Protecting Your Passport and $$$ (scam)

If you are not already one of those people who has copies everything (i.e. IDs, credit cards, etc.) when traveling, it would be wise to have copies of your photo page and Azerbaijani visa when traveling around here.

While I have not had this scam attempted on me, I have heard stories of it from a Regional Security Officer in one of the embassies here. The scam is that an actual police officer will ask to see your passport and charge you a fee for the return of it. According to the RSO, the way to prevent the scam is to give copies of your photo page and visa page to the police officer and that should be sufficient as identification.

I have been here a year and a half and do not carry my passport with me, but I do have copies of my photo page and visa in my wallet. While I have been stopped by the police in Naxcivan for taking photos, I have never had anyone get upset with my copies.