Is this a new scam? Passports & Customs.

[ianf]

Yesterday I was speaking with a Singaporean friend who is trying to shift his personal belongings from Singapore to his new Condo in Thailand. He had a message from the Customs in Bangkok who asked him to mail his original passport to them so that they can clear his shipment. I thought that a bit odd because in Thailand signed photocopies or embassy-verified copies are normally sufficient.

Today I heard from a Canadian friend who lives in Chiang Mai. His family in Canada shipped his small laptop via FedEx to him in ChiangMai. He had a message that it was stuck in the customs in Bangkok and they wanted his original passport before clearing. So he went to the Customs office in Chiang Mai who'd never heard of this before. They called the number that my friend had been given and there was no answer. "This is a scam" he was told by the Customs Officer in Chiang Mai. So far he has found FedEx unhelpful to the extreme (useless) and theCustoms in Chiang Mai unable to help further.

Strange that both of these cases hit me in two days, especially after hearing so much about Thailand being a hub of passport fraud. With stlen passports available for $10,000 a pop, this is lucrative business.

Anyone else come across this?

[Rooo]

I had to send my passport to my agent in Bangkok to clear my household good s through customs at the time. They actually put a stamp in the passport.

[somchaismith]

Ten grand for a passport. Seems a tad expensive.

[KhunBENQ]

No scam!

Authoritative when importing household goods e.g.

Was the same for my wife when we imported our household goods.

Be happy that they don't require you to attend the clearance in person and you can do it via an agent.

Send the passport by EMS registered providing a valid return address.

Edited March 19, 2014 by KhunBENQ

[Mario2008]

When you import a shipment of household goods under the duty free exemption the passport is required as a notation of having recieved the free shipment is made in the passport.

[KhunBENQ]

When you import a shipment of household goods under the duty free exemption the passport is required as a notation of having recieved the free shipment is made in the passport.

Looks like this (from 13 Jan 2011), delivered to our house on 14 Jan 2011.

Seems to contain a list of imported goods (to some extent).

I have blurred that.

Edited March 19, 2014 by KhunBENQ

[vanillalatte]

Ten grand for a passport. Seems a tad expensive.

It sounds like.....wishful thinking?

[Suradit69]

I had to send my passport to my agent in Bangkok to clear my household good s through customs at the time. They actually put a stamp in the passport.

Likewise, but I told the clearing agent to send someone to Pattaya to collect it by hand and to have someone hand it to me when they delivered the shipment. No problems.

[jacko45k]

When you import a shipment of household goods under the duty free exemption the passport is required as a notation of having recieved the free shipment is made in the passport.

I have blurred that.

And there is me at first thinking you had put your passport through the wash too.

[ezzra]

Gee, common sense and precaution in the order of the day here, any time somebody

ask you to send any important document all you need to do is pick up the phone

and verify and get the name of the person you have spoken to...... this way you minimize any

chance for some one to scam you....n

[bra]

I am not disputing the requirement for passports to be sent before goods are cleared as posted by others. However I would be cautious as I have recently received several spam emails supposedly from FEDEX stating that they were holding shipments at their depot, and if I send money or provided my CC details the goods would be released. I sent these emails to FEDEX for action.

[Suradit69]

I am not disputing the requirement for passports to be sent before goods are cleared as posted by others. However I would be cautious as I have recently received several spam emails supposedly from FEDEX stating that they were holding shipments at their depot, and if I send money or provided my CC details the goods would be released. I sent these emails to FEDEX for action.

Those tend to be of the Nigerian Lottery type. One clue might be if you weren't expecting a shipment and it wasn't your birthday.

I sent these emails to FEDEX for action.

FedEx,and others, have a special file for those alerts informing them of phishing emails. You usually get a responding email patting you on then head and then …

Edited March 19, 2014 by Suradit69

[thailandbeachisland]

Whatever people say it's so crazy to send a passport anywhere. And then people complain later that shxt happens...

[Mr Brown]

Ten grand for a passport. Seems a tad expensive.

Law enforcement agencies have stated that $10000 US is the going rate for a stolen passport on the Asian black market.

[humqdpf]

Only in the unlikely event that you are a customs clearance agent in Thailand would customs communicate directly with you. They would only communicate with the customs clearance agent who would in turn communicate with you.

It can be the case that the customs clearance agent may be required to show your passport to customs just to ensure that it is not some scam on his part (especially if you are importing using tax waiver) but customs would never request it from you directly. Besides, you should never send your passport by post.

[KhunBENQ]

Not send by post!

Nice advice

So travel to customs departement to do the clearance.

[ChiangraiTony]

When you import a shipment of household goods under the duty free exemption the passport is required as a notation of having recieved the free shipment is made in the passport.

Unless the household and personal items are very large why not hand carry them? When I moved to Thailand I used the largest size suitcases that I could find. I brought a total of 9 large suitcases of all my household/personal item and when I when through BKK I was never questioned about the suitcases or contents therefore all my items made it through without the one-time exemption or without having to pay any duty.

