Current scams, the list

[saintbangkok]

I have no emotional attachment to Devere because I've never heard of them. Why do you keep bringing them up? They have nothing to do with anything here.

A weak attempt to deflect attention?

Isn't it time for you to get back to tending your bar?

I think that's enough, my work here is done. You have shown who you are and who you work for trying to out a competitor, tut tut sir, not professional.

[NewlyMintedThai]

stbangers had only one posting, in September 2012.

What a surprise.

I just said that Devere and this group look like two peas in a pod. I wouldn't touch either of them, or any other of these carpetbaggers, with a ten-foot pole.

Yes, logic would dictate I work for Devere. Back to wiping down your bar, "boyo".

[mrtoad]

Most of the Thai IFAs have an awful reputation for good reason, so I don't understand why there is now three pages of DeVeere nonsense, there is a separate thread on them elsewhere on TV. They are a bloody nuisance though with their cold calls.

[NewlyMintedThai]

I don't understand why there is now three pages of DeVeere nonsense

You and me both.

[saintbangkok]

Agreed on cold calls mrtoad as I already said. I get at least one a week.

Sent from my GT-I9300T using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[Tywais]

Posts with links to DD blog removed.

[NewlyMintedThai]

Why, may I ask?

[scubascuba3]

Coconut scam in Vietnam - this one almost happened to A friend and I. We were Walking around HCM city in Vietnam and a guy carrying two baskets of coconuts held on a pole on his shoulder walked along side of us and smiled and handed the entire thing to my friend. My friend thinking nothing puts the pole across his shoulders and walks a little ways laughing and joking how heavy it is. The guy asks us " do you like coconuts" we say yes. He very quickly opens two coconuts and hands to us. We think ok not a problem and take a drink and chat for a few seconds. After he said we owed him about 10 dollars US for the two coconuts.... Hahaha. Refusing to get scammed I saw a guy up the street selling coconuts in a booth and ran up and asked how much. They were about a dollar each. When back gave the guy two dollars and walked away. He didn't like it but lived with it.... You think Thailand is bad... Everyone in Vietnam is looking for a way to extract money from tourists.

That hasn't been my experience in Vietnam ... not at all. Maybe it's you.

Maybe it's me ???

Hey, mate ... don't take it personally. I don't know you from Adam. Speaking generally ... I'm just saying that certain people attract scammers more than other people do. A skilled con man is very good at sniffing out the gullible ... e.g., the classic rubber-necking tourist who is obviously a newbie ... or the guy who appears to lack self confidence ... etc..

lacking self confidence is not me for sure... Hahaha.... However, being first time in Vietnam was the case. I have however lived in Asia going on 20 years. Traveled to every country in Asia. I spent two weeks and traveled from HCM up the coast to Hanoi. Taxis going the long way around to increase meter, coconut scam, some of the bars and girls were just funny in some of the stuff they tried to pull, hookers on motorbikes, travel agents doing some crazy stuff, etc etc.... I must say that it was silly stuff and most of the time I just had to laugh and think <deleted> .... It just seemed everyone wanted to try to get a little slice of the pie...Hahaha. Going in a disco, lady serving drinks and sits down and pours half my beer in her glass... No invite or any discussion just did it.... No big deal but different. If she was hot maybe it would have been ok .... Made me laugh.

I agree, I've travelled round Asia a fair bit and I found in Vietnam they were the worse at trying to rip you off. I even caught a girl trying to steal my wallet whilst having a massage. Luckily I was on my guard which you have to be there. The other one I can remember is they take you to a hotel by taxi pretending its the one you asked for. I wasn't caught out once but it became annoying.

[saintbangkok]

Why, may I ask?

Surely as a lawyer you would know the answer to that?

[Shurup]

Jeses, how do I unfollow this topic from my New Content topics, tired of all this bickering...

[NewlyMintedThai]

Why, may I ask?

Surely as a lawyer you would know the answer to that?

I thought I was some bloke named Devere. Seriously, boyo, make up your mind.

