Tourist Scams

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Well. you stand by and do nothing, why don't you tell the tourists?

Please, please be careful if you heed this advice. I certainly wouldn't.

[eek]

A Fool and his money are easly parted

And as a married man, i know you probably speak from experience colino!

[Maigo6]

people are getting scammed and they dont even know it. last week i was in a tailors shop in sukhumvit talking to the owner. in comes loves young dream with his teerak in tow, before the guy can say anything the girl tells him she would get him thai price for his clothes. she then tells the owner to jack 20% onto the price as her commission, and not to worry as the farang was paying. i nearly spat out my beer when dozy tells me arent thai women great after he has been measured up and paid a deposit. the owner told me if he didnt agree the girl would just go to another tailor shop after telling the farang that this shop was too expensive only want to rip off farang, so he just agrees.the farang would have got a better deal if he had carried out the transaction himself.

And of course, you'd never do the same if the opportunity arose..You would refuse all offers of commission and tell the shop owner to knock what would have been your commission off of the Tourists price.

I think you are the one being scammed if you don't think that Tailors etc in toursit spots don't encourage people to bring Farangs to their shop on the promise of commission....and you act like this tailor is your friend, you think he wouldn't scam you at the slightest opportunity?

You ain't been around much have you ?

[Stephen Cleary]

Scamming tuk-tuk drivers often pull out their sympathy card with this one "Please go into the tailors shop as i get petrol coupons". I have even seen some of them corny fake coupons myself with Esso printed on them in large letters - hilarious!

That is all absolute nonsense, as they do in fact, get 200 baht commission.

A taxi driver i once knew in my area invited me to go out with him to a whole load of tailors shops, sharing the 200 baht commissions between us. I didn't bother!

Edited August 29, 2007 by Stephen Cleary

[colino]

A Fool and his money are easly parted

And as a married man, i know you probably speak from experience colino!

nice one eek well it is my third

ps i'm addicted to wedding cake

[cobra]

The air con'd taxis operating in Chewing on Samui charge a flat 100b which can be quite a relief when it takes 30 minutes to go a quarter of a mile when the main drag is at it's usually peak hour stand still.

Sometimes I play a little game with the drivers just to see how greedy they are by playing the first time tourist, I'll say something like how much, some drivers will quote some inflated price like 500 to 1000b and I just smile at them and hand them the going rate of 100b,

It's the small pleasures that make the day .. .

I will say though that only probably one out of three drivers tries to scam. Most are honest and very nice, I even left some cheap sunglasses one time and the cabbie parked his cab and personally returned them to me while I was having a beer, and refused a tip I offered for his thoughtfulness.

[canadiangirl]

Although I consider myself reasonably well travelled and have lived in several other countries, im embarrassed to confess i fell for a classic scam when i first arrived in Thailand.

Below in italics is the story. So skip it if you can be bothered reading, it is, after all, a very typical scam experience:

Tbh I think its rather appauling to brush off these scams as one of those things that can happen anywhere.

I see your point, eek. How do you think the government could act to prevent this sort of thing?

[tracer5050]

People get scammed because they get greedy. Thats what the scammers rely on. The old addage that "if something seems to good to be true then it normally is" is well worth remembering whenever you are travelling. Dont become another statistic.

Is this not the whole truth.

[tracer5050]

The scammers deserve something really bad in my opinion. They do nothing for this society.

Thailand's sickness is the Thai police (all of them top to bottom) Until they are cleaned up in corruption will always be king here.

Nailed it!

Some of the scams have been going for so long that it's obvious the boys in brown are getting their share and will never do anything about it unless it's widely exposed.

Refoooooorm!

Police or prople in power has and will be corrupt all over the world alway ahve been alway will.

[eek]

Although I consider myself reasonably well travelled and have lived in several other countries, im embarrassed to confess i fell for a classic scam when i first arrived in Thailand.

Below in italics is the story. So skip it if you can be bothered reading, it is, after all, a very typical scam experience:

Tbh I think its rather appauling to brush off these scams as one of those things that can happen anywhere.

I see your point, eek. How do you think the government could act to prevent this sort of thing?

