Holiday Ayo - Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, known as a haven for budget-friendly tourism and street food, has also earned a new, less-than-commendable reputation.

Bangkok has been named the city with the highest number of pickpocketing and tourist frauds in the world, according to a recent report by British insurance comparison site Compare the Market.

In the report, released Wednesday (October 22nd), Bangkok earned the highest score of 83.45, beating major tourist destinations like Paris and Prague on the list of "world's worst cities for pickpocketing and fraud."

Of all the tourist locations studied, the Grand Palace, Thailand's iconic landmark, is known for having the highest tourist crime rate in the world.

The site received more reports of fraud and theft in visitor reviews than any other destination in the world.

Two other popular locations in Bangkok, Wat Pho and Chatuchak Weekend Market, also stand out for their high number of pickpocketing and fraud reports.

“Bangkok tops the list due to the high number of traveler reviews mentioning lost items, wallets, or being scammed around popular tourist attractions,” Compare the Market wrote in its report.

The study analyzed more than 75 cities worldwide, measuring how frequently terms like scam and pickpocketing appeared in every 1,000 traveler reviews on popular travel websites.

The researchers also assessed visitors’ level of concern about the risk of being robbed or snatched at major tourist attractions.

Bangkok stands out for its high number of firsthand reports from tourists, although their level of concern about being robbed is not as high as in Europe.

By comparison, Paris ranks second with a score of 68.81, recording an average of 4.54 pickpocketing reports and 2.27 scam reports per 1,000 reviews.

Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, comes in third with a score of 52.16, primarily due to the high rate of pickpocketing reported at major tourist attractions.

"Travelers visiting Prague should always keep their phones and wallets safe, especially in crowded areas," advises a travel insurance expert quoted in the report.

Meanwhile, Shanghai ranked fourth with a score of 51.83, and had the second-highest fraud mention rate in the world, at 6.28 per 1,000 reviews.

Asian and European cities dominate. Of the 75 cities studied, 27 are in Europe and 24 in Asia, meaning more than half of the high-risk cities are located on those two continents.

Conversely, only six American cities made the list, all of them in the lower ranks. In Australia, only Sydney and Melbourne were mentioned.

The top 10 cities most prone to pickpocketing and tourist fraud in 2025, according to Compare the Market, are:

Bangkok – 83.45

Paris – 68.81

Prague – 52.16

Shanghai – 51.83

Agra – 47.48

Rome – 45.53

Pattaya – 44.43

Phuket – 40.52

Shenzhen – 39.51

Mumbai – 36.86.