Receiving Package Scam?

[Sophon]

One of my girlfriend's friends have been communicating with a guy from Scotland on Thai Love Links, but they have so far never met. She has now been contacted by DHL (reportedly) that they have a package for her sent by this guy, a package that she had no idea was coming. The package supposedly contains a notebook and some other things, and in order for her to collect the package she has to pay duties of in excess of 10,000 baht.

Now, we all know that no true Scott would send an expensive gift to someone he hardly knows , and I am a firm believer that if something sounds too good to be true, it almost always is. I also have a vague recollection of having read about a scam that goes something like this, but I have no idea how it would work.

We have advised our friend to tell DHL (and the Scottish guy) that she doesn't have the money to pay the charges and to return the package. This probably isn't far from the truth anyway, she is self-employed and 10,000 baht would be a significant amount for her. Besides, she has no need for a notebook should the package indeed be genuine. But I am curious as to whether this is a scam, and how it would work if it is?

Thanks in advance for any thought and insight into the matter.

Sophon

[Crossy]

It's likely a scam! I get DHL / FedEx / UPS emails saying your package is ready for collection, all are fake.

There should be a tracking number in the email, get on the DHL website (not via a link in the mail) and feed in the number to see what it says.

BTW Laptops are duty exempt.

[JLCrab]

I have noticed on one of my email accounts that FedEx has a package for me. I do have a FedEx account but using a different email account. Nobody I know would send me anything using the FedEx 'notice' account in question. So regardless of the origin of the package (maybe) from a TLL respondent, there may be a lot of phishing going on using this technique.

BTW I have never even opened the FedEx notice in my Spam file.

[FunFon]

Why not wait first and contact the guy and ask him to Western Union the required funds over? That'll show his true colours soon enough.

[kevvy]

if they are om thai love links she can just ask him "did you send a package?" if he says no , then problem solved.

[impulse]

Could also be 5 kg of heroin that someone needs picked up.

Once she has it, she may get a visit from some guys that don't have a Scottish accent...

That's if she isn't tossed in the klink at customs.

Run, don't walk away from this one.

[Amusements]

There has been a scam going round the dating sites for the last few years. They talk to you via the dating site, then by email and phone. They build up trust, then they tell you that they have sent you something expensive via package. Or can they transfer money to your account, and that they want to come and see you ect. You are then contacted by a fake shipping company by phone/email. The Fake shipping company will have a fake website. The last one I came across was pretending to be in Singapore.

I know this because a friend of my ex-wife was using a dating site, and tried to borrow 10-15k baht from us to pay these scammers. I did some digging and found out the picture of the guy being used on the site, was also on other dating sites under different names. There was also a scan of a British passport sent to this friend to make things look legit. We told her to ignore the emails and phone calls, and that she was being scammed.

[arthurwait]

Well known scam.

There has been reports of it done by guys claiming to be someone else to Thai girls.

First of all don't pay it it is a scam and don't give bank details.

Also ask for a picture of this guy holding something specific with that days newspaper.

[Travel2003]

Could also be 5 kg of heroin that someone needs picked up.

Once she has it, she may get a visit from some guys that don't have a Scottish accent...

That's if she isn't tossed in the klink at customs.

Run, don't walk away from this one.

Standard procedure all over the world.

When it is picked up, as you stated, someone will knock on the door later, and demand the package.

Anyhow, what idiot will send a laptop from the other side of the globe, when most likely the laptops are cheaper here.

Edited March 25, 2013 by Travel2003

[FunFon]

Anyhow, what idiot will send a laptop from the other side of the globe, when most likely the laptops are cheaper here.

-

1. Not true, nearly all computer gear is much cheaper at least in the US. Secondhand less than a third the price.

2. If you just sent your teerak the money, what are the odds the computer would actually get purchased?

[cycloneJ]

Scotland? Could be Chonburi!

from a month ago - this group of 3 Nigerians operating within the country with a Thai - that person i suppose necessary to be the DHL/Fedex etc person

Three Nigerians Arrested in Bangkok For Online Romance Scam

20 February, 2013

Thai police have arrested three Nigerian men and a Thai woman on charges of luring women into romantic relationships via Facebook and other social-networking websites and swindling them, news reports said Wednesday.

