Thai police arrest Filipino 'typhoon relief money' scammers

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Goddam! I gave 500Bt to someone looking looking very much like the girl on the left about a week ago in Pattaya. the leaflets on the table look exactly like the one she showed me. There was a list of people who had also given 1,000Bt, 1,500Bt and more, which she told me to sign. This will make me think twice about giving to any charity that approaches me in future. Other charities will suffer because of this.

Never ever give to 'Charities' on the street here. In a country where even some will pose as police/military and arrive mob handed at your door asking (demanding, if they sense timidity/credulousness) for 'donations', and the bands of suited and fluted laminate card carrying scam artists will run in the other direction on spotting a cop after a swoop on tourists relaxing on the beach/sidle up to you as you're the only farang on a busy street, folder of poverty stricken kids at the ready, give ONLY to a Charity HQ where at least some of the money might reach your intended beneficiary. Don't encourage the bastards.

[SjaakNL2013]

It's for me normal to ignore any charity that ask for money. Those charities only charity is their staff salaries and luxury life styles like expensive offices, friends policy for co-workers, business class flights and 5 star hotels.

If someone is in need, i give food and drink, warm blankets or baby food..... but no money.

[chaiyapoon]

Saw a banner held up by 4 people in walking street Pattaya last night collecting for the typhoon victims wondered was it was legit at the time so didn't donate.People will be warey of the real charity collectors now and not give.

[Beetlejuice]

This is horrible.

There are people in the Philippines desperate for food and shelter and these 2 women have decided to try and cash in on the disaster.

They deserve to be humiliated and flogged in public.

Scum, total scum.

[WitawatWatawit]

I wonder if they actually check the charity status of JC society foundation. Because other than scam alerts there is NOTHING on the net.

There is a JC foundation in the US.

Ditto. Did a quick check and nothing, only a comment on another board from about 6 months ago warningu about the JC Society Foundation scam. So if this outfit does not exist, then how did the police know to contact them? WHO did they contact? All very fishy.

Here we go again, The Thai visa FBI take a newspaper report as a actual police report.

One day the Thai visa FBI squad will realise you can't believe all you read in the paper.

You're weird. Sorry. The newspaper report alerted us to a scam. A bit of research on the outfit and ... nada. Charities don't hide - they're happy to have publicity, but there's not a word about them on Google (not that Google is infallible, of course), except reports of this outfit connected to scams. Odd, don't you think? So, we're just to ignore the newspaper report and go on believing this JC Society Foundation is on the up-and-up? And that the police didn't arrest anybody and that the press conference was staged by actors?

[WitawatWatawit]

I wonder if they actually check the charity status of JC society foundation. Because other than scam alerts there is NOTHING on the net.

There is a JC foundation in the US.

Ditto. Did a quick check and nothing, only a comment on another board from about 6 months ago warningu about the JC Society Foundation scam. So if this outfit does not exist, then how did the police know to contact them? WHO did they contact? All very fishy.

If you read the report you'll see that the foundation contacted the police. And don't forget that this originally would have been a Thai report translated into English, maybe the correct name has been misinterpreted as frequently happens.

Hard to confuse a name like JC Society Foundation. And to use your own conjecture - maybe the news report misquoted the police about the foundation contacting them - always possible under your rules. But do a Google - you'll find nothing connected to this society except references to a scam. Very odd - as I said in the post above, charities don't hide.

[tropo]

Goddam! I gave 500Bt to someone looking looking very much like the girl on the left about a week ago in Pattaya. the leaflets on the table look exactly like the one she showed me. There was a list of people who had also given 1,000Bt, 1,500Bt and more, which she told me to sign. This will make me think twice about giving to any charity that approaches me in future. Other charities will suffer because of this.

Don't let real charities suffer because of these 2 scammers. Just do your homework or give to the big, well recognised charities. When you say "other charities will suffer because of this", please inderstand that charities cannot suffer - it's the people who need help who suffer.

You lost 500 baht but you can recover. There's bad people everywhere, but don't let it stop you doing good.

The opposite happened with me last week. I'm collecting for typhoon victims myself and I was called a scammer despite my efforts to feed around 400 people in the last 2 weeks. Some people will use stories such as these as an excuse not to donate to charities.

[tropo]

It's for me normal to ignore any charity that ask for money. Those charities only charity is their staff salaries and luxury life styles like expensive offices, friends policy for co-workers, business class flights and 5 star hotels.

If someone is in need, i give food and drink, warm blankets or baby food..... but no money.

Which basically means you cannot donate to these charities as the only feasible way to help them is to give cash. If everyone thought like you all the typhoon victims would have starved to death by now.

[tropo]

Ajaan said:

Senior Member

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Posted Today, 04:28

15Peter20, on 22 Nov 2013 - 15:04, said:

Goddam! I gave 500Bt to someone looking looking very much like the girl on the left about a week ago in Pattaya. the leaflets on the table look exactly like the one she showed me. There was a list of people who had also given 1,000Bt, 1,500Bt and more, which she told me to sign. This will make me think twice about giving to any charity that approaches me in future. Other charities will suffer because of this.

