Name This Scam! (it Almost Happened To Me)

[JimmyCA]

Can anyone tell me <deleted>? What this just a random weirdo, or a recognizable weirdo?

Probably just looking for a quick poke.

[elfe]

hi, had a similar thing happen many yrs back when i visited a wat in bkk. a nice, well dressed, almost perfectly english speaking middle-aged man approached me and started a conversation and would not let me just go away anymore, he wandered around in the wat with me and explained the paintings on the walls etc. actually he was running after me and insisted on conversation (one-sided), inspite of his interesting info i would have rather been there by myself and i was afraid he would later want to charge me for guided tour through the wat.

then when i was about to leave and looking for a tuktuk he began his real story. he said he was living in hongkong with his thai family and his sister is getting married in hk next month. to get a perfect nice suit was his only reason to travel to bkk this time and his suit was just being made at taylor soandso. he talked for ages about this taylor who is the best in the world. of course this taylor is offering 30% discount to anyone who he would recommend as they are best pals since twenty years and his family has all their suits and clothes made there since generations.

well, then my tuktuk finally arrived

Edited September 5, 2007 by elfe

[Jimjim]

And then the tuk tuk gave you a free ride but stopped at several jewelry shops on the way.

[UnknownPoster]

Many people have been posting various scams that happened and almost happened lately to them lately ... which brought back to memory a strange encounter I had in Chiang Mai. It was most surely some scan or other, but what, exactly? Do you know?

(if you're bored like I am right now, there's no better time to play:)

Name That Thailand Scam!

I was just walking down by myself one of the big Chiang Mai streets, no doubt looking a bit touristy, in the middle of the afternoon. I stopped outside a bookstore to light a cigarette, and this Thai man approached me and asked me for something random like a light or the time.

I'm wary of strangers, so I gave him the info, but wasn't too friendly.

He then launched into this introduction about himself: he had gone to school in the States, was a Muay Thai champion, bla bla blah, asked me how I liked Thailand. His English was very, very good, which puts me off a bit, and he opened up his wallet to show me some Muay Thai teacher credential he had. All of this was a bit weird, and sounded like a practiced speech, he was talking a bit fast, not letting me put a word in edgewise. He was well-dressed, looked good, etc. I've been chatted up by Thai blokes before, but this was nothing like it. He didn't ask me to buy anything, or visit any shops, or visit anything either. But something was just off in his approach.

He asked me if he could come walking with me, and I said no. He insisted a bit and, and I said "nice talking to you", and walked away. That was the end of it.

Can anyone tell me <deleted>? What this just a random weirdo, or a recognizable weirdo?

Just another scammer trying to ruin sombodys holiday.

Challange:

Go to any street corner, carry a camera and look at your map.

The scammers will be all over you like flies on shiit, within seconds.

[Suszzy]

This is called the Shag Scam!

very funny..!!

[jayjayjayjay]

And then the tuk tuk gave you a free ride but stopped at several jewelry shops on the way.

Snap....

Had a funny one 1989 vintage, I was new to the Kingdom, a guy approaches around Pratunam, I'm interested buy know scams are really common place, he wants to introduce me to his sister (hopefully a looker) who is going overseas in a couple of weeks and is scared as hel_l as to what she'll find. Wants me to talk to her, help out with advise on clothing etc.... I'm interested to help!! I'm young, a little foolish and well, sort of interested to see what he has up his sleeve (i dont look wealthy by any means). I call 2 mates, tell them I'm getting in a taxi with an unknow man who's taking me to an unknown place, call the police with my photocopy of passport if they dont see my by 10pm tonight!!! We head out to an area, I'm quite sure it was around Ram Intra-Minburi area. In those days it was like a trip to the Cambodia border. On the way I requested twice to stop near payphones. I call both my mates to give a location, ie, the roads that I could decipher in English. We ended up in a small housing estate. I used another payphone to call in my general location only by describing in detail what I could see in the area. My mates were into this adventure by this time. The guy said he had to check at the house for his sister, he offered a coke, I selected the coke (he didn't try to force a drink of his selection on me) from the momma n poppa store fridge myself and sat down. He disappeared for 15 minutes. When he cam back he was very upset and appologetic that he could not find his sister. He said I should go back as he did not know when she would return. He paid the taxi ride there, I paid 200 baht frm there that area to Thanon Wisutkasart in Banglampoo area, fairly resonable maybe a touch overpriced for those days but it was about a 2 1/2 hour drive in the rickity on bomb 1970's Datsun sunny. To this day I don't know if this was a scam or not!!

