Brit expats in Thailand warned of scams targeting bank accounts

[G_Money]

1 hour ago, Bday Prang said:

let it go pal, you are not funny,

That’s not a good answer to my questions.

[potless]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Always feel empowered to hang up and call back to verify legitimacy

Preferably using a different phone. They already have your phone number so they will know it is you calling. 

[Moonlover]

4 hours ago, mfd101 said:

4 hours ago, webfact said:

if it sounds too good to be true, it likely is.

 

4 hours ago, mfd101 said:

Yes, scams succeed mostly because of human greed.

I disagree. Scams succeed due to the naivety of the victim. Fortunately the guys in this instance were not so naïve. 

[Moonlover]

3 hours ago, baansgr said:

And people are still lobbying to go cashless 

I'm trying to see the connection between me paying at the check out with a QR code or using my Truemoney wallet in 7/11 and someone trying on a scam against my UK bank account by phone.

[bdenner]

3 hours ago, Tropicalevo said:

 

You have probably missed out on an awesome deal from a Nigerian Prince trying to give away his money. 

30 years ago we received the same deal via "snail mail" from Nigeria into Aust. in a brown envelope. Obviously a scam then ---- don't these jerks ever stop or dose the market for nieve punters still exist?

[cjinchiangrai]

My wife gets these all the time, I don't.  At one point I had to do an extensive explanation of why the police are not calling us after finding a package with 5 kg of coke at Swampy with our names on it. It took a while.

[BritScot]

3 hours ago, baansgr said:

And people are still lobbying to go cashless 

Because they are lazy and stupid. Very recently I was almost scammed out of thousands of £. Luckily my bank had more brains than me and blocked it and also my account. It was a long con/scam, the person gained my confidence over 2 years. Tricked me into a business venture only to find out he had no money and he had set it all up as a con. When I starred to realise (week 2) he was trying to scam me and he tried to take over the business. He was kicked out yesterday and I now have a business which I now know is a little gold mine. Not every con is over the greedy suckers but sometimes it's someone like myself who was trying to help someone, I believed was a friend. 2 years he played me He learnt yesterday I wasn't someone to be crossed. 

[Red Forever]

3 hours ago, G_Money said:

Why are only Brits being warned of the scam?

 

What possibly could be the reason?

 

Most gullible while under the influence of liquid refreshment?

Jeez will you just give it a rest.

Nowhere in the post does it say that it’s only Brits being warned of the scam.

Your discriminatory posts are flagging you as far right and of low IQ.

 

3 hours ago, G_Money said:

Why are only Brits being warned of the scam?

 

What possibly could be the reason?

 

Most gullible while under the influence of liquid refreshment?

 

[G_Money]

16 minutes ago, Red Forever said:

Jeez will you just give it a rest.

Nowhere in the post does it say that it’s only Brits being warned of the scam.

Your discriminatory posts are flagging you as far right and of low IQ.

 

 

Did you read the title of the post???

[billd766]

3 hours ago, Moonlover said:

I don't even answer calls anymore unless it's from a person known to me whose number my phone recognizes.

If the number calling me is not recognised by my mobile, it flashes red and warns me that it is an unknown number and be careful in answering it. It also allows me to delete the call and block it.

 

Fortunately I haven't had one for a couple of months now.

[richard_smith237]

4 hours ago, AndreasHG said:

5 hours ago, steven100 said:

This place is full of scammers who will try everything to get your money.

 

Any place is full of cyber scammers. Cyber criminality knows no boundaries. 

 

Very true.....   In ANY country I had had a phone, I've been contacted (cold called) with scam attempts. 

 

This was particularly rife in the UAE and Qatar....    In Qatar I had someone calling up claiming to be from the Ministry of Interior - all quite official sounding, but of course a scam.

 

The UAE has just passed strict cold calling laws.

 

In Thailand, the cold calling and scam attempts is just as bad as anywhere else - Its the constant e-mail scams that are irritating...   some quite legitimate looking e-mails come through (i.e. Apple accounts and PayPal etc)..  never click on any link in an e-mail. 

 

 

[connda]

That's a pretty savvy scam.  I wonder how many Asean Now members - who are already freaked out about supposedly new tax rules that they feel are aimed directly at them and who are biting their nails and are totally on edge - would fall for this scam.

