What scams should I watch out for in Zurich?
Zurich is one of the safest cities in Europe for travelers, and outright scams are genuinely rare. The more common hazards are structural rather than predatory: taxi drivers at the airport who bypass the official rank and charge unmetered fares — take the clearly marked ZVV train to the Hauptbahnhof instead, or use an official taxi from the metered queue outside arrivals. Pickpockets operate around the Hauptbahnhof and on trams during peak hours, targeting bags left on seats or coat pockets. The currency exchange booths near the train station post misleading rates with fees buried in the small print; use a Wise card or withdraw Swiss francs from a Postfinance or UBS ATM instead. Restaurants in the tourist corridor around Niederdorf occasionally present bills with unclarified service charges — read the receipt. That's roughly the full list. Zurich doesn't have the aggressive street hustle of larger European capitals, so standard situational awareness covers almost everything you'll encounter.
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