Arabs have 300,000 baht stolen from the safe - hotel gives them 5,000 baht compensation

[Damrongsak]

Put a small cobra (coral, black adder, green sea) snake in the safe.  If they open it, you will at least have the satisfaction of reading about it in the news even if you don't get your stuff back. 

[jenny2017]

1 hour ago, nkg said:

 

You are overthinking things a bit.

 

What do you think happens when a hotel guest locks all their valuables in the safe and then forgets the key?

 

One of the hotel engineers comes along and uses the "secret" override code to unlock the safe.

 

 

Which is 6 times 0 for a lot of these buggers.

[superal]

17 hours ago, bkkcanuck8 said:

There are other options than hotel safes.  I would not put stuff in there that really needs securing - like large amounts of cash or jewelry.  I have opened bank accounts in a number of countries I have visited which I use for cash (being a cash-oriented person).  If it is a top end hotel they might have a vault -- that is more secure than the hotel room vaults.  You could rent a safe-deposit box at a major bank if you are in the CBD near a major branch or HQ that has them available.  Putting stuff in a hotel safe is only marginally better than putting them on the counter and saying -- take me.  If you persist in using the room safe - and it is bolted down... bring your own locking strap to add a second layer of security (i.e. it prevents the hotel staff from accessing the vault - which they can do - and do do when you check out if you have left it locked).

I agree , a local bank is the way to go if you are holding high value items / cash . However on a similar note to the main story ,

about 8 years ago I arrived for a months holiday and brought with me over 5000 pounds in cash as I had no access to debit or credit cards . I placed a small amount in the room safe and the rest was spread around the room in places that the cleaner would never go . Surprising how many hiding places you can find .

A month ago I was checking out of a hotel in Pattaya when I was asked to return to the room and unlock the safe as I had applied my own security number . Nobody at the reception had the master code . BTW , I had kept nothing of value within the safe .

With regards to the main story , most hotels that I stay in have security cameras throughout  including all corridors that give room access . Do not need to be a Sherlock Holmes to solve this one unless it was a low grade hotel with lack of security .  

[seancbk]

23 hours ago, colinneil said:

Every time a hotel room is robbed, it is always a very large amount of cash that is stolen.

We never see reports of thefts of only a couple of thousand, always hundreds of thousands, same with so- called baggage thefts.

 

Probably because a few hundred baht going missing doesn't get reported to the police, therefore the Thai reporters who get police reports don't hear about it and don't publicise it.

[Grusa]

22 hours ago, giddyup said:

10,000 possible combinations for 4 digit lock. You'd want to be patient.

Actually 24 if you know the four digits.

[meatboy]

22 hours ago, giddyup said:

10,000 possible combinations for 4 digit lock. You'd want to be patient.

many yrs.ago it was only the manager who had a duplicate key,is that the same,or is it any member of staff.

[JerseytoBKK]

5 hours ago, Justfine said:

Battery operated safes have to have keys as batteries go flat.

 

The override code theory is a bar myth.

 

Only a small number of people in a legit hotel have important key access.

 

More chance of a pickpocket.

 

 

 

 

 

4 hours ago, Justfine said:

I know engineers and lawyers. They talk nonsense as well.

 

Sorry but I own a safe and used hundreds in hotels.

 

Safes have a starting code which can get changed and they have 2 backup keys.

 

Why don't you go buy a safe and see for yourself. Any good hardware store sells small hotel safes.

 

Amazing that you think battery operated safes have no keys :-)

 

What's amazing is that you think that based on limited experience that all battery operated safes have keys. 2 years ago I was in a hotel in California and the safe wasn't working. After calling reception, the hotel asst mgr shows up 15 minutes later. He apologized for the delay because he had to get the laptop out of the hotel safe. When I asked him, he said their safes don't have keys. He opened the safe using a special program on that laptop and then replaced the batteries.

 

Here's video proof filmed in 2015 showing a locksmith easily opening an electronic safe that doesn't use keys. 

 

 

Edited April 19, 2018 by JerseytoBKK

[elgenon]

On 4/18/2018 at 10:26 AM, scorecard said:

 

And if it operates by numbered buttons you can find many cases where hotel staff have used a specific type of paper to collect the oil from fingertips to indicate which buttons have most recently been used. From there they try various configurations of the 4 (?) buttons until they crack the password code. 

 

Regardless, I have stayed in several hundred hotels when I was a regional consultant, I never ever leave any valuables, documents whatever in any hotel room.

