News Forum - Tourist police warn travellers of Thai scams

[Thaiger]

Spiderman’s uncle once said, “With great tourism, comes great scamability.” We might be paraphrasing a bit, but as Thailand is welcoming international tourists once again pouring into the country, the tourist police are warning that perhaps not-so-welcomed scammers are also returning to prey on fresh foreign victims. The commissioner of the Tourist Police Bureau says that they are increasing police presence by adding extra bicycle, motorcycle, and car patrols to keep an eye on major tourist spots and popular provinces for foreigners. They are working in cooperation with local police officers and immigration to alert travellers of potential scams according to […]

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[Giltee]

This article says it all and really at the end of the day why would you want to come to a country where there’s so many trying to rip you off? I love Thailand, it’s people and I live here but I’m savvy to the cons but there’s so many of them

[Soidog]

I read this article today in the Bangkok Post. I’ve spent the last two hours desperately trying to be positive about it and to think this is a really good initiative and good news. However, I just can’t get the nagging question out of my head - Who’s going to protect tourists from the protectors”? 
 

Sorry. I should have said. Great work. Well done RTP. Fantastic initiative. I can sleep a lot easier now knowing you have my back.

[Marc26]

2 hours ago, Giltee said:

This article says it all and really at the end of the day why would you want to come to a country where there’s so many trying to rip you off? I love Thailand, it’s people and I live here but I’m savvy to the cons but there’s so many of them

Then people wouldn't travel anywhere 

 

There are scams everywhere 

 

I've gotten scammed twice and LB'a pickpocketed me for 1k baht before 

 

 

The 1st scam was my very 1st trip 

Tuk tuk told me Grand Palace was closed and then took me around all day

I paid him 500 baht and I felt it was totally worth it

I did have to tell him to stop bringing me to places we didn't agree on 

And he tried a bigger "gem scam" that was very easy to realize 

 

 

But I've had many more instances where Thais were helpful to me

 

[Chatogaster]

1 hour ago, Soidog said:

I read this article today in the Bangkok Post. I’ve spent the last two hours desperately trying to be positive about it and to think this is a really good initiative and good news. However, I just can’t get the nagging question out of my head - Who’s going to protect tourists from the protectors”? 
 

Sorry. I should have said. Great work. Well done RTP. Fantastic initiative. I can sleep a lot easier now knowing you have my back.

 

I've been thinking a bit triggered by "Who’s going to protect tourists from the protectors?" (good question!) I can imagine several dubious scenarios, but in the end I don't see how the initiative can be detrimental to ordinary tourists as a group (if you extend "tourists" to mean "foreigners" it becomes trickier, but let's stick with plain (foreign) tourists to keep things simple).

For example, part of the initiative is dispersing more bodycams to police officers. Any dispute that might arise out of say an attempt to get some coffee money for an imagined/unsubstantiated offence can no longer be resolved just by the weight of the officers words. Heavier scams committed by police officers (like "assisting" in disputes over jet skis) are also made more difficult.

To me, the more important question has nothing to do with tourists specifically and would have to be "Who watches the watchers?". The police apparatus in Phuket is about to get lots of toys/tools/data (automated recognition, access to mutual databases, many more video captures). A bad and even low-level actor can easily abuse that, especially the data (bits and bytes are worth real -- and potentially much -- money). Even if data access is organized perfectly, once it spreads to other provinces and slowly (or fast) becomes ubiquitous there are many "great" opportunities to abuse the resulting information/power on a national level. As far as I know, there are no counterweights, e.g. an independent Thai ethical board (whose advisories would have to be legally binding in order to be taken seriously).
 

 

Edited December 17, 2022 by Chatogaster
typos as usual

[Soidog]

13 minutes ago, Chatogaster said:

For example, part of the initiative is dispersing more bodycams to police officers. Any dispute that might arise out of say an attempt to get some coffee money for an imagined/unsubstantiated offence can no longer be resolved just by the weight of the officers words.

Umm. For some reason, when CCTV is needed, the Thai CCTV systems have a terrible habit of being faulty or down for maintenance! Maybe it has something to do with magnetic fields at 13 degrees North?!

On the data side of things, then I’m in a camp that struggles to find it an issue. Obviously data such as financial security is a major concern, but data around where I go and what I buy or how long I spend in a shop or bar really doesn’t matter to me. I know many people find it intrusive and even scary, I personally don’t care. Be interested to hear others views on why a law abiding citizen should worry about such matters? 
 

Overall, credit where credit is due. The initiatives all sound positive and I sincerely hope they bear fruit and reduce some of the scams taking place. I like the idea of an App that people can access and upload images etc. I’m. It sure why they didn’t just call it Thailand Tourist Police in the first place. 

