Brit Arrested With Bogus Banknotes In Phuket

[LivinLOS]

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...

Then you get an awful exchange rate..

Much better rates changing pounds to baht here rather then in UK..

[tim73]

What is shocking but unsurprising is that the notes had to be sent to Bangkok to check their authenticity.

Of course those notes are sent to Bangkok for further checks. Probably those notes go all the way to Bank of Thailand and they might even ask British officials for help (if those are THAT good). That is standard procedure all around the world. Remember the Japanese guys trying to smuggle bearer bonds from Italy to Switzerland? Italians even asked US officials to check those notes.

But when Thais do the same, they must be doing something wrong, at least according to some know-it-all Brits....your expertise in this is about as good as the chances of England winning Germany in football...ouch.

Edited August 17, 2009 by tim73

[Tigs]

100% True Story.

I went to change £1000 into Baht last year at the bank in town. The teller was looking at all the notes very suspiciously in particular the 'watermark' area. He was inspecting them then referring to the 'big book of bank notes'. The manager was called and after much of a cafuffle the manager looks at me and says, ;the teller says there is a problem with all these notes'. What problem I enquired. 'He says the notes are not real because the Queen is not smiling!' What! says I, 'on the watermark' says the bankmanager, 'The Queen is not smiling'

After a pause of only 2 seconds silence which seemed like a lifetime to the Bank Manager and the Teller I am sure I could do nothing else other than piss myself giggling/laughing. I mean serious rib cracking laughter. Customers in the bank were visibly bemused by laughing farang. The manager looked at the teller and said , just give him the Thai Baht!

On another occasion for the same amount of money the teller would not take any notes with the pencil marks on the notes that the bank clerks leave. I asked why not they are the numbers the bank clerks write. He said they shpuld not and it means the notes might not be real. He would only change about £800 out of £1000. When he gave me my currency in 1000 baht notes, I went through them all and pulled out 15 notes with pencil marks on them. I said I wanted notes without pencil marks. He looked at me realised he had been a tool and had to go through his draw looking for 1000 baht notes without pencil marks on. LoL Funny I never had that problem with him again.

[LivinLOS]

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.

Just got a brand new UK bank card last month.. Tried up to 300 quid at a go and out it came.. Have no idea if it would give 500 by default as thats all I tried.

And yes it was giving out 20s..

So thats 2 for 2 there rubik.

[G54]

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.

No special authorisation for me and my standard limit is £300. And They often issue £20 notes but I have never yet had a £50 from an ATM in the UK.

[Stuart8]

There is a concern that the person was arrested and treated like a criminal when the police were not sure the notes were forged. However how many tourists are there from the UK who take pound notes to change at exchange kiosks? I have done it many times without a problem and there are many others. This is one case where either the notes are forged or they have got it wrong - that would be one case in many hundreds or thousands of UK people changing money.

[RKASA]

I think if he was in the business of passing bad notes he would have gone to a hotel desk and used a fake passport.  The rate is bad but who cares if the money is free.  If he only has a few notes and has gone into a bank with his own passport, they are both likely to be victims of someone else.  Check with the most up to date and best currency forgers in the world, they have an office in North Korea. 

[Petsma]

But when Thais do the same, they must be doing something wrong, at least according to some know-it-all Brits....your expertise in this is about as good as the chances of England winning Germany in football...ouch.

And your Grammar is on a par with a 5 year old. It should be "England beating Germany at football".

[poldebol]

Thai banks always take a photocopy of my passport when I change money. Some even take a photocopy of my passport and the notes I change. Usually they let me sign the copy. It is always very difficult to get a copy of this copy. As a rule I always want a copy of my signature.

Suppose: Noi, a staff member of a bank branch at the airport takes a wad of fake bank notes to his work. Tourist John Doe changes 3 notes of 100 Eur into THB. Noi puts the genuine notes into safety, replaces them with fake notes and tells the police he suspects John Doe. 3 weeks later John Doe is arrested.

When I bring bank notes into Thailand, I always have list or a copy of the numbers. I never change money at the airport. I ask the bank to sign or stamp my copy of the notes. Sometimes they do.

Thai banks do not trust their customers, there is no reason to trust them.

[Scott]

I once attended a seminar on fake bank notes. I worked for a US embassy program at the time. There was a combination of Thai and foreign staff (including a few Western, but non-US citizens). Among the things they did was blindfold us and have us feel a US$100 bill. None of the foreigners (except a couple of Canadians) could tell a fake from a real US dollar bill. All of the US citizens could tell a fake bill blindfolded.

Visually spotting the fake bills was a little bit harder, but citizens were about 95% correct. (These were also very high quality fakes--there were two gov'ts that were making them in an attempt to undermine the US economy).

The point is that it is a lot easier to pass a fake bill in a foreign country than it is in your own country. You know the exact feel of the bank notes. So, if he had bogus bills, he may have been thinking it would be easier to pass them here than in the UK.

Yes, the banks really do go over them well here and I have had them hand me back foreign currency that they wouldn't exchange (the odd bill here and there).