 

Stories abound about professional thieves knowing many simple ways to get into hotel rooms etc, and many times when I have been at the hotel reception desk checking in / out I have observed that everybody has access to the machine that codes the key cards.

 

Plus regardless of keys or key cards, how many hotel staff have duplicates, pass keys / cards, or can easily borrow them?

 

How many times have you observed sets of keys on the room maids trolley, left unattended while she's inside a room or while she's gone to another floor to get more new shampoo bottles or whatever?

 

One time when I was in Jakarta I asked to see  a suite at a five star hotel near my office because I needed a room for myself and with a room for small meetings for the next 3 months. The very over-confident young lady from the hotel reception (who told me several times that she can speak Japanese, meaningless since I am very obviously caucasian) took me to a suite, she used a pass key and we walked in to discover that the room was already occupied with a man, his wife and 2 kids all sleeping.

 

This didn't phase the reception lady she just indicated to be quiet and silently indicated to come to another room (in the same suite) to take a look.

 

I quickly walked out back to the hallway and asked the hotel lady if she knew the suite was already occupied? Her response: "of course, it's OK, I'm sure the guests already in the room don't mind".

 

I told my local staff to quickly find another hotel for us to view their suites. 

 

 

What do you do? Do you carry all your valuables with you at all times?

[natway09]

Have the safes been found ???

You take mine & I will take yours ,,,,, you think ??

It is a lot of trouble & inconvenience for 5,000 Bht

[The manic]

On 4/18/2018 at 1:02 PM, FritsSikkink said:

locked suitcase

And split up your valuables, suitcase, safe, pockets of clothes in wardrobe, wrapped in tissue in garbage bin, inside pillow cases, inside shoes etc etc 

[Henrik Andersen]

On 4/18/2018 at 9:42 AM, webfact said:

A total of 300,000 baht was missing along with passports and documents.

 

But the hotel were only obliged to give the victims 5,000 baht in compensation according to the law.

 

I always wonder why it is always big amount of money people get stolen 

1. Why so much cash if you leave next day?? 

2. Do people not have credit card ??

[sammieuk1]

I have a friend of a friend in the know at this nameless hotel tell me that no bed sheets tee towels or pillow cases have not been stolen and she doubts it was an inside inside job.

Edited April 19, 2018 by sammieuk1

[Ks45672]

On 18/04/2018 at 11:14 AM, giddyup said:

10,000 possible combinations for 4 digit lock. You'd want to be patient.

First, clean the keypad with a cloth 

 

Then spray hairspray or something similar over it lightly and then you only have to check the actual 4 buttons you can see fingerprints on

 

Reduce the time to get in by orders of magnitude 

[Justfine]

3 minutes ago, Ks45672 said:

First, clean the keypad with a cloth 

 

Then spray hairspray or something similar over it lightly and then you only have to check the actual 4 buttons you can see fingerprints on

 

Reduce the time to get in by orders of magnitude 

Previous guests would have used a different code. You could have 8 fingerprints.

 

 

[Ks45672]

Just now, Justfine said:

Previous guests would have used a different code. You could have 8 fingerprints.

 

 

Clean it when previous guests check out but before the next guests check in 

OK homer? 

[The manic]

1 hour ago, sammieuk1 said:

I have a friend of a friend in the know at this nameless hotel tell me that no bed sheets tee towels or pillow cases have not been stolen and she doubts it was an inside inside job.

It sounds like a scam to me. In the MENA region many international car hire companies had to close down. The locals removed parts replaced them with old parts before returning them. I have been told, and feel free to correct me, their is no word for cheating in Arabic.

[The manic]

When I leave my room I leave the TV on and hang a do not disturb sign on the door.  I stay in the room when its being cleaned 

[The Theory]

20 hours ago, Rc2702 said:

The Mistake your making though the theory is the conclusion you have arrived at has been proposed 25 times already. So what new evidence can you put forward to ensure your theory is your own and not one you just stole from another hopelessly named handle?

Number of comments don’t mean that you are an intelligent, but what you commented on my “freedom of speech” shows who or what you are.

 

Be happy with your 2590 ?

And good luck with 2591 

Edited April 19, 2018 by The Theory

[Bangkokazy]

The person, not attend to work tomorrow is the thief.

[jonnn]

On ‎4‎/‎18‎/‎2018 at 12:56 PM, Watchful said:

 

256 is NOT correct IF 4 digits are known and used in a 4 digit code.

