Guest travelerjim Posted September 6, 2010 Posted September 6, 2010 During the past few years we all have heard the horror stories of gay clubs, host bars, guesthouses, restaurants being ripped off by a so called Copyright Police. Having to pay fines of 10,000 - 20,000 and more baht because they had a cd, dvd, mp3 music on their tv's, playing music in their business, on their computers... all SCAMS but they paid and paid.... FINALLY...we learn the Bangkok Police have arrested a SCAM ARTIST... Good for them....find more and arrest them too. ---------------------------------------------------- Bangkok Police arrest suspected Copyright Licensing Scammer at Pattaya Police Station http://www.pattayaone.net/pattaya-news/27651/bangkok-police-arrest-suspected-copyright-licensing-scammer-at-pattaya-police-station/ Bangkok Police arrest suspected Copyright Licensing Scammer at Pattaya Police Station 4th September 2010 Crime Suppression Police from Bangkok arrested a female claiming to be from a copyright licensing company who was wanted on warrant to answer charges of extortion. The case occurred in the early hours of Saturday Morning and begun when Khun Sudarak aged 32 arrived at Pattaya Police Station with an internet shop owner after she failed to pay an on-the-spot fine for having mp3 music files loaded onto one of the computers. She was accompanied by a man claiming to be an undercover Pattaya Police Officer. Checks into the woman were made and it was found that she was wanted on an arrest warrant number 3603/2552 dated 31st December 2009 and issued by a Bangkok court. Crime Suppression Police, who had requested the warrant were contacted and soon arrived to arrest the woman who claimed she worked for a copyright licensing company. She was known to visit Internet Shops and Bars in Bangkok and Pattaya and ask for payment to clear copyright violation cases on-the-spot otherwise they would take the case further. We spoke with an Internet Shop owned at the station who claimed the woman and a man who accompanied her did not show any forms of identification during the visit and asked for 50,000 Baht to clear the case. The suspect had already taken payments from the same shop in the past. read more..... Quote
Guest fountainhall Posted September 6, 2010 Posted September 6, 2010 This scam was rather obvious and I'm glad they were caught. But i can see a more refined form of the scam developing in due course. I am not sure what intellectual copyright agreements Thailand has in place - and the lengths to which the authorities will go to enact them. In most developed countries, there are copyright agencies set up specifically to issue licences in return for a fee for the use of music in bars and hotels etc. The relevant copyright holders are then paid the bulk of that fee less an administration charge. Assuming that is not enforced here - or indeed is not yet the law - I can see more people jumping on this scam bandwagon by claiming to be officials from a non-existent copyright agency which issues legal-looking but fake licences. Quote