[curtklay]

It's not a scam. We had to do the same thing when our household goods shipment arrived. It's a bit unnerving, but it's the standard practice. Use EMS registered mail. Know who you are dealing with, and get contact phone numbers.

[thrilled]

I think I will just buy stuff that I need in Thailand.I'm not going to surrender my passport.

[moe666]

Yea but you know everything in Thailand is a scam

[diyer]

When you import a shipment of household goods under the duty free exemption the passport is required as a notation of having recieved the free shipment is made in the passport.

Unless the household and personal items are very large why not hand carry them? When I moved to Thailand I used the largest size suitcases that I could find. I brought a total of 9 large suitcases of all my household/personal item and when I when through BKK I was never questioned about the suitcases or contents therefore all my items made it through without the one-time exemption or without having to pay any duty.

How much did that cost and what airline?

The cheapest quote I can get just for one extra case is almost as much as my flight cost.......over £500.

[mogo51]

Quite obviously this is a scam being orchestrated within Chang Mai Customs, as I understand it both incidents occurred through there? No prizes for guessing who is doing the scamming!.

[ChiangraiTony]

When you import a shipment of household goods under the duty free exemption the passport is required as a notation of having recieved the free shipment is made in the passport.

Unless the household and personal items are very large why not hand carry them? When I moved to Thailand I used the largest size suitcases that I could find. I brought a total of 9 large suitcases of all my household/personal item and when I when through BKK I was never questioned about the suitcases or contents therefore all my items made it through without the one-time exemption or without having to pay any duty.

How much did that cost and what airline?

The cheapest quote I can get just for one extra case is almost as much as my flight cost.......over £500.

Flew business class with my partner which accounted for 4 suitcases at no extra charge if I recall correctly. I also recall two or three bags each for carry on and then I paid for a couple extra bags which really wasn't that much. The one thing to remember is to keep within the weight limits for each bag and try to keep the weight of your bag within less than 1 pound of that limit. It's quite amazing how much can be packed into a suitcase with a little practice. Investing in a scale for luggage helps achieve your best return. There were some other small costs such as taxi service had to be a van which cost a little more, hotel personnel had more work handling the bags as well did the airport bag handlers. I just doubled the normal tip.

[KhunBENQ]

I can not comment on the FedEX topic, but I repeat once again:

there will be no customs free import of household goods without the original passport handed to the customs departement FULL STOP.

Its everyones own decision whether moving to Thailand with some suitcases or filling a 20 foot container.

Edited March 20, 2014 by KhunBENQ

[curtklay]

KhunBENQ, Mario2008, and Rooo are 100% correct.

Like it or not, if you want your stuff, someone will have to present the original passport.

Edited March 20, 2014 by curtklay

[OMGImInPattaya]

When you import a shipment of household goods under the duty free exemption the passport is required as a notation of having recieved the free shipment is made in the passport.

Unless the household and personal items are very large why not hand carry them? When I moved to Thailand I used the largest size suitcases that I could find. I brought a total of 9 large suitcases of all my household/personal item and when I when through BKK I was never questioned about the suitcases or contents therefore all my items made it through without the one-time exemption or without having to pay any duty.

Did the same with 9-10 when I came in (including a cat carrier). Customs just said how cute the cat was and waved everything through. Of course, this was 15 years ago and things may have been more lax back then.

[ChiangraiTony]

When you import a shipment of household goods under the duty free exemption the passport is required as a notation of having recieved the free shipment is made in the passport.

Unless the household and personal items are very large why not hand carry them? When I moved to Thailand I used the largest size suitcases that I could find. I brought a total of 9 large suitcases of all my household/personal item and when I when through BKK I was never questioned about the suitcases or contents therefore all my items made it through without the one-time exemption or without having to pay any duty.

Did the same with 9-10 when I came in (including a cat carrier). Customs just said how cute the cat was and waved everything through. Of course, this was 15 years ago and things may have been more lax back then.

Nothing seems to have changed in the 28 years that I have been coming. I have never, not even one time been stopped by customs to inspect baggage. The nine suitcases brought to Thailand was two years ago.

So in essence I did bring all my household items without having to complete any special papers nor did I have to relinquish my passport in doing so. The one time exemption when relocating to Thailand never officially took place, I just picked up my bags at the turn-belt and walked through into Thailand at the airport. I was however prepared to pay whatever duty was assessed but they never took the time to check my belongings. I never thought Thailand would pass up the chance to make money off of me. Thank you Thailand!

[harrry]

I can not comment on the FedEX topic, but I repeat once again:

there will be no customs free import of household goods without the original passport handed to the customs departement FULL STOP.

Its everyones own decision whether moving to Thailand with some suitcases or filling a 20 foot container.

Also personal goods are not duty free unless You have a work permit and it is yur first entry for two years.

[KhunBENQ]

Also personal goods are not duty free unless You have a work permit and it is yur first entry for two years.

Or you are married to a Thai who lived with you and declare the shipment in her name.

A common method in moving to Thailand.

(the picture in post #6 is from my wifes passport)

Edited March 21, 2014 by KhunBENQ