Makara

Just now, Makara said:

They didn't make up the story. The gofundme was investigated due to people reporting it as a scam, they concluded it is not a scam, and they are raising money for lawyer fees. But still you are only going to hear what you want,  not what is fact. 

Further more all your post was, was speculation about the fake money and how it went down. You're speculating what happened. 

15 minutes ago, sanemax said:

The Gofundme terms and conditions are not speculation .

Its written on the page itself .

All monies raised must be used for the purpose intended and the reasons given for asking for donations must be honest and correct .

   Its not allowed to make up a story and then use the money raised to spend on what you want .

   That is deception

They didn't make up the story. The gofundme was investigated due to people reporting it as a scam, they concluded it is not a scam, and they are raising money for lawyer fees. But still you are only going to hear what you want,  not what is fact. 

13 hours ago, scorecard said:

 

From my reading they went to a money changer / money exchange (in another country).

 

Is that the logical place to turn in found money?

 

Another point, they supposedly found the 'money' in the mud, there was so much mud they couldn't read the notes, or see any words indicating 'copy' or words or symbols or spiritual graphics which would raise their suspicions that it wasn't real US currency. 

 

Then without brushing away the dried mud, they took the mud covered (very mud covered) notes to a currency exchange in another country.

 

Who would do that? Would you put mud covered (very mud covered, to the point the notes are 99% unreadable) on the counter of a money exchange?

 

Is it the job of the money exchange owner or staff to clean up very dirty money? No. Most exchanges have a stream of customers, why would they waste their time cleaning up dirty money.

 

Also, from my simple knowledge of this subject money changers need to be very alert about fake notes etc. And in my experience in many countries 99% of money exchange offices will quickly refuse to accept notes that are even slightly damaged, dirty, etc.

 

Further the money exchange have to eventually sell (to international banking authorities) the foreign notes which are in excess of what they might need to operate their exchange business.

 

Would the ultimate banking authorities accept damaged / dirty money from currency exchange operators? No, of course not. 

 

 

 

 

I find it laughable the assumptions. I mean, in my mind, any person would dry the money and wipe it off. Fake or not. Apparently the exchanger did try to except it but was denied due to it being fake and then they called the tourist police. So there's that. Again their case is not what we are originally debating . We are not debating the why, how, what, when of the case...that is their defense for their court. Until then its all assumptions on everyones end. Can you finally say that the gofundme is not a scam? Can you? Or are you just going to say it still is a scam, cause its SO unfair for family and friends to try and raise money for lawyer fees, you know, since there is no court appointed lawyer in Thailand if you don't have the $. Anyhow if all of you can finally say it is not a scam in the US asking for money from poor innocent strangers, then you guys can move on to only making assumptions about their crime. 

16 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 

From my reading they went to a money changer / money exchange (in another country).

 

Is that the logical place to turn in found money?

 

Another point, they supposedly found the 'money' in the mud, there was so much mud they couldn't read the notes, or see any words indicating 'copy' or words or symbols or spiritual graphics which would raise their suspicions that it wasn't real US currency. 

 

Then without brushing away the dried mud, they took the mud covered (very mud covered) notes to a currency exchange in another country.

 

Who would do that? Would you put mud covered (very mud covered, to the point the notes are 99% unreadable) on the counter of a money exchange?

 

Is it the job of the money exchange owner or staff to clean up very dirty money? No. Most exchanges have a stream of customers, why would they waste their time cleaning up dirty money.

 

Also, from my simple knowledge of this subject money changers need to be very alert about fake notes etc. And in my experience in many countries 99% of money exchange offices will quickly refuse to accept notes that are even slightly damaged, dirty, etc.

 

Further the money exchange have to eventually sell (to international banking authorities) the foreign notes which are in excess of what they might need to operate their exchange business.

 

Would the ultimate banking authorities accept damaged / dirty money from currency exchange operators? No, of course not. 

 

 

 

 

I will only address this one last time and then be completley done unless private. This is not about wether they are guilty, how they handled the counterfeit money or anything else pertaining to the crime, this is about if it is a scam or not. It is not a scam to collect more money for their own pleasure via gofundme. 

13 hours ago, smx1313 said:

Makara, 

Personally I tend to favor the women in the story, meaning I'm not on the scam wagon.

