Beware of passport scam targeting British nationals in Thailand warns UK Foreign Office

[crazykopite]

The British Embassy in Bangkok was a beautiful place to visit it was the most expensive plot of land in the capital Bangkok until the current government decided to sell it and move into a square boring box  the site is now a huge shopping mall .

 

 

[metisdead]

Off topic posts about visas have been removed.

[Purdey]

This woke me up. Have to renew mine. No agents please. 

 

[roger101]

4 hours ago, nickmondo said:

i agree 100%. i will never go back to uk

But you still need to renew your passport, and if your in your 70's or 80's you might be looking at an easier way to do it.

[sandyf]

4 hours ago, Thailand said:

Not correct.

Did I say it was correct?

Long time since I worked so character restrictions are a distant memory.

[sandyf]

1 hour ago, roger101 said:

But you still need to renew your passport, and if your in your 70's or 80's you might be looking at an easier way to do it.

I am going to go back to the UK to renew mine, hopefully I will get scammed on the government fast track website.

[Drop the dead donkey]

It would actually work for a scammer, as passports are only taking 2-4 weeks now. There is no real backlog anymore.

A pretty clever scam really.

 

[d4dang]

3 hours ago, brianthainess said:

We all do. 

Do you have to pay the fine for overstaying if you are dead? Impossible to elude the Smart BMW?

[Chongalulu]

5 hours ago, smedly said:

9 hours ago, nchuckle said:

It always amuses me how some think that on line scammers are sitting at a computer in the same country where the scam is targeted ,undisguised and just waiting for the police to swoop.

it also amuses me at the sheer ignorance and underatanding of what people are reading

 

care to explain what you think is going on here that only you are getting

It also amuses me how when people are embarrassed by what’s been pointed out they often dig the hole they’re in even deeper with a blustering, incoherent rant. Someone nearby seems to be fitting that description rather closely,eh smedly…? ???? 

[Jonathan Swift]

12 hours ago, Bim Smith said:

UK-renewpassport.net really. For every scam you need a dumb customer and anyone dumb enough to use that URL shouldn't really have a passport. My country like my US cousins is a falling nation. Glad I got out. Love my adopted home. Thank you Thailand 

I'm with you brother, I escaped the US 10 years ago.

[Jonathan Swift]

I tell people over and over that trying to avoid red tape and bureaucracy by using unofficial channels opens one up to unnecessary risks. This is but one example. The proliferation of visa services, which bend if not outright breaking the rules, including falsification and money laundering of the 800,000 baht requirement,  serves to make people vulnerable to these scams. 

[josephbloggs]

2 hours ago, Drop the dead donkey said:

It would actually work for a scammer, as passports are only taking 2-4 weeks now. There is no real backlog anymore.

A pretty clever scam really.

 

No they are not. I applied for my son's renewal two weeks ago and there is currently an 11-12 week wait. Also all the passport offices in England are on a five week strike right now. I am not sure if that is factored in to the advised 11-12 week turnaround time or not.

So there is a huge backlog, you are very much wrong. 

[siftasam]

Bangkok Ready  'Only the uber-wealthy are allowed to be corrupt in the UK.'

 

It made me smile because I can remember 'Swizzlewick'. OMG, is anybody else that old?

 

I here lean my tottering frame on Wikipedia:

 

'Swizzlewick was a twice weekly 1964 BBC comedy drama series created by David Turner about the day-to-day events of a corrupt local council in a fictional Midlands town.

The series was an early target of the 'Clean Up TV' campaigner Mary Whitehouse who thought it unsuitable for an early evening audience.

An episode in August 1964 featured Mrs Smallgood, a character parodying her, who was depicted launching a "Freedom from Sex" campaign.

A leader in The Times criticized the series for suggesting councillors were less than honest.'

 

All good clean fun.

 

It has almost all been wiped. I know the feeling. I'm not totally free from Sex though, Mrs. Smallgood!

 

[Mansell]

,Took mine into BKK in December and three weeks later picked. It up. People should check it out before they bite into the crazy internet world.

[richard_smith237]

22 hours ago, Drop the dead donkey said:

It would actually work for a scammer, as passports are only taking 2-4 weeks now. There is no real backlog anymore.

A pretty clever scam really.

 

6 minutes ago, Mansell said:

,Took mine into BKK in December and three weeks later picked. It up. People should check it out before they bite into the crazy internet world.

I hope so... 

 

BUT... Last week I submitted documents for renewal and was told ‘less than 11 weeks’.

 

On another thread another poster was quoted 13 weeks (3 weeks ago). 

Another poster recently received his passport renewal after 16 weeks. 

 

Last year I received a passport renewal in 4 weeks. 

 

There is currently ongoing industrial action (striking) at HMPO in the UK - so I’m not holding my breath. 

 

 

 

 

[Thingamabob]

On 4/14/2023 at 4:47 AM, Bim Smith said:

UK-renewpassport.net really. For every scam you need a dumb customer and anyone dumb enough to use that URL shouldn't really have a passport. My country like my US cousins is a falling nation. Glad I got out. Love my adopted home. Thank you Thailand 

As a Brit I too am very grateful to have been able to live happily in Thailand for many years. The UK is, sadly, no longer the country I once knew and loved.

[stoutfella]

On 4/13/2023 at 7:51 PM, BangkokReady said:

Hopefully no one will fall for that.  We don't have visa agents in the UK.  Only the uber-wealthy are allowed to be corrupt in the UK.

"Only the uber-wealthy are allowed to be corrupt in the UK." and they are masters at it.

[OJAS]

On 4/14/2023 at 12:04 PM, crazykopite said:

The British Embassy in Bangkok was a beautiful place to visit

In stark contrast to the rundown eyesore of an office building which we Brits are these days forced to visit not once but twice at passport renewal time. 

Edited April 17, 2023 by OJAS