New Scam For Arriving Passengers

[laban]

As I arrived back at Suvarnabhumi Airport a few days ago, I was amazed to see my name being held up by two different people. I always book my car with image limo as they have very safe drivers. I recognised my driver as wearing the Image unifom, but went to the other person who was holding my name on a card, as it felt something was not right. He just grabbed my bags and expected me to follow him. I asked where was he taking me, to which he replied the car park, so asked again and he asked me where I was going i.e. Bangkok, Pattaya.

I just said thank you, grabbed my bags and walked over to my Image limo driver, who told me that some people look at names on boards that drivers hold up, copy them and hold them up to steal their passengers. God knows if they actually take them to their destinations!

Welcome to Thailand!

[siam2007]

this happens in the Philippines almost everywhere you go (particularly at ferry Piers).

generally the rule applies:

In Asia, NEVER tell anyone your real name or where you are going or where u plan to stay.

those greeters will probably need to start hiding their name plates until the last moment. I am sure they will learn about that quickly.

it seems the illegal Taxi Mafia is desperate and creating new traps / scams

but good to report that here so unsuspecting newcomers / tourists can be warned

.

Edited December 7, 2010 by siam2007

[jc7]

Sneaky little trick! Never thought of it before.. so always ask the man with your name card where he is meant to be taking you..

[wileycoyote]

Good Posting :To be Aware

Thank You

[stander]

I don't think it is necessarily a new scam; we had an incident a few years ago where a colleague, who was a first time visitor, was tricked into taking the wrong driver and with him having no idea where the office was he ended up outside Nana.

This was quite fortuitous for the guy and he took full advantage of the situation.

A couple of hours later the office receive a call from the guy who was happily sitting at Nana and the original driver went and picked him up.

[whybother]

How many limo services expect the passenger to pay for the trip?

Just tell the driver to send the invoice to the office.

[bprinceuk]

It happened to an ex Boss of mine several years ago in Nigeria, the meet and greet guy had the Company logo and his name on a board, drove him out to the bush and robbed him of all his possessions, left him in his underclothes. They found the original meet and greet guy tied up at the back of the Lagos airport.

[SantiSuk]

Good post OP. It's so bloody obvious this could happen in many parts of the world but I have never once seen the highly paid executive Kroll look-alike travel security advisers, that my former firm paid buckets of cash to, give the simple recommendation of asking your driver where he thinks he is taking you.

[geckogr]

"I always book my car with image limo as they have very safe drivers"

risk something ........... take a taxi (as I do) .......and it even save you some $$$

[Crushdepth]

There seems to be no end of scum at the airport and no official interest in cleaning it up.

Nothing can give you a worse first impression of a country than getting ripped off at the airport.

[waza]

I found that some airport taxis now hang around the departures areas, while other taxis are moved on they loiter.

[random]

regarding the taxis, just do the same as you do in the city, never get in a taxi that is waiting, always go to departures and not arrivals and get in a taxi that you have just seen drop someone off. keep an eye on the meter and check it against the price list inside. I guess for most of though we already know the rough cost to get a taxi home from the airport, its the visitors that will be the ones getting shafted.

[Tonto21]

regarding the taxis, just do the same as you do in the city, never get in a taxi that is waiting, always go to departures and not arrivals and get in a taxi that you have just seen drop someone off. keep an eye on the meter and check it against the price list inside. I guess for most of though we already know the rough cost to get a taxi home from the airport, its the visitors that will be the ones getting shafted.

Hi random, I have agreed with what your saying up until my last trip back in to Swampy, I fly in and out every few months. But they seem to have cottoned on to the fact some people are going to arrivals to get there cab. Up until my last trip in I was doing as you described successfully for near 18 months. Then the gits got me! I got into a cab, I know exactly where I'm going, once we left the airport, Off we go, in the wrong direction, long story short, half an hour later I end up at some backwater Mafia taxi rank, moved into some old dodgy motor, and then on our way. I was frigging angry !!!! More at myself for getting took than anything else. Near an extra hour on my 2 hour trip. Then the wanke_r of a driver, who would not stop trying to be my friend asked for a tip!! “Sure mate” I said, “don't eat yellow snow” Yer.....I thought, work that one out, you <deleted>!

