What's the best scam you've come across in Thailand?

[mcfish]

Uni student deeply in love with farang papa

[SoiBiker]

The biggest scam is the massive bait and switch I had perpetuated on me. I was promised a dirty, unpleasant place where the locals would despise me, only tolerate me for my money, and attempt to rip me off at every opportunity.

But then I got here and discovered a delightful place full of kind, friendly people who go out of their way to be helpful and pleasant to me.

Who do I complain to about this deception?

[scorecard]

On 2/17/2016 at 7:06 PM, lovelomsak said:

My first wife pulled a great scam when we were preparing to get married.

  We were talking about the marriage and she said she doesnot want much she is a good woman. I thought great. so I ask what do you want? She replied 20 baht. I thought she was joking about  money to give for sin sot. So I joked back oh too much I only give you 10 baht. She said ok. Then she said how much money you give me. I said 10 baht like we agreed thinking we still joking, She then told me she was talking about bahts of gold at first and she was happy to get 10 baht of gold but wants cash too. I didnot know what to say because all of a sudden she seemed very serious. So she tricked me into paying 10 baht gold.( She also got a house)the house was already settled before the 10 baht fiasco.

 

 

Marriage stuff: My Thai son has an acquaintance from uni who proposed to a girl from the Issan area, girl agreed, her parents came to Bangkok and approved the marriage and the details all agreed. The young man had never been to the girls home village.

 

The young man and his parents agreed to pay for a relatively expensive wedding party at the girls home, plus of course the young man agreed and paid not small sinsod in advance.

 

About two months before the wedding and party date the girl asked for 400,000Baht more in cash for the party saying that they couldn't find anybody to cater the food etc., at the party, so they wanted to build a new kitchen and prepare the food themselves. 400,000 was to cover the food ingredients and building the new kitchen. The boy paid the extra 400,000. Boy had still not been to the girls home.

 

The day came, all arrived at the girls house. No new kitchen to be seen. Boy asks 'where is the new kitchen'.  He was then taken to see a full new house built for a relative with a simple kitchen which was to used to prepare the wedding feast, about 1km away from girls home.  400,000B all gone. Within minutes a request for a further 100,000Baht for the fresh food ingredients. Not paid.

 

Boy aborted the wedding and he and his parents quietly disappeared back to Bkk.

 

 

Edited August 5, 2016 by scorecard

[JJGreen]

 

 

Marriage stuff: My Thai son has an acquaintance from uni who proposed to a girl from the Issan area, girl agreed, her parents came to Bangkok and approved the marriage and the details all agreed. The young man had never been to the girls home village.

 

The young man and his parents agreed to pay for a relatively expensive wedding party at the girls home, plus of course the young man agreed and paid not small sinsod in advance.

 

About two months before the wedding and party date the girl asked for 400,000Baht more in cash for the party saying that they couldn't find anybody to cater the food etc., at the party, so they wanted to build a new kitchen and prepare the food themselves. 400,000 was to cover the food ingredients and building the new kitchen. The boy paid the extra 400,000. Boy had still not been to the girls home.

 

The day came, all arrived at the girls house. No new kitchen to be seen. Boy asks 'where is the new kitchen'.  He was then taken to see a full new house built for a relative with a simple kitchen which was to used to prepare the wedding feast, about 1km away from girls home.  400,000B all gone. Within minutes a request for a further 100,000Baht for the fresh food ingredients. Not paid.

 

Boy aborted the wedding and he and his parents quietly disappeared back to Bkk.

 

 

He and the family should've at least waited till they ate

[Rob13]

All the hoop jumping and nickel and dimes to maintain your visa status is a pretty effective scam 

[Fabricus]

On 7/18/2016 at 10:27 AM, gemguy said:

The boiler rooms still exist...

 

They do indeed. And so do some of the "ghosts from the past" who used to manage them.

 

Very devious people.

[oxo1947]

I bought a book on e-Bay called, 'How not to get scammed when purchasing on e-Bay'.

That was 2 months ago, and it's not arrived yet? .......................

Edited August 6, 2016 by oxo1947

[NCFC]

I visited an acquaintance in Loei province who grew strawberries for a living. I complimented her on the fine display of produce in her farm shop and asked if she had gone out and picked her fruit early that morning.