[Ramanathan.P]

Well...scamming innocent tourists happens in every country around the globe. It is only the intensity of the scam that matters. The biggest problem is those tourists from countries which has restricted rules and regulations feel that they are a free bird once step on Thai soil. That shuts down their alert mind and started engaging all those activities that leads them indirectly or directly to the scam trap. If tourists do some homework before coming to Thailand and have made proper pre-arrangements like travel and accommodations, then such scams could be reduced or avoided. For example no one spend wee hours drinking or looking for extra fun in their home country. Just maintain that when you are in a foreign country. Simple as that.....

[Totoro]

What about the ever-present scams?

National parks: Thais:40 THB, Foreigners:200 THB or more.

Hospitals etc: dual pricing.

Restaurants:menus for Thais and foreigners.

Hotels:an official appeal to charge foreigners double the price.

 

[Manu]

And again this bloody subject. There is no country, not a single one around the world where scams do not exist. Is there any idiot out there that would come to Thailand thinking that it is not the case here? No point warning people of something obvious, it might worry some if anything. This kind of articles give the impression that the problem is bigger than it is. But it is not really, I have seen far worse in many other countries, starting with my own. I go to Paris every year and everytime, I have to intervene cause some tourists are about to get scammed in front of me, scammers (and robbers, pickpockets, etc..) are far much a bigger problem there (for example). I do not think people in general are stupid kids, people know what to do or not, and for those who will come to Thailand for the first time, they will quickly realise that it is not that bad. Here if someone offers you something and you are unsure if it is a scam or not, you say no with a smile and move on. In many other countries they harrass you, do not let you go, follow you, etc... Thai scammers have always been to me little peanuts.

[Manu]

40 minutes ago, Totoro said:

What about the ever-present scams?

National parks: Thais:40 THB, Foreigners:200 THB or more.

Hospitals etc: dual pricing.

And why is that? Who finance these national parks (and hospitals)? So if the price is 200thb for everyone, then only foreign tourists (and rich Thais) will visit them cause Thai people have far much lower salaries and could not afford it. This is the case in many countries around the world, in general poorer than western countries. And how is it a scam? A scam is when you do not know you are charged more or when you pay for something that is not what you have been told. In Thailand you can see the prices before you get in so up to you to pay for it or not.

Quote

 

Restaurants:menus for Thais and foreigners.

 

Where??? Where I am, I do not know a single one that does that, not even a food stall - and I know them all.

[HolyCowCm]

22 hours ago, Soidog said:

However, I just can’t get the nagging question out of my head - Who’s going to protect tourists from the protectors”? 
 

Funny, but I also thought of a couple areas on Sukhumvit and perhaps Kaoson rd or even Samui that used to or still do have a stigma from certain not the good guys.

[JamesR]

22 hours ago, Marc26 said:

Then people wouldn't travel anywhere 

There are scams everywhere 

I've gotten scammed twice and LB'a pickpocketed me for 1k baht before 

The 1st scam was my very 1st trip 

Tuk tuk told me Grand Palace was closed and then took me around all day

I paid him 500 baht and I felt it was totally worth it

I did have to tell him to stop bringing me to places we didn't agree on 

And he tried a bigger "gem scam" that was very easy to realize 

But I've had many more instances where Thais were helpful to me

I agree.

You said, "But I've had many more instances where Thais were helpful to me".

I was walking down a street with a Brit friends many years ago in Bangkok, a group of Thai lads approached us from behind and told us to be careful, they were pointing to the friends pocket where a wad of bank notes were half in and half out of his pocket, he could have lost the lot.

I was driving from Phuket to Chiang Mai a few years ago looking for the hotel I had booked, it was before mobile phone GPS etc, I was stopped at a red traffic light next to another car, so I pulled down my window and told the guy driving the name of the hotel I was looking and asked him if he knew where it was, he told me to follow him, after ten minutes we arrived at the hotel, he turned out to be an off duty policeman, he had a young son in his car so I gave the son a few baht to buy some sweets. 

I was terribly ripped off once though, I went to the aquarium in Phuket and I had to pay a few pence more than the locals to enter, I have never got over that shock.

Scams happen in every country in the world, we have to be mindful of them even in our own countries, Thailand is not any worse than any other country.

 

[Soidog]

2 minutes ago, JamesR said:

Thailand is not any worse than any other country.

Totally agree if we include the word “overall”. I think the difference between countries like Thailand and a developed European country, is that the scams are not as overt or include the very people who you should be able to trust (the police). As such, the scams tend to focus on residents rather than visitors. Outright theft and pickpocketing happens everywhere. 

[Marc26]

3 hours ago, Soidog said:

Totally agree if we include the word “overall”. I think the difference between countries like Thailand and a developed European country, is that the scams are not as overt or include the very people who you should be able to trust (the police). As such, the scams tend to focus on residents rather than visitors. Outright theft and pickpocketing happens everywhere. 

