Safety in Lima

• Unlicensed/Street Taxi Overcharging (Airport & City)

  How It Works

  Unofficial drivers approach arriving tourists inside or just outside the Jorge Chávez Airport terminal, or hail passengers off the street elsewhere in the city, then charge several times the normal fare, claim the meter is broken, insist the agreed price was in US dollars rather than soles, or claim not to have change and pocket the difference. Some drivers also falsely tell passengers their hotel or hostel is closed, unsafe, or has burned down in order to redirect them to a different (commission-paying) property.

  How To Avoid

  Never hail a taxi from the street. Use app-based ride services (Uber, Cabify, InDriver, Beat) or a pre-booked/official taxi desk inside the airport terminal, agree on the fare and currency (soles) before getting in, and ignore any claims about your hotel from the driver.

• Fake 'Tourist Police' Wallet/Passport Inspection

  How It Works

  Individuals posing as plainclothes or uniformed police approach tourists, often in pairs, near tourist areas and claim the visitor has committed some infraction (photographing a restricted area, littering, etc.) or that money needs to be checked for counterfeit bills, then demand to inspect a wallet or passport and steal cash or demand an on-the-spot cash 'fine'.

  How To Avoid

  Real police do not conduct roadside cash inspections or collect fines on the spot. Ask to see official identification and a badge number, decline to hand over cash or your passport on the street, offer to accompany the person to the nearest police station, and call 105 (Peru's National Police) to verify if in doubt.

• Counterfeit Currency As Change

  How It Works

  Taxi drivers, street vendors, or shopkeepers hand back counterfeit soles or US dollar bills as change, or a 'friendly stranger' offers to exchange your large notes for smaller ones and swaps in fake bills during the exchange. Peru is widely reported to be a major producer of high-quality counterfeit currency.

  How To Avoid

  Limit cash use where possible and prefer cards or mobile payment; if paying cash, check large notes (S/50, S/100) for raised texture, watermark, and color-shifting ink; only exchange money at banks or official casas de cambio, never with street changers.

• Distraction Theft (Substance-Spill Trick)

  How It Works

  A substance such as mayonnaise, mustard, or another liquid is discreetly sprayed or spilled on a tourist's clothing in a busy area; an accomplice then approaches offering to 'help' clean it off, using the distraction to go through pockets or bags.

  How To Avoid

  If something is spilled on you unexpectedly, keep walking, decline help from strangers offering to clean you up, and keep bags held in front of you in crowded areas.

• Phone/Bag Snatching by Motorcycle or Bicycle

  How It Works

  Riders on motorcycles or bicycles grab phones or bags from distracted pedestrians standing or walking near roads, sidewalks, and traffic lights, then speed off before the victim can react.

  How To Avoid

  Avoid using your phone openly near roads or while waiting outside; keep bags and phones close to your body, away from the street side, especially at intersections and while waiting for rides.

• ATM/Card Skimming and Cloning

  How It Works

  Card details are cloned at standalone ATMs, restaurants, or shops using skimming devices or hidden cameras that capture the PIN, with fraudulent charges appearing after the transaction otherwise seems to go through normally.

  How To Avoid

  Use ATMs located inside banks, shopping malls, or hotels rather than standalone street machines, cover the keypad when entering your PIN, and monitor your bank account closely for unauthorized charges.

• Undisclosed Restaurant Service Charge / Bill Padding

  How It Works

  A restaurant bill includes an undisclosed or unusually high service charge on top of the price, and staff then also solicit an additional tip as if the service charge weren't there — in at least one reported case a server visually obscured the service-charge line on the printed bill.

  How To Avoid

  Review the itemized bill before paying, ask directly whether a service charge (and the legally required IGV tax) is already included, and decline to pay an additional tip on top of an already-applied service charge if it wasn't disclosed upfront.

Scam Warnings

• A common street pattern in nightlife areas (e.g., around Miraflores) involves informal sellers approaching tourists offering marijuana, then escalating to cocaine or sexual services if the first offer is declined — engaging at all increases exposure to police shakedowns or robbery.
• Street-level sellers have been known to tip off police after a sale, setting up a bribe situation for the buyer.
• Note that Article 299's protection only shields personal possession — the act of buying itself is often the moment of highest risk for a foreigner.

Safety And Harm Reduction

• The law on paper is lenient, but enforcement is inconsistent: police in Peru have broad discretion and there is no clear protocol for how officers should handle small-quantity possession encounters, which leaves room for corruption and abuse.
• Even amounts within the legal threshold do not guarantee you avoid arrest, questioning, or a bribe demand — officers may treat any possession as suspected trafficking.
• Public consumption of any drug, including cannabis, is prohibited and can lead to fines or administrative penalties even where private possession is tolerated.
• Carrying more than one type of drug at once (e.g., a small amount of cannabis plus any other substance) removes all legal protection, regardless of quantity.

Safety And Harm Reduction

• The vast majority of sex workers in Lima operate in the informal, unregistered sector rather than the licensed system, meaning they lack the health protections and legal cover the formal framework is meant to provide.
• Enforcement in practice is inconsistent: police and municipal security forces (serenazgo) have been documented carrying out arbitrary detentions, extortion, and abuse against sex workers despite the legal framework, rather than protecting them.
• Trans sex workers face disproportionately high rates of violence in Lima, including documented killings and kidnappings linked to organized extortion rackets targeting the sector.
• The Venezuelan-origin criminal group Tren de Aragua has directly extorted and violently controlled parts of Lima's informal sex work sector in recent years, including documented killings of sex workers who refused to pay extortion fees — this is a serious, active risk factor in the industry's informal side, distinct from the legal status of sex work itself.