Street Smart Thais And Their Sneaky Scams

[krisb]

Hello everybody!

My wife was telling a friend of mine here last night whos going to LOS for the first time, things to be aware of there like the street beggars in Thailand and their not so little operations and how tourists should never give them money as it keeps this scam rolling on.

The missus brought up a few good scams in Thailand, most of which Ive heard of and most seemed aimed at tourists ie jetskis etc etc,

....So my questions to the street smart folk of TV is,

As a westerner, and alot of you have lived in Thailand for ages and others visit lots and lots,

Whats the sneakiest scam you have seen or heard of in Thailand?

How did it work,?

And hope the scam wasnt used on yourself but was it?

[chiangmaikelly]

Why would I tell you this for free? Buy my next book, “How Thai people rip off dumber than dirt Farangs.”

[londoedan]

Is Thailand any different to each and every country in the entire world ?

Visitors to Antartica probably get hit-on to buy an expensive lady drink at some local igloo within minutes of stepping off the ice-breaker..

[sotsira]

Avoid Tuk Tuk drivers like the plague, and only use taxi's that are willing to

use the meter.

If any stranger on the street tries to offer you some sort of deal or sell you something

ignore and walk away.

[giddyup]

That Rolex for a 1000 baht ain't real!

[ThailandBert]

Watching the old, blind karaoke singer walking along the beach with his wife rattling a tin cup stepping over mooring ropes for the longtail boats always brought a wry smile to my face.

[HeavyDrinker]

Keep away from the local bints and take a cold shower every 30 minutes...

[giddyup]

Keep away from the local bints and take a cold shower every 30 minutes...

...and don't get into group hugs with katoeys.

[macksview]

That Rolex for a 1000 baht ain't real!

that girl in the go-go boots offering undying love for 1000 baht ain't real

[KTD]

isn't there a whole website dedicated to Bangkok scams? I think by that name.

[CharlieH]

DONT leave your common sense in the departure lounge !

[BookMan]

Keep away from the local bints and take a cold shower every 30 minutes...

...and don't get into group hugs with katoeys.

...and don't get into group hugs with katoeys.

[BookMan]

isn't there a whole website dedicated to Bangkok scams? I think by that name.

http://www.bangkokscams.com/

[giddyup]

DONT leave your common sense in the departure lounge !

Unfortunately you can't protect people from their own stupidity. There are still idiots falling for Nigerian scams.

[chiang mai]

Let me see, there's that restaurant on Sukhumvit where the actual price of the food is 7% higher than advertised, that certainly must be a scam - and then there's the taxi driver who brought me from the airport to my hotel and quietly added 50 baht onto the cost of the trip, surely that's a scam. And then there's the classic, as pointed out to me by a very niave Canadian tourist several years ago: he complained that he had bought the girl a drink but now she wouldn't go and have sex with him, he wanted the scamming bar to refund the cost of the girls drink, I kid you not! The point of all of this is that most scams are usually based on the farang not understanding something or other rather than any real life down to earth scams.

[DP25]

None of them are sneaky. The scams are mostly all awful. It's amazing the stuff a polite well dressed Asian guy can pull off, seems to disarm the defenses of a lot of people that would be suspicious of a similar random stranger approaching them back home.

[somtumlion]

I'm so glad your thread title didn't paint all Thai's with broad sweeping negative generalizations...oh wait...

[pauljones]

Be wary of the english speaking Thais being nice to you.

[somtumlion]

Be wary of the english speaking Thais being nice to you.

Be wary of English speaking Englishmen being nice to you, for that matter.

[Farang0tang]

[robblok]

DONT leave your common sense in the departure lounge !

Unfortunately you can't protect people from their own stupidity. There are still idiots falling for Nigerian scams.

Most want to believe they are the greatest lover around and hansum. So they fall for everything a girl tells them they think with their wrong head. If you can't score at home you better realise that landing here did not transform you into the greatest guy in the world. Lies are being told to get to your money.

No giddyup not meaning you just that we are all talking about common sense here. Its sadly lacking in many guys landing here. They confuse love for money with love for them.

[HeavyDrinker]

I think Robblok is about to bend this thread so he can mention his wife again.....Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[pauljones]

Be wary of the english speaking Thais being nice to you.

Be wary of English speaking Englishmen being nice to you, for that matter.

Is that you, Bendix?

[somtumlion]

Be wary of the english speaking Thais being nice to you.

Be wary of English speaking Englishmen being nice to you, for that matter.

Is that you, Bendix?

No idea who that is, but I'll get off of your lawn in any event. (me being "you dern'd kids")

[chonabot]

I was kind of scammed outside the school where I teach.

There is a 5 star chicken stall and I asked for 2 sticks with look chin on them.

The advertised price was 20 baht each but 2 for 39 baht.

I was having a conversation with some of my M4 students and the seller must have realised I spoke Thai and was a teacher...unless he was dumb...as I walk past his stall everyday on my way into the school.

Anyway he charged me 50 baht with a smile - when I pointed out it was in fact 39 baht he smiled again and took the correct money.

Not even a sorry or a look of shame - a few of the students said some choice words to him but all water off a ducks back.

Ok this is a tiny amount of money but a good example of how some people here think.

I'm sure the same could happen back home but this thread is about Thailand

[Payboy]

Don't opt for the buffet option without checking the spread.

[somtumlion]

People will get away with as much as they are allowed to get away with. To pretend otherwise is blindness. Constant vigilance.

[robblok]

I was kind of scammed outside the school where I teach.

There is a 5 star chicken stall and I asked for 2 sticks with look chin on them.

The advertised price was 20 baht each but 2 for 39 baht.

I was having a conversation with some of my M4 students and the seller must have realised I spoke Thai and was a teacher...unless he was dumb...as I walk past his stall everyday on my way into the school.

Anyway he charged me 50 baht with a smile - when I pointed out it was in fact 39 baht he smiled again and took the correct money.

Not even a sorry or a look of shame - a few of the students said some choice words to him but all water off a ducks back.

Ok this is a tiny amount of money but a good example of how some people here think.

I'm sure the same could happen back home but this thread is about Thailand

Its not about the money, it how it makes you feel. I take it personal when people try to rip me off even if its only small money.

[giddyup]

People will get away with as much as they are allowed to get away with. To pretend otherwise is blindness. Constant vigilance.

Lines from a Mink DeVille song talking about a scammer.

"He tried to go straight,

he tried hard to learn,

but what you gonna do

when people beg to be burned?"

[robblok]

People will get away with as much as they are allowed to get away with. To pretend otherwise is blindness. Constant vigilance.

Sure i had a mirror made for my home gym (big mirror 6ft by 3ft or so). Next time i went to that shop and bought an other one it suddenly cost half the price. I was taken for a ride the first time, and he forgot what he charged first time. Needles to say i wont visit that shop anymore.