 

"Oh no" she said. Her strawberries were not yet ripe and because it was a long weekend when many city folks had come up for the weekend, she had driven to Talad Thai, north of Bangkok, the previous day to buy ripe strawberries that she could sell as "farm fresh" to the unsuspecting tourists.

 

 

[louse1953]

I was home,slaving away and wife got a phone call saying her long time stepfather was dead,could we send money for the funeral.We were going soon anyway unbeknown to them.Knowing the family,i told the missus to borrow the money and i would sort it out when i got there in 6 weeks.When i arrived the dead man had risen from the dead and was in good health,which i commented on.He said he was sick before.I don't know if the ex was in on this,but no phone calls to say he had risen from the dead.She had to be in on it.

[cornishcarlos]

The referendum....

[SattaheapSea]

3 hours ago, cornishcarlos said:

The referendum....

 

you funny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[JJGreen]

I was home,slaving away and wife got a phone call saying her long time stepfather was dead,could we send money for the funeral.We were going soon anyway unbeknown to them.Knowing the family,i told the missus to borrow the money and i would sort it out when i got there in 6 weeks.When i arrived the dead man had risen from the dead and was in good health,which i commented on.He said he was sick before.I don't know if the ex was in on this,but no phone calls to say he had risen from the dead.She had to be in on it.

I thought you might refer to her as 'ex wife'

[Rayk]

The referendum....

You beat me to it.

[invogue]

Paid for an item at a market with a 1000 baht note. Item cost 200 baht.

Shop lady hands me back 20 baht note change. I argue with her and she pretends not to speak English. 

No possibility of getting the money back of course.

Cheap lesson though.

Don't just hand over 1000 baht. Pay in smallest denomination possible. When not possible, hold the money up and don't hand it over until they have already got the exact change to hand back to you.

[invogue]

Moved into short term rental apartment. Pay one month rent and one month security deposit.

Shortly after I realized the microwave and TV didn't work. I go see reception and tell them and expect they're going to come fix it.

Instead they say I broke the TV and microwave. Obviously it;s a scam so they can keep my security deposit.

I would recommend to others that you do a checklist with the manager/landlord immediately when moving in to make sure everything is working.

 

[dick dasterdly]

11 hours ago, invogue said:

Paid for an item at a market with a 1000 baht note. Item cost 200 baht.

Shop lady hands me back 20 baht note change. I argue with her and she pretends not to speak English. 

No possibility of getting the money back of course.

Cheap lesson though.

Don't just hand over 1000 baht. Pay in smallest denomination possible. When not possible, hold the money up and don't hand it over until they have already got the exact change to hand back to you.

I think you were unlucky as such obvious theft is not 'normal' in my experience.

[SattaheapSea]

11 hours ago, invogue said:

Moved into short term rental apartment. Pay one month rent and one month security deposit.

Shortly after I realized the microwave and TV didn't work. I go see reception and tell them and expect they're going to come fix it.

Instead they say I broke the TV and microwave. Obviously it;s a scam so they can keep my security deposit.

I would recommend to others that you do a checklist with the manager/landlord immediately when moving in to make sure everything is working.

 

 

this type of scams is hard to control

i had similar experience with a couple of landlords

Generally, people get this often as seen with  college students in Ubon a week ago got ripped off and police couldn't help them 

at the end they had to pay as much as 8k.

 

[invogue]

8 hours ago, dick dasterdly said:

I think you were unlucky as such obvious theft is not 'normal' in my experience.

It has only happened once in a total of several years living in Thailand and many people I spoke to about it said it's a fairly common scam around the world. I would say for the money I lost it was worth the lesson

[shunter]

There are number of  web page designers  here in Thailand who promise the earth and certainly  deliver fertilizer if of course you get a delivery in the first place. Too many  on n tourist visea want to stay here types who  find the  e Web Pag Designer  scam an opportunity to finance their sojourn here.Form a company in name only with no Thai  partner no  financial set up and then work from a room  without a work permit conning all they  contact as a friend of mine found out not so long back lost some 20'000 baht  too and no goods delivered.The web page designer then removed all the contact points from his own web page and facebok page. Strange thing is the scammers weren't Thai. They are English family types and claim to be be university educated too

Edited August 13, 2016 by shunter

[Fabricus]

