Share your scam stories here.

[firecat69]

When someone reports a large number of .scams and i am sure more coming, then the question has to be asked why is he subject to those scams .  No one else seems to have these multiple problems.  It is not like we have a lot of first trip 7 day visitors in this thread.

 

Many posters have spent at least as much or more time in Thailand without these problems.

 

Maybe the rest of us are too stupid to know we have been scammed but I doubt it.

 

I don't doubt there are scammers in Thailand, I just don't think it is much of a problem.

 

And someone who acts like there is a scam or a thief around every corner does a disservice to a country that gives most of us a lot of pleasure with minimal problems.

 

So for all the people who have never visited Thailand but hope to in the future. The hundreds or thousands of non- member , non-poster who read this forum:

 

Pack your bags and enjoy a wonderful country and take simple precautions you would use anywhere such as not knowingly buying  fakes and expect to get anything but junk for your money.

[ChristianPFC]

Honestly sometimes I think we deserve to be duped!

 

Case in hand is the purchase of copy phones. I have to repeat how prices of "inexpensive" mobile phones have been lately.  When I was in Pattaya 2 months ago, I saw GOOD phones from Lenovo and Hua Wei (famous brands from China) going for less than THB 5000.  I bought one for THB 7900 (before VAT refund of THB 450).

 

There we go! When I bought my current mobile phone just a week before flying from Thailand to Cambodia, I was told by staff that mobile phones are exempt from VAT refund. Did they just not have the form or were to lazy to do the paperwork or were just ignorant? (This is not a scam, just a misinformation that cost me money. Similar for thefts, they are not scam, but cost me money. The common thread in thread is an avoidable loss of money due to scams, thefts, misinformation.)

[firecat69]

There is a minimum amount of each purchase to be eligible for VAT return.  Whatever it is , my guess is you did not exceed it.

 

Also likely you were dealing with a shop that does not pay its required taxes thus will not apply for refunds.

 

Somehow I doubt MBK stores and TukCom in Pattaya pay the required taxes.

 

Plus you cannot have been in Thailand 180 days in the last 12 months. I would guess you fail again.

 

Oh and the store has to have a VAT sticker in their window.

 

Anyone want to bet you did not qualify??  HeHe

 

I looked it up . Has to be at least 5000 baht.

[ChristianPFC]

I know the minimum amount (5000 THB) and my purchase was above it (6900 THB). The shop was in Fortune Town Rama 9. I don't know how long or on what visa you can be in Thailand to qualify for refund, but when I bought my current camera in 2014, that was not an issue. But you could accuse me of taking the phone back into Thailand.

----------

Firecat69 has a point. 10 members (most of them experienced travelers judging by their postings, not newbies or people who should get out more) have not experienced scams or thefts, but Bucky and I have multiple. I have no explanation for that (other than that Bucky and I are just more observant and intellectually superior to the scammers/thiefs and therefore noticed the scam/theft whereas the other 10 members simply didn't notice the scam/theft; but then those 10 could claim to be even more observant and intellectually superior so they didn't fall for the scam/theft in the first place).

[firecat69]

Don't know Fortune Town Mall but if is not a mall carrying International Brands then likely they will never have a VAT sticker on their store. Thus probably hard to find said sticker in MBK , TukCom or similar malls.

 

http://www.bangkok.com/shopping-vat-refund.htm#

 

Easy to Google and find out what restrictions are on VAT refunds.

 

As far as intellectually superior, since I had a brand new iPhone stolen, which I reported in this thread.  My fault I should have known better then to leave a 45,000 baht phone where it could be stolen from boys who are lucky to make that much in 3 months.. I learned from my mistake.

 

Apparently some don't learn from their mistakes and continue to put money where it is available to be stolen.  

 

The scams reported here are much smaller then the actual thefts of money to you and Buckanway.  Certainly neither one of you appears to take steps to protect that money.

 

I am 99.9% sure I have never had money stolen from me in my room, taxi, massage parlor.  I would not be surprised if I sometimes did not get the right change in a Bar. I can be careless about counting change from a 1000 baht bill.  But usually I use 100 baht bills so if it happened it is my fault.

 

It is also extremely rare to be scammed when you are buying Brands from reputable stores.

 

PanTip Plaza is at the top of stores not to be trusted and their are others in BKK and they all deal in illegal merchandise. If you buy from crooks expect to get scammed.

[Gaybutton]

 junk stops working. It may stop working in 1 day or 1 week or 1 month but it is junk and it will stop working

 

Willy Clark (pounding on his TV):  "Come on, you piece of crap, work already!  Lousy Japs - they lost the war, so they send us their junk."

-  Walter Matthau (Willy Clark), 'The Sunshine Boys'

[Guest abang1961]

The staff at Central Festival Pattaya was very diligent.

She knew I was a foreigner and I bought the phone using my Visa card.  Hence she prepared the VAT refund forms for me.

