Quality Russian tourists - but Koh Chang hotel suffers 100K loss in "new" swindling tactic

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Quality Russian tourists - but Koh Chang hotel suffers 100K loss in "new" swindling tactic

 

Picture: Manager Online

 

KOH CHANG: -- A hotel in Koh Chang has fallen victim to a bunch of high end Russian tourists who stayed for ten days but used someone else's credit card.

 

Now immigration are checking all ports for the gang and issuing warnings to hotel operators to verify credit card information and register all guests according to the law reports Manger Online.

 

The group of Russians reserved several rooms in advance at the Koh Chang Grand Orchid Resort earlier this month and stayed for ten days.

 

All seemed above board but five days after they had left the bank did not honor the 99,000 baht payment because the owner of the credit card said he was not there at the resort. All the rooms were booked using just one card.

 

The resort owner Mukda Charoenprasit, 56, reported the case to police but only mentioned 6 Russian names while admitting there were 16 tourists in the rooms.

 

Police said this was a new scam to fleece hotel owners. But they did say that they thought the owner of the card was actually at the resort but that he had not himself made the booking.

 

Ranarong Buayen of the local force said that they think the gang are still in Thailand and that all ports have been warned to be on the lookout for them.

 

He said that the reservation was done properly in advance and the credit card limit had not been exceeded with the booking except that the names had not been properly checked. He advised that SMS verification should be used by operators.

 

Meanwhile in the light of the case immigration warned operators to make sure that all foreign guests were registered according to the law laid out in Article 38 of the immigration code.

 

Source: Manger Online

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2016-11-28

[petedk]

Knee jerk reaction:

Let's add credit card details to the long list of personal details that foreigners are asked to give to immigration.

[OJAS]

4 minutes ago, petedk said:

Knee jerk reaction:

Let's add credit card details to the long list of personal details that foreigners are asked to give to immigration.

 

And, of course, this would sure deter "quality Russian tourists", not!

[PaddyDaddy]

16 High End Russian Tourists spend 618.75 baht per night EACH.....Total 99,000 baht for the 10 day stay. Hardly qualifies as high end tourists!!! .I wonder if government tax

is included in that figure?

 

Edited November 28, 2016 by PaddyDaddy

[ezzra]

Just thank your lucky stars you weren't fleeced for much higher sum mainly

on Vodka and other liquors chargers.... live an learn....

[Orac]

Don't most hotels swipe the actual credit card on check in if the funds haven't been taken already through the booking agent?

[zakk9]

Either the credit card was reported stolen, or it was not reported stolen. If it was reported stolen, it's the bank's problem. if it was not reported stolen, it's the problem of the owner of the card.

[Rimmer]

Some troll posts have been removed

[elgordo38]

3 hours ago, zakk9 said:

Either the credit card was reported stolen, or it was not reported stolen. If it was reported stolen, it's the bank's problem.

I surely hope the bank takes this one in the ear. 

[wombat]

'it's the problem of the owner of the card'

 

it will be if they can prove he was there at the same time.

[Enoon]

4 hours ago, zakk9 said:

Either the credit card was reported stolen, or it was not reported stolen. If it was reported stolen, it's the bank's problem. if it was not reported stolen, it's the problem of the owner of the card.

 

It reads as if the booking was paid in advance, possibly on an online booking site like Agoda.

 

Which could be done after copying card details.

 

I have never had to show my card on check-in having booked online.

 

The card would not need to have been stolen.

 

(But one would have thought that the person who made the booking would have been upfront with the voucher at check-in and would have had to present their passport for TM30 purposes?  The Plot Thickens)

 

Edited November 28, 2016 by Enoon

[4evermaat]

 
It reads as if the booking was paid in advance, possibly on an online booking site like Agoda.
..... .  

Then wouldnt agoda handle the fraud issue, if any?

[Enoon]

2 minutes ago, 4evermaat said:

 

Then wouldnt agoda handle the fraud issue, if any?

 

 

I don't know.  I was only pointing out that CC fraud can take place without the victim having their card stolen.

 

 

[snowgard]

4 hours ago, zakk9 said:

Either the credit card was reported stolen, or it was not reported stolen. If it was reported stolen, it's the bank's problem. if it was not reported stolen, it's the problem of the owner of the card.

 

Why??? The bank told they not pay and so it's the resort owner problem!!! The resort have to check who use the credit card. Do you ever listen something about "Sign your payment bill" or "Put your PIN inside"? If they checked it together with the passport they saw direct it was a fake credit card. But I beieve they never saw this credit card because the russians ordered the rooms online and given the credit card details.

