A new investment scam: Coffee.

[Bill Miller]

My dear GF recently got all excited about an "investment opportunity". I traveled with her to one meeting which typically was conducted all in Thai, so I did not get many details. Something called "Coffee Cash Back". I see a couple of instances in other countries, e.g. The UK and Oz where folks have been hauled up on some such scheme. A little in Thai, but the usual BS from the translation algorithms.
I have no idea how it "works", but she tearfully told me that the cops were involved now, and she fears she is out 600,000 baht. I think she is off on the number, as she often has trouble communicating about numbers over 1,000, but still.... I suspect 60,000 would be more likely.
Anyway, anybody heard anything about such a scam here in LOS?

[blackhorse]

Between the two of you your not able to determine how much she lost? How hard could that possibly be?

[neeray]

_{I think maybe it would be best if she does not own a business or any investments.}

[chippendale]

She might have inflated the amount to 600,000 baht in order to shake you out of some of your cash.

[blackhorse]

She might have inflated the amount to 600,000 baht in order to shake you out of some of your cash.

Yep plus she "tearfully" told him. A classic thai move

[bendejo]

I know an expat who lives in Bkk, picks up young women in stores on the trains, and considers it dating/romance.  He is not stupid (for the most part) and knows very well how pay-for-play works, but insists all these girls accept him as an attractive, middle-aged, balding farang.  But from talking with him I can tell his only good experiences are with gals with whom he has an up-front cash for favors relationship.  You'd think he would figure that out...

But as for his romances EVERY ONE of them has had a problem that only a large amount of $$$ can remedy: illness, illness of a relative, you know all the rest.  He takes them to dinner and they spend the entire time talking on the phone.

"Coffee cash back" sounds like a coupon promotion for Nescafe.

 

 

[Racha Bates]

My GF also is doing this, but she's smart and only invested 1,000 Baht, and is only reinvesting the profits.  She won't become a millionaire by doing this, but every little helps, as they say. So far there are no problems, and she is seeing the profits come in. ???? 

[KittenKong]

These scams here are usually variations on the classic Ponzi scheme, or pyramid selling. People who get in early do see some return (at the expense of those who get in later) but in the end they all collapse.

They are VERY common.

Edited October 24, 2018 by KittenKong

[Vacuum]

8 hours ago, chippendale said:

She might have inflated the amount to 600,000 baht in order to shake you out of some of your cash.

Or in worst case, she borrowed the money.

[55Jay]

Recommend Herbalife or Amway, much more betterer. 

 

When she makes her first million, she can then create an on-line program to teach others how to do the same thing, and sell it for 499.00 Baht on Facebook.  When sales begin to drop off, simply follow the tried and true Thai business strategy - put the price up to 699.00 Baht and claim it will also whiten your skin.  ????

[Bill Miller]

11 hours ago, Racha Bates said:

My GF also is doing this, but she's smart and only invested 1,000 Baht, and is only reinvesting the profits.  She won't become a millionaire by doing this, but every little helps, as they say. So far there are no problems, and she is seeing the profits come in. ???? 

Yes, that is her usual strategy. As I say, I am pretty sure she did not lose 600,000 baht. She only earns about 34,000 a month salary, and she surely did not get that much from me in the last couple of months! She also knows well that I cannot bail her out for that kind of money. She has more than once loaned me money when I have come up short, e.g. for a hospital bill when I had a stroke.
I was prepared to give her 10,000 baht to invest for me in this deal, whatever it is. Why I am asking if anybody knows about this particular scheme.
I am sure if she meant to scam me she would have waited until I handed over the ten grand, doncha think?I should have realized my inquiry would attract the attention of the usual "All Thai women just want your money" crowd.
She does do pretty well from me, but usually in things we like to do together, e.g. a trip to Paris in March, a lifetime first for us both.
We will travel together to visit her family in a week... it is customary that I gift her 93 year old dad, a very cool old gent, with a couple thousand baht. I have wished she would let me do more for him, but it seems he is too frail to profit from some of the procedures to fix what ails him.
I could, for less money, hook up with a younger gal who would tell me what a "hansum man" I am, I guess. I love my waan jai, and she loves me, or she could for sure find a wealthier, better looking farang than me. ????
So, back on track. has anybody heard about this Coffee Cash Back scheme here in Thailand? I will try to find out more from herself when we are together again... still struggling a bit with our language differences, especially about more involved business type activities. I would like to know how this scheme was supposed to work, if anyone knows.

