Taxi Scam

[longballlarry]

This could be old, but just happened to a friend of mine. We had a driver waiting to pick him up with a name board- name, hotel and town.. Shortly after Customs, someone had duplicated the name board and pretended to be his driver, stole the fare, and took him on his 3hr journey- . My friend didnt know until 2hrs into the journey. Our driver said this was the 3rd time it had happened to him.

If you do book a cab for family and friends, perhaps give them a code word first, they can then give to your driver ? Just a thought. Can be a bit scary for first timers here, being scammed within minutes, no contact with frriends, and being driven by an unknown driver.

[easyride]

Easy to do with all the placards being wafted about but a code word?

Unless you speak nearly fluent Thai (I don't) how do you explain it to a Thai driver?

[joe552]

surely the driver just needs a placard with your name on it - not the destination, so why put the hotel name on it? I always just check the driver knows exactly where I'm staying before we leave the airport, although this scam had never occurred to me - once I see my name, I'm ok.

[wooloomooloo]

Not sure what the problem is. Your friend appears to have arrived at their destination safely and settled a reasonable fare. Everyone seems happy.

Thinking laterally, the original booked driver could have been the demon from hell and killed him. Who knows.

[HerbalEd]

Not sure what the problem is. Your friend appears to have arrived at their destination safely and settled a reasonable fare. Everyone seems happy.

Thinking laterally, the original booked driver could have been the demon from hell and killed him. Who knows.

Seems like you couldn't care less, but the legitimate driver got screwed in the deception. Also, it would take a very stupid driver to kill a customer whom he was specifically sent to pick up.

[USNret]

Not sure what the problem is. Your friend appears to have arrived at their destination safely and settled a reasonable fare. Everyone seems happy.

Thinking laterally, the original booked driver could have been the demon from hell and killed him. Who knows.

Seems like you couldn't care less, but the legitimate driver got screwed in the deception. Also, it would take a very stupid driver to kill a customer whom he was specifically sent to pick up.

Yes, this truly sucks for the legitimate driver who probably continued waiting, unaware that his fare had been stolen.

I'm also assuming that the OP took some degree of care to find a reputable & reliable chauffeur service. By definition, the scammer is neither reputable nor reliable so that in itself is just trouble waiting to happen. Sure, this time the passenger got to his destination but how long before the criminal elements take over & something more sinister happens. This is just plain bad news.

[allalong]

common scam!!!! Someone goes in looks at the cards with name and hotel being held up on cards, Makes a replica, gets up front near the exit gates and gets the unsuspecting visitor. There should be a ban on cards with hotel names,so the legitimate driver will know the Hotel.

Edited March 24, 2013 by allalong