[hawker9000]

Never. And doubt I ever will.

Like others, I'm left totally cold by cold calls.

Sad to say, if you think like that then in fact you are as closed minded as those who cold call.

I asked a question on an expat forum some time back, let us see what answers we get on here. You have 10m baht to invest, would you

A. Buy a condo in Bangkok?

B. Leave it in the Bank earning 1%

C. Maybe speak to an investment expert who can make it work best for you?

Seriously, cold calls, yeah no good man, but if you want to build a building you see an architect and builder, if you have legal issues you see a lawyer, if you want to invest money, do you go down to the local expat bar and ask your mates? fact is, these people do in fact know what they are doing (not sure about the above) i know this as i bought an investment plan in 1999 when i worked in Saudi and it has averaged me 9.7% net in those 14 years. Much better than depreciating Bangkok condos and worthless banks.

Architects, builders and lawyers don't cold call me. Sorry, it's just a disreputable practice (notice I said disreputable, not dishonest). Seriously. A financial planner or broker cold calls me. The first question I ask is, "where did you get my number?". Naturally, that question does not get answered. So I'm now supposed to openly discuss my financial background with someone who's putting the interests of someone who gave my name & number away, ahead of mine? Like I said, disreputable, and I don't much care how big the outfit is that's having to resort to this. My phone is MY personal communications device, which I pay for, not YOUR marketing tool. Edited October 9, 2013 by hawker9000

[Arkady]

The ingenuity of the investment products created for sale to financially unsophisticated expats by fee-hungry financial advisors never ceases to amaze and impress me. In addition to football funds, insurance policies of purportedly terminally ill patients, tree farms, slum housing in Brazil etc I have just heard of a fund that was set up in the Isle of Man to provide loans to UK solicitors that was flogged to expats in various countries including Thailand. With the outrageous fees they charge for often shoddy work it is difficult to imagine why British solicitors would need to resort to borrowing money at usurous interest rates from a hole-in-wall lender in the Isle of Man, unless, of course, they had no intention of ever paying interest on the loans or repaying the principle with the connivance of the fund manager. It turns out that is exactly what happened. A recently published report from Grant Thornton, the now defunct fund's receivers, commenting on the mysterious disappearance of £120 million of investors' hard earned cash states,

"Most worrying, is the fact that around 75% of the fund’s assets were lent to just three so-called “panel law firms” (PLFs) – two of which, Ashton Fox and Tandem, are now in insolvency proceedings – indeed these two alone account for 62% of the total book, or £74m." The receiver’s report goes on to highlight concerns that audited 2010 accounts reveal “an individual who is also a director of the investment manager is also a director of the only two law firms to have received loans in the period”.

What a shocking affair! This theme of flaky investment funds set up beyond the regulatory reach of the British Financial Services Authority in the Isle of Man or Channel Islands and marketed as if they were UK regulated funds is recurrent, as are the facts of conflicts of interest that emerge after the inevitable demise of the funds. Often a glance at the small print could have avoided these tragic consequences, since the information memoranda of such products usually give the fund manager wide scope to invest in dangerously high risk instruments, including unsecured loans to related firms and individuals for which there can only be one purpose. This latter attribute was also a feature of the LMIM group which has just gone tits up down under.

For more information about the preposterous loans to legal eagles scam google Axiom Legal Financing. I think you will find it hilarious, provided you were not one of the victims. The search even threw up an article on Andrew Drummond's website featuring a farang retiree in Thailand who invested in the fund on the advice of a financial advisor he found via the advisor's columin in The Bangkok Post.

[HeavyDrinker]

Can anyone lend me 1000 til Monday?

I've got a house in Sri Lanka I'm selling.....

Twas a popular call from a rather engaging, if dodgy bloke when we lived in Trat many moons ago....

(I lent him 4,000 but don't tell the wife eh)?

