Brit Arrested With Bogus Banknotes In Phuket

[Toxane]

The teller became suspicious and called police, who arrested Mr Pritchard.

Maybe the teller/police made a mistake by not knowing the difference between the old an new banknotes?

[geoffphuket]

Worring! Just suppose for one moment he's innocent. The police obviously sent the notes to Bangkok because they, and the bank, don't know for sure if they're real or not. When I first started visiting Thailand I always favoured bringing cash with me.

Edited August 17, 2009 by geoffphuket

[sedeflonga]

How did he post the bail??

More dubious notes?

Can the BIB tell the difference?

At least it seems that he has no money problems at all if he can post 300k for bail...

Edited August 17, 2009 by sedeflonga

[ozzieman05]

I was under the impression that the new British notes where to hard to forge and any attempt to do so could be seen by a quick look

Is this guy a master forgery

or is the new UK pound just another joke

[mrukman]

I just don't see a guy that age thinking he can bring forged currency into thailand and like a few posters say i smell a scam somewhere not from the poor brit. I also notice the local rag aimed at tourists and locals have also carried it on there front page pity there not that fast at reporting on the murders and shootings, which takes a while if any to reach there page's.

[ukfool]

Well if they didnt find any printing equipment etc how can they charge him with "Forgery" ? I dont buy his story about pulling the dodgy notes from an ATM in England, but its easily checked by the Banks in England. Sounds like the guy just bought some dodgy notes down the pub and thought he could pass them off as real whilst on Holiday - silly boy!

No mention of an ATM ? Says he withdrew from a branch. Maybe it's the Thai teller who is a 'silly boy' as they are completely dimwitted when it comes to foreign currency and if new style notes have been introduced etc !!!!!!!!!!!

[Wombat6]

He stated that he withdrew the money from a Bank .....if from a teller. his bankbook will confirm his story and his bank statement (online can confirm if it was an ATM withdrawal') It makes you wonder why he would want to travel with a big heap of 20 pound notes instead of 50's??? a 20 is only worth around 1100 Baht...must have a fat wallet!!!!

[TAWP]

I was under the impression that the new British notes where to hard to forge and any attempt to do so could be seen by a quick look

Is this guy a master forgery

or is the new UK pound just another joke

Surely if the new pound is harder to forge, that would explain that even with advanced 'features' on the bill the man was still caught out with the fakes.

[ukfool]

Wonder what will happen to the notes 'sent to Bangkok' and if they will be the same ones produced in court.

[TAWP]

I just don't see a guy that age thinking he can bring forged currency into thailand and like a few posters say i smell a scam somewhere not from the poor brit. I also notice the local rag aimed at tourists and locals have also carried it on there front page pity there not that fast at reporting on the murders and shootings, which takes a while if any to reach there page's.

Who withdraws currency and travels to another country to exchange them there? (Forgeries are usually bought locally.)

I withdraw using VISA or (/and) change money at a teller Before flying to another country. But that is me...

[robanywhere]

Well lets see maybe he did get the notes from a bank in Uk and maybe they were real notes.

Maybe he handed over the real notes to the in the Nakorn Luang Thai Bank and as he was probably unable to track the movements of the notes from the time of handing them over who is to say that he was not a victim of yet another scam in Thailand with the bank replacing his real notes with fakes they had inadvertently taken from another customer.

There is no mention of him posessing any other fake notes or otherwise and as has been posted many times already where did he get the bail money.

This is noy making sense really - I guess another case of tourist or farang beware.

Once in Manila I went to a money changer with a $100 bill that was coming straight from my bank. My bill disappeared for a brief moment behind the changer's desk and then reappeared as "it's counterfeit money, Sir". I protested but nothing to do. Nicely done! After that I made a show of writing down the last numbers of the $100 bills I wanted to exchange at money changers.

Yeah, I've heard of that scam. It also happens with shopkeepers, too, when they switch their own currency. But even ATMs can spit out bad bills. I got stuck with a bunch of bad Chinese RMB 100s and 50s, which came from an ATM in Guangzhou...

[jb5music]

Ok - this is my second post after some thought. IF you were a Brit with 20 fake 20 pound notes in England and you knew they were fake and you were trying to change them, You would be smart enough to know that any bank or exchange booth in Thailand or England has tellers that are sent to schools to spot forged notes. You couldn't possibly be so stupid as to walk into a bank or an exchange booth with the ENTIRE stack of phony money and try to exchange it at a bank.

