Fun Guide to Beating Thai Scammers!

[Stogie]

Scambaiting the Scammer 10 Baht Tuk-Tuk driver, Cheating Indian Tailor and Over-Priced €˜Supposed€™ Government Jewelry Store.

Now, this is really easy and it can be quite a bitta fun. After your tuk-tuk driver has explained that the Grand Palace is closed due to repair or some other bull story and advises you to visit The Big Buddha or Lucky Buddha Temple for the likes of 10 baht, just say €˜Sounds Great!€™ So, after seeing a couple of mediocre temples, your scamming your thieving scruffy tuk-tuk driver will lie to you about getting fuel coupons if you pop into a tailors shop for 10 minutes (he gets commission whether you buy or not but you have to look a bit interested or the tailor will think the tuk-tuk driver is trying to scam him!!). After walking in the shop, the pot-bellied tailored will ask if you would like a coffee, advised him that you would prefer a beer and make it quick. If you€™re lucky you€™ll get one. Next, when he gives you a set of greasy catalogues to look at, seem interested but explain that you are living on a budget of 250baht a day and anyway you don€™t need a suit as you a student back home. Then, just for cheek of it, ask for another beer.

After you get booted out the door, the tuk-tuk driver will be well pished-off that he didn€™t get any commission. Next up, he will be saying that to get his €˜fuel coupons€™, you will have to pop into a phony €˜government€™ jewelry store. On arrival you will be approached by a nice polite womn who will offer you a drink, sure you can get a free beer and perhaps two here. In the meantime, flirt with the girl for fun and keep the tuk-tuk geezer waiting for half an hour while you are having a laugh. Next, while walking around with the sales woman, pretend you€™re more interesting in taking her to a discotheque or even a hotel room for a quick bonk than you are of buying gems.

After you leave the shop, your tuk-tuk driver is gonna be completely pished-off! No commission again for bringing in a couple of sex-tourist drunkards. Tell him to get lost and hail over a taxi otherwise you will call the police.

Scambaiting/Beating the Scamming Scummer Airport Taxi Drivers

When walking out of arrivals and some scammer tout comes up to you and offers you an over-priced taxi into town €“ no meter of course, just say €˜Sounds Great!€™ On the way downtown, ask your idiot taxi driver to stop off at a couple of 7-11s (spend 10 minutes each time looking around, wasting his time) and then at a garage for the toilet. All this time, the scammer will be getting pished-off and perhaps put the fair up, if so just reply €˜Sounds Great, no worries Mr Isarn!€™. On arrival at the hotel, jump screaming out of the taxi shouting €˜Scammer, refused to turn the meter on!€™ The driver is in trouble here, he has nothing over you. If the hotel security guard calls the police in, he could get a heavy fine even arrested. Afraid of this, he will ask how much you wanna pay. Agree to 200 Baht, that will do €“ if you are in a stinking mood, just refuse to pay altogether. Unfortunately for him, he€™s gotta give the tout at the airport who found you a 100 Baht commission.

Beating the Private Jewelry Stores

There are variations to this worst-of-the-worst scam, but I€™ll stick to one of the more popular. You have just got out of The Temple of the Emerald Buddha or Erawan Shrine and you are approached by a well-dressed man (may be a woman even). After acting all kind and perhaps taking you for a drink, he then explains to you that he is in the jewelry business and knows where you can buy amazing bargain gems (often to sell for a profit to his brother€™s shop in the likes of London). And these scammers are selling big - you invest 50,000 and sell them on to their make-believe partner shop abroad for 70,000!. You end up buying crap quality gems that would cost the fraction of the cost back home. If you are dumb enough to buy/invest in them, go to the tourist cops straight away with your receipt, there€™s a chance you€™ll get your money back. Sorry, but like one guy who posted on BangkokScams, there is no way you€™re gonna get a refund if you find out back home. The Thai Embassy can do nowt on your behalf. If the tourist cops are slow or uninterested go to the Tourist Authority of Thailand€™s (TAT) Head Office on Phetchaburi Road and explain the scam to them. The TAT loathes these jewelry scammers and they€™ll be on the phone to the tourist cops telling them to get their backsides into gear. For a complete list of these scamming scheming swindling shops see www.2bangkok.com

Beating the Scamming Restaurants (this advice was given to Bangkokscams by the police)

If your scamming smelly tuk-tuk driver advises a delicious seafood restaurant, just say €˜Sounds Great!€™ You will be given a menu with no prices on it. Order loadsa food and enjoy. In the meantime spot where the Thai language menus are kept. When you have finished eating, you will be given a bill for an extortionate amount of money. Refuse to pay before you see a menu with the prices on (perhaps see if the Thai language menu has prices on it). In the event the boss threatens to call in the police, say you don€™t care and tell them you know the law. The law states that all menus in Thailand must have the prices written in them (owner has theoretically broken the law). If there is no price in them, that means the food doesn€™t cost anything! The owner has nothing over you, if the cops come, explain that your Police Colonel friend had explained the law to you while he was holidaying in England a couple of months ago. The cops will believe your connection as otherwise they wouldn€™t believe you know about such law. Finally, the cops will probably ask you to pay the equivalent (may be cheaper even) of the usual price elsewhere.

