Bank Scam

[Robroy]

Thanks for all the responses to my post. In order:

I felt confident putting the money on the table as there was a row of tellers facing me & a security guard nearby.

I didn’t even think of the CCTV - thanks, good tip for next time.

I did not put my foot on the coin. (Had no idea this was offensive tho - another good tip, ta.)

I presumed this guy tries this trick at numerous banks because he seemed practised at it, & because he could not go back to this bank & try it again, for obvious reasons.

I couldn’t threaten him with a defamation case (or anything else) because no-one in the bank spoke English except one teller who asked me to sit down, then bolted. I don’t speak Thai, & don’t live in Thailand.

The Douglas Adams story was terrific, thanks. However this was definitely my money.

The coin was also mine - the other guy was nowhere near me when I dropped it.

I doubt if the guy was worried about the banknotes facing the wrong way, as his only phrase in English was “You - give - me - money.”

Yes, I had a receipt for the money - but I also had other money (baht) in my pocket, with which this money was now mixed up. He could have claimed that the extra money was his. So the receipt wouldn’t have helped.

[anon345535]

i wouldv'e waited for someone who spoke english to explain <deleted> was going on

[KRAY63]

Bangkok Embassy , want to Know about u and Charles Hecht, And Deek ...and about Robert....Good Luck Ha Ha Ha

[Jimmy1978]

From what i know, thai people aren't shy from confrontations.

[barefoot1988]

are you guys actually serious about the bank notes thingy? since such discussion isnt much discussed over here, i had complete zero idea about it. been staying in cm for a while, must have offended quite a sum of locals! for short trips, i usually wear pants with short pockets so i usually fold and stuff notes so that it could fix in the tiny coin purse

[NaMah]

Hard to believe that someone regularly hangs around in banks just waiting for a customer to draw some cash and put it down on a desk whilst checking his pockets (how often does that happen?) then accuse the customer of stealing the cash.

What could he possibly gain? CCTV cameras would inevitably show the truth.

My guess would be that this was some sort of misunderstanding, language or otherwise.

Brings to mind Douglas Adams 'biscuits' story - worth reading if you don't know it already:-

This actually did happen to a real person, and the real person is me. I had gone to catch a train. This was April 1976, in Cambridge, U.K. I was a bit early for the train. I’d gotten the time of the train wrong. I went to get myself a newspaper to do the crossword, and a cup of coffee and a packet of biscuits. I went and sat at a table. I want you to picture the scene. It’s very important that you get this very clear in your mind. Here’s the table, newspaper, cup of coffee, packet of biscuits. There’s a guy sitting opposite me, perfectly ordinary-looking guy wearing a business suit, carrying a briefcase. It didn’t look like he was going to do anything weird. What he did was this: he suddenly leaned across, picked up the packet of biscuits, tore it open, took one out, and ate it.

Now this, I have to say, is the sort of thing the British are very bad at dealing with. There’s nothing in our background, upbringing, or education that teaches you how to deal with someone who in broad daylight has just stolen your biscuits. You know what would happen if this had been South Central Los Angeles. There would have very quickly been gunfire, helicopters coming in, CNN, you know… But in the end, I did what any red-blooded Englishman would do: I ignored it. And I stared at the newspaper, took a sip of coffee, tried to do a clue in the newspaper, couldn’t do anything, and thought, What am I going to do?

In the end I thought Nothing for it, I’ll just have to go for it, and I tried very hard not to notice the fact that the packet was already mysteriously opened. I took out a biscuit for myself. I thought, That settled him. But it hadn’t because a moment or two later he did it again. He took another biscuit. Having not mentioned it the first time, it was somehow even harder to raise the subject the second time around. “Excuse me, I couldn’t help but notice…” I mean, it doesn’t really work.

We went through the whole packet like this. When I say the whole packet, I mean there were only about eight biscuits, but it felt like a lifetime. He took one, I took one, he took one, I took one. Finally, when we got to the end, he stood up and walked away. Well, we exchanged meaningful looks, then he walked away, and I breathed a sigh of relief and sat back.

A moment or two later the train was coming in, so I tossed back the rest of my coffee, stood up, picked up the newspaper, and underneath the newspaper were my biscuits. The thing I like particularly about this story is the sensation that somewhere in England there has been wandering around for the last quarter-century a perfectly ordinary guy who’s had the same exact story, only he doesn’t have the punch line.

