I Got A Disturbing Call From Thailand Today

[dre1247]

These girls have got more tricks then Harry Potter.

Right, and they all deserve an Oscar....... on a daily base that is..5555

[dre1247]

Who's money was it by the way? Who's 500k was it...

Its a very lot of Money for her to have had access to, and a very lot to withdraw at one time.

Its a very strange story indeed.

It was her money in her account, she was suppose to buy some land next month for this money. And the house is in a company name without her name on any documents, so yes i asked her to take care of a potential buyer if he comes along, so she did not try to sell the house herself.

She had to to the bank to get the money, and like somebody said " it's not easy to withdraw that amount of money" yes it is!!

She is very distressed about this, a huge loss of money for her. For the satisfaction of some repliers i did not loose a single satang.

I will call later and check if they found anything on the video tapes

Next time give these detail beforehand now you have 30 useless responses based on non information.

[dre1247]

Who's money was it by the way? Who's 500k was it...

Its a very lot of Money for her to have had access to, and a very lot to withdraw at one time.

Its a very strange story indeed.

It was her money in her account, she was suppose to buy some land next month for this money. And the house is in a company name without her name on any documents, so yes i asked her to take care of a potential buyer if he comes along, so she did not try to sell the house herself.

She had to to the bank to get the money, and like somebody said " it's not easy to withdraw that amount of money" yes it is!!

She is very distressed about this, a huge loss of money for her. For the satisfaction of some repliers i did not loose a single satang.

I will call later and check if they found anything on the video tapes

So at the very worst she has been gullible and has been scammed and has lost her own money. What is your take on the TV contributors who from their ingrained prejudice jumped to the conclusion that she was a crook?

Maybe crucial non information and experience??

[samuibeachcomber]

Who's money was it by the way? Who's 500k was it...

Its a very lot of Money for her to have had access to, and a very lot to withdraw at one time.

Its a very strange story indeed.

It was her money in her account, she was suppose to buy some land next month for this money. And the house is in a company name without her name on any documents, so yes i asked her to take care of a potential buyer if he comes along, so she did not try to sell the house herself.

She had to to the bank to get the money, and like somebody said " it's not easy to withdraw that amount of money" yes it is!!

She is very distressed about this, a huge loss of money for her. For the satisfaction of some repliers i did not loose a single satang.

I will call later and check if they found anything on the video tapes

So at the very worst she has been gullible and has been scammed and has lost her own money. What is your take on the TV contributors who from their ingrained prejudice jumped to the conclusion that she was a crook?

Maybe crucial non information and experience??

as you said before if the OP had given more correct info before, a lot of replies would have been very different.

[MJo]

as you said before if the OP had given more correct info before, a lot of replies would have been very different.

Even more so if people bother to read all the posts before replying....

[samuibeachcomber]

as you said before if the OP had given more correct info before, a lot of replies would have been very different.

Even more so if people bother to read all the posts before replying....

you ask too much

[perousing]

hi kubota i would'nt mind betting they are still around or will be back, greed always gets the better of these people, so dont give up hope, they are not fly by night types ,so your wife has a good chance of seeing them again,or they will be caught by the local police. best of luck

Edited September 27, 2009 by perousing

[Pakboong]

I am curious as to how the individuals in the Fortuner came to find out your GF happened to have quick access to 500k. I don't know a single Thai woman who would fit this criterea. Was it just a stroke of good fortune for them? I have a hard time getting my head around this one. Simply sounds far too stupid to be believed. Not only do I not know a single Thai woman who has access to that kind of cash, if her story is true, how did she manage to hang on to that much money this long?

[Kitsch22]

What stinks is a farang whose determination to condemn an innocent (albeit foolish) Thai girl is so overwhelming that the farang irrationally refuses to accept the fact that what she lost was her own money from her own bank account.

Rubbish,.and ill tell you why, my wife and i consider any money we have OURS,the loss at best is mutual, although i doubt it,.....and i say again any money decisions/transactions involving this sort of amount should be shared ,this wouldnt have happened had he been aware,.

That is you and your wife. This girl's partner says that it was her money in her account. Why do you persist in calling him a liar and her dishonest?

I didnt call anyone a liar, however this is up for scrutiny dont you think, and married or not, she should have consulted him on the sale of HIS house,with attitudes of some its no wonder these problems exist,.