 

At the Don Muang airport (flew Airasia home), all I did was to submit my form at the VAT counter and the lady behind the counter just stamped it and gave me THB 450 after I signed on the dotted line (acknowledgement of VAT Refund).

 

I don't know whether the 180 days rule hold as I was in Bangkok in Nov 2015 and Apr 2016 prior to the June 2015 trip.  However it was my first claim in so many trips (no wonder I label myself as a cheapskate)!

[firecat69]

Actually it is whether you spent 180 days in Thailand during the calendar year.

[Jasper]

I have been to Thailand 30+ times and I never been scammed or money stolen. I have once left my wallet in a breakfast restaurant in a hotel and remembered when I returned to my room. How stupid can I get? Anyway when I returned my wallet was where I sat. Phew!

 

I think you can avoid most scams and theft with common sense and clear head just like when you are at home country.

[lilbob69]

I don't think I have had money stolen or really been scammed in over 20 trips to Thailand.

 

1.  One thing I never worked out whilst in Pattaya was the people doing surveys. They would always approach me, speaking rather good english and ask just a few questions. Usually how long I was in Thailand, hotel name, room number etc

 

     In the beginning I always stopped and answered. I just presumed I may get a phone call or two later on trying to sell me something. Never did get any calls though.

 

    I haven't seen them for a few years now, so not sure if it still goes on.

 

 

 

2.   There used to be a deaf guy on beach road (outside central festival from memory). He would come up to you and instantly shake your hand, and at the same time pin a little broach thing to your shirt. He would ask for a donation for the trinket. When you refuse he would always pull out his note pad and show you what other people had 'donated'. Apparently BHT2000 was the going rate. I never paid him anything and he was nice enough when you refused and left.

 

 

I still cant work out how he could shake my hand and pin this dam thing on me with the other hand all within a millisecond 

[firecat69]

Nice to see members who don't post that much posting in this thread about never encountering thieves or scams. especially when they have had 20 or 30 trips in which to encounter all these bad people in Thailand.

[bucknaway]

Probably has a lot to do with how they get about. Are their movements limited to bars and restaurants. They probably tend to shop at the malls and places like tesco lotus.

 

The ones that experience the scams are the ones that explore on foot and shop at markets and places that don't have set prices. We are the people who are exploring thailand and tend to do it without asking for thai help.

[paulsf]

Yawn........

[Guest Prakanong]

Twenty years, sixty plus trips and, so far, no scams.

 

No?  I don't remember the exact details but there was a story you told sometime ago about your boyfriend and his best friend, whom you had invited along (or your boyfriend had invited along) on your holiday together and who was behaving quite strangely.  Call it my Thai intuition or whatever, but it struck me at the time that your boyfriend and his best friend were lovers  I didn't say anything because it didn't seem newsworthy as this sort of thing happens often enough not only in farang-Thai relationships but also in Thai-Thai relationships.  The main difference between the two is that in the Thai-Thai relationship, the beneficiary would be a lot more discreet and would not make his benefactor/patron/sugar daddy lose face.  In the farang-Thai relationship, the Thai beneficiary usually assumes, quite rightly, that the farang hasn't got a clue about what's going on and even if he finds out, a cover up story could easily be spun which the naive farang would believe - because he wants to believe.

[firecat69]

Probably has a lot to do with how they get about. Are their movements limited to bars and restaurants. They probably tend to shop at the malls and places like tesco lotus.

 

The ones that experience the scams are the ones that explore on foot and shop at markets and places that don't have set prices. We are the people who are exploring thailand and tend to do it without asking for thai help.

++ Yawn

 

So because of your ineptitude at protecting yourself against thieves and your inability to recognize when you buy illegal  junk that it is junk and will not work, the rest of us don't explore different parts of Thailand.

 

Just completely ridiculous!

[bucknaway]

Yes...  Focus on me rather than the fact of the scam.  It's the victims fault! Haha!

[DivineMadman]

Probably has a lot to do with how they get about. Are their movements limited to bars and restaurants. They probably tend to shop at the malls and places like tesco lotus.

 

The ones that experience the scams are the ones that explore on foot and shop at markets and places that don't have set prices. We are the people who are exploring thailand and tend to do it without asking for thai help.

First of all certainly disagree with this "us/them" notion of how people here explore or interact in their visits.  

 

I like to walk whenever I can - often to the consternation of my travel companions.  I enjoy exploring off the beaten track whenever I can.  I am in awe of Christianpfc's travels, but I have been on and off the beaten track in a number of countries in SE Asia myself, and other areas as well.  I'm not a much of a shopper, but what little I do buy tends to be from markets (talad), unless I am buying a piece of American size XL clothing for myself, which can be hard to come by in SE Asia.  I happily bargain at the markets because it gives me a chance to be a bit goofy and interact with the locals.  Do I negotiate down to the lowest possible price?  No.  I had an ex boyfriend from Laos who could do that.  But I bargain so we both save face and because I am not buying fancy electronics, overpaying by 40 baht is not a problem.  Nor is it a scam.  I hazard to guess, but I think more members of this board fall into this category of travel than you think.  (With the exception of the need to XL clothing.  I do not speculate about that.). 

