Uzbekistan Scams: Tourist, Online & Investment Fraud Guide
Common scams affecting tourists and residents in Uzbekistan, with official reporting routes through the Ministry of Internal Affairs and UZCERT.
Emergency number: 102 (police), 112 (emergency) — verify on official sources.
Last reviewed: 1 August 2026
Uzbekistan is an increasingly popular Silk Road travel destination, with tourists visiting Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva and Tashkent. The visitor-facing layer is mild but persistent: unofficial taxis at Tashkent airport and the high-speed rail stations quoting multiples of the app fare, self-appointed 'helpers' at monument entrances demanding inflated fees, souvenir and suzani markups pitched as 'antique', and — a fading but real habit from the old currency-control days — street money-changers whose rates conceal short-counting. Ride-hailing apps and official ticket counters solve most of it.
For residents, fraud rides the wallet apps that dominate daily payments: Payme, Click and Uzum. Phishing pages imitate their logins, callers posing as bank or wallet 'security' in Uzbek and Russian extract card numbers and SMS codes, fake 'wrong transfer' reversal requests circulate, and SIM swaps drain accounts overnight. Telegram is the national channel of choice and hosts the corresponding fraud: task-scam bots, 'investment club' channels promising monthly returns, fake shops, and hijacked accounts begging contacts for loans. Overseas-work brokers charge for jobs in Russia, Korea and Europe that never materialise, a serious harm given how many families depend on labour migration.
The Uzbekistan police can be reached on 102, and UZCERT at uzcert.uz handles national-level cyber incident reporting. Card and wallet fraud goes to the bank or the app's own support first — a blocked card beats a police report in the first hour — with the formal complaint following.
Common scams
- Phone impersonation scams posing as police or bank officials
- Investment and crypto fraud promoted via Telegram and social media
- Phishing messages impersonating Uzbek banks or government services
- Fake online marketplace listings with advance payment
Tourist-specific scams
- Overcharging unofficial taxis at Tashkent airport and tourist sites
- Currency exchange fraud at unofficial booths or with street changers
- Inflated entrance fees demanded by unofficial 'helpers' at Samarkand and Bukhara sites
- Overpriced handicraft goods sold as unique local items
Online shopping scams
- Fake social media shops with no goods delivered
- Phishing links targeting online banking or Click/Payme credentials
- Delivery fee SMS scams impersonating postal or courier services
Job scams
- Fake overseas job ads targeting Uzbek workers seeking opportunities abroad
- Task scams via Telegram bots escalating into deposit demands
- Unlicensed labour-migration brokers charging for placements in Russia, Korea or Europe
Romance scams
- Dating-app grooming escalating to investment or money requests
- Fake online partners seeking emergency wire transfers
- Hijacked Telegram accounts asking the victim's contacts for urgent loans
Investment scams
- Fake forex and crypto platforms promoted via Telegram channels
- Pig-butchering combining romance with fabricated investment portals
- 'Investment club' Telegram channels promising fixed monthly returns
How to report a scam here
- Contact your bank or payment provider immediately to freeze affected accounts
- Call 102 (police) or 112 (emergency) to report fraud
- Report cyber incidents to UZCERT at uzcert.uz
- Preserve all screenshots, messages, wallet addresses and transaction receipts as evidence
Local reporting & protection links
Always verify reporting routes and emergency contacts on the official government or agency website for your country.
Bank & payment guidance
Call your bank on the number printed on your card and ask for an emergency hold on the transfer. For Payme, Click or Uzum, use the official in-app support channels with the transaction reference and the receiving card or wallet number. Never use a contact given to you by whoever took the money. Explain that you were deceived into authorising the payment, ask for the receiving account to be reported, and note the reference you are given. Mention any code or password you shared, change it, and if your phone suddenly lost service beforehand, tell your mobile operator a SIM swap may have occurred and have the line locked. A police case number, from 102 or 112, supports the formal dispute, and UZCERT takes the technical side of phishing infrastructure.
Evidence to preserve
- Screenshot all messages, profiles, websites and payment pages
- Save transaction references, account numbers and crypto wallet addresses
- Keep emails with full headers where possible
- Note dates, times, names and phone numbers used
Frequently asked questions
What is UZCERT and how do I report cybercrime in Uzbekistan?
UZCERT is the national cybersecurity incident response team for Uzbekistan, operating at uzcert.uz. You can report cyber incidents via their website or email [email protected]. For criminal fraud, call the police on 102 or 112.
How do Payme and Click scams work in Uzbekistan?
Phishing pages imitate the wallet logins, callers posing as bank or wallet 'security' extract card numbers and SMS codes in Uzbek or Russian, and 'wrong transfer' calls demand reversals of money that never arrived. No wallet or bank asks for codes by phone — open the app yourself, check the real balance, and report fraud through in-app support immediately.
How can Uzbek workers avoid overseas-job fraud?
Use only agencies licensed for external labour migration, insist on a written contract before paying anything, and treat brokers demanding cash for 'guaranteed' placements in Russia, Korea or Europe as fraudulent. Verify the licence with the labour migration authority rather than trusting the broker's paperwork.
Sources
- National police and cybercrime portals (verify on official sites)
- FTC / Action Fraud / Scamwatch consumer guidance