Current scams, the list

[Pilotman]

The scam of tourists coming to Thailand and pretending to be very wealthy people. They spend big, impressing Thai ladies by throwing money around on them and their families. The tourist may keep this scam going weeks/months or years. When the tourist snares his prize of either a longterm girlfriend or wife. He then decides it is time to stop pretending to be wealthy. He cuts back drastically and dramatically on his spending and generosity. This leaves the Thai lady being suckered into a relationship based on deception and untruth, which leads to terrible disillusionment on her part in her trust for her scamming bf/husband.

I have seen quite a few examples of this; girls 'tricked' into coming to the UK, to what they think will be a better life, to end up in a 'two up. two down' slum , living with a low life on benefits who has a 'medical problem' and was only ever looking for a cheap [young] nurse. Seen it too many times for it to be a rare occurance. Inevitably, ther girl waits for a UK passport [ and who can blame her?] and then leaves double quick.

[hawker9000]

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!

Or just stay away from the KPDF stores! Why would you set foot in any place of business where you think stuff like this is going on?

[Shurup]

Or just stay away from the KPDF stores! Why would you set foot in any place of business where you think stuff like this is going on?

Thankfully over the 5+ years living here I've never got scammed so this KPDF scam is just something I heard of a while back and shared as it certainly can recur.

Never needed anything from their stores personally and over the years there were only a few occasions that I was asked to bring cigarettes with me back to Canada.

But you're right, just the fact that it has been happening in the past, would turn me away from coming anywhere close to their stores.

Edited October 15, 2013 by Shurup

[NewlyMintedThai]

Allegedly happened in the past. It's not exactly clear whether the buyers were set up by the shop, by unscrupulous Thai Police Volunteers, or if they were actually shoplifters.

[hawker9000]

Allegedly happened in the past. It's not exactly clear whether the buyers were set up by the shop, by unscrupulous Thai Police Volunteers, or if they were actually shoplifters.

You know, even if totally untrue, THIS is the price a country pays for allowing corruption and exploitation of tourists to proliferate, for unfriendly property ownership and visa policies, for a legal system that makes a mockery of justice for foreign victims of crime, including violent crime, for attempting to suppress the growing volume of international criticism and outrage with silly "anti-defamation" laws and even sillier denials, and yet even more silly "crackdowns". It all comes around - here is one of the many ways. What difference if one out of a hundred stories actually ISN'T true? Time yet to maybe stop with the meaningless public statements and START getting your house in order? Up to you...

[NewlyMintedThai]

Thailand has more tourist arrivals than any other country in the region. 99.999% have a great time and can't wait to come back.

The numbers prove it.

Some even decide they want to live here, and become crotchety, whinging, negative expats.

Ho-hum.

[soistalker]

I had a girl say she would love me long time, but she loved me short time that night, then woke me up in the morning expecting long time money. Bet you had that one before.

[hawker9000]

Thailand has more tourist arrivals than any other country in the region. 99.999% have a great time and can't wait to come back.

The numbers prove it.

Some even decide they want to live here, and become crotchety, whinging, negative expats.

Ho-hum.

Wow! I think we've actually FOUND the one person in the whole world who actually buys the TAT statistics! Does he win a stuffed animal or what? (Either that or I think we should be welcoming TAT to TV...). Tell us, NMT, how many of these newly aariving Chinese do you expect to be staying to live here, anyway?

[NewlyMintedThai]

Hopefully none.

So you don't believe TAT numbers? Why, are you observing tourist numbers to be decreasing in whatever parallel universe you live in? New hotels closing down instead of opening up every other day? Lines at Suvarnabhumi getting shorter instead of longer?

[hawker9000]

Actually, I would have to wonder more about the delirium you must be wandering around in. I've been having NO problems getting discounts on hotel rooms, and not had to wait behind more than ONE other arriving passenger at Suvarnabhumi (and sometimes NONE!) over the past 18 months or so! I can remember spending 20-30 mins in these lines just a few years ago. Outbound, I remember one night's security line stretching halfway around the terminal a few years back (literally; I almost missed my flight and some passengers that night did!)!! I HAVE seen growing numbers of chinese tour groups out & about during that same period though. Skepticism regarding TAT'S "arriving tourists" is really nothing new and widespread, and has in fact been expressed & discussed frequently right here on TV.

Edited October 16, 2013 by hawker9000

[NewlyMintedThai]

Then so is tinfoil hat wearing, apparently.

And all the people here complaining about long lines at immigration, wondering if they can use the Thai line with their wives, and praying for electronic turnstiles for foreigners...are all dreaming.

There have never been more foreign tourists on the streets of Thailand than right now. Even a blind bat could see that.

[hawker9000]

LOL. Within the last day or so, perhaps not. 555555. Think it's a "spike"? Seeing "signs" are we?

[NewlyMintedThai]

Arrival numbers don't exist in a vacuum, genius.

The TAT can't claim a million UK visitors if UK departure numbers with Thailand as destination totaled only 50,000.

Airlines also provide figures that the TAT can't manipulate, even if they could manipulate figures from immigration (which they can't).

Use your head, man.

[hawker9000]

Keep drinking the koolaid, dude.