 

Second and much more important is your statement "without asking for Thai help."  ???  If you're not interacting with Thai's at that level, I think that's unfortunate, but asking for help => understanding what's going on => less likely to feel badly treated or dare we say it, scammed.  (Outright theft, obviously, is just theft.  Protect adequately or don't.  But sometimes it's hard to completely prevent theft).

 

When I am buying some unidentifiable bit of street food or small tchotchke, the only person who has more fun out of the experience than I is the seller, who always seems to enjoy -- as far as I can tell -- my typical state of helplessness and Thainglish/pantomime  buying process.  Gotta say never really heard of exploring a country without asking for help.  If you're not taking advantage of the local help that is available, I think your missing out on a lot and I definitely don't see how that decision makes you more likely to be "scammed".  [i'll confess sometimes I ask for help so the locals can explain something to me.  It gives us a chance to interact.].  

 

The high point of my visit last winter to Thailand was probably my visit to the Makkasan Fort community.  I got lost, met some fun people, joined for 10 minutes a community organization meeting and bought for a ridiculous $20 a lovely birdcage of the sort that have been made there for centuries.  And I asked for help and explanations all along the way.   

[bucknaway]

I avoid the Jet Ski Scams so I guess they don't exist... LOL

 

https://youtu.be/Mqi07Dc68Lk

[firecat69]

The only scam in this thread of any importance  is you thinking that you will convince anyone that Thailand is full of thieves and scams.

 

And instead all you are doing is convincing everyone that you should stay in your home country rather then subject yourselves to all these thieves and scams that only you seem to have so many problems with.

 

Frankly I think you are making it all up but anyone with enough intelligence to invent all this shit should stick to writing Fiction Books because you are failing badly here.

 

Nobody cares about your BS and you have not convinced anyone about the perils of thieves and scams in Thailand.

[vinapu]

 

 

Nobody cares about your BS and you have not convinced anyone about the perils of thieves and scams in Thailand.

Too bad some care about yours,  including me,  if only to remind you that you forgot your usual invectives like 'laughable",  " ridiculous" /post 59 / and 'idiotic ' /post 63 / but my guess would be your A/C malfunctioned or something.

 

My biggest Thai scam is this thread which was supposed to be enjoyable and entertaining but it turned anything but. I read last 5 pages in one go today and it was least pleasant experience I had on this forum  since joining in 3 years ago.

[firecat69]

Leave it to you to only focus on the negative rather then the positive that the overwhelming number of members have not suffered any thefts or scams and that apparently includes you?

 

Plus since you posted on Page 6 of 8 I guess you really read the thread long before the last 5 pages.

[Guest abang1961]

To all victims of scam/theft,

Ask yourself why you became one such "poorer" victim?

Did you at any point "flashes" your expensive belongings i.e. mobile phones and wallet full of hard cash?

Did you at any point dress foolishly - with wallet sticking out of the pockets?

 

I may have mentioned this before -- go get a silver chain that joins the wallet/purse to your pant;s hook/lobe.  

This way, you know that the wallet in the pocket is always there.

Another way is to have a fanny pack/small sling bag that follows you whenever/wherever you go.

 

Thailand despite the junta's rule is STILL the land we want to visit/enjoy.

Don't let lousy incidents mar the joy of smiling faces, warm hands/body and warm hearts.

 

Song Dedication: From the musical, Chess.  Ready for some  disco?

 

 

The sentimental, sensitive guy in me screams.. don't we want to know the Thai guys well?

[vinapu]

 

 

Plus since you posted on Page 6 of 8 I guess you really read the thread long before the last 5 pages.

Your post is laughable,

 

 if one responds to post  from page 1 it will not be posted on page 1  but as last post on whatever last page it will be at the moment 

 

It's ridiculous that poster with such long experience on the board doesn't understand  those posting mechanics.

 

If I said I read last 5 pages in one go  it means I did , thinking I lied it's just idiotic.

 

If your own medicine doesn't taste well please swallow with water 

[vinapu]

 

After reading this post I thought it might be an idea to share our scam stories here, so people can recognize & avoid them.

 

this was an original idea of this thread firecat in case you did not notice 

[captainmick]

Your post is laughable,

 

 if one responds to post  from page 1 it will not be posted on page 1  but as last post on whatever last page it will be at the moment 

 

It's ridiculous that poster with such long experience on the board doesn't understand  those posting mechanics.

 

If I said I read last 5 pages in one go  it means I did , thinking I lied it's just idiotic.

 

If your own medicine doesn't taste well please swallow with water

 

Well said Vinapu. Sadly Firecat doesn't seem to realise that when stuck in a hole, you don't keep digging. His posts are ever more ridiculous.