Go-go Bar Scam

You are walking along Patpong Road and some pathetic looking tout invites you to an a go-go bar upstairs performing ping-pong, darts and horny snake shows. You are told a beer is a 100 baht, but when you get the bill it is for 1,500 (tout downstairs forgot to tell you there was a huge cover charge). The scammers in there are violently dangerous, don€™t get into a fight (a Japanese guy was murdered a few years ago in one of those bars). Tell them politely that you need a receipt to get your money back from the company (entertainment expenses). Act dumb and play it nice, like it€™s not your money they are ripping off. Outside, go straight to the tourist cops, there is a good chance you will get your money back.

Anyway, if you do want to see such a sinful show (or any a go-go bar that is) only go into one that is managed by King€™s Group Co. Ltd. All there bars have a huge plaque outside saying so. King€™s Group upstairs a go-gos are the only non-scams on Patpong. Their downstairs a go-go are also by far and away the best.

Card Game Scam

You are at Chatuchak Weekend Market and approached by a middle aged women (perhaps man). After befriending you she invites you to play cards (she knows how to cheat). At first you win loads but after that you lose it all. Sorry buddy, the cops can do nothing €“ gambling is illegal and you€™ll end up getting fined a 1,000 baht. Anyway, serves you right for trying cheat in the first place.

(For men only) Beating the Scamming Scheming Ladies of the Night who Claim they are €˜Proper€™ Thai Ladies (this advice was given to Bangkokscams by the police)

You are in Khao Sarn Road or Ratchadaphisek and some girl comes to chat you up. She claims she is a hair-dresser or office worker etc€¦. (This makes her even worse than a bar-girl as she€™s not admitting she€™s working the game) If she asks you to a hotel and you fancy her, state which hotel you want to go to. Ensure beforehand that the hotel requires you to check in with ID. Inform the scammer that you didn€™t bring your passport and tell her to check-in with her ID Card. That means she has invited €˜you€™ to her room and she is entitled to no financial compensation (that€™s what they call it in Thailand to get around the law and prostitution). She can do absolutely nothing.

(From www.bangkokscams.com)  

Stickman on scams in Thailand: Click HERE!

[pacman]

This is gold for new visitors to Thailand, & a few regulars too...

With the downturn in tourism expected in Thailand the number of scammers will only increase.

Is there any chance that this can be pinned? It is just too important & relevant to be lost.

[Stewart]

This is ridiculous......everyone knows that the only scammers on the planet are in the Philippines!!

[pacman]

Something worth mentioning for the new guys who may find themselves in one of these situations,

the whole rip-off can quickly turn nasty if you start to object to what is happening.

In bars & restaurants particularly you will suddenly be surrounded by staff all giving you that evil eye.

The message is clear - pay up or else.

Tailors & jewellery shops may not be so blatant. The gem scandals have been going on forever & why wouldn't they when they are so damn profitable.

The other way they can catch you in LOS is the old substitution trick. It may not even be something they sold you, never get a diamond ring cleaned for free -

there is a chance your diamond will be a moissanite when it is returned to you.

Dare to question the look of your diamond & a diamond tester will be immediately produced to calm your fear.

Fine except the moissanites are the only lab made stone that register as a diamond.

[guydesavoy]

(pacman @ May 03 2009,12:43) the whole rip-off can quickly turn nasty if you start to object to what is happening.

It all sounds like a hoot...but I think you'd have to be a pretty cool and seasoned customer to pull off the reverse scam

Kids, please don't try this at home

[manarak]

eh, a lot of the stuff on "bangkokscams" is only helpful for people leaving their brain back home.

With just a bit of common sense, one avoids 95% of scams.
- who would order from a menu without prices, except ladies?
- who lets the tuk tuk driver dictate where he's driving?
- who gives a diamond ring to clean in an unknown shop in Bangkok?
- etc.

The advice about the King's Group is a good one.
So far, I refrained from going to these shows, as I feared a scam, but if they say King's Group is safe, I'll pay a visit.