-Douglas Adams, The Salmon of Doubt

“Biscuits”

LOL!

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

[bendix]

From what i know, thai people aren't shy from confrontations.

Interesting observation. Let's hope it's based on your knowing all 67.5 million of them to make such a sweeping generalisation.

[h90]

when the coin dropped onto the floor, did you by any chance stop it rolling with your foot??

Simon

You mean a possible lese majeste violation?

ridiculous, even my wife who is a yellow monarchist hasn't a problem with that.......

[trainman34014]

Hard to believe that someone regularly hangs around in banks just waiting for a customer to draw some cash and put it down on a desk whilst checking his pockets (how often does that happen?) then accuse the customer of stealing the cash.

What could he possibly gain? CCTV cameras would inevitably show the truth.

My guess would be that this was some sort of misunderstanding, language or otherwise.

Brings to mind Douglas Adams 'biscuits' story - worth reading if you don't know it already:-

This actually did happen to a real person, and the real person is me. I had gone to catch a train. This was April 1976, in Cambridge, U.K. I was a bit early for the train. I'd gotten the time of the train wrong. I went to get myself a newspaper to do the crossword, and a cup of coffee and a packet of biscuits. I went and sat at a table. I want you to picture the scene. It's very important that you get this very clear in your mind. Here's the table, newspaper, cup of coffee, packet of biscuits. There's a guy sitting opposite me, perfectly ordinary-looking guy wearing a business suit, carrying a briefcase. It didn't look like he was going to do anything weird. What he did was this: he suddenly leaned across, picked up the packet of biscuits, tore it open, took one out, and ate it.

Now this, I have to say, is the sort of thing the British are very bad at dealing with. There's nothing in our background, upbringing, or education that teaches you how to deal with someone who in broad daylight has just stolen your biscuits. You know what would happen if this had been South Central Los Angeles. There would have very quickly been gunfire, helicopters coming in, CNN, you know… But in the end, I did what any red-blooded Englishman would do: I ignored it. And I stared at the newspaper, took a sip of coffee, tried to do a clue in the newspaper, couldn't do anything, and thought, What am I going to do?

In the end I thought Nothing for it, I'll just have to go for it, and I tried very hard not to notice the fact that the packet was already mysteriously opened. I took out a biscuit for myself. I thought, That settled him. But it hadn't because a moment or two later he did it again. He took another biscuit. Having not mentioned it the first time, it was somehow even harder to raise the subject the second time around. "Excuse me, I couldn't help but notice…" I mean, it doesn't really work.

We went through the whole packet like this. When I say the whole packet, I mean there were only about eight biscuits, but it felt like a lifetime. He took one, I took one, he took one, I took one. Finally, when we got to the end, he stood up and walked away. Well, we exchanged meaningful looks, then he walked away, and I breathed a sigh of relief and sat back.

A moment or two later the train was coming in, so I tossed back the rest of my coffee, stood up, picked up the newspaper, and underneath the newspaper were my biscuits. The thing I like particularly about this story is the sensation that somewhere in England there has been wandering around for the last quarter-century a perfectly ordinary guy who's had the same exact story, only he doesn't have the punch line.

-Douglas Adams, The Salmon of Doubt

"Biscuits"

Classic! Haven't seen that one long time...

@ GrahamF:

"You mean a possible lese majeste violation?"

Very possible. Sole of foot (unclean), on coin bearing the image of His Majesty the King. I've seen similar offence taken at banknotes folded lengthways (so that the crease cuts through the King's image). Same for notes that have been crumpled-up into a ball. Shows lack of respect and awareness.

I believe it may also explain why Thai banks and businesses are so reluctant to accept any note that has the slightest damage or tear in it: all notes and coins are seen as Royal Images and must be treated with due reverance and care.

Anyone else have an opinion on this?

My opinion is that if they want pristine notes they should issue new ones daily as a lot of the notes I get given are in a disgusting condition. I recall once when changing Sterling into Baht that the girl would not accept two of my 20 pound notes because they had writing on them and were, in her words, 'dirty', She then proceeded to dish me out two very dirty and one slightly torn 100 baht bills. I told her I would not accept them as they were 'dirty' and made her change them. She went as red as a Beetroot !