To be perfectly honest CG, I really wouldnt know where to start. I have so little knowledge of how this all filters down (or UP as the case seems to sometimes be) in order to give an informed opinion. With all I hear about "tea money" and such, I think tackling it would be no easy task.

[rgs2001uk]

people are getting scammed and they dont even know it. last week i was in a tailors shop in sukhumvit talking to the owner. in comes loves young dream with his teerak in tow, before the guy can say anything the girl tells him she would get him thai price for his clothes. she then tells the owner to jack 20% onto the price as her commission, and not to worry as the farang was paying. i nearly spat out my beer when dozy tells me arent thai women great after he has been measured up and paid a deposit. the owner told me if he didnt agree the girl would just go to another tailor shop after telling the farang that this shop was too expensive only want to rip off farang, so he just agrees.the farang would have got a better deal if he had carried out the transaction himself.

And of course, you'd never do the same if the opportunity arose..You would refuse all offers of commission and tell the shop owner to knock what would have been your commission off of the Tourists price.

I think you are the one being scammed if you don't think that Tailors etc in toursit spots don't encourage people to bring Farangs to their shop on the promise of commission....and you act like this tailor is your friend, you think he wouldn't scam you at the slightest opportunity?

You ain't been around much have you ?

maigo, i have never taken commission, kickbacks, baksheesh or whatever you want to call it in my life. i learned a long time ago you will be in business longer if you are honest.

i wasnt being scammed i have never bought anything from this tailor in my life, if however he made a huge profit on what i sold him, after i was happy with the profit i made, then yes i was scammed.

i am well aware of the scams taking place, but i learned a long time ago to keep my eyes and ears open and my mouth shut, not my rice bowl.

the two examples i gave were to let other potential victims be aware of the scams their teeraks are pulling.

you are right i aint been around much, so i will bow to your superior knowledge, i was talking to the tailor about ubc cable installation for a one off payment of 10,000 baht, with no monthly subscription.

can you please let me know of some place that can do it cheaper, as this guy is obviously trying to scam

me. my friend is waiting to get this installed.look forward to hearing from you, seeing as we have never met you seem to know a lot about me, are you psychic?

[Maigo6]

the two examples i gave were to let other potential victims be aware of the scams their teeraks are pulling.

You mean, it is possible that a girl you meet in a Bar will take you to a Tailors and make a commision, or maybe she won't.

Ground breaking news that is, and in Bangkok too...............lol.

UBC fitted for 10,000 Baht with nothing else to pay sounds very good, I have heard of similar sattelite service, but not UBC, UBC charges 1500 per month at my place, it goes to over 2000 Baht per month, so I doubt very much you can get it for 10,000 Baht and never pay again, unless it's a scam.

Good luck if it works out, but if it's UBC at 10,000 with no monthly charges, it's illegal for sure.

Else we would all be doing it.

[tijnebijn]

The scammers deserve something really bad in my opinion. They do nothing for this society.

Thailand's sickness is the Thai police (all of them top to bottom) Until they are cleaned up in corruption will always be king here.

Nailed it!

Some of the scams have been going for so long that it's obvious the boys in brown are getting their share and will never do anything about it unless it's widely exposed.

Refoooooorm!

Totally agree with this statement . ofcourse they get kickbacks .

The scam mentioned above also happened to me , 8 years ago , first time to Bangkok Thailand .

So its still there............ Luckily I did not forget to take my brains with me instead of leaving it at home .

A couple of months later , while in Chiangmai , I walked into a guy , who bought some gems .......

really believing it was not a scam , being told they would send it to his friend for further profit selling .....

I think now he understands I was right , never saw the guy anymore by the way .

[rgs2001uk]

the two examples i gave were to let other potential victims be aware of the scams their teeraks are pulling.

You mean, it is possible that a girl you meet in a Bar will take you to a Tailors and make a commision, or maybe she won't.

Ground breaking news that is, and in Bangkok too...............lol.

not everyone who reads these posts is as long in the tooth as some who answer, so it probably is news to them, mind you when i look at what is wandering around lower sukhumvit these days i sometimes wonder if thailand has introduced a care in the community programme, it was for the benefit of these people i gave a couple of examples, shouldnt have wasted my time, as you hint, its hardly breaking news, and i dare say these starry eyed lost souls have other things on their mind

UBC fitted for 10,000 Baht with nothing else to pay sounds very good, I have heard of similar sattelite service, but not UBC, UBC charges 1500 per month at my place, it goes to over 2000 Baht per month, so I doubt very much you can get it for 10,000 Baht and never pay again, unless it's a scam.

wow, blimey, i would never have thought that, i had better check and make sure my friend isnt about to get scammed.