 

In this case, someone was able to detect which keys had been pressed. Further, somehow the detector knew that the code was only 4 digits long. Thus each number could have been used only once. 

 

4*3*2*1=24 would be correct.

 

Notice to protect yourself from this scheme all you have to do is use  a 5 digit code and repeat one number.  Code= 5 7 3 8 5

 

Possible combinations = 4*4*4*4*4 =  1024

 

 

I just registered to give the answer for this. 

For a digital code, each digit has choice of 10 numbers starting from 0 to 9. 

And the code consists of total 4 digits. So the number combination is 10 X 10 X 10X 10 = 10,000. 

Or just simply as the other guy explained, 9999 + 1 (0) = 10,000. 

 

If each digit has 4 choices of the number, then it is 4 X 4 X 4 X 4. 

 

Once any number is picked and can not be used again, then 10 X 9 X 8 X 7

 

If the pool has only 4 number to pick and not to be reused, then 4 X 3 X 2 X 1

 

Hope this clears up your brain. I don't have high school diploma. 

[Justfine]

41 minutes ago, jonnn said:

I just registered to give the answer for this. 

For a digital code, each digit has choice of 10 numbers starting from 0 to 9. 

And the code consists of total 4 digits. So the number combination is 10 X 10 X 10X 10 = 10,000. 

Or just simply as the other guy explained, 9999 + 1 (0) = 10,000. 

 

If each digit has 4 choices of the number, then it is 4 X 4 X 4 X 4. 

 

Once any number is picked and can not be used again, then 10 X 9 X 8 X 7

 

If the pool has only 4 number to pick and not to be reused, then 4 X 3 X 2 X 1

 

Hope this clears up your brain. I don't have high school diploma. 

The problem is year 4 maths.

[scorecard]

22 hours ago, elgenon said:

What do you do? Do you carry all your valuables with you at all times?

 

As already posted, I limited my valuables down to only the necessities and carry them on me, and when I was working across all of Asia I set up (because I had many travelling consultants) an easy quick facility for them to get extra cash from the local company office.

 

  

Edited April 20, 2018 by scorecard

[Ks45672]

4 hours ago, jonnn said:

I just registered to give the answer for this. 

For a digital code, each digit has choice of 10 numbers starting from 0 to 9. 

And the code consists of total 4 digits. So the number combination is 10 X 10 X 10X 10 = 10,000. 

Or just simply as the other guy explained, 9999 + 1 (0) = 10,000. 

 

If each digit has 4 choices of the number, then it is 4 X 4 X 4 X 4. 

 

Once any number is picked and can not be used again, then 10 X 9 X 8 X 7

 

If the pool has only 4 number to pick and not to be reused, then 4 X 3 X 2 X 1

 

Hope this clears up your brain. I don't have high school diploma. 

Some people won't even use all the buttons,

They will put a lucky number like 7777 or an easy to remember one like 1212

It is fairly trivial to get these things open and in this case I think they were snatched from the rooms anyway so the thief will have plenty of time to figure out how to open them.... 

[metisdead]

Off topic posts and the replies have been removed. 

[Bangkokazy]

Rumors are like fake money; righteous people would never make them but they use them without thinking about it.

everything is just a lie

[elgenon]

22 hours ago, scorecard said:

 

As already posted, I limited my valuables down to only the necessities and carry them on me, and when I was working across all of Asia I set up (because I had many travelling consultants) an easy quick facility for them to get extra cash from the local company office.

 

  

Nice!

[Watchful]

On 4/19/2018 at 7:43 PM, jonnn said:

I just registered to give the answer for this. 

For a digital code, each digit has choice of 10 numbers starting from 0 to 9. 

And the code consists of total 4 digits. So the number combination is 10 X 10 X 10X 10 = 10,000. 

Or just simply as the other guy explained, 9999 + 1 (0) = 10,000. 

 

If each digit has 4 choices of the number, then it is 4 X 4 X 4 X 4. 

 

Once any number is picked and can not be used again, then 10 X 9 X 8 X 7

 

If the pool has only 4 number to pick and not to be reused, then 4 X 3 X 2 X 1

 

Hope this clears up your brain. I don't have high school diploma. 

 

My brain was quite clear, thank you.  I understand probability theory.

 

And now we know why you don't have a high school diploma... You don't READ the directions or in the case, the claim that hotel staff use special paper to detect which keys had been pressed.

 

Then, not having read or understood the problem, you WASTE time spewing out nonsense.  You could have simply have said, "Watchful, you are correct!"