You said "the loss at best is mutual, although i doubt it"; the OP has stated that the loss was of the girl's own money from her own account. If you say to the world that you doubt the truth of what he says, then you are calling him a liar. You should stop digging. Better accept the fact that there are Thais who are honest, just as we must accept the fact that there are farangs who are racially prejudiced bigots.

[kubota]

I am curious as to how the individuals in the Fortuner came to find out your GF happened to have quick access to 500k. I don't know a single Thai woman who would fit this criterea. Was it just a stroke of good fortune for them? I have a hard time getting my head around this one. Simply sounds far too stupid to be believed. Not only do I not know a single Thai woman who has access to that kind of cash, if her story is true, how did she manage to hang on to that much money this long?

Well i have a hard time getting my head around this one as well

They could not know that she had that kind of money, but there is a "house for sale" sign at the house, which led this lady to the house in the first place.

I will try to get some more information when i come back,, but i must say there is something fishy here even though some repliers says that this have happen to friends of them.

As far as i understand she have only told me about this, not even her mother knows about it.. She is always the first to be informed about happenings/seek advice. Is it because of the loss of face, or is it simply because she would not believe her??

[tigerbalm]

What actually was the 500K for and did she get a receipt, it is very normal to get a copy of ID cards Thais are very used to this when opening bank accounts money transactions buying things on credit applying for driving licenses passports etc.and i suspect she would have had to show er ID card (May be not) when she withdrew 500K from a Bank.

Just wondering why it did not occur to her to get copies of IDs may be she did?

May be the OP can give a little more information when he comes back, it would certainly help

[dsfbrit]

As far as i understand she have only told me about this, not even her mother knows about it.. She is always the first to be informed about happenings/seek advice. Is it because of the loss of face, or is it simply because she would not believe her??

Oh dear - the first people my wife told about her attack and theft were her parents - well after the police that is. Start with the Police Report - and good luck - sounds like you need it

[pjclark1]

I'm going to play devils advocate here and say that she was duped. They told her it was for "closing costs" and she believed them. I find it hard to belive that the mrs. would settle for 500K when she can sell the house and get much more if she was in it for the money. To many people 500K really isn't a huge sum of money so I'm not sure why everyone immediately jumps on the OP and says his wife/g'f is stealing from him, especially after 4 years.

A common Thai wage is 6k a month

A Thai friend of mine earns 16k a month working for a subcontractor of the UN (she is educated and works very hard in what is considered an important job)

500k is more money than most Thai girls will see in their entire life.

How does this woman have access to so much money, why would she part with it.

My gf wouldn't hand over 50bth of her own money without a huge fight.

But would hand over 1000bht of my money with no hesitation (if I ever let her have access to any of my money)

PS

How come you own a house in Thailand?

after reading the post i cant make head nor tail of it.its not that easy to withdraw that amount of money in cash,thats the first thing,and presumably its from your account/joint account.you've been with your g/f for 5 years and am guessing nothing untoward has happened before,so no reason not to trust her up till now.

Never trust any woman ....... let alone a Thai lady!

Edited September 28, 2009 by pjclark1

[imaneggspurt]

For kitcsh22,....I still dont believe, ! .hands up all those that have a thai wife with half a mill of her own in the bank !,AND that is stupid enough to fall for this scam,A thai woman smart enough to accumulate 500k of her own would be reluctant to give it up i feel, im actually defending MOST thais, not knocking them,

[Daewoo]

Dealing directly with the OP and the topic (I hope that I don't get kicked out of TV for that )...

I don't believe that it is possible for someone to be drugged, and then taken into a bank to complete a complex transaction... under some conditions, I believe it is possible that someone can be taken to an ATM and coerced into making a withdrawal, if they are not too stupefied to remember their PIN, but it needs to be constant suggestions which would be picked up for transactions inside a bank… AND the OP said that his GF said she doesn't believe she was drugged… (although afterwards many victims of drugging don't feel like they were)… I completely disregard this scenario, but the girl in the OP isn't claiming that anyway...

A girl dealing with a transaction she is not familiar with, dealing with figures that engender respect, (wealthy, older) in an environment where payments are often made to smooth transaction progress, would be easily duped into committing her own cash to see it through… the reason there are so many Nigerian scams is because there are so many victims handing over money every day to what WE know are scams… This scenario holds some water...

The OP states that it was the girls money, in her account and none of his… I am sure that many members here that are in a long term trusting relationship would, if their partner was robbed, give her some money to help with the loss… This scenario holds some water too…

I don't think a police report is going to be real proof… I don't know where in Thailand she could find a BiB who would take a false report for a bit of $$$ ...