I also think that people here going out of their way to torment the friends and family of these women  is ugly behavior. Lets say it is a scam, there is no reason to reach out to people in pain simply to add more pain while hidden safely behind a keyboard. Seems there are a lot of people here who are without sin and get much pleasure from throwing the 1st stone.

 

However, there is one thing that is bugging me.

 

One of the women is a bartender, or works in a bar. I did that kind of work for many years.

Probably the 1st and most important  thing you learn is how to spot fake money. Counterfeiters love crowded hectic bars.  So you become very skilled at it spotting fakes and people trying to pass them. You then alert all the other bartenders, cashiers, security immediately. If you let a fake $100 go by it can get docked from your pay. You are responsible for it.

So that being the case, how could they have been so fooled by "spirit money". In fact, if it was dirty wet and muddy it's actually easier to spot it just by how it feels. A blind person could literally find the fake.

 

See, that part just does not add up. They had the money for several days, countless times to feel it, exam it. And as someone who worked in a bar they are trained to spot fakes.

That does not pass the smell test.

My hunch? Just guessing, they didn't find it. It was sold or given to them by someone in cambodia, maybe saying that it would be easy to exchange in Thailand, nobody gets hurt, that stuff is insured...whatever.

Maybe they assumed the Thais to be simple 3rd world hillbillies.

 

So now they need to be saved, and the go fund me is real, not part of a scam.

 

Just my thoughts. I hope I'm wrong.

That was the first question I had when I heard it was spirit money, and not really good counterfeit money. I get spirit money is fake money--however from my understanding it is super easy to detect when it is spirit money, perhaps I am wrong, but counterfeit may be a different story if it is really good. When I looked at the pic of the spirit money it took me a minute to see the word copy. I have worked around a lot of money before in the past and one time I missed a 20 (usd) that was fake. I deposited in the ATM and it spit it back out. I threw it away, but it was just a tiny bit lighter than our original 20, almost not noticeable, but this situation is a bit different indeed. However it looks as if it was raining or had rained that day, and when inspecting pictures of that day they had posted, there was mud on the ground everywhere--so I personally believe they found them in the mud wet and dirty.

I do not know if this intentional to turn in fake money--only they know. I will believe their story until proven otherwise. They're not saying it was intentional. I do wonder if it was just pure stupidity on their end. In the story some things aren't adding up--agreed--but I will put faith that they will in due time. 

54 minutes ago, smx1313 said:

Ironically, the woman friends where telling people not to involve the press for that very reason. Many people here took that as an admission of guilt, even while knowing that if the story got big things could get worse. The women also asked their friends  to not say anything derogatory about Thailand, it's people or institutions. If they had, please delete it. 

 

Before you go Makara, I addressed you personally on post #853. I hope you get a chance to see it before you go radio silent. 

 

 

I will look, and yes I was aware of that, but I was assuming the media as in news not this type of forum where there's an on-going discussion. If this on-going discussion will bring them more harm, of course I have to leave it. I think people are starting to realize it isn't a "scam" like they thought it was. So either way my work here is done. I hope they don't get a lot of time in prison over there. Not 15 years at least. It is only up to them to plea their defense to the court on what the truth is. 

30 minutes ago, lannarebirth said:

 

Ironically, the more exposure this story gets, the higher the cost to make it go away.

I really hope that is not true. And incase that is the truth I am not saying another single word. That would be so incredibly corrupt and wrong on so many levels. Talk about morality. I'm done.

12 hours ago, Henrik Andersen said:

Can I ask you this please 

Why is it so important for you to try convincing us members in here this is not a scam?? 

What you get out of that? 

I just not get it

If you really want us to change our opinions and meaby help it will be better if you somehow can show us some prove of this meaby just meaby we will see this case with different eyes 

I came on here after coming across this online, and saw all of the crazy stories being made up, and how a lot of people on here were so sure it was a scam without even realizing how absolutely hard it would be for it to be a scam. I can understand that the story doesn't quite add up to the outside view (yet) but to outwardly blame people in the US of trying to scam their own friends and family by starting a gofundme was just astronomical accusations. It needed to be said. Gofundme is actually quite common over here. It is like "paying it forward" where people can donate to a cause of their choosing, if they feel it is worthy. And yes strangers too can donate--but a lot of people donating are connected in one way or another to the women. I think that the reason they are getting upwards of 10,000 usd for this is because of the possibility of them being stuck there a long time, away from their country, in an unfamiliar judicial system that is completely different from ours, without money for a lawyer. I did not come here to defend their innocence. I have my own opinions on all of it, but really that doesn't matter here. What matters is the gofundme is not a scam. 