[Prakanong]

And then the tuk tuk gave you a free ride but stopped at several jewelry shops on the way.

Snap....

Had a funny one 1989 vintage, I was new to the Kingdom, a guy approaches around Pratunam, I'm interested buy know scams are really common place, he wants to introduce me to his sister (hopefully a looker) who is going overseas in a couple of weeks and is scared as hel_l as to what she'll find. Wants me to talk to her, help out with advise on clothing etc.... I'm interested to help!! I'm young, a little foolish and well, sort of interested to see what he has up his sleeve (i dont look wealthy by any means). I call 2 mates, tell them I'm getting in a taxi with an unknow man who's taking me to an unknown place, call the police with my photocopy of passport if they dont see my by 10pm tonight!!! We head out to an area, I'm quite sure it was around Ram Intra-Minburi area. In those days it was like a trip to the Cambodia border. On the way I requested twice to stop near payphones. I call both my mates to give a location, ie, the roads that I could decipher in English. We ended up in a small housing estate. I used another payphone to call in my general location only by describing in detail what I could see in the area. My mates were into this adventure by this time. The guy said he had to check at the house for his sister, he offered a coke, I selected the coke (he didn't try to force a drink of his selection on me) from the momma n poppa store fridge myself and sat down. He disappeared for 15 minutes. When he cam back he was very upset and appologetic that he could not find his sister. He said I should go back as he did not know when she would return. He paid the taxi ride there, I paid 200 baht frm there that area to Thanon Wisutkasart in Banglampoo area, fairly resonable maybe a touch overpriced for those days but it was about a 2 1/2 hour drive in the rickity on bomb 1970's Datsun sunny. To this day I don't know if this was a scam or not!!

Sounds exactly like the card game scam - google "Greg Fleet" the aussie comic and his show "Thai Die" - he tells a story exactly the same in that show but dies play cards

[AlbertTatlockDeceased]

Many people have been posting various scams that happened and almost happened lately to them lately ... which brought back to memory a strange encounter I had in Chiang Mai. It was most surely some scan or other, but what, exactly? Do you know?

(if you're bored like I am right now, there's no better time to play:)

Name That Thailand Scam!

I was just walking down by myself one of the big Chiang Mai streets, no doubt looking a bit touristy, in the middle of the afternoon. I stopped outside a bookstore to light a cigarette, and this Thai man approached me and asked me for something random like a light or the time.

I'm wary of strangers, so I gave him the info, but wasn't too friendly.

He then launched into this introduction about himself: he had gone to school in the States, was a Muay Thai champion, bla bla blah, asked me how I liked Thailand. His English was very, very good, which puts me off a bit, and he opened up his wallet to show me some Muay Thai teacher credential he had. All of this was a bit weird, and sounded like a practiced speech, he was talking a bit fast, not letting me put a word in edgewise. He was well-dressed, looked good, etc. I've been chatted up by Thai blokes before, but this was nothing like it. He didn't ask me to buy anything, or visit any shops, or visit anything either. But something was just off in his approach.

He asked me if he could come walking with me, and I said no. He insisted a bit and, and I said "nice talking to you", and walked away. That was the end of it.

Can anyone tell me <deleted>? What this just a random weirdo, or a recognizable weirdo?