Travel means discovering extraordinary places, but also paying attention to potential inconveniences, especially at the most visited destinations. Pickpocketing, theft of personal belongings and scams can occur near the world’s most crowded monuments, where the large presence of tourists can favour those who take advantage of visitors’ distraction. An analysis by Truffa.net cross-referenced tourist reviews with data on annual attendance, identifying the attractions where more incidents are reported per million visitors.
The Eiffel Tower is the most at-risk attraction
Leading the global ranking is the Eiffel Tower in Paris, which records 23,757 reports of scams, thefts and pickpocketing per million visitors. The famous symbol of the French capital welcomes about 7 million people each year and accumulates a total of 1,663 reports.
Predominant are especially episodes of pickpocketing, followed by thefts of personal belongings and scams. The high concentration of visitors makes it easier for wrongdoers to take advantage of moments of distraction, especially in the areas most frequented by tourists.
The Eiffel Tower also records more than double the number of reports per million visitors compared to the second-ranked attraction, confirming it as the site with the highest figure among those analyzed.
The Colosseum is the Italian attraction on the list
In second place is the Roman Forum-Colosseum-Palatine Hill in Rome, the first and only Italian attraction in the ranking. The archaeological complex records 10,300 reports per million visitors, against over 7.6 million annual visits.
Even in the surroundings of the Roman monument, pickpocketing represents the most frequently reported type of incident in visitor reviews. Following are some forms of swindle aimed directly at tourists, including false petitions, persistent vendors, and requests for money.
The ranking of the 10 most at-risk attractions
The top 10 includes some of the world’s most famous monuments and archaeological sites, from Europe to Asia, all the way to Latin America. The metric used for comparison is the number of reports of scams, thefts and pickpocketing per million visitors, so as to relate incidents to the size of the tourist flows.
- Eiffel Tower, Paris with 23,757 reports per million visitors
- Roman Forum-Colosseum-Palatine Hill, Rome with 10,300
- Arc de Triomphe, Paris with 9,853
- Sagrada Família, Barcelona with 7,489
- Taj Mahal, Agra (India) with 3,705
- Royal Palace of Madrid, Madrid with 2,770
- Chichén Itzá, Yucatán (Mexico) with 2,299
- Tower of London, London with 1,959
- Machu Picchu, Cusco (Peru) with 1,842
- Alhambra, Granada with 1,775
Shortly after the Colosseum is the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, with 9,853 reports per million visitors, while in fourth place appears the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, with 7,489. In both cases pickpocketing is among the most frequently reported incidents, in contexts characterized by a high presence of tourists.
In fifth place is the Taj Mahal, which shows a higher incidence of scams tied to unlicensed guides, deceptive tourism services and requests for non-official payments. Following are the Royal Palace of Madrid, where pickpocketing prevails, and Chichén Itzá, where reviews mainly report scams against visitors.
The ranking closes with the Tower of London, featuring a higher frequency of personal belongings theft, Machu Picchu, where reports mainly concern scams and small thefts, and the Alhambra of Granada, which records 1,775 reports per million visitors.