They web-chatted with their victims for one month to one year to persuade the women they loved them.

The suspected conmen then told their victims they had shipped valuables to them as gifts, posting photos and fake invoices of the expensive items..

full article here

also forum thread from last year: Police arrest Nigerian Facebook cheat

Edited March 25, 2013 by cycloneJ

[thenervoussurgeon]

I have had three of these messages in the past month on different e mail accounts ,just delete them its a scam

[BookMan]

She has to pay 'duties' online or to a bank account I bet...

Well known scam

[Eddy B]

Its a scam. A friend of mine had the same deal. It was all a set up from Nigeria with nationals here in Thailand. The same as the lottery or "We can give you this much money, if you send this much with bank details" in e-mails. If they are not in Thailand selling Ya-ba or playing football they are scamming!

[easyride]

Anyhow, what idiot will send a laptop from the other side of the globe, when most likely the laptops are cheaper here.

-

1. Not true, nearly all computer gear is much cheaper at least in the US. Secondhand less than a third the price.

2. If you just sent your teerak the money, what are the odds the computer would actually get purchased?

Oh, what a sceptic.

[FritsSikkink]

Could also be 5 kg of heroin that someone needs picked up.

Once she has it, she may get a visit from some guys that don't have a Scottish accent...

That's if she isn't tossed in the klink at customs.

Run, don't walk away from this one.

That would be the first time somebody try to smuggle heroin from schotland to thailand.

Sounds like a scam, best thing to do what has been said before, check with the guy who sent it.

[krisb]

Scotland you say....

Blether perhaps...

[Sophon]

She has to pay 'duties' online or to a bank account I bet...

Well known scam

You, Sir, are correct. We asked our friend, and she is supposed to transfer the duty/taxes to an account in SCB. She was suspicious when she received the message, that's why she asked for our advice.

We will get her to forward the mail to SCB, and also to the administrator of TLL. I don't know how much good that is going to do, but it's worth a shot.

Thanks to all.

Sophon

[Travel2003]

Anyhow, what idiot will send a laptop from the other side of the globe, when most likely the laptops are cheaper here.

-

1. Not true, nearly all computer gear is much cheaper at least in the US. Secondhand less than a third the price.

2. If you just sent your teerak the money, what are the odds the computer would actually get purchased?

1. Add the price for shipment.

2. If she really is your teerak, you dont think she will burn the money for something else.

;-)

[Potosi]

I got packages sent from Thailand in my home country many times. Customs usually sorted them out, and notified me to come and pick them up at their nearest office. Where they opened them, and I paid my duty if any was due. I'm not sure a corporation like DHL can deal with the tax and duty collection anywhere, or has the right to open parcels, that's government business.

A notebook sent from another country to Thailand, that's funny. Of no use for Thais at all, with no Thai script on the keyboard, and all the software in foreign languages.

[FunFon]

A notebook sent from another country to Thailand, that's funny. Of no use for Thais at all, with no Thai script on the keyboard, and all the software in foreign languages.

-

You assume too much. Out of the four SOs I've taught to use computers, three of them read and wrote English much better than Thai within six months of living with me, and having an English-only computer helped facilitate that. Mostly because they were pretty well illiterate in their own language having only received the equivalent of 3-4 years at "school".

But I also know several pretty well-educated Thais with perfect English that have only a very basic mastery of written Thai, since they attended international schools, and they're completely all right with that, in some cases seem proud of the fact.

The other weird idea is that installing an OS and the apps you want would be any sort of a challenge, if you didn't want to do it yourself every neighborhoods got shops that will do it all for you to your specs under B300.