[Mangosteen1]

A guy told me that he took a long bus trip in Thailand. when he woke up in the bus he felt exhausted and his 2500 dollar were gone. he really didn't know what happened. he tried many times to rewind everything in his mind. he said he wasn't that kind of person that ever dropped or lost anything. he even had his money in an inner pocket with a zipper. he told me the story, and said: I don't know if they had some gas or something that make you fall asleep(I just listened to his story, I cant say that I believed or didn't believe him at the time)I thought he had been to drunk and lost his money. but as we spoke more I realized he was quiet smart, perhaps it could be some true in this.

Now I see that many had similar stories. Is it something they put in the water or can they have that gas?I have heard of that gas in Europe but I do not know if its to expensive or not.

Dangerous to travel alone for longer trips in those buses!

[hereforgood36]

to many scams to list haha, just be careful.

[Arkady]

A guy told me that he took a long bus trip in Thailand. when he woke up in the bus he felt exhausted and his 2500 dollar were gone. he really didn't know what happened. he tried many times to rewind everything in his mind. he said he wasn't that kind of person that ever dropped or lost anything. he even had his money in an inner pocket with a zipper. he told me the story, and said: I don't know if they had some gas or something that make you fall asleep(I just listened to his story, I cant say that I believed or didn't believe him at the time)I thought he had been to drunk and lost his money. but as we spoke more I realized he was quiet smart, perhaps it could be some true in this.

Now I see that many had similar stories. Is it something they put in the water or can they have that gas?I have heard of that gas in Europe but I do not know if its to expensive or not.

Dangerous to travel alone for longer trips in those buses!

They go into public hospitals posing as charity workers and offer free water or soft drinks laced with veterinary anesthetic to the people in the waiting rooms. When they are all unconscious a few minutes later they make off with their phones and other valuables. In long haul buses they are in league with the hostesses that serve passengers with soft drinks. Easy to hop off the bus at the next service station and jump on another one.

[scotbeve]

New scam..... Just received this one this evening in my email - it looks like the generic scam... (admin., I don't know if the person below in the email is trying to commit a scam or if someone is trying to set up/knob the below mentioned person / company in the email...)>>>>

ASIA FOREIGN CONTRACTOR SETTLEMENT CENTRE
114 South Sathorn Road, Yannawa, Sathorn,
Bangkok, Thailand.
email: [email protected]

Hello!
Good fortune! Though you and I have never met before.. But I deem it necessary
that I bring you this: $9.7 M ln credit/in a 'SUSPENSE ACCOUNT' is under my
care. It can be transferred to your private account in your country. We can
work together to get it done under 50/50% sharing ratio. Reply for concise
details.

Regards,
Mr Som Chai
Accounts Section

[apetley]

Seems all above board to me.

[hawker9000]

The you-lucky-man thing seems to be going around again. I vaguely remember it from years ago, but don't remember where it actually leads...

You encounter an Indian guy, all smiles, possibly with the red bindi mark on his forehead, and probably walking in the opposite direction, on a crowded sidewalk, who kind of "locks on" to you. He says, "You are a lucky man! Do you know why?" Their being Indians on the street acting like their tailor tout brethren, I just keep walking without even slowing down or acknowledging them in any way, and am usually well past by the time they get the question out. I can't really remember where this eventually leads - maybe just some handshaking & other touching that leads to a lifted wallet or something. I just remember it from years back. 'Happened to me 3x just this afternoon out for a walk. 'Wonder how they choose their targets.

[NewlyMintedThai]

They tell your fortune and ask for money afterwards. That's about it. Pretty innocuous as far as scams go.

[koeko]

Jet Ski scam - you rent jet ski and after you return it they say you caused damage and want you to pay. Gangs involved and perhaps police look the other way. Best to never rent jet ski in Thailand.

Why this scam doesn't apply to motorbike and car rentals?

[hawker9000]

Jet Ski scam - you rent jet ski and after you return it they say you caused damage and want you to pay. Gangs involved and perhaps police look the other way. Best to never rent jet ski in Thailand.

Why this scam doesn't apply to motorbike and car rentals?

