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If you read through all the different Thailand forums on the internet
you have so many foreigners complaining about their bad experiences
being ripped off in Thailand. It’s always about Thai people that tell
you a lie in order to get some money out of you without providing the
promised service, sometimes not giving anything in return at all. This
is what is called a scam and not just tourists in Thailand encounter
them but also expats actually living here that just haven’t got the
experience to know when to believe a Thai person and when better to be
careful.
So why are there so many scams in Thailand? Is it because a large part
of the Thai population is still extremely poor working for 300 baht a
day or even less and see a “walking ATM” in every foreigner they come
across? Or is it because we always have that nice marketing slogan
“Thailand – Land of Smiles” in our head and just tend to believe all
the crap Thai people are telling us if they give us their charming
smile? As usually, it must be a combination of both.
Below are ten of the most common scams in Thailand and a few of them
are actually being conducted by foreigners that run out of money –
there is a growing number of them who rather go this way than “giving
up” and getting on a plane back to their home country.
Patpong Sex Show Scam
The famous scam that a lot of newbies to Thailand run into as they
think experiencing a ping pong show in Bangkok’s oldest red light
district, Patpong, is a must do. The scam consists of Thai guys
approaching you at the night market in front of the go go bars
offering free ping pongs shows and even better: drinks for just 100
baht each. This often turns into a nightmare when it’s time to check
the bill and it’s rather a couple of thousand baht than a couple of
hundred. You then have no choice but to pay what they ask for as it
can turn violent if you start make an argument.
Wrong Change Scam
The most simple kind of scam. Well it’s really fraud when you are
given the wrong change in the restaurant, bar or even at the 7-eleven
by purpose. Like you pay with a 1,000 baht note and they give you
change as if you paid with a 500 baht note. Or just “forget” a one
hundred baht note. This almost exclusively happens in the most
touristic areas like Phuket’s beaches, Khaosan Road and Sukhumvit in
Bangkok and most areas in Pattaya.
Temple – Tuk Tuk – Gem Shop – Silk Shop Scam
All these terms are closely related to each other. So it happens at
famous tourist attractions like the Grand Palace or National Museum in
Bangkok that you are approached by a local Thai before you even reach
the attraction and he tells you it’s closed today (usually they give
you a Buddhist national holiday as a reason which they assume
foreigners don’t know about).
They are then inviting you to go to another attraction together which
turns out to be a gem, silk, tailor or other kind of shop. They try to
rip you off by telling you lies like you can buy the products there
for a very cheap price and make a huge profit by reselling them in
your home country. Tuk Tuk drivers are also often involved in this
kind of scam, however again most of these operate in the tourist areas
of Sukhumvit, Silom and Khaosan.
Renting Scam
If you are going to rent any kind of vehicle in Thailand whether it’s
a motorcycle, car, jet sky or boat – make sure you let document all
scratches and dents along with signing the renting contract (if any).
It’s also a good idea to take pictures of the vehicle from different
angles. Very famous are the jet sky scams in Pattaya and Phuket where
tourists are regularly blamed and held liable for damages they haven’t
produced.
Top 10 Scams in Thailand
Travel Scam
Several scams in Thailand are related to travel. So it happens that
tourists are approached in front of Hua Lamphong railway station in
Bangkok by local Thais pretending to be “officials” working for the
State Railway of Thailand and helping to book the train ticket. They
take the tourists to a local travel agent and pretend to call the
ticket office then saying the train is fully booked and offering you
an overpriced bus ticket instead on which they make some good
commission.
There are also regular incidents where foreign travelers report being
robbed valuables, especially during overnight trains and buses. This
even happens during day travel when buses stop for food and all
passengers are requested to leave. Also beware of strangers in
overnight trains who invite you for drinks as some foreigners get
drugged and when they wake up they find their money and other
belongings gone.
