If you plan on visiting Colombia, you should be aware of a certain type of taxi scam in Colombia that is very common.
In fact, a taxi scam in Colombia is a bit more common in a city called Cali than elsewhere in my experience.
Unfortunately, I experienced a taxi scam in Colombia when I was in Cali in 2012.
Here’s the story.
From June to October 2012, I was living in an apartment in Cali, Colombia
Enjoying the Colombian women of the city and its culture of course
Even though I am not a fan of the city of Cali itself, the women are some of the best you will find in the country
Which always brings me back from time to time
In addition, some of my friends were spending time in Cali at the time
Which made it all the better for hanging out in Cali these months
Anyway, I met a girl on Colombian Cupid in June 2012.
Her name was Lizbeth and one of the first girls I met at the time
A cute Colombian girl of light brown skin with curly black hair
Great hips and an amazing body overall
We had been having fun for some odd months
Then we decided to visit one of my favorite places in Cali in September 2012 – La Topa Tolondra
An overall great place for dancing with good music too
Thankfully, she had been teaching me how to dance to Salsa better
Which is crucial if you want to have better luck with the women in Cali
Regardless, we had a great time that night up until that point at La Topa Tolondra
For both of us, we were probably a bit too drunk that night after spending time at La Topa Tolondra
And by the end of our time there, we are a bit hungry
Walking outside, we start looking for something to eat
But there wasn’t any place nearby that was interesting
So we hopped into a taxi and went to a more informal place I knew that had good hamburgers
After that, we planned on going back to my place
But there weren’t any taxis in the area
So we stood around for a while waiting for a taxi to stop by
After waiting a long time, we manage to hail a cab from the street
Which was one of our main mistakes
Perhaps because we were a bit too drunk
Or perhaps because we had waited for at least 30 minutes to find a taxi that wasn’t occupied
We decided to take the risk and go with hailing a cab from the street
And not using an official taxi line
Another issue with this incident in hindsight was that there was actually another couple in the area
Just a few buildings ahead of us
Which the taxi seemed to ignore and go straight for us
Either way, it wasn’t something I noticed in the moment
Before getting in the taxi, of course I try to negotiate the price with the guy
As is my experience in Colombia, taxi drivers here always try to screw over people on the price
And plenty of times they seem to prefer losing out on making some money than the opportunity to scam someone on the price
But with this guy, he was pretty accepting of the price I threw at him and just motioned us into his taxi
In part, I don’t even think the guy paid much attention to what price I offered
Just that when he stopped for us, he took a closer look at me then began motioning us to enter his taxi right away
Even before I suggested a price for the taxi trip
Once we get inside the taxi, I could tell the taxi driver was a bit irritable
The inside of the taxi looked a bit sketchy also
Cali Colombia — where this story takes place
Overall, the situation was a bit sketchy right away
Throughout part of the drive, the taxi driver was trying to have a conversation with me while driving
He didn’t seem to care much about Lizbeth or ask her many questions
However, he had a lot of questions for me
Such as….
- Where am I from?
- Am I here on vacation?
- What kind of phone do I have?
With the last question, he had noticed me using my phone in the taxi and was wondering how much I spent buying it
Going on about how expensive phones are in Colombia
And how his phones keep breaking
He changed the conversation also to about how expensive it is to live in Cali
And mentioned to that the neighborhood we are going to is a nicer part of Cali
In hindsight, I suspected that perhaps he was trying to get a sense of how much money I may or may not have on me
Eventually we reach a gas station and the taxi driver says he needs to go to the bathroom
We get out of the taxi too as we were instructed too for our safety as they refuel the tank
The taxi driver, Mauricio, returns in more or less 5 minutes.
He said beforehand he had to go to the bathroom and take a call.
Of course, it didn’t matter to me if he had to take a call or not
Seemed natural right?
At this point, I noticed Lizbeth was uncomfortable
And for some reason, she seemed more uncomfortable when he left originally “to take a call”
Going on about she’s not sure we should continue in his taxi or not
But I didn’t understand her concern very well and it all seemed normal to me
I didn’t know we were being set up for a taxi scam in Colombia
Either way, she didn’t protest too much
But I could tell by her body language that she was a bit uncomfortable
Once Mauricio is back, the taxi gets going and we arrive to my apartment
During the last part of the ride to my apartment, I noticed the guy was quieter and didn’t have any questions like before arriving to the gas station
Regardless, that wasn’t something I noticed either in the moment
However, after going through some of my notes I took on what happened, much of this now seems odd
I don’t remember what I paid exactly nor did I write it down
But based on my experience, I would assume I paid around 5 to 8 bucks.