2 hours ago, scorecard said:

 

 

"Then you start getting random attacks by anonymous people, which ranged all over the place.  There was not one clear attack that asked for one piece of information.  They were not even asking, ..."

 

The opposite is true.

 

 

You'e wrong. 

7 hours ago, amykat said:

 

You realize don't you, that the funding campaign was not focusing on donations from Thailand?  Just because we are aware of it does not mean they expected money from anybody here.  In the US you are entitled to a defense attorney at no cost if you can't afford one.  People might feel they are helping to provide that. It is considered a right like some countries think about medical care ...you have heard about that I am sure??

 

Debating the issue on a forum is one thing.  Going out of your way to sabotage their funding efforts is quite something else, over and over again!!  All it took was a phone call. As I said on here many times, NOBODY did a damn thing to investigate, just sat on their ass and made wild allegations and stated EMPHATICALLY that the police do NOT know about this case, the courts don't know, the embassy doesn't know, which in fact was a lie. They personally did not know and that was the full extent of it.  Why would they be expected to know?

 

I know about other more serious crimes, where I saw the arrest happen with my own eyes, where I know the people involved, and it was never reported in any papers here.  The press can't report every single crime. The case went fully through the justice system.

 

I have seen several fund me attempts and I have never seen one bill presented or proof of what the money will be spent on or how it will be accounted for later. That seems to be how it works, it you want to give you just do it.  If you personally are thinking of giving and want some proof or have questions, I guess you can write to the organizer and ask? What they did was defamation was it not?  Why didn't they go to the press then and make their wild claims? Oh, because then they would have been forced to back it up, like call the police and check and then their little balloon would have popped and case closed!!

 

(I am not suggesting you did any of these things guyfromanotherforum.)

Thank you AmyKat. Precisely.

2 minutes ago, giddyup said:

Why, because he got sprung stealing a phone, a bait or not?

2 minutes ago, giddyup said:

Why, because he got sprung stealing a phone, a bait or not?

Honestly baiting a phone, thief or not is crazy to me. I don't really see that kind of stuff over here--not with cell phones for certain. Baiting with cellphones, that is--no words.

2 minutes ago, marinediscoking said:

This sounds like the airport scam my friend got caught up in a few years ago.

 

He was at swampy on his way home and just after checking in he found a "mobile phone" on a counter someone forgot. No one was around or anywhere near him.   He pick it up and after about 5 minutes he went to the restroom and decided to throw it away as maybe it could cause trouble for him and it wasn't a nice phone anyway. As he was coming out of the restroom 3 police approached him and asked for the phone and told him they saw him on CCTV take it even by this point he didn't have it. This is all within 10 minutes.

 

The supposed owner had already made a report and said he wanted him prosecuted. So after about 10 days in jail and a lawyer recommended by the French embassy he paid 200k to settle the case and was released. He thought it was all over but it was just the beginning. 

 

He realized he shouldn't have taken the phone as the law here is anyone in possession of lost property is considered stealing. I have know him for over 10 years and he owns a condo here, has a thai wife and daughter. So he was not a tourists.

 

He was not allowed to leave as he found out and the prosecutor set a court date for about a year later. He was told to plead guilty on the advice of his lawyer paid anther large fine, can't remember that amount and was told he would be able to come back to visit his family anytime.

 

This was not the case when he flew back months later he was told at swampy they could not let him in as he was black listed for 5 years. So for 5 years he had to fly to phnom phen and have his wife and daughter visit him there.

 

What is clear is the phone was bait as I believe the money these girls found on the street was too, they just followed them waiting for them to cash it.

That is the worst thing I have heard on this forum. All that over a phone... and a baited one? We live in an upside down world. 

10 minutes ago, Justfine said:

43 hours

Why are you counting down hours? 

5 minutes ago, jackdd said:

I put some effort in trying to discover the truth about this story.

 

In short: NO SCAM

 

In longer:

I made my GF call the police to be sure i don't understand something wrong.

Everybody can stop saying it's a scam, if you don't believe my word and want to confirm it by yourself: Call the Tourist Police in Chiang Mai, they will confirm it.