[dantilley]

How many limo services expect the passenger to pay for the trip?

Just tell the driver to send the invoice to the office.

Exactly, this scam can't last as most people who have booked their transport in advance - and thus have their name held up - will have either paid for their limo already, or will be billing it to someone else.

[hhgz]

How do you know that there wasn't another guy with the same name as yours?

[hansell]

Hi laban,

Thanks for the warning.

But all tourists should remember that scams like these are not limited to Thailand alone.

So when booking for a limo, better ask the driver's name and upon arrival, check his ID if the names match.

Of course, don't forget Mr. Common Sense!

[brahmburgers]

I went to Siam Riep, Sept 11, 2001 (yep, saw the entire coverage of the attack, from the first 'we interrupt this program....' on the US on my hotel room TV). I pre-arranged a car to pick me up. When I got to the small airport, someone called out my name "Kem!" (except it's 'Ken' - the driver must have mis-read my email to him). Immediatly, all the fifteen or so car drivers were calling out 'Kem' 'Kem' with eager smiles - but I found the original guy.

"I always book my car with image limo as they have very safe drivers"

risk something ........... take a taxi (as I do) .......and it even save you some $$$

The OP plugs Image Limo, but unless he's tried all the others, he can't say they've got the safest drivers.

BTW, I don't even take a taxi from the airport - I take the new train and then go on from there.

[Who, me ?]

Why should he do that? It is his right to choose to book whoever he wants, at whatever cost.

The fact that YOU take a taxi is no guarantee...

"I always book my car with image limo as they have very safe drivers"

risk something ........... take a taxi (as I do) .......and it even save you some $$

[supaprik]

in Thailand Limo = 20 year old Volvo......take a taxi

[random]

regarding the taxis, just do the same as you do in the city, never get in a taxi that is waiting, always go to departures and not arrivals and get in a taxi that you have just seen drop someone off. keep an eye on the meter and check it against the price list inside. I guess for most of though we already know the rough cost to get a taxi home from the airport, its the visitors that will be the ones getting shafted.

Hi random, I have agreed with what your saying up until my last trip back in to Swampy, I fly in and out every few months. But they seem to have cottoned on to the fact some people are going to arrivals to get there cab. Up until my last trip in I was doing as you described successfully for near 18 months. Then the gits got me! I got into a cab, I know exactly where I'm going, once we left the airport, Off we go, in the wrong direction, long story short, half an hour later I end up at some backwater Mafia taxi rank, moved into some old dodgy motor, and then on our way. I was frigging angry !!!! More at myself for getting took than anything else. Near an extra hour on my 2 hour trip. Then the wanke_r of a driver, who would not stop trying to be my friend asked for a tip!! "Sure mate" I said, "don't eat yellow snow" Yer.....I thought, work that one out, you <deleted>!

this is why i never get in one that is already waiting, I will get in one when i can see that they have just dropped someone off so I know they have not been hanging around, as the passenger is getting out of the cab then you jump in. I think i would be annoyed also if they took me to a rank elsewhere and asked me to swap cabs.

[witold]

Hi random, I have agreed with what your saying up until my last trip back in to Swampy, I fly in and out every few months. But they seem to have cottoned on to the fact some people are going to arrivals to get there cab. Up until my last trip in I was doing as you described successfully for near 18 months. Then the gits got me! I got into a cab, I know exactly where I'm going, once we left the airport, Off we go, in the wrong direction, long story short, half an hour later I end up at some backwater Mafia taxi rank, moved into some old dodgy motor, and then on our way. I was frigging angry !!!! More at myself for getting took than anything else. Near an extra hour on my 2 hour trip. Then the wanke_r of a driver, who would not stop trying to be my friend asked for a tip!! "Sure mate" I said, "don't eat yellow snow" Yer.....I thought, work that one out, you <deleted>!

