Jet Ski Scam Pattaya When Will It Stop

[saintofsilence]

If you decide to go rent one can you post it on here before you go it would great entertainment to go on watch but you must remember there is a good chance these scammers are armed and if its down near royal garden there are tables with weapons on them which I have seen scammer grab before when having problems.

[surangw]

Pattaya Tourist Police arrest suspected Jet Ski scammers

Link to Pattaya news Clippings HERE

I wonder if the persons scammed will be asked to stay ( or come back) as witnesses at some future date?

[saintofsilence]

Another trick these scammers have been using when a group of indians rent skis the scammers always have a few ski anchored off the shore a few feet and when the indians first start to drive the jet ski's with little power they have no control and crash into the anchored boats .

I don't know for sure if it is a setup but it looks very suspicious.

[saintofsilence]

Pattaya Tourist Police arrest suspected Jet Ski scammers

Link to Pattaya news Clippings HERE

I wonder if the persons scammed will be asked to stay ( or come back) as witnesses at some future date?

it should be resolved with just their statements.

[Lovedog100]

matter of interest, how many people here actually rents jet ski's ??

i have never done so but have rented plenty of bikes and my experience with them is, return with no damage, no problem... return damaged and expect to get shafted with an massive repair bill plus loss of rental.

TBH, I expect it is the same with jetskis but it has been so dramatized with thick stupid tourists who have smashed up a jetski and think a couple a quid will sort it out or even thicker tourists who don't check/mark damage before taking jetski out...really don't see why all the TV keyboard warriors are getting all worked up when there are more serious issues in Pattaya like the beach-chair, baht-bus, taxi-bike, mafia scams ongoing

You are joking, right? Beach chairs and baht buses don't get 60,000 baht a pop for faked damage like the jetski robbers do. These aren't just scams. Most turn into armed roberies, when victims try to refuses payment for damage they didn't do, and at an amount that far exceeds what a couple of scratches are worth. Scratches on a rental jet ski isn't damage, it's normal wear and tear. The money is always paid out of fear for the life of the victim.

[striderman]

matter of interest, how many people here actually rents jet ski's ??

i have never done so but have rented plenty of bikes and my experience with them is, return with no damage, no problem... return damaged and expect to get shafted with an massive repair bill plus loss of rental.

TBH, I expect it is the same with jetskis but it has been so dramatized with thick stupid tourists who have smashed up a jetski and think a couple a quid will sort it out or even thicker tourists who don't check/mark damage before taking jetski out...really don't see why all the TV keyboard warriors are getting all worked up when there are more serious issues in Pattaya like the beach-chair, baht-bus, taxi-bike, mafia scams ongoing

as to who rents the jet ski's the answer is the never ending influx of new to pattaya tourists who have never read warnings such as this thread

well all i can say is I have photos of at least 35 beach scams involving jet ski's and have seen many others.

i have also spoken at length to some of the scammed tourists after they had paid up and left the beach. the last 2 young brits i spoke to it cost them 20,000 bht after nearly 4 hrs of argument and threats of violence having started at 50,000 bht.

they had done nothing to the ski's except ride them.

but the standard line is "pay me or pay hospital more up to you" they knew they were being scammed but paid to get off the beach safely and they were exhausted and mentally drained after 4 hrs of stress

and congratulations to the tourist police LT Colonel Arun who has put his foot down for once at this daylight robbery.

I expect they will get off with a warning but at least the tourists got away safely for once.

Edited September 24, 2011 by striderman

[alstaxi]

matter of interest, how many people here actually rents jet ski's ??

i have never done so but have rented plenty of bikes and my experience with them is, return with no damage, no problem... return damaged and expect to get shafted with an massive repair bill plus loss of rental.

TBH, I expect it is the same with jetskis but it has been so dramatized with thick stupid tourists who have smashed up a jetski and think a couple a quid will sort it out or even thicker tourists who don't check/mark damage before taking jetski out...really don't see why all the TV keyboard warriors are getting all worked up when there are more serious issues in Pattaya like the beach-chair, baht-bus, taxi-bike, mafia scams ongoing

I have never had a problem renting motorcycles either in pattaya, however the jetski scam is pure extortion!!!! It drives me nuts when go to the beach now, 2 months ago I saw the same crew extorting 4 different renters at the same time. You obviously have not spend much time on pattaya beach as these scams sometimes get heated and block traffic when they spill onto beach road.

yes, i don't have much experience in the jetski scam but surely if you stand your ground and demand to be taken to the police station it would become obvious to the police that something is going going on after 20 punters a day .... the one serious accident i had on a rented bike was taken straight to the police station with insurance reps, bike owners called in and everything was sorted( i didn't pay anything because it wasn't my fault although the bike was in a bad state), can't understand why the same doesn't apply for jetskis, why don't people just walk away... are they threatened to be stabbed on the beach or what ??