[Shurup]

What do emigration lines have to do with scams?

Even if scam numbers increase proportionally to tourist numbers increase, it's still a very small number of people that get scammed, the word does get around but not enough to defer more people from coming here. Beside that everyone thinks it won't happen to them...

Lets say you got scammed, you returned home and advised all your relatives not to go there, so now 10 people are aware, you told your and they told their friends, so now maybe 100 people are aware, how many of those have had considered traveling to Thai, not many, of those few people most would think it won't happen to them if they're careful. So nothing really changed, at the end maybe only few have decided on a different destination.

Population grows, number of visitors to Thai will keep increasing just as the number of scams, just be aware of them.

[hawker9000]

Something called the internet nowadays. A story getting out no longer depends on word of mouth. Or the media. Travel sites get thousands, tens-of-thousands, more... hits a day. Facebook. Twitter. Bad or good, true or false, it's circled the gobe hundreds of times already by the time somebody actually tells it in person or by email to someone else.

[NewlyMintedThai]

What happens is that people don't stop coming; if anything, they just stop falling for the gem scams and jetski scams.

[Shurup]

Sure if it's on internet, it must be truth. These days it's hard to separate truth from BS. I know plenty of people who don't use facebook, I know plenty of people who don't use travel sites, newspapers and media won't be interested in someone getting scammed - too small of a story to bother. And don't forget it won't happen to me mentality.

Look at this TVF topic for example - a list of useful info for Thailand visitors, how many out of site members will see it? Many will even give up sifting through all the OFFTOPIC posts to get to the useful info.

I've personally never decided not to go somewhere based on this or that country's scam list, yes I google, I read, I take notice and hope for the best. Plenty of travelers like me, still plenty are getting scammed.

[NewlyMintedThai]

Exactly.

If you ruled out places where there were scams, you wouldn't have many places to go.

Anyone with half a brain can avoid them.

[Hawkman]

The scam of tourists coming to Thailand and pretending to be very wealthy people. They spend big, impressing Thai ladies by throwing money around on them and their families. The tourist may keep this scam going weeks/months or years. When the tourist snares his prize of either a longterm girlfriend or wife. He then decides it is time to stop pretending to be wealthy. He cuts back drastically and dramatically on his spending and generosity. This leaves the Thai lady being suckered into a relationship based on deception and untruth, which leads to terrible disillusionment on her part in her trust for her scamming bf/husband.

I see your point, but that's not really a scam. Guys who do that are just either being players/idiots and/or just trying to get laid. And tbh, if she's lying about "not being after his money", then the guys exaggerating their wealth, is fair game.

If a guy gets the girl pregnant, promises marriage etc and runs off then by all accounts, completely out of order.

But I have ZERO sympathy for a girl who is just after a guy for his money or pursues a relationship with a tourist in the first place, dumb on her account. He's a tourist for god's sake, of course he's unlikely to stay around. If she wants to jump into bed with a tourist, then that's of her making and she deals with those consequences; if she wants stability with a farang, date an expat instead. It's the same with girls who get treated badly by bad boys, if you are into bad boys and they cheat on you, mess you about etc, well, what did you expect?

Edited October 16, 2013 by Hawkman

[Pitts]

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 have heard of it happening with bikes. Always best to try to fill out one of those condition reports and take a shitload of pictures. But probably just better off not to hire a Jet Ski... they are fiarly notorious.

[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?

I have heard of it happening with bikes. Always best to try to fill out one of those condition reports and take a shitload of pictures. But probably just better off not to hire a Jet Ski... they are fiarly notorious.

I think when renting a car or bike you deal with a storefront business where you can come back or complain about to the police, while the jetski renters can disappear just like that!

[Shurup]

They don't need to disappear, they're getting protection from the police!

[slipperylobster]

Online dating scams - lovely young lady or man makes contact or you make contact with them on dating site. After a few times chats and perhaps a few photos are exchanged they want to come to meet you but because they have no money they can not. They request that you send them money. Other money requests are also used. Always video chat to confirm you are talking to the person you believe it to

be and never send money to someone you never met in person.

My buddy used to just send them emails with one way tickets attached (purchased online). That way she must give you her i.d. card number and real name. Also, if you shop around, a ticket is less than a thousand. She cannot cash it in. Better to lose one thousand baht and know if she is honest/willing to come, that send payments. I thought..what a good idea.

[Drones]

The ultimate and number1 scam is (and remains):

- Thai lady marrying Farang (wearing rose colored glasses) with the sole intent of milking him financially.

This must be the number 1 scam and ongoing. The financial damage done to Farangs by this scam dwarfs any damage done by petty Jet-Ski-scams, etc etc....

Perfectly legal and Thai-Legislation supports this scam.

Cheers.

very true!!! so farangs out there be wise than Thai ladies. they are good at acting just to get your sympathy and trust. many are too deceitful just to get money easily from wealthy white men, and can even lead to your death.

another newbie, knows everything about thai girls,

makes me laugh,,,

sir, the amount of years you have wasted on this board and the lbs of fat you have accumulated doing so whilst drinking beer...

should make you laugh at yourself!

i suppose it also makes you an expert on thai girls, or a very jaded one!