I must say, that is a lot better scam to swallow than the Logos guy story above. How much did you end up paying?

There are some places in Latin and Central America where rouge cabs kidnap you for ransom. When I was in Bogota recently, about 60% of the cabs tried to substantially screw me over (take the wrong way, overcharge, not give me change, etc.) In fact, taking cabs off the street like I did is not recommended. You're supposed to call the taxi company, and they would give you a PIN number that the driver of the car givers you when they pick you up or it's part of their license plate...

[Lumumba]

It happened to an ex Boss of mine several years ago in Nigeria, the meet and greet guy had the Company logo and his name on a board, drove him out to the bush and robbed him of all his possessions, left him in his underclothes. They found the original meet and greet guy tied up at the back of the Lagos airport.

The original driver is in on the deal, if you had just taken him down to 'Panti', he would have told you how his friend cajoled him into the conspiracy.

You know sometimes in Nigeria, bank robbers and bank managers dispute on the actual amount that is stolen.

I tend to believe the robbers as they are not liars, but bankers?

It has always been proven that as soon as the robbers leave with their loot, the bankers move some of the stash left behind before the cops arrive to record the scene.

There was a story once, of Bank robbers returning to demand for the rest of what was reported stolen. They actually do count their take.

[Awk]

regarding the taxis, just do the same as you do in the city, never get in a taxi that is waiting, always go to departures and not arrivals and get in a taxi that you have just seen drop someone off. keep an eye on the meter and check it against the price list inside. I guess for most of though we already know the rough cost to get a taxi home from the airport, its the visitors that will be the ones getting shafted.

Hi random, I have agreed with what your saying up until my last trip back in to Swampy, I fly in and out every few months. But they seem to have cottoned on to the fact some people are going to arrivals to get there cab. Up until my last trip in I was doing as you described successfully for near 18 months. Then the gits got me! I got into a cab, I know exactly where I'm going, once we left the airport, Off we go, in the wrong direction, long story short, half an hour later I end up at some backwater Mafia taxi rank, moved into some old dodgy motor, and then on our way. I was frigging angry !!!! More at myself for getting took than anything else. Near an extra hour on my 2 hour trip. Then the wanke_r of a driver, who would not stop trying to be my friend asked for a tip!! “Sure mate” I said, “don't eat yellow snow” Yer.....I thought, work that one out, you <deleted>!

But what can you do in a situation like this?

[whybother]

But what can you do in a situation like this?

Don't catch it in the first place.

[alfieconn]

I recognised my driver as wearing the Image unifom, but went to the other person who was holding my name on a card, as it felt something was not right.

Out of interest, if you recognized your driver then why did you go with the other guy

[laban]

I recognised my driver as wearing the Image unifom, but went to the other person who was holding my name on a card, as it felt something was not right.

Out of interest, if you recognized your driver then why did you go with the other guy

To be frank, I was very surprised at my name being on 2 boards - as I said, I recognised the Image Limo driver , but had to ask why this other guy why he was there. If I hadn't, I would not have been any smarter and would not have written this post.

[alfieconn]

I recognised my driver as wearing the Image unifom, but went to the other person who was holding my name on a card, as it felt something was not right.

Out of interest, if you recognized your driver then why did you go with the other guy

To be frank, I was very surprised at my name being on 2 boards - as I said, I recognised the Image Limo driver , but had to ask why this other guy why he was there. If I hadn't, I would not have been any smarter and would not have written this post.

I think that makes sense

So what would you have done if your name was on 3 boards

Edited January 3, 2011 by alfieconn

[hhgz]

"I recognised my driver as wearing the Image unifom, but went to the other person who was holding my name on a card, as it felt something was not right.

"Out of interest, if you recognized your driver then why did you go with the other guy?"

Why should the OP trust someone that he knew, and was dressed appropriately? Excellent question.

[h90]

in Thailand Limo = 20 year old Volvo......take a taxi

the 20 year old Volvos are almost tanks.....The make every Toyota flat in case of an accident....