theblether Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 A disaster has befallen a family friend of my lady, it doesn't directly affect my lady so before you start, I'm not on the hook. A woman turned up in Chiang Mai claiming to be a senior Police officer, from a Bangkok special unit, To cut a long story short she was a con-woman, and she defrauded the family friend of 200,000 baht on the pretext that she could get her a job in the Police. The real police are now involved and the con woman has been arrested. Now that got me thinking about how many times we hear BS stories from people and some are so obvious that it's worth the entertainment value just to listen, however there can be a high price at times, in fact too often. I don't think I've ever met a real ex-SAS man because they are so rare, and I don't think a real one would tell you he was ex-SAS. That's an example of harmless BS in my mind, no one takes the SAS Pattaya Bar Fly Regiment seriously. On the other hand, there are people being continually conned, and suffering dire consequences. Harmless BS is one thing, this is something else altogether. Even here on TV we have had examples of well woven stories, I read the one from the gentleman scamp, ( I'll go try and find it ) that was a superb act of fiction / trolling / entertainment, no harm done and it has gone down in infamy on Thaivisa. Top class I say, however some of the trolls as we know are a lot more malicious. We've had all sorts from millionaires to billionaires, men pretending to be Ladyboys, men pretending to be women!! International businessmen, gigolos, gangsters, the whole lot To me it's just part of the daily miliue and I can roll along with it, however when we see stories of people being conned and paying a high price due to these lies it's something else altogether. What have you seen? In fact, what are the clever cons that you have come across? It may well be a good warning for us all. As George Burns said...... " Sincerity - if you can fake that, you've got it made ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrjohndub Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Khurusapha sure are some formidable swindlers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokie36 Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Clever cons or just unsuspecting victims. Plenty of conmen (and women!) in Thailand unfortunately...some foreigners will turn to anything to avoid returning to their home country. This has made me much more wary of them than any Thai I meet. On here they are usually fairly easy to spot....well for me anyway! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theblether Posted June 23, 2012 Author Share Posted June 23, 2012 Clever cons or just unsuspecting victims. Plenty of conmen (and women!) in Thailand unfortunately...some foreigners will turn to anything to avoid returning to their home country. This has made me much more wary of them than any Thai I meet. On here they are usually fairly easy to spot....well for me anyway! I met the "police" con woman. It was New Years Eve and she was sitting drinking whisky at a table next to me with the family friend. She invited me to join them and was telling me that there was going to be a crack down on corruption in CM, and that she was from a special unit in BKK tasked with doing that. Anyway, what I thought was unusual was the fact that she was drinking while on duty ( wrote that off to TiT ), as she told me that she had to go help out at the CM Countdown party. I didn't have enough dealings with her to do my detective work and condemnation / exposure routine on her*.......... however to my eternal shame I did post information that she gave me about a crack down on drinking at the moat on the CM forum, so I suppose to that extent she conned me. Sorry CM forum * we all know that continued exposure to TV gives us special powers of detection, exposure and condemnation, it's one of the side benefits of being a member here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post GuestHouse Posted June 23, 2012 Popular Post Share Posted June 23, 2012 The most dangerous lies any of us hear are the lies we tell ourselves. A peculiarity of the expat community in Thailand is that it is stuffed full of so many people who are lying to themselves, the result being that if we could wind the clock back to the point at which a luckless Farang, ranting on TV or elsewhere about having been ripped off, was actually handing over his life's savings we'd be able to see the smile on his face as he did so. The biggest cons we see here are guys pouring their pensions/divorce settlements into land and property for their new found sweet heart. We've many of us watched this from the sidelines, some of us having got burned by a friend we tried to warn - They do not want to know - The lie they tell themselves is complete and everyone else is biased, racist, bitter, or misguided. Until the locks are changed. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brit1984 Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 One (forum) con that has been irritating me recently involves a troll doing what trolls do best (making offensive and anger provoking posts), then when the mods show up, the troll assumes the role of a victim, and tries to portray any references to their previous indiscretions by other members as personal attacks or stalking. There is one in particular (whose username I often misspell so I won't mention it here) who often offends other members with spiteful stereotyping (including describing TV as a red-neck forum) and then claims persecution (when anyone stands up to the trolling). Sent from iPhone; please forgive any typos or violations of forum rules 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TommoPhysicist Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 (edited) An honest person can never be 'conned'. It only works with greedy people, dishonest people, or those wanting something for nothing. As GH has pointed out the most common con involves dishonest foreigners lying to buy something they are not entitled to own. Edited June 23, 2012 by TommoPhysicist 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onionluke Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Would any one like to buy some millenium bug cure pills ? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theblether Posted June 23, 2012 Author Share Posted June 23, 2012 (edited) The most dangerous lies any of us hear are the lies we tell ourselves. A peculiarity of the expat community in Thailand is that it is stuffed full of so many people who are lying to themselves, the result being that if we could wind the clock back to the point at which a luckless Farang, ranting on TV or elsewhere about having been ripped off, was actually handing over his life's savings we'd be able to see the smile on his face as he did so. The biggest cons we see here are guys pouring their pensions/divorce settlements into land and property for their new found sweet heart. We've many of us watched this from the sidelines, some of us having got burned by a friend we tried to warn - They do not want to know - The lie they tell themselves is complete and everyone else is biased, racist, bitter, or misguided. Until the locks are changed. Isn't that a fact GH........you must have been driven to despair at times watching people undo themselves. A prime example of people being conned and refusing to listen to genuine people such as GH. Edited June 23, 2012 by theblether Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samsiam Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 I am ex ASIO I met a man that was a woman once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigJohnnyBKK Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 An honest person can never be 'conned'. It only works with greedy people, dishonest people, or those wanting something for nothing. As GH has pointed out the most common con involves dishonest foreigners lying to buy something they are not entitled to own. Sorry, but few of us aren't a bit greedy now and then, and everyone wants something for nothing. It's just that some are clever enough to know when something's too good to be true. Preying on the weak and stupid/ignorant isn't excusable by blaming the victims. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brit1984 Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 An honest person can never be 'conned'.It only works with greedy people, dishonest people, or those wanting something for nothing. This is not always true. In fact, it is often the victim's good nature that fools them into believing they owe something to the con artist. The well-known jet-ski scam being an obvious example. Sent from iPhone; please forgive any typos or violations of forum rules Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theblether Posted June 23, 2012 Author Share Posted June 23, 2012 (edited) An honest person can never be 'conned'. It only works with greedy people, dishonest people, or those wanting something for nothing. As GH has pointed out the most common con involves dishonest foreigners lying to buy something they are not entitled to own. I do think people buying things they are not entitled to legally own are asking for it. On the other point I agree with you Tommo up to a certain extent, sometimes people are conned through kindness, sometimes people are conned through vulnerability, it's not always greed. There are far too many boiler room operations in Thailand and it's good to see that the Thai police have closed a couple down recently. These people are just out and out con artists. The people that work in those operations represent the lowest of the low scum. edited for clarity Edited June 23, 2012 by theblether Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samsiam Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Tell poor ol granny back home that just wanted to get some extra money to fund her grand kids education...that she is just a greedy bitch. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samsiam Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 One (forum) con that has been irritating me recently involves a troll doing what trolls do best (making offensive and anger provoking posts), then when the mods show up, the troll assumes the role of a victim, and tries to portray any references to their previous indiscretions by other members as personal attacks or stalking. There is one in particular (whose username I often misspell so I won't mention it here) who often offends other members with spiteful stereotyping (including describing TV as a red-neck forum) and then claims persecution (when anyone stands up to the trolling). Sent from iPhone; please forgive any typos or violations of forum rules Trolls are a dime a dozen.....they think they can hide...but usually they are as visible as a throbbing penis on some girls arm. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theblether Posted June 23, 2012 Author Share Posted June 23, 2012 Tell poor ol granny back home that just wanted to get some extra money to fund her grand kids education...that she is just a greedy bitch. Correct Sam, a lot of times the money taken is taken from the elderly who want to leave more behind for their family, and end up with nothing. Terrible. However that being said the Boiler rooms are only one of the scams, what else is out there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samsiam Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Tell poor ol granny back home that just wanted to get some extra money to fund her grand kids education...that she is just a greedy bitch. Correct Sam, a lot of times the money taken is taken from the elderly who want to leave more behind for their family, and end up with nothing. Terrible. However that being said the Boiler rooms are only one of the scams, what else is out there? I got done in the building game twice here.....well...first time is still in motion...second time was so quick and blatant it side swiped me....credit to him for that....but I have a long memory and have a plan. Oh...and a Canadian pulled a swifty also here.....but I got him back one night and gave him a wobbly boot. The rental bonds here are 9 times out 10 just a scam. I had a guy try to sell me a sports merc a few months ago....but it had been cut in half and a different half put on the back ... ahhh...the list WILL go on as long as I live no doubt. I had a ladyboy try to tell me she was a girl once. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PattayaParent Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 The most dangerous lies any of us hear are the lies we tell ourselves. A peculiarity of the expat community in Thailand is that it is stuffed full of so many people who are lying to themselves, the result being that if we could wind the clock back to the point at which a luckless Farang, ranting on TV or elsewhere about having been ripped off, was actually handing over his life's savings we'd be able to see the smile on his face as he did so. The biggest cons we see here are guys pouring their pensions/divorce settlements into land and property for their new found sweet heart. We've many of us watched this from the sidelines, some of us having got burned by a friend we tried to warn - They do not want to know - The lie they tell themselves is complete and everyone else is biased, racist, bitter, or misguided. Until the locks are changed. I actually believe from personal tales and from what the OP has experienced that the great majority of scams in Thailand are perpetrated by Thais on Thais. Sure Farangs may be a 'big score" and especially so in the bar scene that you allude to, but there are still great scams out there against Thais themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theblether Posted June 23, 2012 Author Share Posted June 23, 2012 The most dangerous lies any of us hear are the lies we tell ourselves. A peculiarity of the expat community in Thailand is that it is stuffed full of so many people who are lying to themselves, the result being that if we could wind the clock back to the point at which a luckless Farang, ranting on TV or elsewhere about having been ripped off, was actually handing over his life's savings we'd be able to see the smile on his face as he did so. The biggest cons we see here are guys pouring their pensions/divorce settlements into land and property for their new found sweet heart. We've many of us watched this from the sidelines, some of us having got burned by a friend we tried to warn - They do not want to know - The lie they tell themselves is complete and everyone else is biased, racist, bitter, or misguided. Until the locks are changed. I actually believe from personal tales and from what the OP has experienced that the great majority of scams in Thailand are perpetrated by Thais on Thais. Sure Farangs may be a 'big score" and especially so in the bar scene that you allude to, but there are still great scams out there against Thais themselves. I agree with that too.........200,000 baht is a lot of money for a Thai to lose, ( for anyone for that matter ) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuestHouse Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 I actually believe from personal tales and from what the OP has experienced that the great majority of scams in Thailand are perpetrated by Thais on Thais. Sure Farangs may be a 'big score" and especially so in the bar scene that you allude to, but there are still great scams out there against Thais themselves. I agree, Farangs getting scammed is the tip of the iceberg. Almost every Thai I know has been scammed at one time or another by another Thai, often by a friend or family member. Thais often play the Graeng Jai/ Phi Nong card to solicit loans of cash or property that they have no intention of ever returning. But this is an English Language forum aimed at Farangs, we hear Farang stories here, not so much of the bigger Thai picture. AS A POINT OF NOTE AND A POINT OF WARNING. I do not illude to the Bar Scene - I refer to people lying to themselves - In truth the 'Gifted Amateur' or well dressed, well spoken 'Dry Land Perl Diver' who has never set foot in a bar is as dangerous, if not more dangerous than her professional cousin. Guys I know who have really really been stung for large sums of money were stung by gifted amateurs, who they delighted in telling every one were not bar girls - But like I say the story changes at the exact moment as the locks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokie36 Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 (edited) The most dangerous lies any of us hear are the lies we tell ourselves. A peculiarity of the expat community in Thailand is that it is stuffed full of so many people who are lying to themselves, the result being that if we could wind the clock back to the point at which a luckless Farang, ranting on TV or elsewhere about having been ripped off, was actually handing over his life's savings we'd be able to see the smile on his face as he did so. The biggest cons we see here are guys pouring their pensions/divorce settlements into land and property for their new found sweet heart. We've many of us watched this from the sidelines, some of us having got burned by a friend we tried to warn - They do not want to know - The