I hope they get this sorted out.

[poldebol]

But when Thais do the same, they must be doing something wrong, at least according to some know-it-all Brits....your expertise in this is about as good as the chances of England winning Germany in football...ouch.

And your Grammar is on a par with a 5 year old. It should be "England beating Germany at football".

Grammar the topic here?

[oevna]

Brit arrested with bogus banknotes in Phuket

PHUKET CITY: -- A British tourist faces life in prison after being charged with forging English pound notes and trying to exchange them for Thai baht.

So he has actually been charged with forging, yet they really don't know if they are genuine Never ceases to amaze me.........

Yes, and he has apparently also been sentenced to life in prison already. Unbelievable.

[hardy1943]

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

I saw a Monk trying to cash 3 $100 fake bills at Siam Commercial in Chiang Rai the branch right

by the Big C. They just gave them back to him with a big smile. I could not believe my I eyes

and told my Thai wife in America one can spend some serious time in a Fed Pen. for that.

She told me welcome to Thailand. I thought they at least should have kept them and not returned them.

Edited August 17, 2009 by hardy1943

[bifftastic]

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.

ummm..... daily limit is £300 and it depends which bank you're with and if it's an ATM belonging to that bank, ie. if i use my banks' own ATM I can get more, and all the ATM's have £20's and £10's I can't remember the last time I actually went into a branch.

With regard to the OP either this bloke isn't particularly clever, trying to pass all the notes in one go, or he's been given these dodgy notes by someone else and not realised it. I suppose the other explanation is that they're not dodgy notes??? or they weren't when he handed them over but they are now!!!

Either way his holiday has taken a turn for the worse!!

[RAZZELL]

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!

You would be surprised what comes out of ATMs. Its incredibly common for forged notes to get through the various checks and redistributed. If you don't believe me google it for yourselfs. Beware when you grab your notes boys and girls, beware.

True. About 4 years ago I had a fake 1000 baht note come out of an ATM in Bkk. Didn't realise it wasn't real until I tried to change it back in the UK.

I just thank God I didn't try to spend it in LOS

RAZZ

[bifftastic]

But when Thais do the same, they must be doing something wrong, at least according to some know-it-all Brits....your expertise in this is about as good as the chances of England winning Germany in football...ouch.

And your Grammar is on a par with a 5 year old. It should be "England beating Germany at football".

Grammar the topic here?

Well, that case the expertise you mention must be 'up there with the best' as I seem to remember England beat Germany 2-1 in the Olympicstadion Berlin last November :-) off topic I know but couldn't resist it :-) and 'yes that is my beach towel on the sunbed' :-P

[apetley]

Any picture of the man yet?

Yes, if his eyes are too close together he must be guilty.

[hardy1943]

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!

Lucky you,

could have thrown the key away and forgot about you

[cyb]

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 did not say he got them from a bank atm, read the op again.

[NanLaew]

When changing US$15,000 in c-notes cash over 3 visits to a main bank branch in Pattaya last summer, the bills were checked by 3 individuals. The first clerk 'rejected' about a dozen bills. The second clerk would look at those and 'reject' 4 or 5. The head of the FE desk would do the final check and all the bills would be accepted. This was the same procedure each time, taking over 30 minutes before they gave me the baht.

Since the forex rate was good at the time, I opted to bring in £15,000 in 50's and exchanged that in two separate transactions over a couple of weeks. The UK currency was merely counted by the clerk doing the transaction, tossed in a drawer and the baht transaction completed, no double checks, not even anything that could be called a 'close look' at the bills. In and out in 10 minutes. Go figure.

Both times I stressed to the issuing banks in US and UK that the bills be nearly new; a request that brought rolled eyes from the clerks in the US but was eventually complied with. The same request in Scotland (must be Bank of England notes, please!) was happily fulfilled although the clerk did say that it would take a 'wee bit longer' to fill the special order.

Edited August 17, 2009 by NanLaew

[cyb]

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.

For your information, The daily limit on most uk atm's is £350 and they do dispense £20 notes.

[Arkady]

High chance that the guy is guilty but you never know. I remember a case where a young German girl was arrested for allegedly trying to change a fake US$100 bill at a foreign exchange booth in Bangkok. She claimed that the "fake" bill had been produced by the bank employee from under the counter. She had taken the one she gave him from her money belt where it had been folded several times to fit in the belt, while the "fake" only had one fold in it. She was hauled off by the police and forced to pay an unreceipted "fine" for the serious charge to go away. That one was almost certainly a scam set up by the bank employee and the police in the Kingpower style. However, it seems unlikely in the Phuket case as they are less likely to use fake sterling notes in a scam and there seems not to have been any obvious attempt at extortion. There still remains the possibility that there was nothing wrong with the notes and the teller misidentified them or used out of date information. Phuket immigration also claimed that the British boxer had a false passport which turned out to be genuine.

[SHYTALK]

Recentley I was in a fish and chip shop in the uk.