[KittenKong]

41 minutes ago, Bill Miller said:

So, back on track. has anybody heard about this Coffee Cash Back scheme here in Thailand?

They have their own Youtube channel, called "Easy Money". Says it all really. Most Thais are complete suckers for promises of easy money and as such they probably get what they deserve.

You want money? I say "work for it". Dont expect it to fall off a tree.

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBAHB1VDPgzVkU5h324pchA/videos

[NanLaew]

15 hours ago, Bill Miller said:

I have no idea how it "works", but she tearfully told me that the cops were involved now, and she fears she is out 600,000 baht. I think she is off on the number, as she often has trouble communicating about numbers over 1,000, but still.... I suspect 60,000 would be more likely.

Since she's a local lass, I am pretty confident she knows her 'meuns' from her 'sehns'. As long as there's no 'lahns' involved, though.

[NanLaew]

14 hours ago, blackhorse said:

14 hours ago, chippendale said:

She might have inflated the amount to 600,000 baht in order to shake you out of some of your cash.

Yep plus she "tearfully" told him. A classic thai move

Damn! It's obvious I haven't met any 'classic' Thai women yet.

 

Can I have my money back?

[blackhorse]

Damn! It's obvious I haven't met any 'classic' Thai women yet.
 
Can I have my money back?

Only spend what you can afford to lose [emoji16]

[NanLaew]

3 hours ago, blackhorse said:

Only spend what you can afford to lose

God!... where were you when I was at uni?!

[baansgr]

If its too good to be true...it always is...the scheme will collapse as investors take their profits and as usual last in loses most.

[scorecard]

On 10/25/2018 at 1:03 AM, blackhorse said:

Between the two of you your not able to determine how much she lost? How hard could that possibly be?

If confused write it down.

[balo]

Why do men over 50 think it's true love when they start a relationship with someone in their 20's , never figured that out. 

But with money the girl stays happy and I guess it's easy to get blinded. 

 

[Elkski]

He didn't say his gf was 20's. 

I thought bk it's razy to consider 10,000 baht investment in something you don't understand at all.  You say she thinks police are investigating?  She is worried she lost money? 6000-600000?  Why didn't she tell you before investing?  I do think coffee is a growth industry in Thailand.   I mean people can't keep drinking nescafe and those 20 baht cart sugar, carnation milk drink must have 50 g sugar and 800 calories.  How did carnation and nescafe get such a strangle hold in Thailand?

[PerkinsCuthbert]

1 hour ago, Elkski said:

He didn't say his gf was 20's. 

I thought bk it's razy to consider 10,000 baht investment in something you don't understand at all.  You say she thinks police are investigating?  She is worried she lost money? 6000-600000?  Why didn't she tell you before investing?  I do think coffee is a growth industry in Thailand.   I mean people can't keep drinking nescafe and those 20 baht cart sugar, carnation milk drink must have 50 g sugar and 800 calories.  How did carnation and nescafe get such a strangle hold in Thailand?

Give me an eight Baht caffé boraan any day over a one hundred Baht Starbucks latté, but I'm cheap like that.

[balo]

22 hours ago, Elkski said:

How did carnation and nescafe get such a strangle hold in Thailand?

Good question , but not only Thailand but same same in the Philippines.  Not so in Vietnam where they long before Thailand opened local coffee shops and turned it into their own , with locally grown beans, one example is the famous egg coffee in Hanoi. 

 

Having said that Nescafe and instant coffee is dominant all over the world. I guess it's cheap and easy to make so the street stalls here can earn easy money . 

 

 

 

 

 

[wordchild]

As always it will be mainly the stupid and the greedy who will lose money in this sort of scam. But sadly, some of those who lose , will just be poor and desperate!

[Bill Miller]

On 10/25/2018 at 1:03 AM, blackhorse said:

Between the two of you your not able to determine how much she lost? How hard could that possibly be?

Yes, it is 6,000 baht. As I said, communication of numbers in English is not something she is real good at yet. Ever been in a shop or market, and they punch the number into a calculator to show you how much?
It is a common weak spot in Thai education, it seems. 

[Spidey]

On ‎10‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 2:09 PM, Elkski said:

He didn't say his gf was 20's. 

I thought bk it's razy to consider 10,000 baht investment in something you don't understand at all.  You say she thinks police are investigating?  She is worried she lost money? 6000-600000?  Why didn't she tell you before investing?  I do think coffee is a growth industry in Thailand.   I mean people can't keep drinking nescafe and those 20 baht cart sugar, carnation milk drink must have 50 g sugar and 800 calories.  How did carnation and nescafe get such a strangle hold in Thailand?

