Korat: Dead man's account emptied - Bangkok Bank investigates

[Ninni]

My visacard was skimmed when I was here (Jomtien) last year. I just use it in ATMs here and suddenly I find a post on my account I didn't know. I stopped my visacard (Danish bank) and when I come home my bank showed me it has been used to pay a hotel in Spain!!?? at the same time I was here.

So, shit happens!

[RJRS1301]

11 hours ago, gk10002000 said:

well, if the account was not touched for years, the bank may have been regularly withdrawing
"Fees".  One bank I had in Florida I opened purely with a savings account, put money into it, and left it.  It was just an establishing state residency type of thing.  About 18 months later I looked at the account and it had less money than I started with?  The bank was charging account inactivity fees!  I read them the riot act of how during ww 2 many bad banks did that to people that had been killed or detained and could not access their accounts. 

Bank fees could be the reason, but some countries have regulations where accounts untouched for a number of years ( 7 years in many cases) the funds go to consolidated revenue.

Sometimes they can be reclaimed with interest.

 

[Bill Miller]

1 minute ago, Ninni said:

My visacard was skimmed when I was here (Jomtien) last year. I just use it in ATMs here and suddenly I find a post on my account I didn't know. I stopped my visacard (Danish bank) and when I come home my bank showed me it has been used to pay a hotel in Spain!!?? at the same time I was here.

So, shit happens!

I got a call a few years ago from my US  bank indicating an attempt to purchase items in Singapore. I had not at the time ever been to Asia.
Thankfully they declined to accept the charges until they had checked with me.
Noticeable that a long term gas station attendant in my area suddenly went missing.  Seems he had been skimming and selling the information overseas to support a habit.
Banks and insurance companies really hate that, and hire professional investigators, such as my retired police detective brother in law, to track the scumbags down. I know he has saved his employer many times his generous salary in recovered funds. ????

[richard_smith237]

2 hours ago, Nyezhov said:

Here's something useful. It doesn't happen. How is that?

 

It does and it has - two incidents I know of this week. 

 

1) 15x,000 baht is spent on a Friends Thai Credit Card - Somewhere in Bangkok he has used his card and it was copied. The Thai Bank was good about it and managed to get the transaction reversed.

2) My Wife received an SMS that she (and her account) have been approved to act as Guarantor for someone’s loan - My Wife has not agreed such and is in the middle of dealing with the Bank who are giving her the run around. 

 

I have read many stories on ThaiVisa.com and in other news of cards being skimmed, lots of stories of foreign ‘card gangs’ etc.. even photo’s of the machines which have been tampered with. 

 

So, Nyezhov, if you think this stuff is not happening in Thailand, you either have your head buried in the sand or you are trolling.

[Nyezhov]

8 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

So, Nyezhov, if you think this stuff is not happening in Thailand, you either have your head buried in the sand or you are trolling.

Cut me a break dude and dont be so dense, I expected more....you know darn well Im not claiming that fraud doesnt happen, Im only objecting to the sad, tired and bitter mantra that it only happens here.

 

Thats why yours truly has accounts where cards are used and accounts where they arent. Feed one with the other, leave nothing for the crows.

 

Thai banks are no worse than any other bank. The fraudsters are no worse here than anywhere else. In fact, Id say they are the worst for folks in the USA.

[hotchilli]

5 hours ago, mercman24 said:

agree ALEX and the amount of skimming / cloning of cards that goes on in this country, and banks  not wanting to know. its a worrying time with all those 800,000 and 400,000 in most account just waiting for the pickings

The 800,000 & 400,000 baht is of course just an option, not mandatory.

[hansnl]

4 hours ago, Nyezhov said:

Awww, sweet, I read the same papers you do and more and I cant recall one. Anybody else here recall reading about some falang getting skimmed?

 

No? Thought so.

 

Owned.

 

Watch, somebody will come up with "one" LOL. 

Read the answer again.......well!

[AlexRich]

5 hours ago, Vacuum said:

Those 800/400K accounts should, IMO, be in fixed accounts were no cards are issued. There's virtually no risk for any "pickings". I've never lost one baht during decades of 'banking' in Thailand.

 

I suspect most people would not experience this. However if it is the Bank doing the taking then having no card or online access makes little difference.

