I landed at Hanoi Airport on 31 July 2009 and was expecting a driver (pre-arranged) to take me into Hanoi (this was my fourth trip to Hanoi). I was unclear what the driver would be wearing or what signage he'd be carrying due to a misunderstanding when booking the transfer.
As I was exiting the Customs Hall, I spotted a Viet male waving furiously at me and smiling as if he was expecting me so I waved back thinking this was my transfer. He took me upstairs to the taxi stand explaining that he'd been waiting for me for an hour and that he didn't have a car but I was to catch a taxi get a receipt and he'd repay me in the morning. So a taxi was flagged down, I got in and another man got into the front seat. He said it would be 600,000VND (about $AU41) and I handed over the money, thinking it was odd but not totally out of place. An hour later, the driver stopped in the middle of Hanoi somewhere (I didn't recognise it at all), it was dark and it was obvious that the driver had no idea of where my hotel was. Long story short, I eventually rang the emergency number of the transfer company who directed the driver to the hotel. I was scammed good and proper. But it was scary, particularly as it was very late at night (11pm) and the driver (as with most Viets) spoke nor read any English. Moral of this story, make sure if you've arranged a transfer not to get into any taxi unless it is clear the driver has your name and hotel clearly offered to you. This is a brand new scam, I was the 4th person that week to be caught (that my tour company knew about) and it has been reported to the tourism police so maybe they'll get on to it