You would stay in England where the pound is the local currency and you would probably try to buy things from little mom and pop stores and get the change back one at a time. I don't have much experience at changing money but I went a few weeks ago to the Siam bank right there on Jomtien Beach road and changed 2 - 10 ringgit bills. That's 200 baht roughly. $6 US. Wow. The girl grabbed and rubbed the bills and flexed them and popped them with her finger nail and so forth. She went on for a good 20 seconds on 2 spindly 10 ringget bills. So you're saying this guy doesn't know they check the bills at all or figures the girl just isn't even going to look or doesn't have the training in a bank to spot phony 20 pound notes? Any replies to this? I'll stop here.

[ukfool]

Well if they didnt find any printing equipment etc how can they charge him with "Forgery" ? I dont buy his story about pulling the dodgy notes from an ATM in England, but its easily checked by the Banks in England. Sounds like the guy just bought some dodgy notes down the pub and thought he could pass them off as real whilst on Holiday - silly boy!

Where does the report mention anything about an ATM withdrawal ??

"He told police he withdrew 1,500 pounds from a branch of Lloyds TSB in England before coming to Thailand on holiday last month."

In fact if it was possible to withdraw those particular notes from an ATM - then it is probable that they would NOT be counterfeit, as the bank's processing of notes prior to loading the ATM is very thorough.

Saying he got them from a UK ATM is a big mistake...

he didn't say he did, christ read the article, he said he got from a branch !!!!

[ClaytonSeymour]

Who withdraws currency and travels to another country to exchange them there? (Forgeries are usually bought locally.)

I withdraw using VISA or (/and) change money at a teller Before flying to another country. But that is me...

I always withdraw & take some currency with me when I travel. I find it's always better to have a combination of cash/cards & in the past, travellers cheques.

If you change your money prior to flying to another country, you'll almost certainly be getting an inferior exchange rate.

[fred007]

Its made me laugh when they said the bank teller became suspicious? I can tell you from my experience every time i go to a Thai bank without my Thai wife they always give me the second degree too.ummmmm I wonder why????/

[rubik101]

The daily limit, without special authorisation, on most UK ATMs is still £200.00. They do not dispense £20.00 notes. The £20.00 note is acknowledged as being extrememly difficult to forge. They are obtainable only from the tellers inside the bank.

If they are fake, then the man is an idiot to try and change them at any recognised exchange facility.

[jb5music]

Well if they didnt find any printing equipment etc how can they charge him with "Forgery" ? I dont buy his story about pulling the dodgy notes from an ATM in England, but its easily checked by the Banks in England. Sounds like the guy just bought some dodgy notes down the pub and thought he could pass them off as real whilst on Holiday - silly boy!

No mention of an ATM ? Says he withdrew from a branch. Maybe it's the Thai teller who is a 'silly boy' as they are completely dimwitted when it comes to foreign currency and if new style notes have been introduced etc !!!!!!!!!!!

Not true. At the exchange booth in Jomtien the young ladies have a very sharp eye and as I put in my post down farther they snapped and twisted and rubbed 2 spindly 10 ringgit bills for like 20 seconds with a sharp concerned eye. I was sort of put off because of the small bills and small amount.

[ukfool]

You are right, it doesnt mention an ATM, only "branch" - my mistake - surely the branch in question can verify the claim, do the banks in england track serial numbers on bank notes they hand out? i.e. the record that XYZ serials were handed out during a given transaction?

I guess they guy wished he'd bought travellers cheques now

I also guess he wished he was somewhere able to check banknotes, like a bank ! oh hang on he was in a bank ?

What a ridiculous banking and Police system, how can he be charged and expected to appear in court, when they are not even sure if he has committed an offence.

฿300.000 getting a nice lot of interest for the Police force while he waits to hear if the notes arrived safely in Bangkok and are authentic !!

[hanuman1]

The teller became suspicious and called police, who arrested Mr Pritchard.

Maybe the teller/police made a mistake by not knowing the difference between the old an new banknotes?

Thanks for posting this - it's exactly what I was thinking.

I think we always tend to take for granted that certain basic professional competencies will always be in place in Thailand. "How could a bank teller not know that British notes have been changed by the UK government?" If you've lived any amount of time in Thailand, this type of shock would not be unknown to you.

Regards

H.

[risky11]

Who withdraws currency and travels to another country to exchange them there? (Forgeries are usually bought locally.)

I withdraw using VISA or (/and) change money at a teller Before flying to another country. But that is me...

Actually, I still bring a stack of $100 and $50 bills with me when I come to Asia. I also bring my VISA debit cards, but since they charge services fees and now a 3% currency conversion fee, I believe I get a better deal at the currency exchange.

Of course, the black market in Manila is even better, although I have heard the stories and watch them like a hawk. I think writing down the serial numbers before using the money changer is an excellent idea.

One other problem I have encountered with the debit card is finding a bank with the same network as my US bank. Can be difficult.

Make sure the bank notes you bring are in virtually mint condition. Indonesia is the worst about accepting used or creased bills. I think they intend to use them for years over there, so they give a better exchange rate for perfectly new bills.

