Scams to avoid in Rome: a guide to a worry-free stay in 2026

Pickpockets: bus 64, the metro and crowds

Pickpocketing is the main risk. Thieves work in small groups, often well dressed, and take advantage of moments of jostling: boarding a bus, metro doors, escalators, crowds in front of a monument.

Lines to watch

• Bus 64 and bus 40: they link Termini station to the Vatican via the centre. Always packed, full of tourists with their bags, they are known as pickpockets' favourite lines.
• Metro line A: especially between Termini, Spagna and Ottaviano (the Vatican stop), at rush hour.
• Termini station: concourses, platforms and queues at the ticket machines.

Crowded places

The Trevi Fountain, where everyone holds up a phone, the surroundings of the Colosseum, the Spanish Steps and St Peter's Square account for most reports. Thieves spot wallets slipped into a back pocket and open bags left on a chair at a café terrace.

The right reflexes

• Carry your bag in front of you, closed, and keep your phone in an inside pocket.
• Split money and cards between two different places; leave your passport in the hotel safe if a photocopy or an ID card will do.
• On a full bus, stay away from the doors and be wary of a group pressing against you as you board or of someone blocking the exit.
• Never put your phone down on a café terrace table.

Street scams around the monuments

Fake centurions

Men dressed as legionaries offer to pose with you in front of the Colosseum, then demand money, sometimes insistently, once the photo is taken. Rome's urban police regulations ban this trade in photos in historical costume, but it keeps reappearing. If you really want the photo, ask the price first and refuse if it does not suit you.

Friendship bracelets and roses

A stranger ties a bracelet round your wrist "as a gift", or puts a rose in your hand, then demands payment. Do not hold out your hand, accept nothing, and keep walking. If the item is already in your hand, give it back or put it on the ground without arguing. The same technique exists with sprigs of lavender, petitions or fake deaf-mutes presenting a sheet to sign: while you read, an accomplice goes through your bag.

Padlocks

Sellers offer "lucky" padlocks to hang on bridges, especially near Ponte Milvio. The urban police regulations ban attaching padlocks to monuments, bridges and street furniture, on pain of a fine. Walk on by.

Fake skip-the-line tickets

Around the Vatican and the Colosseum, touts promise to skip the queue with "skip-the-line tickets" or a "guided tour starting right now". Their tickets are often resold far above the official price, and sometimes invalid.

• Colosseum: the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine ticket (€18 full price) is nominative and must be booked, even for the same day. The Colosseum Archaeological Park points out that resale by unauthorised parties is banned and that tickets bought on third-party sites may be refused. Buy only from the Park's official ticket office, online or on site.
• Vatican Museums: the only official online sales site is the museums' own (ticket €20, plus €5 booking). Sites with similar addresses imitate the ticket office and charge much more. Check that the address ends in ".va".

Our pages on the Colosseum and the Vatican Museums detail tickets, opening hours and the quietest times.

Unofficial taxis

At Fiumicino, Ciampino and Termini station, unlicensed drivers approach travellers in the arrivals hall and offer a ride at an "attractive" price, which turns out to be much higher on arrival. Fiumicino airport warns that any vehicle offered outside the taxi rank may lack authorisation.

Official Rome taxis are white, with TAXI written on the roof, the Roma Capitale logo and a licence number on the doors. Between the airports and the historic centre (inside the Aurelian Walls), the ride has a fixed fare, for up to four passengers, luggage included: €55 from Fiumicino, €40 from Ciampino. Say "tariffa fissa" at the start if the driver switches on the meter. Our guide to Rome's airports also covers trains and buses.

Inflated bills and fake police officers

Inflated bills

Around the most touristy squares, a few restaurants lure customers with a menu displayed in the window, then present a much higher bill: dishes without prices, fish sold by weight without stating the weight, water and bread charged at a high price, service added without being mentioned. Before sitting down, check that the menu shows complete prices. Ask the price of a dish of the day if it is not written, and ask for the receipt (scontrino). Our guide paying in Rome explains coperto and servizio.

Fake police officers

Someone stops you to ask for directions, then two plain-clothes "police officers" appear, flash a card and ask to check your wallet or your banknotes, looking for "counterfeit money". They hand the wallet back lighter. A real police officer never asks to count your money in the street. Hand over neither wallet nor PIN, suggest going together to the nearest police station, or call 112.

If you are robbed: 112, police report and cards

• Emergency: dial 112, the single emergency number active in Rome and throughout Lazio (police, carabinieri, fire brigade, medical help). The call is free from a mobile.
• Bank cards: have them blocked immediately by your bank. Note the card-blocking number before you leave.
• Police report (denuncia): report the theft at a Polizia di Stato office (questura or commissariato) or at a carabinieri station. Bring an ID document or a copy. The copy of the report is essential for insurance and to replace your documents. Termini station has a railway police post.
• Stolen passport or ID card: after the report, contact your country's consulate in Rome to obtain an emergency travel document.

Keep a photo of your documents and cards on your phone, and a separate paper copy.

Summary of scams in Rome

Prices checked in October 2026.

Further reading

To go further, our guide paying in Rome: cards, cash, coperto and tipping helps you avoid hidden costs, our guide to getting around Rome helps you choose the right ticket, and Rome on a budget sums up the prices of a stay.