Indian travel content creator Komal Maheswari was visiting Kazakhstan when she was scammed by a local taxi driver. She claimed that the taxi driver told her that the ride would cost 1,000 Tenge (approximately ₹170); however, he ended up charging her an exuberant 77,000 Tenge (approximately ₹13,000).
In the clip, Maheshwari explains that when she reached the Kazakhstan airport at midnight, everything seemed to be close. She did not have a local SIM card and, hence, was not able to book a cab online. Then, as she was leaving, a taxi driver approached her to help her.
The first red flag she noticed with the driver was another person sitting in the car, who he said was supposedly a business partner. Then, she noticed a child lock as well. However, Maheshwari dismissed the two, thinking that it was the norm in the country. (Also Read: Ex-EY consultant, now travel blogger, falls prey to scam, loses 4 years of her hard work: 'No reply from Meta')
Watch the full video here:
In another part of the video, Maheshwari explained that the car driver demanded 77,000 Tenge when they reached their destination. When she refused to pay such a high amount, the driver suddenly got extremely aggressive, and they had no way to escape the situation. She said that they had to calm the driver down and ask him to listen to them. Finally, they negotiated with him and paid 30,000 Tenge (approximately ₹5,200).
{{/usCountry}}In another part of the video, Maheshwari explained that the car driver demanded 77,000 Tenge when they reached their destination. When she refused to pay such a high amount, the driver suddenly got extremely aggressive, and they had no way to escape the situation. She said that they had to calm the driver down and ask him to listen to them. Finally, they negotiated with him and paid 30,000 Tenge (approximately ₹5,200).
{{/usCountry}}The initial video was shared a few days ago. Since being posted, it has gained more than 19,000 likes. Many people took to the comments section of the post and shared their reactions. (Also Read: Woman posts video about cab driver trying to scam her with shocking requests, others say it's happened with them too)
Here's how people reacted to it:
An individual wrote, "These kinds of scams are so so common in Central Asia, South East Asia and even in the Levant. If this is your first time travelling anywhere outside India, then it's ok; consider this as a lesson. If you are an experienced traveller, then you need to do proper research before you leave for a country."
Another Instagram user, Pankaj, said, "Very sorry to learn about this experience."
"Happened to me also, but I gave only 1,000 Tenge where the normal rate is 5,000," commented a third.