And finally you should always shoot for being able to touch-type without looking at the keyboard, for learning purposes if necessary a separate keyboard's also NBD in fact a good idea for ergonomics and longevity.

[breadbin]

So, if they only communicate by a Thai dating site and have never met why would this girl give her address to a stranger? Did she give her address and if she did, how would anyone else know the name if this scot as the sender details would also be on the package

The easy solution is for this girl to ask said Scotsman if he sent her a package isn't it?

So many issues with very easy solutions!

[sunholidaysun1]

I wrote about this last year :

Posted 2012-06-07 11:28:40

A Thai lady friend of mine has recently joined a dating website in hope of meeting a husband to be .
She had been talking online to an English man (an English speaking farang ) for several weeks and a good friendship was forming. He promised her the world and said he was coming here to marry her . She was over the moon . She is not a young woman and not a bar girl out to rip anyone off , she is genuinly looking for a man to be with as she is in her mid 40's . with no kids. He said he wanted to send to her some gifts and even though she said it wasnt needed , he insisted as a token of his love for her and his sincerity . He said he wanted to buy her a laptop and a few other things like a nice phone and he wanted to send her a gold necklace as well .
About 2 weeks after the conversation with her possible husband to be , she recieved a phone call from Customs House in Bangkok , stating that a parcel had arrived from England with a laptop , mobile phone , a gold necklace and a few other bits and bobs and that they were informing her that due to importing the goods to Thailand she must pay 30,000 bht in import tax. She was a little bit shocked at getting this news and was obliged to pay the money asked by Customs in Bangkok , they said that once the money had been paid they would express delivery of the package to her. They told her to pay the money into the account number they would give her.
She recieved via a text message the bank details , then borrowed the money from family and paid the 30,000 into the bank as requested. She then called them back to tell them she had paid the money . The customs man was Thai and all the information given to her seemed genuine . He then told her that the package would be dispatched that day and should be with her within 5 days .(Thai post isnt great as we know)
One week later the package still hadnt arrived, so she called the number back again to tell the customs man that she hadnt recieved the package , the number was no longer in use.
She managed to find the real phone number for the Customs import office in Bangkok and called them . She explained everything to them and they had no idea what she was talking about . There was no record of any package ever being sent . They advised her to go to her bank . The bank said the money had been transfered as requested and since then the account that the money was sent to had been closed .

She lost 30,000 bht , small money for many but for her it was alot and now has to repay family that she borrowed from . If these people are doing this to many then 30,000 x 100 people = 3m bht .
Obviously larger amounts of money could be asked for by fake customs men but small amounts dont raise suspicions and the chances are , practically all will pay.

Obviously an English speaking farang is working with a Thai unless he is 100% fluent in the local language as to not sound like a foreigner speaking Thai but I would think several people are involved . The chances are that a team of con men are operating here for a few weeks and can rake in millions of baht in a very short amount of time .
Maybe worth mentioning to your wives / girlfriends so they can pass the message to their friends just incase it happens to someone you or they know and can prevent it happening again.

[impulse]

So, if they only communicate by a Thai dating site and have never met why would this girl give her address to a stranger? Did she give her address and if she did, how would anyone else know the name if this scot as the sender details would also be on the package

The easy solution is for this girl to ask said Scotsman if he sent her a package isn't it?

So many issues with very easy solutions!

The easy solution? Scamsters and drug traffickers love suggestions like this one.

If the guy is a scamster, he'll say yes. If he's a drug trafficker, he'll say yes.

You have made the assumption that the guy (this lady has never met) is actually the lovely Scottsman she thinks he is.

That's how these scams work...

[Scully]

I bet this Scot hasn't got ginger hair.

[katana]

I was talking to a Thai girl last week who had a similar story.

Someone contacted her via some dating site and after chatting for some days claimed he sent her an Iphone. He claimed he was British, but refused to appear on webcam. She just had to pay some money for it to clear customs. Luckily she didn't fall for it.