The guy in front of me offerred a £5 note to pay for his purchase, but the assistant refused it saying it was the old £5 note which had been withdrawn fron circulation some 12 months ago.

She told him to take it to a bank to exchange it for a current valid £5.

The guy seemed genuinely puzzled and paid with a valid £10 note , and I have to admit that I did not know about this either.

so maybe the notes were not forgeries or counterfiet, but but just the old withdrawn design.

[mickj88]

1, if he drew out £1500 he would of got it from the teller in the Lloyds bank.

2, the Thai teller may not have recognized the new style £20 note,

3,around 5 years ago I was changing some cash in patong and the teller wouldn,exchange a bank of scotland £10 as he said he didn't know what it was,

4, only 4 years ago i drew £500 from barclays bank over the counter, 5 mins later went to pay it in at yorkshire bank only to be told that 2 of the not real , took them back the the branch who issued them who exchanged them for me.I think they only did this because I had banked with that branch for over 16 years and the staff new me pretty well.

5, what happened to innocent till proven guilty ?

6, while watching Thai global network news last week there was a raid on a counterfitting opperation in Bangkok where they found millions of fake baht, whats not to say thet they were printing other currencies as well, lets face it you can buy fake dvd's cd's , footy shirts ,and other clothes so why not money ?

I am not saying that its a scam but anything is possible, He may well be guilty and if so then sum num nar, but till proven I have an open mind as mistakes are made by all of us at times and the teller may have made one.

[billpatt]

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

sounds like pants down to me,

although i have a mate who exchanged a grand in uk money at the airport only to find later he was robbed big style,

[Junglejumbo]

The exchange rate is a bit odd. How could he receive almost 22,000 baht from a twenty pound bank note. The exchange rate for buying baht with British pound is about 55 baht at the moment which would mean about 11,000 baht for twenty pounds or did he have two of these notes?

Why would he need to post bail if they've not yet checked the authenticity of the notes? That means any old teller could call the police on suspicion of fraud and the police would automatically arrest you?

[loong]

The exchange rate is a bit odd. How could he receive almost 22,000 baht from a twenty pound bank note. The exchange rate for buying baht with British pound is about 55 baht at the moment which would mean about 11,000 baht for twenty pounds or did he have two of these notes?

Why would he need to post bail if they've not yet checked the authenticity of the notes? That means any old teller could call the police on suspicion of fraud and the police would automatically arrest you?

Wasn't it 20 x 20 pound notes? ie. 400 Pounds

400 Pounds at 55 Baht is about 22,000.

And yes, I don't understand how they can arrest, charge and bail someone unless they have confirmed that the notes are forgeries.

[trainman34014]

May be he got it as small change in notorious King Power Duty free shop while coming to Thailand. He should contact Srilankan Mr.Tony for his release

Hey everyone...before this poor alledged passer of forged notes is found guilty from "trial by forum experts" consder this...

Three years ago I received USD$5,000.00 in 100 dollar notes from my account via a bank teller in HSBC Singapore.

Upon returning to Phuket, I tried to change 10 x $100.00 notes for Baht. Four of the notes were rejected as forgeries.

Lucky for me, the guy at the exchange booth didn't contact the police, or I would have been in the same diabolical position.

HSBC firstly refused any liability, but when I threatened to contact the media, they reluctanly requested return of the notes

and two weeks later my account received a credit for $400.00. Think again folks...it could easily be you in the same position !!!!

In July 2008 my brother went to his local Lloyds branch and drew 200 pounds from the ATM outside the bank in 20 pound notes. He then went 3 doors down the road to a W H Smith store to buy his fags and a newspaper and the girl on the till swished a 20 pound note with her magic pen and told him it was a forgery. He told her he just got it from the banks own machine and she told him that he was not the first person to say that recently and suggested he take it right back. He did so (fuming with anger) and asked to see the manager. After initial disbelief, the staff at the bank asked him into a private room, locked him in and called the police. When they arrived they asked him to empty all his pockets and all he had was the money he had just drawn from the machine and not a penny more. The bank checked the notes and found that two of them were forgeries. Meanwhile other bank staff were checking his bank records and running back the CCTV from outside the bank adjacent to the ATM. The bank were quick to admit once these checks had been made that they must have put the notes in the machine and my brother was credited with 200 pounds in his account for his trouble and inconvienience.

It just goes to show you that your local bank can't be trusted when it comes to checking all the notes they handle. It can happen to anyone and we can all fall victim at any time.

[barry]

ANYONE KNOWINGLY TRIES TO PASS BOGUS

CURRENCY GETS NO SYMPATHY FROM ME

I MEAN JUST LOOK AT THE COST OF BEER IN THE U.K. COMPARED TO LOS

[loong]

ANYONE KNOWINGLY TRIES TO PASS BOGUS

CURRENCY GETS NO SYMPATHY FROM ME

I MEAN JUST LOOK AT THE COST OF BEER IN THE U.K. COMPARED TO LOS

Most people are aware of the fact that it is considered very rude to post entirely in capital letters.

The cost of beer?

WHAT THE **** DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH THIS TOPIC!!!