We get out of the taxi then and the taxi driver drives slowly afterwards
He stopped however without disappearing into the night
I’m not sure how far he went but more or less 30 or so feet before stopping
Which, again, was not something that mattered in the moment
But only seemed weird in hindsight
And not like a possible taxi scam in Colombia
Then trouble started
At that point, I noticed a motorcycle behind us with just one guy.
He had a full face helmet so I couldn’t remember what his face looked like
However, he was mostly wearing black clothing and was a just a tiny bit shorter than I was
More or less about the same height
Right then, he points a gun at us
We responded by putting our hands up while he quickly takes what he can
He takes both of our phones and whatever money I had on me
Fortunately, we already spent most of our money at the hamburger place and La Topa Tolondra
He didn’t steal much from Lizbeth because she didn’t really have anything on her besides her phone
Which was just a prepaid phone
So maybe worth 30 or 40 bucks?
On my end, he took more or less about 20 bucks left in Colombian pesos
And my phone at the time was a bit old so worth more or less around 150 bucks
In short, they stole from us around 200 bucks or so
And when thinking about all of this now, it is obvious that the taxi driver was working with the motorcycle guy to steal from us
In the end, both Lizbeth and I were alright
Neither one of us were hurt
We didn’t fight back or resist
They got what they wanted
And then they left
It was a terrible ending for our night definitely
And my first time experiencing a taxi scam in Colombia
But life goes on
While talking with Lizbeth afterwards, she explained that she felt nervous when the guy left us at the gas station
In her words, she had been through a taxi scam in Colombia before
But was too hesitant to protest anymore against continuing in the taxi ride
One thing to take note is that these taxi thieves will try to communicate to the other guy if they have someone to steal from
And where they will be dropping them off
All together, I feel that we were targeted because I am more obviously a foreigner when in Cali
Which might explain why he ignored the first couple that waved at him
Furthermore, it would make sense then why he was so interested in what type of phone I have, what neighborhood I live in, where I am from, etc.
Putting it all together, there were a lot of red flags that we missed and some dumb things we did
Like hailing a cab from the street
The truth is I should have known better
By this point, I had always spent several years in Colombia
So the danger that exists here was not new to me
Either way, it only illustrates that life keeps throwing us some lessons to be learned
And learning never stops as you keep living
So for those interested in going to Colombia
And enjoying life with beautiful women like Lizbeth
What kind of lessons should you take from this so you can avoid a taxi scam in Colombia?
- As said in another story, don’t get too drunk ever. I have seen many other foreigners down here get into problems because they had too much to drink. If I had been less drunk, perhaps I would have noticed the warning signs better. Be responsible in what you consume basically.
- If the person you are with is uncomfortable, ask them why and listen to them. They might notice something you don’t, especially if they are Colombian and know how things work better than you do from experience.
- If the taxi driver has to take a phone call, be careful. He might be trying to let someone else know about when and where to rob you. This is a major red flag if he is on his phone ever.
- Do not ever hail a taxi from the street. In my experience, uber is generally better and safer.
- If you feel like the taxi driver is trying to get a sense of what he can steal from you, get out.
- The taxi driver should generally never stop somewhere while taking you somewhere. I’ve had some experiences where the taxi driver stops at a gas station and nothing happened. However, I’ve heard way too many stories of bad taxi drivers stopping at a gas station to let someone know of your arrival to rob you. So don’t tolerate this.
Overall, these are all just some basic lessons to follow when in Cali or even in other parts of Colombia.
The purpose of writing this is so that you can be better prepared for any trip you take to Colombia.
After all, when enjoying life with some sexy Colombian women, you want to avoid any problems
So that way your experience is the best that it can be
And if you are ready to go to Colombia, make sure to book a trip with Avianca Airlines and protect yourself during your trip with a Theft Proof Backpack
Hasta luego parceros,
Seth
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