You must have arrived yesterday.

from mars.

[alstaxi]

Its all very well putting your comments on this forum, some people will read them, but if you really want to make a difference, go to Mayor Kunplome's Fb page and put them on there !

Its the farang who for the last year or so, have been keeping the pressure on, that are getting the changes done to the jet ski scammers !

good one, very funny stuff,

[striderman]

Pattaya Tourist Police arrest suspected Jet Ski scammers

Link to Pattaya news Clippings HERE

been having a look back at some of my pics and i think i have at least 2 of them in incidents from last year.

i think they ply their trade about opposite the svensons ice cream / royal garden plaza which is where the pool exit to beach from the marriott hotel is

[saintofsilence]

Yes that is where they operate from I looked at your pics earlier the fat guy with orange shirt that was in the fight last year is one of them who was arrested . There were still plenty of scams going on today even after these arrests.

[striderman]

Yes that is where they operate from I looked at your pics earlier the fat guy with orange shirt that was in the fight last year is one of them who was arrested . There were still plenty of scams going on today even after these arrests.

had a better look at my pics and i think i was wrong about where they work.

the guy in the middle has lost a bit of weight and his goatee beard but the tatoos neck and ear stuff place him at the bottom of soi 10 opposite the sign for the Imperial Residence.............i have a lot of pics of him i even gave him a name the fat b...... and his usual sidekick (mr blue sunglasses) who i cannot spot in the line up

Edited September 25, 2011 by striderman

[saintofsilence]

Yes that is where they operate from I looked at your pics earlier the fat guy with orange shirt that was in the fight last year is one of them who was arrested . There were still plenty of scams going on today even after these arrests.

had a better look at my pics and i think i was wrong about where they work.

the guy in the middle has lost a bit of weight and his goatee beard but the tatoos neck and ear stuff place him at the bottom of soi 10 opposite the sign for the Imperial Residence.............i have a lot of pics of him i even gave him a name the fat b...... and his usual sidekick (mr blue sunglasses) who i cannot spot in the line up

The guy with the goatee he is still there at the bottom soi 10 this guy in middle isn't him but they look similar with the tats , they move the jet ski's around a lot and soi 11 has a lot more now . This scam may have went down at soi 11 , they could have moved there ski's up there but the other guy that was in the fight he is always at the deck chairs in the swimming area towards royal after soi 12.

Edited September 25, 2011 by saintofsilence

[striderman]

thanks for correcting me saintofsilence, that explains why the sidekick is not in the pic!!!

[saintofsilence]

thanks for correcting me saintofsilence, that explains why the sidekick is not in the pic!!!

Striderman your right just looked at the video on pattaya people i think it is him now but he does look a bit different to what i thought., the video is saying it happended at soi 10 thats his spot and now i am not sure if ive seen him since this incident but i thought I saw at soi 10 after but now he does not seem to be there so I think I am the one to be corrected

Jet Ski Extortionists Nailed

The jet skis were rented from these bullies on the beach in front of Soi 10. One of the jet skis was damaged in an accident, and the police were on the case, but there was no final agreement on the damages made at the police station,

Full story HERE

-- PATTAYA PEOPLE 2011-09-25

Edited September 26, 2011 by saintofsilence
Fair use

[saintofsilence]

[striderman]

thanks for correcting me saintofsilence, that explains why the sidekick is not in the pic!!!

Striderman your right just looked at the video on pattaya people i think it is him now but he does look a bit different to what i thought., the video is saying it happended at soi 10 thats his spot and now i am not sure if ive seen him since this incident but i thought I saw at soi 10 after but now he does not seem to be there so I think I am the one to be corrected

Jet Ski Extortionists Nailed

The jet skis were rented from these bullies on the beach in front of Soi 10. One of the jet skis was damaged in an accident, and the police were on the case, but there was no final agreement on the damages made at the police station,

Full story HERE

-- PATTAYA PEOPLE 2011-09-25

he wears a baseball cap when on the beach so he looks a bit different without one but from the tatoos i would say it is him.

well he has it coming i have loads of pics with him in it but i bet they just get a warning or the case will quietly disappear

[pauljones]

The jet ski operators cannot be trusted and the police cannot be trusted so the ONLY solution is to ban them.

No?

[Rimmer]

One post with a link to another forum removed

[Tolley]

Just came back from a walk along the beach and scam in full progress opposite soi 6.

Two policemen in attendance.

Tourists were being escorted back to police station.