Also, to pull off the reverse scams, one has to be a serious asshole and seriously bored.
For one reverse-scammed tout, there are 3 or 4 normal people just trying to make a living.


Once, I asked a taxi driver to take us to the chao praya boat tours (klong tour), and of course our arrival was watched, and the taxi driver had a chat with the guy who seemed to operate the tours.
I get to the ticket selling counter, and wham! 3200 baht for 2.

I did what I always do in this case:
- say that it is too expensive
- wait that they lower their price
- when they lower by 20% (they are used to tourists, so they don't lower as fast as in the provinces), I say "still too expensive"
- I wait some time
- I make a move to leave
- the operator speaks to me: ok, 1500 baht, ok?
- We go on our boat tour, almost 2 hours, 1500 baht seemed still a little expensive, but okay.

Then there was a short chat with our taxi driver, and he got 100 baht or something.
Nothing wrong with that.

[pacman]

(manarak @ May 03 2009,15:52) With just a bit of common sense, one avoids 95% of scams.
- who would order from a menu without prices, except ladies?
- who lets the tuk tuk driver dictate where he's driving?
- who gives a diamond ring to clean in an unknown shop in Bangkok?
- etc.

Please don't let your own cleverness cloud your judgement on these points you specify.

Your first example - if you read above, a menu without prices is illegal. It is cases where the waiter recommends a dish to the unsuspecting farang where the problems start.
This is well practised in the seafood places patronised by tourists, many are legit, but it is so simple to pick out a wealthy arrival with no idea of price & double the tariff.

The tuk tuk or taxi who delivers an unsuspecting tourist to his friends business, you may not allow it but it happens frequently. I know well travelled friends who have been caught like this.

And the last one, I have seen diamond substitutions too often. Being in the business, I have to always check a diamond ring in front of my customer before I can take it in for repair or cleaning.
I don't wish to inherit the problem & be accused of the theft when so many of my clients are regular visitors to SE Asia.

It is a fact that over 90% of all moissanite sales in the world are in SE Asia. Co-incidence? Hardly!

Just because you have this all figured out, don't think there aren't suckers arriving every day. Why else are these scams so popular?

[jimslim]

(manarak @ May 03 2009,15:52) - who would order from a menu without prices, except ladies?

Brilliant

Anytime if you feel you've been scammed just stand your ground and be stubborn , or suggest getting the police , remember you are right and they are wrong , stick to your guns and you will win 99% of the time , the other 1% you will probably get stabbed in the neck , but hey those are decent odds

[Road Runner]

(jimslim @ May 03 2009,19:43) the other 1% you will probably get stabbed in the neck

I think they generally avoid blades as it's too likely to attract the attention of the police.

More likely the customer will obviously have been drunk and 'Maybe fell down the stairs'.

Either way I suggest that anyone takes Stogie's original post with a very large pich of salt.

RR.

[manarak]

who would order from a menu without prices, except ladies?

I fear I may be misunderstood on that one - in high class restaurants, the menues handed to the ladies have no prices, just those given to the gentlemen (because they pay).

[bill520]

(Stewart @ May 03 2009,12:19) This is ridiculous......everyone knows that the only scammers on the planet are in the Philippines!!  

Those were my exact same thoughts as I was reading the thread.

[harley quinn]

You should be aware of this scam as well -

When walking past Nana Plaza two really horny ladyboys approach you and ask if they can come back to your room to change their clothes as they have to go home and their families don't want to see them dressed as hookers.

When you get back to your room they fall on the bed and start having sex, then one of them reaches over , grabs you and starts to have sex with you. While this is going on the other one steals your wallet.

Mine was stolen last Tuesday.

Wednesday, Friday, twice on Saturday.....

[swaraj]

Look out for this one :

You pay your bill with a 1,000baht note, server returns with mama sang, 'this bill is a fake', you look, it is, this is bad news in more ways than one, you know there's been a switch, but to prove it ?, your word against a crowd of finger pointing Thai's. !!!

[Socrates999]

Make a small, distinctive mark on the back of a 1000 baht bill. Pay for a drink with it and collect the change. 3 minutes later, your friend, sitting at another table and completely unconnected to you, pays with a 500. When the change comes, he claims it was 1000, not 500. Politely insist on seeing the manager. Your friend mentions the small distinctive mark. Register is searched, said bill is located. Sorry sir, your change.

[bkkafterdark]

If you just want a good laugh when with a taxi or tuk tuk driver that's an asshole then pretend to find 1000 baht note on the floor of his cab..... should see thier faces..... damn funny but only do it when you with another person so driver does not try to get rough as he may think he's entitled to half of the find.