I fully expect to see farangs targeted with more scams exactly like this.  Hell, I could imagine actual corrupt government officials with the right credentials tempted to work this angle on their own. There are plenty of farangs who are freaked out by this tax issue that's been hyped-to-the-max all last year who would take the bait hook, line, sinker, bobber, rod, reel, and boat. 

Fyi.  Immigation has all your banking details from the bank paperwork you submit if you rely on the funds in the bank or annual transfers to meet threshold requirement for an extension of stay based on retirement or marriage.  And your home country can demand the same information for tax reasons.  If you a US citizen, hell, you have to file all that information about foreign bank accounts with the US Treasury annually.  So - It is not far fetched.

So really - jing jing - fellow expats - this scam could work if corrupt government officials gets involved.  That's sort of scary.  Bottom line.  Don't show anyone anything unless you are at an official Thai government office.  If it's Immigration issues - we go to the Immigration office.  Tax issues - we go to the province tax office.  Anything else - we go to the local police office. This scam is ripe for exploitation.  I bet this ain't the last we here of this.

[Andycoops]

Immigration say there are no current plans to link expat visa extensions to tax declarations but as we all know these Muppets know nothing.

[connda]

1 minute ago, Andycoops said:

Immigration say there are no current plans to link expat visa extensions to tax declarations but as we all know these Muppets know nothing.

You're not giving them any ideas are you?

[Andycoops]

Just now, connda said:

You're not giving them any ideas are you?

🙈🙉🙊

[Kinok Farang]

Brits have started the year at a hectic pace.

Not just 2or3 headlines a week but 2or 3 a day now.

Come on other nations,catch up.We're miles in-front already.

[The Old Bull]

Remember don't answer any questions with the word YES ,if they try to confirm your name say something like "it is" or just say "mmm" even if it is a legitimate call if not hang up.

[EVENKEEL]

I fear this is just the beginning of scams related to the Thai Revenue Dept. Some are falling over themselves to pay imaginary taxes.

[3NUMBAS]

Scam spam is common everywhere esp linked to fb

[BusyB]

9 hours ago, baansgr said:

And people are still lobbying to go cashless 

 

Never gonna happen. Anyone who's experienced complete network breakdowns that last for days knows cash is essential.

 

I have - didn't discover it till I got to the chaos at the supermarket till as it was still breaking  news. Fortunately I had enough cash to cover a few minor purchases. Others were having to offload their next week's essentials. That lasted for several days in Germany of all places. Due to a bad update in one of the main systems. Some ATMs were out as well.

 

[Paradise Pete]

12 hours ago, steven100 said:

This place is full of scammers who will try everything to get your money.

 

 

This place meaning planet Earth?

[Tropicalevo]

10 hours ago, EVENKEEL said:

I fear this is just the beginning of scams related to the Thai Revenue Dept. Some are falling over themselves to pay imaginary taxes.

I agree, but it is understandable with the flexible interpretations of immigration rules.

I one believes that the visa may not be extended...........

[EVENKEEL]

31 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

I agree, but it is understandable with the flexible interpretations of immigration rules.

I one believes that the visa may not be extended...........

As an example, remember the recreational Marijuana laws were going to be changed and made illegal again. We saw it in the Thai news quite often. What happened? More Weed stores opened. Nothing changed. Now here a poster or whoever took an internal memo and turned it into the sky is falling scenario. The so called tax experts crept out of the woodwork hoping to make a buck and kept the thing going.

 

This is the very reason I'll never trust a foreigner here in anything business related.

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

A worrying thing about this is my UK accountant asked me for bank details including statements to provide ID verification to change brokers recently. The 'do not do' and the 'must do' are becoming indefinable. The push to have digital money gets scarier by the day as it seems to be very easy to lose it unless you are VERY careful.

Beware!

[George FmplesdaCosteedback]

On 1/9/2025 at 3:42 PM, Moonlover said:

I'm trying to see the connection between me paying at the check out with a QR code or using my Truemoney wallet in 7/11 and someone trying on a scam against my UK bank account by phone.

If you lost your wallet you would know in a few minutes. If your bank account is frozen because the government don't like a Tweet you made 5 years ago is a different scale.

[Moonlover]

7 hours ago, George FmplesdaCosteedback said:

If you lost your wallet you would know in a few minutes. If your bank account is frozen because the government don't like a Tweet you made 5 years ago is a different scale.

Timewaster!

[Phillip9]

Why would anyone answer an unknown caller anymore?