Same MO checking imaginary damage to jet ski ....lots of gesticulating and tourists looking on incredulously as they are being scammed.

Pathetic really.

[Jingthing]

Maybe the one bust was a token "show" for the media.

[saintofsilence]

Scams also going on at soi 12 they won't stop because if the don't scam no money there are to many jet skis and few customers .

[malct]

You have to see it to believe it , the scammers don't give a dam, i watched from the prom has a group of middle eastern people were sitting on the deck chairs and they were asked if they would like to take a Jet ski out, The operators were laughing and joking with the tourist.

The operators had a camera and took some footage with a tourist on the jet Ski.

On his return with the Jet Ski, one of the young lads pulled down on some rubber from the front of the jet ski and then shouted to the boss telling him that the jet ski was damaged. The Boss who was a Big Thai guy with beard started to look at the jet Ski and also showing footage on his camera prior to going out on the jet Ski.

the Boss then got his note pad out and i can only guess that he was making out a bill for the Damage. I hung around for 30 Minutes and no money had changed hands, But you could tell that the tourist had been stitched up.

What i find hard to believe was the fact that other tourists was taking jet skis out at the same time that the other tourist was been ripped Off and only standing feet away from each other.

I did noticed that the Blokes working for the Boss were all wearing Football shirts, I wonder if the Number 10's are the scorers

[kevkev1888]

Soi 10 to the right of the Scamer steps around 4.30pm.

One of the tourists being scamed waived down a couple of cops who were riding down the footpath.

Looked like he was pleading with them to help.

Don't know what was said but the 2 cops rode off and the guy walked back to the beach.

Edited September 27, 2011 by kevkev1888

[saintofsilence]

On soi 12 there were about 5 jet skis and a group of thugs plus a big foreigner helping the scammers

Edited September 27, 2011 by saintofsilence

[saintofsilence]

Local Tourist Police officers will start handing out pamphlets to tourists to warn them about scams and will step up monitoring tourist-centric businesses.

Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome, also speaking at the meeting, urged business owners to be honest.

http://www.pattayamail.com/localnews/tourist-police-chief-warns-pattaya-tourist-businesses-against-scamming-tourists-6571?ref=pmci

[gk10002000]

I have hated reading about all the incidents. Just too negative all the way around and I don't like the people that have been doing it. However, since Pattaya's waters are so dirty and in general unhealthy, I just can't fathom why somebody would even go in the water. It is terrible that Pattaya beach is basically un swimmable. I hate that, but that is a fairly well known fact, or at least a strong matter of opinion. I feel sorry for the tourists that don't seem to access to that information or are unwilling to listen to that information. But I know many people don't internet browse as much as others and often book junkets and planned holiday tours and just go with the flow.

I rented Jet skis once out on Koh Larn a few years ago. I did not have any trouble. But I did have my Thai girlfriend with me. I wonder if any foreigner that has alleged a Jet Ski Scam had a Thai with them at the time? I don't think any of the incidents that made it to print had a Thai on the jet ski. Funny coincidence I guess.

[Awohalitsiktoli]

I have hated reading about all the incidents. Just too negative all the way around and I don't like the people that have been doing it. However, since Pattaya's waters are so dirty and in general unhealthy, I just can't fathom why somebody would even go in the water. It is terrible that Pattaya beach is basically un swimmable. I hate that, but that is a fairly well known fact, or at least a strong matter of opinion. I feel sorry for the tourists that don't seem to access to that information or are unwilling to listen to that information. But I know many people don't internet browse as much as others and often book junkets and planned holiday tours and just go with the flow.

I rented Jet skis once out on Koh Larn a few years ago. I did not have any trouble. But I did have my Thai girlfriend with me. I wonder if any foreigner that has alleged a Jet Ski Scam had a Thai with them at the time? I don't think any of the incidents that made it to print had a Thai on the jet ski. Funny coincidence I guess.

This is really pissing me off! I do not think we should blame foreign tourists. It is not their fault. They are on a "ride" in a "fantasy city" and do not know up from down. At this point, the scum-bag-asshol_e scamers need to be exposed worldwide by a serious player who can give that type of exposure. I will not say who that player is, but will ask a question: How many minutes in one hour? One solution would be to ban all jet skis in Pattaya and Jomtien. City Hall wants to create Green Pattaya, well there is nothing green about jet skis. A floor of letters to the new PM might also help. I have one other solution but can't suggest it here. It involves bats and martial arts experts and Back in my country these people would either be in jail or worse, unless of course they have the police in their pocket. But even when some police are in the pocket, others higher up are not. That happened in my country during Prohibition. Local cops were being paid by the Mobsters to look the other way. But the Federal Govt. forces stepped in and did something about the mess. If every person in authority is being paid, there is nothing much that can be done except ask yourself: How many minutes in one hour One day they will screw with the wrong person and end up in trouble; a person with power to make their day a very bad one.

