Money Stolen From Your Thai Bank

[Peterpan]

Hi

Has anybody else had experience of money being taken out from there thai bank account, bye means of somebody else using a dummy ATM card lately.

A friend of mine who is 65 and retired shipped his money over in October for renewal of his Visa. In the month of november, 95,000 THB was taken out 7 times in France in Euro = 2,000 Euro each time. The Bangkok Bank didnt flag it at all. He is off to BKK on Wednesday with his Lawyer to try and sort this out. He only ever used his ATM for cash, it wasnt a Visa Electron either.

Has anybody else experience this and what was the outcome.

Cheers to all in Advance.

Peterpan

[GreyFox2]

Hi

Has anybody else had experience of money being taken out from there thai bank account, bye means of somebody else using a dummy ATM card lately.

A friend of mine who is 65 and retired shipped his money over in October for renewal of his Visa. In the month of november, 95,000 THB was taken out 7 times in France in Euro = 2,000 Euro each time. The Bangkok Bank didnt flag it at all. He is off to BKK on Wednesday with his Lawyer to try and sort this out. He only ever used his ATM for cash, it wasnt a Visa Electron either.

Has anybody else experience this and what was the outcome.

Cheers to all in Advance.

Peterpan yes we have german friends who had 300.000 baht taken from there atm account cant remember what bank it was, also taken out in france they have tried and tried to speak to bank and hopeless, send me your phone number on my email address and I will get my german friends to ring you, could be the same people.

[libya 115]

Hi

Has anybody else had experience of money being taken out from there thai bank account, bye means of somebody else using a dummy ATM card lately.

A friend of mine who is 65 and retired shipped his money over in October for renewal of his Visa. In the month of november, 95,000 THB was taken out 7 times in France in Euro = 2,000 Euro each time. The Bangkok Bank didnt flag it at all. He is off to BKK on Wednesday with his Lawyer to try and sort this out. He only ever used his ATM for cash, it wasnt a Visa Electron either.

Has anybody else experience this and what was the outcome.

Cheers to all in Advance.

Peterpan

If this is a case of genuine fraud then the Bangkok Bank will investigate the matter and if your retired friend will receive a refund of his cash.

However it will take time. It is in the B.B's interest to find out exactly what happened here, they will want to find how such an action was possible.

2000 Euro per day withdrawal from a Thai account in France by ATM sounds rather high. I even wonder if it is possible.

[Peterpan]

Hi

Has anybody else had experience of money being taken out from there thai bank account, bye means of somebody else using a dummy ATM card lately.

A friend of mine who is 65 and retired shipped his money over in October for renewal of his Visa. In the month of november, 95,000 THB was taken out 7 times in France in Euro = 2,000 Euro each time. The Bangkok Bank didnt flag it at all. He is off to BKK on Wednesday with his Lawyer to try and sort this out. He only ever used his ATM for cash, it wasnt a Visa Electron either.

Has anybody else experience this and what was the outcome.

Cheers to all in Advance.

Peterpan

If this is a case of genuine fraud then the Bangkok Bank will investigate the matter and if your retired friend will receive a refund of his cash.

However it will take time. It is in the B.B's interest to find out exactly what happened here, they will want to find how such an action was possible.

2000 Euro per day withdrawal from a Thai account in France by ATM sounds rather high. I even wonder if it is possible.

Hi Libya ii5

Thats what He and I dont understand, I can ony draw up to 250 sterling in one day on my card but can draw up to 50,000 THB per day in Thailand, 20,000 hit, another 20,000 hit and then 10,000 hit. finished.

He did tell me yesterday that the Bank did say to him a German woman all so had complained of a similar thing.

His lawyer said dont bother with this small branch we go to the Head office.

I will post the outcome of the meeting on Wednesday, it may help others in a similar position.

You are wright it is in the interest of the Bank, but all so it depends who you speak to.

[kayata]

Same happened to me last july, but they took 2 lots of $2780 out and went over the limit, and was used on the internet at a nutricianal website in the US.