For me the only proof will be if the scammers are caught… until that time I would council the OP to provide a lot of support to his GF, in case her story is real, in which case she has lost a great deal… but no financial support… if she asks for money directly, alarms bells would ring in my head…

WRT to the sum of money, if she was given land, and sold it, she may have that kind of money in cash, waiting to be put into a new parcel of land somewhere else as the OP stated…

Cheers

Daewoo

[Beardog]

Even most of the girls that don't make it to high school in Thailand. it is 3% commission to the person that gets a buyer for the property After the sale is completed. I have not met any Thai people in the Pattaya- Chonburi area that does not know this to be the fact. Something sounds strange.... maybe 1 of the men is a pua noi & drummed up this scam.. Unless she has Alzheimer's disease or is a NGO i wouldn't believe this is the real story. I do not doubt she transferred the funds.........but I would look further to why this happened 500,000 baht is an awful lot for a down on a maybe sale. Does not add up. even my Thai girl thinks the story given requires a much bigger shovel. Not meaning to be disrespectful at all, but even in the U.S. the scam would be send $500 U.S. to receive your $1500 free TV or vacation. Not $17,000

[CGW]

Just read thru this thread and have to say I believe her!

This appears to be quite a common although refined scam here. About 9 months ago the "scammers" contacted my wife about a house we had for sale, they were in no hurry, she was under the impression they were rich local bossiness people.

I was away when they eventually went to look at he house (they were in no hurry to look, as they had seen this type of house before, just needed to confirm its condition.) she met them there, and to cut a long story short she ended up in Sattahip being given the option to make a fortune gambling, looking back I should have got more details.....................

The end result she gave them nothing, and convinced them to take her home.

There were quiet a few things about this I never understood, like why the hel_l did she go in the first place? the scam is aimed at Thai's and they seem to know what to say, she learn t a lesson as realised after they could have killed her.

Appears in OP case they succeded with there scam, makes you wonder how many more they are succeding, these are not your local Somchai taxi driver types, they seem to know what they are doing!!

Be careful...............

[Geekfreaklover]

I know of a similar story. My friends wife owns a resort in Thailand. One afternoon a merc pulled up with four Thai men dressed in suits. The resort at the time was for sale. They went into the office and agreed a price for the resort and a price for their services (to be paid up front). They also mentioned a gambling scheme that they had developed and could make any one a fortune. My friends mrs told them to come back in an hour and the money will be ready. Once they left she called the police. The police were waiting when came back, nicked them, and now they are doing a long stretch inside (after a severe beating from the BIB).

So yes this scam does happen and the above is probably the only way to catch them.

Like the Nigerian scams, these scams work on the ignorant and greedy.

To the OP, I would imagine the money is spent by now. Shit happens. Live and learn.

Edited September 28, 2009 by Geekfreaklover

[TJG]

I would very much like to know exactly what these people offer in order to try to get the victims to hand over such large amounts of money. Virtually all cons work by preying on the greed of victims. Hence the saying, "you can't con an honest man". In all the messages I haven't seen one good reason why anyone would hand over 100 Baht to these people, never mind 500,000. I don't go for the drugging scenario. Not if she went in a bank on her own and withdrew such a large sum of money.

Given the fact that lots of Thais love to gamble, and that one of the most common ways to lose a large amount of money is by gambling (which is also illegal and thus something that would be hard to report to the police) I wonder if this doesn't come into it somewhere. A nice little convincer to start with, "proving" that the scheme works and then, surprise, surprise, something goes wrong when the far bigger sum is involved.

[Geekfreaklover]

I would very much like to know exactly what these people offer in order to try to get the victims to hand over such large amounts of money. Virtually all cons work by preying on the greed of victims. Hence the saying, "you can't con an honest man". In all the messages I haven't seen one good reason why anyone would hand over 100 Baht to these people, never mind 500,000. I don't go for the drugging scenario. Not if she went in a bank on her own and withdrew such a large sum of money.

Given the fact that lots of Thais love to gamble, and that one of the most common ways to lose a large amount of money is by gambling (which is also illegal and thus something that would be hard to report to the police) I wonder if this doesn't come into it somewhere. A nice little convincer to start with, "proving" that the scheme works and then, surprise, surprise, something goes wrong when the far bigger sum is involved.