 

How difficult is it today to copy a creditcard?

[captainhornblower]

 

Other members have stated they think it is booked through one of the Online Travel Agents such as Agoda, booking.com etc. I do not read it like that.

 

It says that ' The group of Russians reserved several rooms in advance at the Koh Chang Grand Orchid Resort earlier this month and stayed for ten days.' Doesn't mention the Channel through which the booking came.

 

This is actually a good lesson to all hoteliers to check (and photocopy) the passports of everyone in any/every group. At least there would be some double check. 

[Enoon]

28 minutes ago, captainhornblower said:

 

Other members have stated they think it is booked through one of the Online Travel Agents such as Agoda, booking.com etc. I do not read it like that.

 

It says that ' The group of Russians reserved several rooms in advance at the Koh Chang Grand Orchid Resort earlier this month and stayed for ten days.' Doesn't mention the Channel through which the booking came.

 

This is actually a good lesson to all hoteliers to check (and photocopy) the passports of everyone in any/every group. At least there would be some double check. 

 

It's all speculation of course.

 

Here's some more along the same path:

 

The card details were copied and used to pay in advance, online, using the "nothing to pay until" option so nothing showed on the cardholders account.

 

The individuals passport was stolen (but not the card, so no suspicion of CC fraud) and was then used to verify the ID of the person who presented the voucher, who was the person in the group of Russians (we/they all look the same to Thais, 16 of them to choose from) who most resembled the individual on the passport.

 

This wasn't the only hotel it happened to.  The same trick, using the same details/passport, was used to book in several large parties within a few days.

 

Waiting to see if any similar stories appear.

 

That'll do for now.

 

 

Edited November 28, 2016 by Enoon

[lungnorm]

1 hour ago, Enoon said:

 

It reads as if the booking was paid in advance, possibly on an online booking site like Agoda.

 

Which could be done after copying card details.

 

I have never had to show my card on check-in having booked online.

 

The card would not need to have been stolen.

 

(But one would have thought that the person who made the booking would have been upfront with the voucher at check-in and would have had to present their passport for TM30 purposes?  The Plot Thickens)

 

I beg to differ, I always use Agoda and have done over the last 12 or so years. Everywhere I have been the hotel always swipe the card and it has to be the card used to make the booking. So this has got me puzzled, surely the card was swiped on check in?

[sanmyintmaung]

36 minutes ago, lungnorm said:

I beg to differ, I always use Agoda and have done over the last 12 or so years. Everywhere I have been the hotel always swipe the card and it has to be the card used to make the booking. So this has got me puzzled, surely the card was swiped on check in?

I used Kasikorn Virtual Debit card to prepay hotel bookings through Agoda. Some hotels ask for the physical credit card for damage deposit at check in time. In that case, I would pay the deposit in cash which is refunded promptly upon check out.

Edited November 28, 2016 by sanmyintmaung

[smew]

Every new season new russian scams .. Yeah high end tourists at 650 baht per day per head..it must be quite a sum compared to high end Chinese tourists .. 15 baht per day

[lungnorm]

11 minutes ago, sanmyintmaung said:

I used Kasikorn Virtual Debit card to prepay hotel bookings through Agoda. Some hotels ask for the physical credit card for damage deposit at check in time. In that case, I would pay the deposit in cash which is refunded promptly upon check out.

Yes the first couple of times I tried to pay cash for the security deposit but they would not accept cash and insisted on swiping the card.

[sead]

I think the card has been swiped but that the owner said he wasn't in Thailand and thereby the bank retracted the money.  Agoda just checked if the amount is retractable at the moment of the booking.   The owner of the card is probably in it too,  Since he took out the money before they checked out. Reason the hotel owner waited to swipe the card was probably because she reported less customers and  wanted to put some money in pocket. Perhaps the customers told owner they wanted to pay some cash and she sees some opportunities.

Just some speculations though

[affen02]

21 hours ago, elgordo38 said:

I surely hope the bank takes this one in the ear. 

 

On 11/28/2016 at 11:41 AM, zakk9 said:

Either the credit card was reported stolen, or it was not reported stolen. If it was reported stolen, it's the bank's problem. if it was not reported stolen, it's the problem of the owner of the card.

Beg to differ, if the /your card was used in a scam you had no part in any deasant bank would refund, talking western bank here,  bank understand that you don,t go look wherever you keep your card  every bloody day if just that card is In it's place. Of cource you should report theft or loss of card to the bank as soon AS you are aware of it, and as both this situations comes under Bank coverage the person in question should be ok. My experience, anybody else ??

[Nerone]

now that you warned them they can happily take a boat from trat to cambodia...