Never give money to any Filipinos in Thailand, under any circumstances whatsoever (and learn to recognize the sound of the language and their accent when they speak English...they'll often say they're from somewhere else because they're aware of their rightfully deserved regional reputation as con artists and scammers).

Nothing against the Filipino people, but there are only two kinds who make it to Thailand: musicians (they're at least one in just about every bar band in Thailand) or scam artists. And musicians don't ask for money on the street.

Ajaan, true Filipinos here in Thailand do not ask money. Their work are not only musicians but also Engineers, teachers, Human Resources Manager, etc. Honest Filipinos condemn that 2 scammers.

My Filipino wife and I are asking for money for typhoon victims and so far we've purchased 60,000 peso in food and distributed it to where it is needed.

Generalizations are just that.

[Commander Tamson]

It's for me normal to ignore any charity that ask for money. Those charities only charity is their staff salaries and luxury life styles like expensive offices, friends policy for co-workers, business class flights and 5 star hotels.

 

If someone is in need, i give food and drink, warm blankets or baby food..... but no money.

 

 

Which basically means you cannot donate to these charities as the only feasible way to help them is to give cash. If everyone thought like you all the typhoon victims would have starved to death by now.

Your heart is obviously in the right place Tropo and you should keep doing what you are doing. But please explain how people on the street are to distinguish between you and the scammers? You also seem to be ignoring all the various governments' aid that has flooded into the Philippines.

Sure we'll all recover from the odd 500baht that is scammed from us in these instances, but why should we accept the financing of the corruption that all these relief efforts worldwide brings

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[tropo]

It's for me normal to ignore any charity that ask for money. Those charities only charity is their staff salaries and luxury life styles like expensive offices, friends policy for co-workers, business class flights and 5 star hotels.

If someone is in need, i give food and drink, warm blankets or baby food..... but no money.

Which basically means you cannot donate to these charities as the only feasible way to help them is to give cash. If everyone thought like you all the typhoon victims would have starved to death by now.

Your heart is obviously in the right place Tropo and you should keep doing what you are doing. But please explain how people on the street are to distinguish between you and the scammers? You also seem to be ignoring all the various governments' aid that has flooded into the Philippines.

Sure we'll all recover from the odd 500baht that is scammed from us in these instances, but why should we accept the financing of the corruption that all these relief efforts worldwide brings

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I don't collect on the street. I collect from people who know me.... friends and family and friends of friends.

What do you mean by "I'm ignoring the government aid"? Trust me this aid is extremely thin and it's not flooding. It is extremely hard to find. The people we are feeding haven't seen any of it. Sad but true. We communicate daily with family in the area and know exactly what is going on.

It is an extremely sad state of affairs.

Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa app

[SjaakNL2013]

It's for me normal to ignore any charity that ask for money. Those charities only charity is their staff salaries and luxury life styles like expensive offices, friends policy for co-workers, business class flights and 5 star hotels.

If someone is in need, i give food and drink, warm blankets or baby food..... but no money.

Which basically means you cannot donate to these charities as the only feasible way to help them is to give cash. If everyone thought like you all the typhoon victims would have starved to death by now.

That is exact what those charities want... money. In stead of having a organization from volunteers and collection points they only interested in money. It's wel possible but it need organization and preparation.

I can go way back to the Biafra war in Africa. All was collected by shops, city halls and some government buildings. In Evenings/nights volunteers bring the goods to the harbor. Ship to Africa and there distributed by volunteers and local airplane companies.

Result was the the population did have a life line of goods over a long period. The total overhead costs where shipping and flying, Most of this was sponsored by companies who direct hire container space or air miles. Over an period of 8 month send more than 400 40feet containers full with products.

The hole operation did cost less then the salary from one charity director.

But now days charity wants money. And if you don't donate they start work on your feelings and present you all kind of 'evidence' that you a real bastard if you don't donate.

[Prbkk]

At least one typhoon scammer is back. Yesterday at exit 4 Nana BTS, a woman with a very dodgy looking cardboard box, no identication, soliciting donations from tourists for typhoon relief. I would have taken a picture but suspected that there would be a minder somewhere close by...probably with a stick.

[MK1]

Two-sides to every story;eventually the truth will set them free. There is a possibility their associated Church in Manila could be a third party to this JC Society Foundation( an American based charity) backing-up their claim perhaps as missionaries, depending upon of course, if the two accused have been sending money back to their Church. Then their Church may well in turn be asking their followers to also dig-extra deep, as they do in situation like this, when passing the plate around during sermons, so as help set their 'sisters-free'. So lets see if there are 'two-lies' to this story in end or otherwise they will be spending a long time in the confessional box once they're eventually deported....many hail mary's to come.

[Hedghog]

The collectors were collecting for Phillipino's.

They are Phillipine citizens.

What is the crime.

If the money went to them.

[goromba]

People talk about being ripped off in Thailand but the Phillipines takes the Global if not galactic award for scamming. Also I feel a thousand % safer anywhere in Thailand than Manila.