave your original passport as a deposit when renting a motorbike. You may have trouble getting it back.
• Write your visa expiry date on your calendar. Overstaying by even one day means a fine.
• International Driving Permits issued in some countries (e.g. South Korea) are reportedly not recognized in Vietnam, so check whether yours is valid. Accidents while driving without a valid license aren't covered by insurance. If you want to drive, look into converting to a Vietnamese license (check the latest rules).
• From May 15, 2026, people caught using e-cigarettes or heated tobacco face a fine of 3M–5M VND and confiscation of the device. Tell visitors not to bring them at all (Korean Consulate General, May 2026).

🏥 Health · Food · Weather

• Don't drink tap water. Buy bottled water or use a water filter.
• Restaurant ice is mostly factory-made, but if you have a sensitive stomach, order 'không đá' (no ice).
• With street food, places that are busy with fast turnover are safest.
• The midday heat is intense. Drink water often, and wear long sleeves and sunscreen when riding a motorbike.
• In the rainy season (roughly May–November), there are lots of mosquitoes carrying dengue fever (sốt xuất huyết). Use mosquito repellent, and if you get a high fever, go to a hospital right away.
• In an emergency, call 115 (ambulance). Choosing hospitals and pharmacies, insurance, dengue symptoms and fever-medicine warnings are in the 🏥 Hospitals & Pharmacies guide.

🙏 Culture · Manners

• When calling someone over, don't point or clap. Wave with your palm facing down, or call 'em ơi' or 'anh ơi'.
• Handing things or money over with both hands comes across as respectful.
• When visiting temples and churches, wear clothes that cover your shoulders and knees.
• Getting loudly angry in public makes the other person feel they've lost face, and things get more tangled. Speaking calmly, with a smile works better.
• For 1–2 weeks around Tết, many shops and government offices close. Get paperwork done in advance.

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