Price Discrimination Scam
Apparently it’s not enough that foreigners pay regular visa fees and
spend a lot of money for modern accommodation, western standard
products and quality food. Thai people even demand higher prices for
entrance fees from foreigners compared to local Thai people. Examples:
The Grand Palace in Bangkok, free entry for Thai people, 400 baht for
foreigners. University fees are at least 30% higher all over Thailand
for foreign students as opposed to Thai students. And probably the
most extreme price discrimination I’ve encountered so far: While Thai
people can buy a ticket for the Muay Thai fight in Bangkok for 180
baht, the cheapest ticket for foreigners is 2,000 baht. That’s insane,
what you think?
Nightlife Scam
It doesn’t matter if you go to a beer bar, go go bar, karaoke bar or
night club as a foreigner – there is always the possibility that one
of the Thai staff who is handling your bill writes down the extra beer
you didn’t order, the lady drink you didn’t agree on to pay or just
charges for a few extra pool games and then puts the additional cash
in his or her own pocket. Especially when you have had more than just
a couple of small beers. Even happened to me quite a lot in my
favorite pool bar in Bangkok, when I checked the bill they just told
me it’s 13 games instead of 11 so what I do now I let them count the
papers right at my table in order to avoid this kind of scam.
Thai Bar Girl Scam
There are countless of Farangs who come on a holiday to Thailand and
fall in love with a Thai bar girl. When they return to their home
country they try to keep the relationship by sending her money as she
promises to stop working in the bar and sleeping with other guys. Of
course in 95% of the cases that’s a lie and the girl will continue
working while receiving regular payments from their foreign boyfriend
(or rather sponsor) and a lot of these girls even have several guys
abroad sending them money at the same time. Everyone seems to know
about it but still there will always be foreigners who trap into the
bar girl scam and believe crap like the family’s buffalo has died or
her parents need money for paying the hospital bill.
Thai Cupid Banner
Time Share Scam
You might not even have heard about this kind of scam yet but this is
actually the crime tourists lose the most money in Thailand and it’s
one of the scams that mainly foreigners are organizing. What happens
is you are given a scratchy card by a stranger on the street for free.
He then immediately lets you know that you’ve won a massive price or
he gives you a call later to make it appear more authentic. In order
to claim your price you have to accompany him to a hotel.
Once arrived there he will bring you to a conference room along with
other tourists who apparently have won as well and then there’s a
presentation held by slick Westerners, all of them being well trained
sales agents. Now the scam is they offer you timeshare memberships at
luxury hotels, resorts or apartments to spend several weekends or
weeks in every year at an extremely discounted rate. If you do enter
one of these too-good-to-be-true deals and make a down payment of
several thousand dollars you might end up driving along the beach with
your contract in the hands looking for a property that doesn’t even
exist.
These timeshare companies are illegal as well as the work of the
foreigners who do not hold a business visa and work permit.
Thai Dating Sites Scam
There are foreigners who send presents and even money to girls they
meet on the various Thai Online Dating Sites without ever having met
them in person. My ex student girlfriend told me that she once
received a big package full of candies sent from a guy in the United
States and she hasn’t even had a video call via skype with him before,
they just wrote each other text messages for a couple of months and
then he asked her for her post address.
Now where are the scams in online dating sites? There are some
foreigners who get their Thai girlfriends to create a profile on
dating sites and respond to messages of guys promising to meet them
but she is out of money so she asks him to pay for the bus or flight
ticket to travel to Bangkok from her province. The guy transfers the
money on her bank account and never hears from her again.
How to avoid getting scammed in Thailand
Well, by having read this article you are now familiar with the most
common scams in Thailand. Generally, the more “touristy” and
inexperienced with Thailand you appear to Thais the more likely you
are getting scammed. Most Thai people are rather shy and if someone
approaches you very straight forward and in fluent English you should
always be skeptical. The same thing applies for Thai girls by the way,
even in Thailand guys are supposed to make the first step.
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