Good luck if it works out, but if it's UBC at 10,000 with no monthly charges, it's illegal for sure.

no luck reqiured, it works ok, i will be sure to let people know its illegal, they will sleep easier at night knowing they didnt get involved in anything illegal in the los, the guy i was talking to didnt tell me it was illegal, perhaps i had better check.

Else we would all be doing it.

as they say, up to you.

[Big A]

Watch my lips.....

A FOOL AND HIS MONEY ARE EASILY PARTED

[Maigo6]

the two examples i gave were to let other potential victims be aware of the scams their teeraks are pulling.

You mean, it is possible that a girl you meet in a Bar will take you to a Tailors and make a commision, or maybe she won't.

Ground breaking news that is, and in Bangkok too...............lol.

not everyone who reads these posts is as long in the tooth as some who answer, so it probably is news to them, mind you when i look at what is wandering around lower sukhumvit these days i sometimes wonder if thailand has introduced a care in the community programme, it was for the benefit of these people i gave a couple of examples, shouldnt have wasted my time, as you hint, its hardly breaking news, and i dare say these starry eyed lost souls have other things on their mind

UBC fitted for 10,000 Baht with nothing else to pay sounds very good, I have heard of similar sattelite service, but not UBC, UBC charges 1500 per month at my place, it goes to over 2000 Baht per month, so I doubt very much you can get it for 10,000 Baht and never pay again, unless it's a scam.

wow, blimey, i would never have thought that, i had better check and make sure my friend isnt about to get scammed.

Good luck if it works out, but if it's UBC at 10,000 with no monthly charges, it's illegal for sure.

no luck reqiured, it works ok, i will be sure to let people know its illegal, they will sleep easier at night knowing they didnt get involved in anything illegal in the los, the guy i was talking to didnt tell me it was illegal, perhaps i had better check.

Else we would all be doing it.

as they say, up to you.

So you're quite prepared to Scam UBC, yet you diss a Thai girl making a few baht in commission....

Thai people should be warned about these Farang con artists roaming the country.

[qwertz]

Yo, torito, nice to see you posting again.

Can you believe this thread?

It's all been done recently in the streetsmarts thread.

[bulmercke]

Dropped in on a newly opened sports bar on Sukhumvit Soi 23 a couple of weeks ago....four 'waitresses' working there at the time.....approx. one o'clock in the afternoon....no eye contact or conversation with me when I ordered a beer and when I checked the bill. Nothing. What were they doing there? And 95 baht for a Singha beer!

All in all a very unfriendly place - at least for me -

Moved onto Texas Lone Star bar - Washington Square - prety much the same - couldn't be bothered to even say anything to me - despite how friendly and accomodating I might have been at the time.

Rip off Sukhumvit Road!

[tropo]

Not necessarily true, Dunc. Tourists get scammed because they are tourists. They may be visiting Thailand for the first or second time and are used to people in the tourism and hospitality industry in their home country telling them the truth and not trying to rip them off. Add to that the fact tourists have to mentally convert their home currency into Thai baht and you have another problem. 55555555555 No tourists scams in Australia?

Peter

I don't know who said what here, but tourism scams are rife in Australia. I lived in the biggest tourist resort in Australia (Surfers Paradise) for 20 years, and let me tell you that the scams Australian tourist operators pulled on Japanese and other Asian tourists would make any scam in Thailand seem like a very trivial event by comparison. If you didn't know any better you'd think that Japanese tourists were walking around with "scam me" written on their foreheads.

I tire of people coming on this forum and making a big deal about scams and double pricing in Thailand as though it's an indigenous problem. It goes on everywhere, on every continent. If anything, I'd say that Thais are rank amateurs at scamming. I find their limited English skills get in the way of real success in that endeavour.