On 8/13/2016 at 2:42 PM, shunter said:

There are number of  web page designers  here in Thailand who promise the earth and certainly  deliver fertilizer if of course you get a delivery in the first place. Too many  on n tourist visea want to stay here types who  find the  e Web Pag Designer  scam an opportunity to finance their sojourn here.Form a company in name only with no Thai  partner no  financial set up and then work from a room  without a work permit conning all they  contact as a friend of mine found out not so long back lost some 20'000 baht  too and no goods delivered.The web page designer then removed all the contact points from his own web page and facebok page. Strange thing is the scammers weren't Thai. They are English family types and claim to be be university educated too

 

The phrase "due diligence" springs to mind.

Edited August 14, 2016 by Fabricus

[shaggy851]

I had always suspected a lady whos dad was a taxi driver of having a very serious sponser hidden away somewhere or possibly having a thai boyfriend. We had only ever been friends and i was curious why it hadnt developed further. Revealed to me over the period of 2-3 years, that i was correct. Turns out she did have a thai boyfriend and i saw just recently they had married, next thing she had a new motorbike next thing a brand new suv. In the photo was both the thai husband and the foriegn sponser at the dealership with the car wrapped up in a lovely red bow. Now that guy had been scammed ! 

 

[Global Guy]

Paying for the chance to support a wife for the rest of your life is one of the biggest and most accepted scams I've seen (sin sod/dowry). It's like paying her parents one gigantic bar fine for the girl who you will no doubt be supporting your whole life anyway. Yes, I know, they use "culture" to justify it.

 

I told my gf I'm not paying a dowry to her parents. I said (jokingly) if you think it through, they should be paying me if I'm going to take care of you. I gave her an engagement ring (which has more diamonds than I have years).

 

The one part of my culture I am not abandoning is about not buying a bride. I'm not moving in with her family after we get  married and I'm sure they won't pay a baht towards any wedding. Plus, they aren't losing a daughter's help from a family farm or business. She has her own job and lives with me.

 

I don't need to prove to her parents I can "support" their daughter. Giving them money kind of accomplishes the opposite. If you give them 500,000 baht, that's 500,000 baht less you have to spend on her.

 

I know a lot of guys will disagree with this and insist you must pay for your bride. It's their culture, they will say. I also told my gf that as a mixed couple, some things we will do the Thai way, some things the Western way, and some things a variation of the two combined. I don't feel I have to abandon my culture to live here.

 

Adapt? Yes. But abandon? No. She's fine with that.

 

Oh, and guys, don't bother posting if your post includes the word "cheap" because that has zero to do with it. I've just followed their reasoning for the sin sod and it doesn't hold up to logic. In this day and age, it's just a money grab by the parents.

 

Edited September 13, 2016 by Global Guy
update

[pattayadude]

On 2/17/2016 at 8:06 PM, lovelomsak said:

I didnot know what to say because all of a sudden she seemed very serious

i would have said "Goodbye" right then and there!

[Ace of Pop]

Visa Agents.Language Schools ,and Ford Service.

[Thian]

The best (or most amazing scam to me) is that good quality worldwide brands sell a cheap quality product in Thailand.

 

I will name some: Tefal, Makita, Hafele, Karcher, Honda, Braun, Samsung, Yamaha to name a few but almost all big brands do it.

 

I had never expected them to go so low...

[SoiBiker]

I don't really understand how that's a scam. They sell products tailored to the local market. They're more affordable, but lower quality. You pay less, you get less. No scam involved. 

[The Dark Lord]

On 18 February 2016 at 0:38 PM, mercman24 said:

lend me money, i pay you back, THEY DON'T.

How very true but not limited to the indigenous pop

 

got a septic owes me THB 4 milo but a load of Thai owing me. Loans ( apart from septic) obtained thru wife ( indig) but when ever I raise the subject of payback I am in deep caca.

 

bought new car for everyone to use ( including me) found out son registered it in his name and used it as collateral for house he was building / I was unknowingly funding the majority of.

 

my dad used o say a clown and his money are soon parted. I am looking for vacancies in a circus now...

[Thian]

8 hours ago, SoiBiker said:

I don't really understand how that's a scam. They sell products tailored to the local market. They're more affordable, but lower quality. You pay less, you get less. No scam involved. 

