OpinionAugust 31, 2026 — 5:00amIn May, after collecting a hire car from Rome’s Fiumicino Airport, I was driving along the A1 autostrada towards Florence when a car pulled in front of me, slowed until he was about 10 metres from my bumper bar and slammed on his brakes. In full panic mode, I hit the skids. The collision alarm shrieked, and I could feel my Renault’s automatic braking system activating, stopping just short of locking up the wheels. By some miracle, I avoided smashing into his rear end.Drivers are often targets for scams in Italy, though new scams are developing all the time.iStockFrom more than 100km/h we came to a complete stop before he started off again. I did the same, pulled out next to him and showed him a few gestures that would have surprised even an Italian. He responded with clasped hands suggesting, “sorry, my bad”.“See how polite Italian drivers are?” said Liz, my wife.But I begged to disagree. It was all planned.He’d been lying in wait, saw a newish vehicle, probably figured I had full insurance and that made me a prime target. If I had slammed into the back of him, it would have been my fault, and I’d have had no chance of convincing the police otherwise. Call it crash for cash, or the brake check scam. I’ve driven thousands of kilometres in Italy and I thought I knew everything there was to know about what could go wrong, but this was a revelation.Sign up for the Traveller newsletterThe latest travel news, tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox. Sign up now.The fake transfer scamA well-travelled friend and her husband arrived in Buenos Aires at the start of a three-week South American odyssey. They’d booked a car transfer from the airport to their hotel, and when they walked outside the terminal – aha – here was a guy in a dark suit with a clipboard.“Transfer for David Holmes?” the husband asked.“Si senor,” said the suit, with a flash of pearly teeth.They got into the limo and drove, and drove, and finally found themselves in a parking lot at a suburban shopping centre.“You will stay in the vehicle while your husband comes with me to an ATM,” the driver said.There was no discussion, and no thought of defiance, which would probably involve violence, so the husband trudged off into the shopping centre.Meanwhile, the wife had the presence of mind to reach over to the front seat, open the glove box and, inside, retrieve the driver’s licence, which she pocketed. Her husband returned, looking pale, and confessed he’d extracted several thousand dollars from their account before the bank finally stopped issuing more. They were dropped off at their hotel and had checked in when the wife called the police and played her karma card.“We’ve been trying to catch this gang, but we’ve had no evidence of a crime until now,” the police said.Hopefully, justice prevailed.This is an easy mistake to make, but a driver should have your name on a signboard or a tablet device; it’s not up to you to give them your name.Scams are evolving, aided by technologyBoth of these are traditional, old-fashioned scams, and plenty of those are still delivering cash into criminal pockets, but scams evolve quickly, and they’ve been spurred on by technology. In the hands of scammers, even something as common and mundane as the QR code has become an entry point to your bank account.Beware QR codes at EV charging stations.iStockAs part of an extensive article warning of scams that affect travellers, the Smartraveller website has cautioned against scammers who put fake payment QR codes in public places, such as car parks, and Choice magazine has also published an extensive article on the topic.Vehicle charging stations with fake QR codes are popping up, part of a rising cyber scam known as “quishing”, aka QR phishing. You’re in a foreign country, drive up to the EV charger, see an official-looking QR code, present your digital wallet or card and make a payment – but when you plug in, there’s no current. Make sure you download and pay via the charging company’s app – don’t trust an unknown QR code.Driving in Europe, it’s easy to pass through a restricted zone in a town or city without noticing the warning sign, or even knowing what it means. So, when an official-looking email comes with a fine notice, to be paid via a QR link or, worse, by submitting your credit card details, you might pay up without question.If such a notice comes your way, dig deeper. Across the EU, authorities must state the time, location and nature of the alleged offence on the notice itself, as well as how to appeal the fine. If you contest a fine, most countries’ laws require the authority to produce supporting evidence, which might be a camera image or a radar recording.You’ve booked a hotel through Booking.com and a few days before you’re due to check in, an email purporting to be from Booking.com asks for immediate payment or the reservation will be cancelled. This is an active and well-documented scam. In April, Booking.com confirmed a data breach that divulged customer names, emails, phone numbers and booking details. The data has empowered scammers to generate convincing looking emails, citing exact stay dates to fool travellers.If an email from Booking.com arrives, don’t click on any link in the email. Check your original booking to confirm when payment is due, locate this information on the Booking.com app or contact the hotel directly using the phone number you find on the hotel’s own website.AI has enabled scammers to create fake websites. It might be a tourist attraction, a travel service, a ticketed cultural event or a hotel website that looks every bit as good as the real thing. During the recent FIFA World Cup there was substantial evidence of fake ticket websites and other ticketing fraud. In the lead-up to the event, the FBI warned that scammers had created spoof FIFA websites, designed to look like the genuine FIFA site, selling non-existent World Cup tickets and hospitality packages.Suspicion doesn’t come naturally to Aussies; we’re a trusting bunch, by and large, but a dose of doubt goes a long way. When it comes to travel, no matter how legitimate a contact, an email or a QR code might look, the question you need to ask is: How can I independently verify it? That won’t keep you safe when someone swerves in front of your hire car and slams on the brakes, but the remedy for that has me wondering. A dashcam, perhaps?More:TripologistOpinionFor subscribersScamsTravel tipsMichael Gebicki is a Sydney-based travel writer, best known for his Tripologist column published for more than 15 years in Traveller. With four decades of experience, his specialty is practical advice, destination insights and problem-solving for travellers. He also designs and leads slow, immersive tours to some of his favourite places. Connect via Instagram @michael_gebickiConnect via email.From our partners