The two girls were arrested when they tried to exchange the money which was counterfeit.

I have a phone number of a person who can maybe provide more details on this case, but nobody is answering this phone yet, if i should get more infos from there later i will of course share them with you.

Thank you for putting out the effort. I came on here to stop the speculation that it is just a scam to produce money for some ungodly reasons that many here were trying to say. So much misinformation, misinterpretation and wild imaginations as to why this was a scam. 

34 minutes ago, jackdd said:

I've read now multiple times that they don't deserve 15 years in prison because they didn't do something too bad. (By you and by other posters on Facebook)

I got curious, so looked it up on Google: Maximum fine for using counterfeit money in the USA is 20 years prison, so the 15 years maximum by Thai law are even lower than that.

I see. Is that for producing or finding and trying to turn in?

1 hour ago, farcanell said:

But but Amy Kat... really?

 

until somewhere around page 40 of this thread, when makara said she was a woman..... everyone appeared to assume That she was a he

 

so..... absolutely nothing to do with disliking women.... but simply disliking people who are trying to defraud other trusting folk... protect the trusting folk amykat

 

and yes... lmao... something strange is going on

Perhaps she was referring to western women, as in the women in question. 

1 hour ago, soalbundy said:

Even if they are facing charges it is because they tried to exchange forged notes, so not the lovely little innocents that gofundme is making out, they are criminals.

You act like they killed someone. I get people are NOT OK WITH THIS. I completely understand why. I am not ok with it either. Doesn't justify all this talk of scam...its a scam, scam, scam, scam. That is the point here...again I will say it is not a scam. Peoples lives have changed. I know one of them, have spent time with her...she is not what you guys are painting her out to be. Did she <deleted> up? Oh yes she did. There was no bodily harm done, nor murder, nor assault and for sure don't deserve upward of 15 years in a Thai prison. 

And I have to say what a wonderful community we have to come out of pocket to help the women who don't have enough funds to pay for lawyer fees purely from good hearts. I feel blessed to be a part of our community. 

I wonder how many will apologize once you all find out it's not a scam and the women are truly facing charges.

31 minutes ago, farcanell said:

Interesting stuff one finds on the internet.... we here, who can find no news on Thai media, are unable to make reports to gofundme, when suspecting scams....,velly interesting 

 

Maybe they can’t afford the extra staff it would take to substantiate the truth of the matter... so.... open wide... come inside ?????

 

There has already been an attempt to discredit the gofundme and it failed. This is not a scam and perhaps why you can no longer report it. 

1 minute ago, Makara said:

Oh I see. Thank you for the clarification. I understand now about the constant speculation because of this. It would be almost possible for this to be a gofundme scam here. However all will know soon enough it is not a scam.

*impossible 

32 minutes ago, Scott said:

There are a huge number of scams in Thailand, including many perpetrated by foreigners.   There are also a huge number of local scams.   Many, if not most, people who live in Thailand have been a victim of some of these scams.   Most are not significant enough to warrant much publicity, but overcharging, altered taxi meters, police shakedowns are fairly common.

 

You do not have to justify your remarks, but be aware that a lot of people view many situations with a jaundiced eye.  

 

 

Oh I see. Thank you for the clarification. I understand now about the constant speculation because of this. It would be almost possible for this to be a gofundme scam here. However all will know soon enough it is not a scam.

4 hours ago, Justfine said:

You use lots of words yet say nothing.

 

That's how Nigerian scams work.

Quite honestly I have no idea what you are referring to when you say Nigerian scam. Believe it or not my world is not based around scams, nor is my friends, family or close nit circles. I am not from Nigeria. As stated before I am from Oregon in the USA. I am not a young girl, I am middle aged. I am not saying a lot of words that mean nothing" I am bringing some light to your interesting (for lack of a better word) speculation. I am educated, with an amazing career family and life. I do nothing but decent proper and positive things, and I am not coming on here to lie and fuel fire. I am coming on here to open some eyes to the fact this is not a scam. 

6 hours ago, sanemax said:

I did post that about someone getting fake dollars from an ATM  and all I did was to make the connection between him posting that on his facebook and his GF getting caught with fake U.S $ in Cambodia the next day .

   There must be a connection between him posting that and this case, so, I do feel that its relevant and I never claimed that he "planted" that

     

We are on different time. He posted that after there arrest. Good god.