I still don't know how they managed to use it on the internet, because when I have tried the bangkok bank visa electron online it always gets declined.

When I went to the branch, they was ignorant about it, as to say so, but instead of getting peed of I ask a friend to get me the fraud department of bangkok bank:-

BANGKOK BANK PUBLIC COMPANY, LTD.

FRAUD OPERATIONS CREDIT CARD DIVISION 333 SILOM ROAD

6TH FL TRINITY COMPLEX BLDG.

BANGKOK

THAILAND

10500

Fax 66-2-2384774

Direct 66-2-2315738

When I went in I had to fill a form out, and give them a copy of every page of my passport. The money took about 3 months to get deposited back to my account, not as fast as the western counterparts.

I advise that if this happens, go to the fraud department of the bank in bangkok, the branches are very helpless in this matter.

Regards

Bryan

[Peterpan]

Same happened to me last july, but they took 2 lots of $2780 out and went over the limit, and was used on the internet at a nutricianal website in the US.

I still don't know how they managed to use it on the internet, because when I have tried the bangkok bank visa electron online it always gets declined.

When I went to the branch, they was ignorant about it, as to say so, but instead of getting peed of I ask a friend to get me the fraud department of bangkok bank:-

BANGKOK BANK PUBLIC COMPANY, LTD.

FRAUD OPERATIONS CREDIT CARD DIVISION 333 SILOM ROAD

6TH FL TRINITY COMPLEX BLDG.

BANGKOK

THAILAND

10500

Fax 66-2-2384774

Direct 66-2-2315738

When I went in I had to fill a form out, and give them a copy of every page of my passport. The money took about 3 months to get deposited back to my account, not as fast as the western counterparts.

I advise that if this happens, go to the fraud department of the bank in bangkok, the branches are very helpless in this matter.

Regards

Bryan

Thanks very much Bryan, I will cut and paste it on an email to him

Cheers

[gharknes]

I have had a feeling for some time that a lot of these unauthorised withdrwals from Thai banks are inside jobs, if I ever have a Thai bank account it will not have an ATM card associated with it, I just don't trust them.

[Humphrey Bear]

I have had a feeling for some time that a lot of these unauthorised withdrwals from Thai banks are inside jobs, if I ever have a Thai bank account it will not have an ATM card associated with it, I just don't trust them.

The only time this happened to me was when Lloyds TSB refused to send a Debit Card to Thailand, as it was considered 'unsafe'. So I asked them to send it (and the PIN letter) to my sister in UK. Neither arrived at my sister's address, I did not check my account for a couple of weeks and 6k sterling disappeared from my account. Someone in the 'safe' UK, either a bank employee or a postal employee, must have got hold of both items and used them during those two weeks.

Lloyds never reimbursed the loss.

[libya 115]

I have had a feeling for some time that a lot of these unauthorised withdrwals from Thai banks are inside jobs, if I ever have a Thai bank account it will not have an ATM card associated with it, I just don't trust them.

The only time this happened to me was when Lloyds TSB refused to send a Debit Card to Thailand, as it was considered 'unsafe'. So I asked them to send it (and the PIN letter) to my sister in UK. Neither arrived at my sister's address, I did not check my account for a couple of weeks and 6k sterling disappeared from my account. Someone in the 'safe' UK, either a bank employee or a postal employee, must have got hold of both items and used them during those two weeks.

Lloyds never reimbursed the loss.

Take your case to the banking ombudsman.

If you are suggesting that a bank card and a PIN are sent to an address in the U.K. within a week or so of each other then the safe arrival has to be confirmed by the receiver phoning the bank and going through security questions.

In fact the rules on this are very strict, otherwise ATM fraud would be rife.

Your matter should have been investigated fully, many ATM's have cameras and in the U.K. a 6K loss by ATM fraud (particularly recent mailed card & PIN) should have been investigated fully.