The hook in the case of my friend's mrs (who was the mark) was twofold:

1) 50M guaranteed sale for a resort that was worth half that.

2) A demonstration of how the card trick they had learnt could make her more money on top.

The police mentioned that this was a common scam aimed at mia farangs. I was there sitting at the resort when it happened. And watched them operate.

Luckily my friend's mrs smelled the bullshit and called the BIB.

I wonder if the OP's wife was also showed the gambling trick? Maybe she is to shy to mention it. Worth asking.

Edited September 28, 2009 by Geekfreaklover

[TJG]

I would very much like to know exactly what these people offer in order to try to get the victims to hand over such large amounts of money. Virtually all cons work by preying on the greed of victims. Hence the saying, "you can't con an honest man". In all the messages I haven't seen one good reason why anyone would hand over 100 Baht to these people, never mind 500,000. I don't go for the drugging scenario. Not if she went in a bank on her own and withdrew such a large sum of money.

Given the fact that lots of Thais love to gamble, and that one of the most common ways to lose a large amount of money is by gambling (which is also illegal and thus something that would be hard to report to the police) I wonder if this doesn't come into it somewhere. A nice little convincer to start with, "proving" that the scheme works and then, surprise, surprise, something goes wrong when the far bigger sum is involved.

The hook in the case of my friend's mrs (who was the mark) was twofold:

1) 50M guaranteed sale for a resort that was worth half that.

2) A demonstration of how the card trick they had learnt could make her more money on top.

The police mentioned that this was a common scam aimed at mia farangs. I was there sitting at the resort when it happened. And watched them operate.

Luckily my friend's mrs smelled the bullshit and called the BIB.

I wonder if the OP's wife was also showed the gambling trick? Maybe she is to shy to mention it. Worth asking.

Or maybe she was going to get more for the house than the asking price, and was told she could keep the difference?

[Kitsch22]

For kitcsh22,....I still dont believe, ! .hands up all those that have a thai wife with half a mill of her own in the bank !,AND that is stupid enough to fall for this scam,A thai woman smart enough to accumulate 500k of her own would be reluctant to give it up i feel, im actually defending MOST thais, not knocking them,

Well, it is obvious that you will not believe me, but my wife has at least three bank accounts in her own name where the current balance is more than 500,000 Baht (or sterling equivalent).

And although I do not believe for one minute that she would have fallen for the scam which entrapped the OP's partner, she too can be fooled. There was an occasion a while back when I asked her to take one of her Krugerrands to the local market town to see what offers she could get from the gold shops there. She returned and proudly put a small wad of notes (10,000 Baht) in my hand and then burst into tears when I told her that she had sold the thing for less than half of what it was worth. She was foolish but she most certainly was not dishonest. But if you run true to your blinkered form, you will say that you believe that she was she was.

Although my wife would not have the greater part of her money if it were not for her connection with me, that does not mean that it is not hers.

[imaneggspurt]

For kitcsh22,....I still dont believe, ! .hands up all those that have a thai wife with half a mill of her own in the bank !,AND that is stupid enough to fall for this scam,A thai woman smart enough to accumulate 500k of her own would be reluctant to give it up i feel, im actually defending MOST thais, not knocking them,

Well, it is obvious that you will not believe me, but my wife has at least three bank accounts in her own name where the current balance is more than 500,000 Baht (or sterling equivalent).

And although I do not believe for one minute that she would have fallen for the scam which entrapped the OP's partner, she too can be fooled. There was an occasion a while back when I asked her to take one of her Krugerrands to the local market town to see what offers she could get from the gold shops there. She returned and proudly put a small wad of notes (10,000 Baht) in my hand and then burst into tears when I told her that she had sold the thing for less than half of what it was worth. She was foolish but she most certainly was not dishonest. But if you run true to your blinkered form, you will say that you believe that she was she was.

Although my wife would not have the greater part of her money if it were not for her connection with me, that does not mean that it is not hers.

Actually, i do believe you, and i beleive this,....."And although I do not believe for one minute that she would have fallen for the scam which entrapped the OP's partner"..

[madjbs]

A common Thai wage is 6k a month

For farmers and factory workers, yes

A Thai friend of mine earns 16k a month working for a subcontractor of the UN (she is educated and works very hard in what is considered an important job)

I know many people in their mid 20s earning more than that, she should change jobs.

500k is more money than most Thai girls will see in their entire life.