[saintofsilence]

PLenty of scams again this weekend the scammers were going at it big time yesterday a large group of indians were stung opposite mikes shopping mall it went on for long time while the marine police sat under a tent reading newspapers further up.

The scammers are using another indian man and also big russian man who produces a card to the victims telling some bs .

The beach is out of control and getting back to how it was 12 months ago.

Very much looks like The scammers and corrupt authorities are in full control.

[gk10002000]

Yep. Sounds like a mess still going on. As I said many months ago, at some point with enough publicity some Thai official may step in. Or they may not. The problem is I doubt any of the Thais are being prosecuted or discouraged in any meaningful way. That would require a lot of journalistic follow up, and the Thai mentality and culture in general does not dwell on such things.

[saintofsilence]

Some reports from yesterday in the comments pattaya one

Just been to Beach Road again, and right at this minute (6:30pm, 2nd Oct 2011), a young Japanese family are being extorted. This is opposite Soi 13/3, close to the entrance to Walking Street. I won’t post any more of these updates, it happens every day, but this really got to me.

There’s nothing I could do, there were the same thugs standing on the side of the beach carefully watching for anybody who shows too much interest in the Jet Ski scam. The boss guy looks like a fat Mr. Miyagi complete with whispy beard (from the original Karate Kid movie!).

What was so mean about this scam is that they targeted a young Japanese family today. The kid who rode the Jet Ski couldn’t have been more than 17yrs old, and he was with what seem to be his sister and mother. All three of them were told to sit down on the beach chairs and told they must pay for the damage. Yes, the same ‘damaged’ Jet Ski there every day.

The two kids looked really shook up, and the mum was showing a lot of stress as the thugs kept pointing at the Jet Ski and intimidating her.

Thing is, you can’t call the police. They are not interested, and this has been documented in dozens of web blogs and website reports. The Marine Tourist Police, who were supposed to deal with disputes such as the Jet Ski damage (yes, everybody knows its a scam, apart from the unaware tourist), their police checkpoint opposite Central Festival Beach Road, close to the Police Station, was closed as I walked past there at 5pm.

If you are in any position to talk to authorities, embassy, Press, reporters, anything at all, tell them this criminal extortion is continuing every day on Beach Road Pattaya.

There’s nothing else I can say, but I feel terrible for the you Japanese family that are on the beach right now being extorted by criminals that no Thai authority has managed to stop.

And another

Today, 30th Sept 2011, at 5pm witnessed the same Jet Ski scam taking place on Pattaya Beach. This was near Mike Shopping Mall, opposite Beach Road soi 12.

A group of Indian tourists were targeted this evening. One Jet Ski was accused of being damaged. Of course it was there before, this scam occurs every single day with the same gang of Jet Ski operators. Any intervention by passers by would be met with threats, and then violence. There is nothing you can do to help these guys. The four Indian tourists were literally begging, pleading, and were in a pretty bad state. The gang of Thai’s nearby that were part of the scam were laughing, drinking beer, playing with their kids (who were also asking passers by if they wanted to rent a Jet Ski) and pointing at their marks mocking them.

I see that last week (reported 24th Sept on PattayaOne website, and other online Pattaya news sites) that five Jet Ski scammers were arrested for attempting to extort a couple of Saudi Arabia tourists, and followed the tourists to the Marriott Resort & Spa in Pattaya. The police were called, arrests were made.

So, literally a few days later, the scams are continuing on Beach Road. Nothing has changed! NOTHING! The same scammers I’ve seen for months and months are exorting sums of money any between 40,000 to 80,000 baht.

Also closer to Walking Street entrance on Beach Road, opposite soi 13/4 and near there, the same gang of Thai scammers are there every day. They’re also continuing to extort tourists.

They often target the marks around 5pm-5:30pm, as it’s getting dark. There are more of the gangs keeping an eye on people taking photos than I’ve seen before. These gangs are well organised, in that they have around 10 Thai’s ready waiting to add to the threats if there extortion demands are not met.

So, arrests of Thai Jet Ski scammers has had absolutely no impact whatsoever on them continuing ‘business as usual’. It’s disgraceful. Same thugs operating for months and months, and none of them locked up and told not to return. Welcome to Pattaya tourists, play safe.

More in the comments on Pattaya One

http://www.pattayaone.net/pattaya-news/39779/pattaya-tourist-police-arrest-suspected-jet-ski-scammers/

Edited October 3, 2011 by saintofsilence