[libya 115]

I have had a feeling for some time that a lot of these unauthorised withdrwals from Thai banks are inside jobs, if I ever have a Thai bank account it will not have an ATM card associated with it, I just don't trust them.

Absolutely correct: A friend of mine has a savings account at the Bangkok Bank for sole use of receiving funds from the U.K. 4,000 GBP every three months. There was no ATM card issued for this account.

Then just last week, spurious withdrawals of 1000/2000/5000 Baht had been made and were shown updated in the passbook.

Because he is 'farang' no real action has been taken and the financial losses have not be recognised. They are still under 'investigation'.

I would imagine that in the U.K. it would be rectified quickly. I wonder just how 'safe' Thai banks are. I am now considering reducing my account levels, or else opening five or six more accounts at different banks to spread the risk.

Opinions and suggestions welcome!

[astromash]

Then just last week, spurious withdrawals of 1000/2000/5000 Baht had been made and were shown updated in the passbook.

Because he is 'farang' no real action has been taken and the financial losses have not be recognised. They are still under 'investigation'.

I would imagine that in the U.K. it would be rectified quickly.

You say it's only a week or so since the illicit withdrawals were discovered. I wouldn't expect a UK bank to refund the money instantly. I'm sure they'd want to investigate too.

But I would expect a UK bank to instantly shutdown the related ATM card(s). Hasn't Bangkok Bank at least done that?

[Pattaya_Fox]

I will move this topic to the main Pattaya forum where it may get more viewers.

[libya 115]

Then just last week, spurious withdrawals of 1000/2000/5000 Baht had been made and were shown updated in the passbook.

Because he is 'farang' no real action has been taken and the financial losses have not be recognised. They are still under 'investigation'.

I would imagine that in the U.K. it would be rectified quickly.

You say it's only a week or so since the illicit withdrawals were discovered. I wouldn't expect a UK bank to refund the money instantly. I'm sure they'd want to investigate too.

But I would expect a UK bank to instantly shutdown the related ATM card(s). Hasn't Bangkok Bank at least done that?

There was no ATM card issued on the account, therefore that suggests an 'inside' job. I recall that my ATM cards were given to me by hand, and then I was given a keypad to enter my PIN before leaving the bank when they were first issued to me.

Could a bank employee, issue an ATM for him/her self on anyones account?

[Naam]

Could a bank employee, issue an ATM for him/her self on anyones account?

should not be a problem at all based on the procedure i saw when i got my card.

[lopburi3]

I doubt it can be done without access to the passbook at the same time.

[lopburi3]

But at this point we do not have any indication the withdraws were made by ATM card. All the poster says is that withdraws were listed on update.

[Naam]

I doubt it can be done without access to the passbook at the same time.

but all data which the passbook contains are accessible in the computer system too the funny thing is that one has to pull all kinds of strings to obtain a credit card without a name from any bank worldwide and in 99.999% of the cases the request is denied. in Thailand no problem at all.

[Naam]

2000 Euro per day withdrawal from a Thai account in France by ATM sounds rather high. I even wonder if it is possible.

the OP claimed "2,000 Euro each time" which is also not possible with any european card even if the card has a high limit. the actual limit per withdrawal is set by the ATM no matter what other limits are set by the card's issuer. until end of the '90s some ATMs at Frankfurt Airport had rather high limits (5,000 Deutsche Mark) per withdrawal, then it was reduced to DM 1,000 and presently most ATMs in Germany dole out a meager €UR 300 per withdrawal.

[expatgaz]

The problem is the Bangkok Bank.I had 170,000 baht taken out of my account in 1 day with a cash card.Strange thing is I didn't have a cash card.So no idea how it was cloned unless someone at the Bank stole it.We went along to the Police etc and 10 other people had lost various amounts within the same week.1 person lost a million baht.Over 3 years later and Bangkok Bank have NOT paid a single baht back even though they own up to it being a fraudulent act.