I actually have heard of it happening with motorbike rentals in some places. With car rentals you probably do that walkaround thing, don't you? 'Seems like that would make this particular scam harder to pull off.

[Shurup]

Jet Ski scam - you rent jet ski and after you return it they say you caused damage and want you to pay. Gangs involved and perhaps police look the other way. Best to never rent jet ski in Thailand.

Why this scam doesn't apply to motorbike and car rentals?

I actually have heard of it happening with motorbike rentals in some places. With car rentals you probably do that walkaround thing, don't you? 'Seems like that would make this particular scam harder to pull off.

Not many but the cases of similar scams exist with bikes and cars too. Much more widespread on Jet ski coming to a point when when they have one of their own guys on another jet ski making an accident and taking off. Of other cases I heard they glue on some body parts with water based glue, you come back and the pieces are hanging loose - here you go, a damage that wasn't there when you left.

[ttthailand]

Today had news about Lithuanian ATM scammers. They get your Card info and pin and make copy and withdraw funds.

Be careful using ATM machine. Look for cameras and info scanners. Best to use ATMs located at banks not at 7/11s or other stand alone locations .

[hawker9000]

Today had news about Lithuanian ATM scammers. They get your Card info and pin and make copy and withdraw funds.

Be careful using ATM machine. Look for cameras and info scanners. Best to use ATMs located at banks not at 7/11s or other stand alone locations .

Yeap. If you confine yourself to using the ATMs of just one bank consistently, you get to know what they look like and whether any extra skimming - or other - hardware, which can be hard to spot, has been added. I would think most of the scum would have a more difficult time messing with ATMs located right at a. branch location.

[somchaismith]

Always check your change well from Tesco Lotuses and 7/11s. On average every third time I visit them I'm shortchanged, by sometimes as much as 500 baht.

It's wondorous how I've never been overpaid and given too much change back from a transaction.

Edited October 14, 2013 by somchaismith

[koeko]

Always check your change well from Tesco Lotuses and 7/11s. On average every third time I visit them I'm shortchanged, by sometimes as much as 500 baht.

It's wondorous how I've never been overpaid and given too much change back from a transaction.

Check your receipts!!! This is a larger scam method from the company itself: a big promotional yellow sticker shows a price of 109 baht instead of 159, making you buy the item, but at the counter you pay actually pay the full price of 159 bahts.

The above concerns only TESCO LOTUS, both express and big, never encountered this scam with 7/11 or BigC (yet).

Also affects regular items (no promotion), for example the sticker indicates 9 bahts and you actually pay 16 bahts (kiwis for example), and so on... it varies daily. Little by little they get more of your money than you intend you give them.

[Shurup]

Oh just remembered another one that was going on a little while back but as with other scams, it will probably re-surface again in the future.

It's a King Power Duty Free Scam (was it mentioned here yet?)

You're at Swampy airport ready to fly back out, you go to the King Power DF Store and buy some items, they scan all but one, place everything neatly in a bag and give you a receipt.

You live the store and immediately being approached by a security saying they saw you stealing something.

They check your bag against the receipt you got and one of the things that's in your bag, isn't on the receipt.

Then they proceed to extort money out of you threatening to lock you up until the investigation is competed.

Not wanting to miss their flight and avoid further problems, you pull your wallet...

Always check and confirm they scan everything you buy BEFORE leaving the store!

[Mangosteen1]

Ive hard of many scams in Thailand. but the most brutal ones have been from people who traveled around in Vietnam. How come they seem much more specialist and updated with frauds?

a scam in Thailand when you buy property: you pre-pay the property and travel down with your family to Phuket. when you stay in front your dream house and open the door. there is a Thai family already living in there. they tell you: pay us same amount you already payed and the house will be yours for sure. we promise.

The guy already pre-payed 5 million baht. now again 5 million baht: 10 million baht for that house(guess what they still properly love Thailand

My point o view: you are working and living in Europe, If you are going to stay only 2 weeks-1 month every year in Thailand why do you really need to buy.

Just rent it