90% of all coffee estates in Thailand are owned by Nestle. It all gets blended into Nescafe. Crime really as Thailand produces some of the best coffee in the world, I never drink anything else.

[Bill Miller]

On 10/26/2018 at 8:09 PM, Elkski said:

He didn't say his gf was 20's. 

I thought bk it's razy to consider 10,000 baht investment in something you don't understand at all.  You say she thinks police are investigating?  She is worried she lost money? 6000-600000?  Why didn't she tell you before investing?  I do think coffee is a growth industry in Thailand.   I mean people can't keep drinking nescafe and those 20 baht cart sugar, carnation milk drink must have 50 g sugar and 800 calories.  How did carnation and nescafe get such a strangle hold in Thailand?

She did not tell me because it is her investment. She earns her own salary, and it is not my place to insist on knowing how she spends every baht. She tells me when she is ready.
She asked me if I would like to invest 10,000 baht in this deal. 
She started telling me about expected returns, etc., but not in a way I could understand, so yes, I told the love of my life I would give her $300.00 to invest for us if she thought it was a good deal. She replied "Not yet". and a few days later told me it appears to be a scam, with police involvement, etc.
TV "peanut gallery" as usual chiming in with the worst possible interpretations and judgments, with a few useful and decent comments as well.
A pox on the tight fisted buggers who would not give their wife or fiancee a mere $300.00 when asked for it. I did NOT, as it turns out, give her that before she found out, and TOLD me, it would not be a good idea.
A few days later she asked if she could have $600.00, which she rarely asks me for money. Again, the woman who shares my bed, drives me wherever I need to go, interprets for me as I am having a tough time learning the lingo, etc., etc., etc, (Thanks Yul Bryner ☺️) asked me for some money. She had it in her account within the hour.
I traveled half around the globe to be with her, and have been here now for four years on this leg of life's journey. All that I have I consider to be "ours", so am not about to cavill and demand an accounting of every baht from the woman I hope to spend the rest of my life with.

[Bill Miller]

15 minutes ago, Spidey said:

90% of all coffee estates in Thailand are owned by Nestle. It all gets blended into Nescafe. Crime really as Thailand produces some of the best coffee in the world, I never drink anything else.

Really. I did not know that.
"Home" territory, where her dad stays, is in Mae Hong Son these days, where you will also find Huay Hom, one of the hill villages converted from poppy growing to coffee production under the urging of King Bhumibol. I think it is superb coffee, as does Starbucks, their biggest single buyer. We will go visit again soon, I hope, as my last kilo is getting low.
Yep, I have grown up. A "kilo" is about coffee beans, anymore.????

[Spidey]

Just now, Bill Miller said:

Really. I did not know that.
"Home" territory, where her dad stays, is in Mae Hong Son these days, where you will also find Huay Hom, one of the hill villages converted from poppy growing to coffee production under the urging of King Bhumibol. I think it is superb coffee, as does Starbucks, their biggest single buyer. We will go visit again soon, I hope, as my last kilo is getting low.
Yep, I have grown up. A "kilo" is about coffee beans, anymore.????

AKA a "kee" 555. Yep, I've grown up too! I buy my coffee, here in Pattaya, from a local supermarket, Friendship. Freshly roasted and ground to my specifications. Produce of one of the Royal estates.

 

I trust my wife implicitly with money, to the extent that she looks after my wallet and I only take possession of it if I'm going out with the lads. Plenty of good, honest, trustworthy Thai women around, contrary to what some of the tossers on this forum would have you believe. However, they aren't particularly savvy with money and you should have an agreement that she runs it by you before spending any large amounts. Personally, I would have taken a punt on the 10k and thrown it into her investment pot.

 

Good luck with the rest of your lives together, good chance that it will be a happy one.

[lemonjelly]

Ponzi...... coffee plantations are owned/managed by real companies, not some Sid James outfit with a YouTube channel


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[Bill Miller]

8 minutes ago, lemonjelly said:

Ponzi...... coffee plantations are owned/managed by real companies, not some Sid James outfit with a YouTube channel


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

Yeah, just started to get a little English info about it. Apparently only been around since September, so not a well designed scam. ????
I cannot throw too much blame around, as a one time holder of 1,000,000+ shares of Casavant International Mining Corp., and associated companies. ????