DONT BANK AT BANGKOK BANK is the only answer.It rattles me that they wont pay up but you've just got to get on with it.What other choice is there ???

EPG

[soihok]

This is very worrying. I need to open a savings account in Thailand soon and I was opting for the BB.Not now.

I suppose that these accounts that have been targeted are not in Thai names? The names of foreigners .

I would be grateful if posters would indicate which Bank they have not encountered this kind of theft from.

I will open the account in the wifes name ,,we have the same surname though,,which is not Thai.

[frankman]

Time to buy gold, I tell you! It's safe if you hide it well and makes more interest. Sorry for my poor spelling to the people spaekimg only one language. English is not my mothertnng.

[jfchandler]

I was thinking about this the other day, regarding the requirement of 65,000 baht being on deposit in a Thai bank account for retirement visa purposes (if you don't go the monthly pension amount route...)

Instead of keeping that high of an amount in a Thai bank savings or current account, I was considering putting that in the future into a "time deposit" account, which I gather is the Thai equivalent of a U.S. certificate of deposit.

I would presume that would lock in the amount of the deposit and make it difficult/impossible for anyone, including the depositer, to withdraw the funds prior to the funds maturing...

Anyone gone that route, or have any insight into that route as an alternative???

Other than funds for that purpose, I'd keep all my funds in U.S. bank accounts and only draw down funds here as needed via ATM withdrawals from U.S. accounts....

[gk10002000]

I like your idea of the time deposit account. One would think it would require some paperwork or authorization to withdraw the money earlier, and there would be a bit more of a transaction record or withdrawal record etc. However, I suspect you would raise the suspicion of an immigration person if he noticed the type of account. Obviously one can't spend the money, so what would you be living on? I know the deposit is just a formality, but it still might raise a flag just because it is different than what they usually see. Of course, I doubt you could get a clarification answer in advance, because that sort of detail is almost certainly not specifically listed in the retirement visa process.

[jfchandler]

I don't believe the visa regs say anything about what kind of Thai bank account the 65K baht funds need to be on deposit in... ie... checking/current, savings, or other.... I've never seen any reference to that.

Yes, they might wonder, how would the person be paying/affording to live here if their funds were tied up in a time deposit... And of course, the obvious answer is....using other funds... unless the Thai immigration folks think you'd be on the street starving and pennyless while you have 65K in their bank... But then again... TIT.... so.. who knows!!!!

[gk10002000]

Yes, I am sure there is no reference to it in the regulations. My main point was it may come across as a little different, and that anything out of the ordinary might hold things up. But, I don't know exactly what one shows on the immigration paperwork. Do you get a letter from the bank? Do you just show a bank statement? That statement might just show an account number and an amount and not indicate that it is a timed account so all would be fine. Maybe put the funds in a regular account, then put them in the timed account after getting the visa approved?

I love all the stuff on this website.

[jfchandler]

Part of my reason for posting the idea of a time deposit, was to see if anyone else on TV had ever used that approach, and if so, how it had been received at Immigration...

Thus far, though, no one has chimed in saying they've tried that approach.

[cudaproject]

This is very worrying. I need to open a savings account in Thailand soon and I was opting for the BB.Not now.

I suppose that these accounts that have been targeted are not in Thai names? The names of foreigners .

I would be grateful if posters would indicate which Bank they have not encountered this kind of theft from.

I will open the account in the wifes name ,,we have the same surname though,,which is not Thai.

K. Bank (Kasikorn)

[Tolley]

The same thing happened to my girlfriend's best friend.

She lost 100,000 baht last year when someone stole the money out of her account.

She got a lawyer to handle the matter but still didn't get the money back.

That was over a year ago now.

In her case the money was taken out of an ATM machine that didn't have a camera in the early hours of the morning.

I think hers was Kasikorn Bank but not sure.

[chuckd]

Tolley:

I'm coming back in late September. You be around??

[Tolley]

Not sure might be back early September for a few weeks.....very busy at the moment