Beware of passport scam targetting British nationals

[reader]

From The Thaiger

The British Foreign Office issued a warning to both UK residents and expats in Thailand about a passport scam that is currently targetting British nationals in the kingdom.

Fraudsters are attempting to capitalize on the recent strikes by government workers in the UK, which have caused delays in passport renewals, by promising to bypass the three-month waiting period for a fee.

The scam involves fake websites such as UK-renewpassport.net and emails from similar-named sources promising to expedite the passport renewal process through international money transfer systems like Western Union, Pattaya Mail reported.

The British Foreign Office is advising British nationals in Thailand who want to renew their passports not to fall into a trap and deal only with authorized application centres in Bangkok or Chiang Mai.

The scams in Thailand are similar to those already identified by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) in the UK, where many Brits have been tricked into believing they can get bargain-basement air tickets or cheap foreign holidays. However, in Thailand, the scams appear to target expat Brits who specifically want to renew their passports quickly.

The CTSI said…

“This scam has arisen as people try to bypass the inevitable delays, but paying money online for special favours is a recipe for disaster.”

The British Foreign Office website confirms that there is no fast-track service available overseas. The cost of an adult renewal is currently £127.51 (5,500 baht) for 34 pages and £138.51 for 50 pages, inclusive of courier fees. Local staff in Thailand will check the required paperwork before transferring and returning the original documentation to the applicant.

[PeterRS]

13 hours ago, reader said:

The British Foreign Office website confirms that there is no fast-track service available overseas. The cost of an adult renewal is currently £127.51 (5,500 baht) for 34 pages and £138.51 for 50 pages, inclusive of courier fees. Local staff in Thailand will check the required paperwork before transferring and returning the original documentation to the applicant.

As I think Barry Kenyon pointed out in one of his articles, getting a new UK passport if you apply in Thaiand can take up to 11 weeks. This was prior to the passport officers' strike. Goodness knows how long it will take now as April/May is a peak appllication period at the national passport office in Liverpool for Brits applying for first passports for summer holidays. As I mentioned in another thread, I was in the UK last month. With just three pages left in a 50 page passport and rarely having a 3-month period before having to travel, a friend in London told me about the one-week fast-track service in the London and Glasgow passport offices. Although this is technically available only if you live in the UK which I do not, I did apply for an interview in advance and prepared various reasons which i was sure the officer would ask about. As it turned out, all I had to do was show him two previous passports illustrating how quickly they got filled up. Instead of 30 minutes, the interview took just 8. My new 50-page passport arrived at my relative's home exactly 48 hours later (I did pay a little extra for local courier delivery)!

In total I paid about £35 more than the £138.51 quoted in the article. It was definitely worth it and I would gladly have paid even more.

[SonofWind]

Yeah, heard about this nasty scam floating about. It's a right old muddle, ain't it? Some lowlifes are getting clever, capitalizing on the passport delays due to the strikes back home.

[PeterRS]

Part of this scandal is the time it takes for a British national to obtain a new passport. It was not that long ago that all one needed to do was amble up to Witthayu, enter the Consulate, provide the dying passport and the application form. The existing passport would be cancelled, you'd receive a form in case you were stopped by the Thai police for not carrying a passport, and within four days the new passport would be ready. Then, just as I was preparing to apply for a new passport, I learned that applications in East Asia for almost all new passports would be handled by the Hong Kong Consulate. So I waited until I was next due in Hong Kong, went to the Consulate only to be informed that a decision had just been made that all passports would be handled directly from the UK and a new office in Liverpool!

Obtaining a new passport from the UK was supposed to take merely a few weeks. But since the Liverpool office has to handle all new passports and renewals, in the early Spring after it opened it was inundated with applications for new passports from Brits requiring them for their summer vacations. End result? A large number of Brits could not get the passports in time and missed their hollidays. For those overseas, the application procedure skyrocketed to around 12 weeks. And although the Liverpool office procedures have been streamlined, those applying for passports in Thailand are still advised to allow 12 weeks.

With the UK Consulate no longer involved, all passport applications in Bangkok are processed by a third party based in the Trendy Building on Sukhumvit 13. No other party is permitted to handle passport appications. But then some bright spark realised that dying passports could not be cancelled on site and sent back to the UK prior to new ones being issued, for in Thailand it is the law that passports be carried at all times by foreigners. So, in the absence of an official UK government form, applicants thereafter had to make colour photocopies of every single page of the old passport and hand them in along with the all the other forms. They could then hold on to the old passports.

The most difficult issue for those with travel coming up or who travel regularly, once your passport page copies have been handed over, you can no longer use the physical passport you are now allowed to hang on to for travel outside Thailand. To all intents and purposes it is dead and you have to wait months for the new one. Then another bright spark found a way to make more money. Those applicants can apply for a temporary passport! In addition to a load of additional paperwork, this will cost £115. And that will not be deducted from the cost of the new passport so your total bill for the larger passport will be £253.51 (plus up to £15 for colour photocopying of all the passport pages). Worse, the temporary passport is only valid for countries that do not require visas for British citizens.

Finally, you have to pay for the new passport and the courier service to deliver it back to you in advance. Try using a Thai bank issued debit card and the chances are high payment will eventually be rejected. So if you have one, use a UK debit card or a generally accepted credit card.

Better still, if you happen to be in the UK, book an appointment at the Passport Office in either London or Glasgow and hope that you can use the one-week fast track service. It worked for me!

[SonofWind]

On 7/13/2023 at 5:36 PM, SonofWind said:

Yeah, heard about this nasty scam floating about. It's a right old muddle, ain't it? Some lowlifes are getting clever, capitalizing on the passport delays due to the strikes back home.

They're spinning tales about bypassing that pesky waiting period, but it's all bollocks. Not a chance in hell they can do that. So if you hear about sites like UK-renewpassport.net promising to expedite things, steer clear! They're just trying to part you from your hard-earned quid.
Also, you might want to check out this how to get a fake ID website. They have some solid options there.