lie they tell themselves is complete and everyone else is biased, racist, bitter, or misguided. Until the locks are changed. I made a similar mistake myself in lending money to a farang couple. Needless to say i have never seen one Baht of it returned. They are now back in the UK but the matter is not concluded for me. I certainly wouldn't lend anyone else anything again. Sad but true.....and yes I gave it over willingly....and witlessly as I recognise now. Live and learn. Edit: Just to give a proper perspective...part of this was 100k Baht towards an ICU bill for one of them. Not a penny returned. Edited June 23, 2012 by smokie36 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samsiam Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 I made a similar mistake myself in lending money to a farang couple. Needless to say i have never seen one Baht of it returned. They are now back in the UK but the matter is not concluded for me. I certainly wouldn't lend anyone else anything again. Sad but true.....and yes I gave it over willingly....and witlessly as I recognise now. Live and learn. Edit: Just to give a proper perspective...part of this was 100k Baht towards an ICU bill for one of them. Not a penny returned. I loaned a mate $10k and then he died. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokie36 Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 I made a similar mistake myself in lending money to a farang couple. Needless to say i have never seen one Baht of it returned. They are now back in the UK but the matter is not concluded for me. I certainly wouldn't lend anyone else anything again. Sad but true.....and yes I gave it over willingly....and witlessly as I recognise now. Live and learn. Edit: Just to give a proper perspective...part of this was 100k Baht towards an ICU bill for one of them. Not a penny returned. I loaned a mate $10k and then he died. This pair weren't too far away when they returned home to be perfectly honest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MB1 Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 An honest person can never be 'conned'.It only works with greedy people, dishonest people, or those wanting something for nothing. As GH has pointed out the most common con involves dishonest foreigners lying to buy something they are not entitled to own. Let me re -phrase that for you...... An honest streetwise person can never be conned..... Ask me granny Fitzpatrick and see what she says about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckamuck Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 I bought an oven at a garage sale, the owner said it was really good, but it turned out that it is only OK, not really good. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MB1 Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 (edited) One (forum) con that has been irritating me recently involves a troll doing what trolls do best (making offensive and anger provoking posts), then when the mods show up, the troll assumes the role of a victim, and tries to portray any references to their previous indiscretions by other members as personal attacks or stalking.There is one in particular (whose username I often misspell so I won't mention it here) who often offends other members with spiteful stereotyping (including describing TV as a red-neck forum) and then claims persecution (when anyone stands up to the trolling). Guess what Brit.?. I think many have a clue who your on about but I won't mention her/ his name in fear of reprisal. Edited June 23, 2012 by MB1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokie36 Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 I bought an oven at a garage sale, the owner said it was really good, but it turned out that it is only OK, not really good. Next time pluck the chicken right in front of them and stuff it in the oven and check. Don't accept any shoddy treatment here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkokhatter Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 I reckon having to work for a living out here and not having loads of cash to throw around lessens the chances of being conned. I have had very few requests for loans etc and find it so easy to just say no. Still waiting to meet the foreign rip off merchants, but have witnessed more than a few Thai on Thai, and one of them was colleague on colleague selling a car that he did not own. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MB1 Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 (edited) I bought an oven at a garage sale, the owner said it was really good, but it turned out that it is only OK, not really good. Next time pluck the chicken right in front of them and stuff it in the oven and check. Don't accept any shoddy treatment here! No no no no PLEASE.....Pull the thighs apart also known as the top part of the leg and do the taste test and then start singing Mcdonalds Mcdonalds Kentucky fried Chicken And a Pizza hut. Edited June 23, 2012 by MB1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokie36 Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 I bought an oven at a garage sale, the owner said it was really good, but it turned out that it is only OK, not really good. Next time pluck the chicken right in front of them and stuff it in the oven and check. Don't accept any shoddy treatment here! No no no no PLEASE.....Pull the thighs apart also know as the top part of the leg and do the taste test and then start singing Mcdonalds Mcdonalds Kentucky fried Chicken And a Pizza hut. Perhaps if he took the oven back and choked the chicken right in front of them it would help to overcome any cultural and linguistic barriers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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