[thaibkk]

if he is innocent, he can use that money if he would wonder off with an item to show his wife / girlfriend beyond the hidden border of the King Power at Suvi airport

[lazygourmet]

The teller became suspicious and called police, who arrested Mr Pritchard.

Maybe the teller/police made a mistake by not knowing the difference between the old an new banknotes?

That could be possible!

Four years ago, I came back from Belgium with a brand new biometric passport.

Nobody at Don Muang immigration ever seen this kind of "book" before.

I had to to stay in the interrogation room until my embassy opened, for a verbal confirmation...

Hopefully that I did not land during a weekend!

[JackDiamond]

All comments we're making here could be possible. But is anyone stupid enough to wittingly take forged notes to an actual bank?? This makes me think its possible the man didn't know they were forgeries. Banks are scupulous in their examination of incoming foriegn currency, everybody knows this. And what could happen to the "evidence" as it travels on its way to Bangkok under the wing of the corrupt Thai police ??!!

It's easy to speculate and jump to conclusions but it is very possible this man is innocent. £400 isn't a massive amount of money and could much more easily have been "got rid of" passing it across public counters rather than a proffessional money establishment. But also it's unlikely (as far as I know, but what do I know) that British banks would issue forged money.

Oh Woe is this poor poor man if he is innocent. Sum Num naa if he has been busted ..... Who knows?? but now it's in the hands of the evil Thai police then I fear he is doomed to the dungeons.

Edited August 17, 2009 by JackDiamond

[TAWP]

Any picture of the man yet?

[Petsma]

Ok - this is my second post after some thought. IF you were a Brit with 20 fake 20 pound notes in England and you knew they were fake and you were trying to change them, You would be smart enough to know that any bank or exchange booth in Thailand or England has tellers that are sent to schools to spot forged notes. You couldn't possibly be so stupid as to walk into a bank or an exchange booth with the ENTIRE stack of phony money and try to exchange it at a bank.

You would stay in England where the pound is the local currency and you would probably try to buy things from little mom and pop stores and get the change back one at a time. I don't have much experience at changing money but I went a few weeks ago to the Siam bank right there on Jomtien Beach road and changed 2 - 10 ringgit bills. That's 200 baht roughly. $6 US. Wow. The girl grabbed and rubbed the bills and flexed them and popped them with her finger nail and so forth. She went on for a good 20 seconds on 2 spindly 10 ringget bills. So you're saying this guy doesn't know they check the bills at all or figures the girl just isn't even going to look or doesn't have the training in a bank to spot phony 20 pound notes? Any replies to this? I'll stop here.

Yeah, I agree it seems a little odd to knowingly attempt to exchange a large amount of fake notes at a bank or bureau de change. Maybe the person in question was relying on the inability of the Thai staff to spot the fakes, or was oblivious to the fact that they were fake.

What is shocking but unsurprising is that the notes had to be sent to Bangkok to check their authenticity. So the bank was not sure they were fake or real. Is this going to happen every time someone attempts to exchange foreign currency and incompetent Thai staff can't distinguish between a fake and a real note? It's pathetic really, as we are not talking about some exchange shack in Isaan that's never seen an English note since 1975. This is Phuket we are talking about, probably the country's top tourist destination.

[binnsy]

I have on more than one occasion withdrawn cash from a BANGKOK BANK ATM and then attempted to place some of the cash that i had got from the ATM into another account via there automated cash depositing machine and it has rejected the odd note.

Are they saying that it was a dud? by not accepting it?

[ignis]

Like many Banks in Thailand and yes also in Bangkok, the teller will get the manager they will get out a sheet of paper to see if it looks the same........

This is not only on money, have seen this done with someone exchanging money, also happened to me a couple of months ago with a Bank I have been with for 8 years. Opened a higher interest account, the stamp in my passport they questioned and then got the manager, he came with another sheet of paper and studied the 2 sheets and my Immigration stamp shaking there heads.... I pass over my Thai 5yr drivers license and there were smiles and everything was suddenly in order.

[sangfroid]

My girlfriend also was taken by man who advertised on craigslist to buy and sold a watch of mine and recieved 32 $100 usd fake bank notes here in BKK

A few nights ago police raided a condo here in our village in Bangkok they arrested two Negro guys who have been passing fake 100$US bills

[Maejo Man]

I have yet to see the famous Thai police station photos, with the poor victim, a suitable crestfallen look on his face, and all the "fake" notes neatly stacked up on the police desk in front of him. Give it time I suppose, they might yet be genuine

[ClaytonSeymour]

The daily limit, without special authorisation, on most UK ATMs is still £200.00.

Depends on who you bank with rather than the ATM.

They do not dispense £20.00 notes.

Absolute rubbish!