Really......how can so many of them afford cars etc.. then??

How does this woman have access to so much money, why would she part with it.

Some people actually have semi decent paying jobs you know!

[madjbs]

My gf wouldn't hand over 50bth of her own money without a huge fight.

But would hand over 1000bht of my money with no hesitation (if I ever let her have access to any of my money)

Well thats a lovely statement on your grlfriends charachter, but, is meanngless for anything else.

You got to laugh at some of the fools here. They scream out "SCAM SCAM", when in reality it's just a naive girl who has been scammed out of her own money, but on the other hand, they are completely blind to the fact when they actually are being taken for a ride.

[kubota]

I would very much like to know exactly what these people offer in order to try to get the victims to hand over such large amounts of money. Virtually all cons work by preying on the greed of victims. Hence the saying, "you can't con an honest man". In all the messages I haven't seen one good reason why anyone would hand over 100 Baht to these people, never mind 500,000. I don't go for the drugging scenario. Not if she went in a bank on her own and withdrew such a large sum of money.

Given the fact that lots of Thais love to gamble, and that one of the most common ways to lose a large amount of money is by gambling (which is also illegal and thus something that would be hard to report to the police) I wonder if this doesn't come into it somewhere. A nice little convincer to start with, "proving" that the scheme works and then, surprise, surprise, something goes wrong when the far bigger sum is involved.

Had another talk today, and that is exactly what happened, she was convinced that she would get back a larger sum the day after, it was most probably in some kind of gambling scheme mentioned by another poster.

Well my gullible teelak really did it this time, life goes on

Case closed, i guess.

[Geekfreaklover]

I would very much like to know exactly what these people offer in order to try to get the victims to hand over such large amounts of money. Virtually all cons work by preying on the greed of victims. Hence the saying, "you can't con an honest man". In all the messages I haven't seen one good reason why anyone would hand over 100 Baht to these people, never mind 500,000. I don't go for the drugging scenario. Not if she went in a bank on her own and withdrew such a large sum of money.

Given the fact that lots of Thais love to gamble, and that one of the most common ways to lose a large amount of money is by gambling (which is also illegal and thus something that would be hard to report to the police) I wonder if this doesn't come into it somewhere. A nice little convincer to start with, "proving" that the scheme works and then, surprise, surprise, something goes wrong when the far bigger sum is involved.

The hook in the case of my friend's mrs (who was the mark) was twofold:

1) 50M guaranteed sale for a resort that was worth half that.

2) A demonstration of how the card trick they had learnt could make her more money on top.

The police mentioned that this was a common scam aimed at mia farangs. I was there sitting at the resort when it happened. And watched them operate.

Luckily my friend's mrs smelled the bullshit and called the BIB.

I wonder if the OP's wife was also showed the gambling trick? Maybe she is to shy to mention it. Worth asking.

Or maybe she was going to get more for the house than the asking price, and was told she could keep the difference?

Yep, See 1) in my post.

By the way, the incident I refer to was about 400kms from Pattaya. So it seems many gangs are pulling the same stunt over the country.

[KhaoNiaw]

A Thai friend of mine earns 16k a month working for a subcontractor of the UN (she is educated and works very hard in what is considered an important job)

I know many people in their mid 20s earning more than that, she should change jobs.

500k is more money than most Thai girls will see in their entire life.

Really......how can so many of them afford cars etc.. then??

Some people actually have semi decent paying jobs you know!

What madjbs said! I'm staggered that so many people seem to believe that it's so unusual.

[pjclark1]

A Thai friend of mine earns 16k a month working for a subcontractor of the UN (she is educated and works very hard in what is considered an important job)

I know many people in their mid 20s earning more than that, she should change jobs.

500k is more money than most Thai girls will see in their entire life.

Really......how can so many of them afford cars etc.. then??

Some people actually have semi decent paying jobs you know!

What madjbs said! I'm staggered that so many people seem to believe that it's so unusual.

Not everyone lives in Bangkok.

[tropo]

And all the sage TV advisers who recommend the OP to ditch his wife presumably accept that such an action may perhaps amount to an abandonment of his house as well?

There is no way he's going to retrieve the 500k. At best she'll be asking for more money in an effort to make the story seem more genuine.

This could be a very dangerous situation for the OP. Sometimes the best option is to cut your losses and walk away. In this case, staying away could be the best option.

If she was drugged, she would know it. There's no way someone can be drugged out their minds and not realise it afterward.