 

 

 

[baansgr]

3 hours ago, Bundooman said:

1. We don't have to guess, we, none of us actually know.

2. What we do know is that many of us have 800K sitting in a Thai bank.

3. What we also know is that these stories of unusual/unauthorised withdrawals occur alarmingly often and on a number of occasions, from a foreigner bank account - by an obviously Asian individual.

4. It is not up to the OP to do your research for you. If you disagree - YOU find out what you believe to be the facts and THEN challenge what is said.

5. Until then, if you have nothing useful to say, P _ _ _ _!

I think the Thai Banking System is about the only thing this country has got right. Far superior and forward thinking compared to UK banking.

[Sakeopete]

5 hours ago, mercman24 said:

agree ALEX and the amount of skimming / cloning of cards that goes on in this country, and banks  not wanting to know. its a worrying time with all those 800,000 and 400,000 in most account just waiting for the pickings

Skimming and cloning should be a thing of the past with cardless ATM withdrawals. I don't even carry my bank card anymore. 

[AlexRich]

5 hours ago, zaZa9 said:

Theres all these TV writers here saying this sort of thing never happens..

 

Bad things don't happen in Thailand. As someone who is "Thaier than Thai" I can assure you of that. If you don't like that fact then go home, us "Thaier than Thai" will be glad to see the back of you!

 

.... they say this until something bad happens.

 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

10 minutes ago, Nyezhov said:

Cut me a break dude and dont be so dense, I expected more....you know darn well Im not claiming that fraud doesnt happen, Im only objecting to the sad, tired and bitter mantra that it only happens here.

 

Thats why yours truly has accounts where cards are used and accounts where they arent. Feed one with the other, leave nothing for the crows.

 

Thai banks are no worse than any other bank. The fraudsters are no worse here than anywhere else. In fact, Id say they are the worst for folks in the USA.

 

You wrote ‘it doesn’t happen’...  I’m not sure what else you could have meant by that regardless of your ‘between the lines’ intentions. 

 

That said: I agree with everything else you wrote - Yes, it happens everywhere, I’ve found Malaysia to be one of the hotspots such that any time I use a card there my Bank Blocks that card for any second transaction until I’ve contacted them (I’ve been stung 3 times in Malaysia from over the counter transactions).

 

I too have separate accounts: One with more money and ATM card and Book in the safe which drip feeds the ‘user account’ with top ups as required.

But that doesn’t protect us / me from a questionable employee skimming my account, it happens, fortunately it hasn’t happened to me. 

 

The issue I have with this happening in Thailand is the potential for the Bank to either protect the Employee or the insignificant penalties which are much less of a deterant than other nations. 

 

Fraudsters can be highly technical in many nations and have to overcome higher challenges with the overseas (USA UK, EU) banking systems lending to more advanced tech crime - its easy for these same guys to operate here in Thailand and get away with it.

[AlexRich]

4 hours ago, Nyezhov said:

If blind and stupid is seeing reality instead of an imaginary world built of your own prejudices, give me the blindness and stupidity.

 

Your posting about an article where this actually happened? And a few posters have given some examples of their experiences or the experiences of others. 

 

Pure imagination? 

 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

4 minutes ago, Sakeopete said:

Skimming and cloning should be a thing of the past with cardless ATM withdrawals. I don't even carry my bank card anymore. 

 

Am I correct in thinking that Cardless ATM withdrawals can only be made from your own banks ATM machines (I.e. a Cardless ATM withdrawal from an SCB account can not be made at a Kasikorn ATM Machine) ?

 

IF so, there is an added inconvenice in having to locate your banks ATM instead of just using any - the compromise with greater security I suppose. 

[Nyezhov]

6 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

IF so, there is an added inconvenice in having to locate your banks ATM instead of just using any - the compromise with greater security I suppose. 

Where there is one ATM, there are many.....

[notagain]

1 hour ago, Nyezhov said:

In fact, Id say they are the worst for folks in the USA.

Another BS lie !!! I can go into my us bank any time of day and they can enter my account # press enter and show me every transaction made on my account time date where etc. in a second. And if there is a discrepancy such as this ladies a manager will be right there taking you to hs desk to find out what happened. There is no we will investigate, come back later/leave us alone crap like here. Its called corporate responsibility with legal consequences. Yes im bashing the thai banking system as Ive seen this scenario too many times, they dont care because no one is going to hold them responsible.