 

There's so much you don't understand, it doesn't surprise me at all.

 

Those mentioned brandnames stand for qualityproducts, i used to buy them and even throw the receipt away first day since they are so good that i don't expect any problems at all.

 

But in Thailand those products (especially Tefal) is of such low quality it will be broken within a week. It gives ALL Japanese products a bad name, i don't trust any of them anymore in Thailand. So i bring them from Europe where they sure have the real quality which made them famous.

 

I call it a scam since they lured me into buying something i would have never bought if i knew what it really was.

 

It's the same as buying fake gold or fake gems...And especially the Japanese should be ashamed to lower their quality to this level. They are known for their qualityproducts and really disappointed me, i always buy only made in Japan or Germany...

 

 

Edited September 13, 2016 by Thian

[Rc2702]

1 hour ago, Thian said:

 

There's so much you don't understand, it doesn't surprise me at all.

 

Those mentioned brandnames stand for qualityproducts, i used to buy them and even throw the receipt away first day since they are so good that i don't expect any problems at all.

 

But in Thailand those products (especially Tefal) is of such low quality it will be broken within a week. It gives ALL Japanese products a bad name, i don't trust any of them anymore in Thailand. So i bring them from Europe where they sure have the real quality which made them famous.

 

I call it a scam since they lured me into buying something i would have never bought if i knew what it really was.

 

It's the same as buying fake gold or fake gems...And especially the Japanese should be ashamed to lower their quality to this level. They are known for their qualityproducts and really disappointed me, i always buy only made in Japan or Germany...

 

 

But in Thailand those products (especially Tefal) is of such low quality it will be broken within a week. It gives ALL Japanese products a bad name.

 

Tefal is french. Had a Samsung tv 2 years now works fine I'm told. Purchased in bkk. 

 

Here is one con in the UK. 

https://www.firebox.com/Chair-Socks/p7525 so that about 460 baht a pair. I checked in china and a 4 pack is $0.30 for 3000 4 packs. Blatant rip.

Price in daiso japanese stores in bkk 60 baht

Price in similar style store north thailand 40 baht

 

Little cook noodles available at selected 711 stores. Best instant noodles I ever had.

 

Price in bkk 711 55 baht

Price in roi et 711 39 baht

Price in rayong 711 46 baht

 

The best scam though for me has to be electric charges in condos for the unsuspecting newbies who soon find out they are paying a hell of a lot more than most for electricity. Bkk apartment was over 3500 baht a month every month. Compared to now where we use triple the electric and pay a 1/3 of price.

 

[Thian]

18 minutes ago, Rc2702 said:

But in Thailand those products (especially Tefal) is of such low quality it will be broken within a week. It gives ALL Japanese products a bad name.

 

Tefal is french. Had a Samsung tv 2 years now works fine I'm told. Purchased in bkk. 

 

Here is one con in the UK. 

https://www.firebox.com/Chair-Socks/p7525 so that about 460 baht a pair. I checked in china and a 4 pack is $0.30 for 3000 4 packs. Blatant rip.

Price in daiso japanese stores in bkk 60 baht

Price in similar style store north thailand 40 baht

 

Little cook noodles available at selected 711 stores. Best instant noodles I ever had.

 

Price in bkk 711 55 baht

Price in roi et 711 39 baht

Price in rayong 711 46 baht

 

The best scam though for me has to be electric charges in condos for the unsuspecting newbies who soon find out they are paying a hell of a lot more than most for electricity. Bkk apartment was over 3500 baht a month every month. Compared to now where we use triple the electric and pay a 1/3 of price.

 

 

Wow for all my life i was thinking Tefal was japanese, but that should be Moulinex then? Nevertheless Makita shouldn't sell powertools without groundcables in Thailand, that's unsafe and dangerous, Karcher and Bosch do the same though.

 

I don't see the issue with the socks, they are just expensive but that isn't a scam in my book.

 

A scam is when you think to buy something but get something else instead...an inferiour product for example.

 

Never tried the little cook noodles, always buy Indomee but it costs 1 baht more every year i noticed...no big deal but that's about 7% priceincrease. Will try the little cook...Yes BKK is expensive but the owner of 711(CP) does have a very good feeling for business.

 

 

Edited September 14, 2016 by Thian