Edited August 30, 2007 by tropo

[Big A]

Dropped in on a newly opened sports bar on Sukhumvit Soi 23 a couple of weeks ago....four 'waitresses' working there at the time.....approx. one o'clock in the afternoon....no eye contact or conversation with me when I ordered a beer and when I checked the bill. Nothing. What were they doing there? And 95 baht for a Singha beer!

All in all a very unfriendly place - at least for me -

Moved onto Texas Lone Star bar - Washington Square - prety much the same - couldn't be bothered to even say anything to me - despite how friendly and accomodating I might have been at the time.

Rip off Sukhumvit Road!

It's a rip off because they don't talk to you? A Sukhumvit bar where no-one pesters you sounds good to me!!

[jbowman1993]

Tourists don' t get scammed because they are tourists. Tourists get scammed because they are stupid... (the ones that do get scammed)

Common sense and street smarts and in short supply i guess.

Edited August 31, 2007 by jbowman1993

[Mid]

Common sense and street smarts and in short supply i guess.

gotta agree that common sense is ...............................................

[jbowman1993]

Common sense and street smarts and in short supply i guess.

gotta agree that common sense is ...............................................

Yet another attempt to rag on me. Thanks Mid....

[rgs2001uk]

' post='1507195' date='2007-08-30 19:45:25']the two examples i gave were to let other potential victims be aware of the scams their teeraks are pulling.

You mean, it is possible that a girl you meet in a Bar will take you to a Tailors and make a commision, or maybe she won't.

Ground breaking news that is, and in Bangkok too...............lol.

not everyone who reads these posts is as long in the tooth as some who answer, so it probably is news to them, mind you when i look at what is wandering around lower sukhumvit these days i sometimes wonder if thailand has introduced a care in the community programme, it was for the benefit of these people i gave a couple of examples, shouldnt have wasted my time, as you hint, its hardly breaking news, and i dare say these starry eyed lost souls have other things on their mind

UBC fitted for 10,000 Baht with nothing else to pay sounds very good, I have heard of similar sattelite service, but not UBC, UBC charges 1500 per month at my place, it goes to over 2000 Baht per month, so I doubt very much you can get it for 10,000 Baht and never pay again, unless it's a scam.

wow, blimey, i would never have thought that, i had better check and make sure my friend isnt about to get scammed.

Good luck if it works out, but if it's UBC at 10,000 with no monthly charges, it's illegal for sure.

no luck reqiured, it works ok, i will be sure to let people know its illegal, they will sleep easier at night knowing they didnt get involved in anything illegal in the los, the guy i was talking to didnt tell me it was illegal, perhaps i had better check.

Else we would all be doing it.

as they say, up to you.

So you're quite prepared to Scam UBC, yet you diss a Thai girl making a few baht in commission....

i am sorry, diss, isnt in either my vocabulary or dictionary, so i know i shouldnt assume, but i think you mean disrespect, i apologise if i am wrong. please tell me in which of my posts i showed disrespect, if you can then i will apologise, maybe your command of the english language is on the same level as those you seem to have made it your mission to defend. i merely stated what i had seen, i did not offer an opinion, i did not condone or condemn, but to save you going to the trouble of getting your crystal ball out and trying to second guess, my opinion it is the following, i respect these girls as much as they respect themselves and their victims, putting that to one side, i personally think they deserve everything they can squeeze out of these suckers.

i am not scamming ubc, i dont even have it in the house, there are many who have the opinion that ubc is scamming them, they of course have to choice to cancel their subscrptions if they arent happy with the servise provided.

it is a thai friend who is having it installed, you are the one making the accusations, please for the benefit of those of us who aint been around much, let us know how this scam works.

Thai people should be warned about these Farang con artists roaming the country.

here is the phone number for ubc 02 725 2525, please fell free to warn them, and by the way as i mentioned above it is a thai not farang who is having it installed by another thai. i am sure they will thank you for being a regular citizen.

i learned a long time ago, not my business was one of the most often repeated sayings in thailand.

if you have any difficulty comprehending any of the above, or any of my previous posts please fell free to pm me before replying.

next time it may be wiser to engage brain before replying,

thank you for your concern, i will sleep easier tonight knowing a moral watchdog is looking out for all scam victims, be they thai or farang. i was only warning farangs about the thai con artists roaming the country, i am sorry if this doesnt meet with your lofty moral principals.