[natway09]

Wow, did that get the "Thai bashing brigade" out or not ???

Having lived her for 29 years have or had 14 or 15 business & (or) personal accounts.

Never been "ripped off " by a Thai bank yet & do not know anyone who has.

But have been ripped off big time by an OZ & s Hong Kong bank

[Nyezhov]

8 minutes ago, notagain said:

Yes im bashing the thai banking system as Ive seen this scenario too many times, they dont care because no one is going to hold them responsible.

Has happened to you has it?

[animalmagic]

Just now, notagain said:

Another BS lie !!! I can go into my us bank any time of day and they can enter my account # press enter and show me every transaction made on my account time date where etc. in a second. And if there is a discrepancy such as this ladies a manager will be right there taking you to hs desk to find out what happened. There is no we will investigate, come back later/leave us alone crap like here. Its called corporate responsibility with legal consequences. Yes im bashing the thai banking system as Ive seen this scenario too many times, they dont care because no one is going to hold them responsible.

I take your point but I'm not sure that US/Western banking and corporate responsibility belong in the same sentence! ????

The seizure of funds by any Govt is a fiscal trick whereby they get access to quite a large amount of money (purely guesswork) from inactive accounts interest free, and then use it as part of its budget.  If someone comes forward as the legitimate owner or heir of the account they will of course pay it back without having had to pay any of the interest that would normally apply to an official loan.

Thai banks can't be held responsible for these cases as the Govt wrote a law which they have to comply with.  The Govts are the ones who benefit from the laws they write.

[sometimewoodworker]

14 hours ago, gk10002000 said:

well, if the account was not touched for years, the bank may have been regularly withdrawing
 "Fees". 

It only happens If you have less than 2,000 Baht in the account the account has been inactive for a year and then it is 50 Baht a month 

[inThailand]

Iam sure the bank or its employees are blameless. It was a bank brake failure. 

 

Den of Thieves comes to mind. 

[AhFarangJa]

19 hours ago, Mukdahanman said:

That was good of them - are you able to say which bank?

I am not sure of the rules on here, that is why I did not name directly, but lets say it begins with a K, and used to be known as Thai Farmers..........

[55Jay]

Apart from the potential for corrupt bank employees, ATM skimming, et al, this article also underscores the importance of organizing your affairs for when you die, or are killed.

[Neeranam]

On 3/10/2019 at 10:07 AM, notagain said:

This is a lie ! Thais would never do something like this, its never happened to me or anyone else before and I have had a bank account here since me and buddha drank coffee together, blah blah blah.

Lord Buddha was Indian, not Thai.

[Neeranam]

16 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

It only happens If you have less than 2,000 Baht in the account the account has been inactive for a year and then it is 50 Baht a month 

And they send you a letter warning you.

[Neeranam]

21 hours ago, natway09 said:

Wow, did that get the "Thai bashing brigade" out or not ???

Having lived her for 29 years have or had 14 or 15 business & (or) personal accounts.

Never been "ripped off " by a Thai bank yet & do not know anyone who has.

But have been ripped off big time by an OZ & s Hong Kong bank

I have twice, by Bangkok bank and krung thai. Both times I got my money returned.

Many wouldn't have noticed.

[notagain]

On 3/10/2019 at 5:19 PM, animalmagic said:

The seizure of funds by any Govt is a fiscal trick

You are missing the point altogether with a  red herring !!! The bank only has to pull up the account on the computer !!! The answer of where the money went is right there !, be it the gov., family, unauthorized withdrawl etc. This constant practice of banks here always saying they dont know what happened to the money when these things happen is pure BS.

[notagain]

7 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Lord Buddha was Indian, not Thai.

Okay it was tea we drank, my bad.

[bizboi]

On 3/10/2019 at 4:36 AM, AlexRich said:

I wonder if Banks in Thailand just wind up accounts that have been inactive if they have made an attempt to contact the account holder and had no reply?

 

Another reason that retirees are reluctant to keep 800,000 Baht in a Thai Bank account. 

and another reason why the Thai authorities want to make you do it!!

[bizboi]

8 hours ago, Neeranam said:

Lord Buddha was Indian, not Thai.

why is that relevant? It doesn't mean you can’t drink tea with  him just because he’s Indian!!

Edited March 11, 2019 by bizboi
mis spelt