 

[Marc26]

 

 

 

 

When and how have you been outright scammed by police in Thailand 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now I was involved in a horrendous witness intimidation and my address given out by police 

 

 

 

Just massive abuse of power and corruption 

 

 

 

 

 

But every day petty scams 

 

Never 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Soidog]

38 minutes ago, Marc26 said:

When and how have you been outright scammed by police in Thailand 

Now I was involved in a horrendous witness intimidation and my address given out by police 

Just massive abuse of power and corruption 

But every day petty scams 

Never 

So what do you call being stopped in a car for speeding but no evidence other than you were in the outside lane?  Police then just ask for money. Happened to me twice and friends many times. Normal

I had an incident where my phone was stolen but by chance found the guy who did it. Called the police and all off to police station. I was outright told that if I paid the policeman 2,000 baht they would charge him. I refused and no phone ever recovered. You've been lucky Marc. Maybe when you live in Thailand full time you may have the same experiences. 
 

You seem to think opinions expressed are founded on nothing more than myth. Mine are based on real experiences, otherwise I wouldn’t express them. 

[Marc26]

1 hour ago, Soidog said:

So what do you call being stopped in a car for speeding but no evidence other than you were in the outside lane?  Police then just ask for money. Happened to me twice and friends many times. Normal

I had an incident where my phone was stolen but by chance found the guy who did it. Called the police and all off to police station. I was outright told that if I paid the policeman 2,000 baht they would charge him. I refused and no phone ever recovered. You've been lucky Marc. Maybe when you live in Thailand full time you may have the same experiences. 
 

You seem to think opinions expressed are founded on nothing more than myth. Mine are based on real experiences, otherwise I wouldn’t express them. 

Well you seem to think police stopping people for violating the law(helmets) is corrupt 

 

And don't be mistaken 

I think there is major corruption in Thailand police

I've experienced probably one of the worst incidents 

I've just never been scammed by police in the manner the thread was talking about 

 

[Soidog]

28 minutes ago, Marc26 said:

Well you seem to think police stopping people for violating the law(helmets) is corrupt

When did I ever say that? I have no problem with police enforcing the law. 

[Soidog]

28 minutes ago, Marc26 said:

I've just never been scammed by police in the manner the thread was talking about 

But plenty of people have. That’s the point 

[Manu]

11 hours ago, Soidog said:

But plenty of people have. That’s the point 

Plenty of people have experienced police corruption indeed (I have a bar here so I know), but this is not the same as scams.

Cambridge dictionary definition of "scam"

Quote

an illegal plan for making money, especially one that involves tricking people:

That is not the same and this is what the article is talking about, and if I am not mistaken, that is also what Marc26 means too. Police corruption is more the case of you pay or f*** off, no plan nor trick involved, which is not the definition of a scam.

[yselmike]

I wish they would change the color of the 1000 baht note.When I'm in my cups in a dark bar or trying to pay a motodop it's really hard to see the difference between the 100 note and the 1000 note.I often get back to the room and wonder how I spent so much.

[Manu]

8 minutes ago, yselmike said:

I wish they would change the color of the 1000 baht note.When I'm in my cups in a dark bar or trying to pay a motodop it's really hard to see the difference between the 100 note and the 1000 note.I often get back to the room and wonder how I spent so much.

How strange... to me it is the 500 bth note I have problem with, indeed in a dark bar even with my glasses on I cannot see the difference with a 100 bth note.

[Soidog]

51 minutes ago, Manu said:

Plenty of people have experienced police corruption indeed (I have a bar here so I know), but this is not the same as scams.

Cambridge dictionary definition of "scam"

That is not the same and this is what the article is talking about, and if I am not mistaken, that is also what Marc26 means too. Police corruption is more the case of you pay or f*** off, no plan nor trick involved, which is not the definition of a scam.

Definition of Scam:

 

noun

INFORMAL

1. a dishonest scheme; a fraud.

   "an insurance scam"

 

As you will see, Fraud is part of the definition:

 

fraud

 

noun

noun: fraud; plural noun: frauds

1. wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain.

 

The example I gave, whereby I was stopped and told I was speeding when I wasn’t, was done in an attempt to deceive me of money for the personal financial gain of the police involved. Therefor it’s a scam.

You are attempting to split hairs by your own definition I’m afraid. 

[Manu]

2 minutes ago, Soidog said:

 

You are attempting to split hairs by your own definition I’m afraid. 

Nope but I stick to it.

[Soidog]

Just now, Manu said:

Nope but I stick to it.

Well stick all you like. You mentioned the Cambridge Dictionary definition. Well here it is:

scam

noun [ C ]

 

UK  

an illegal plan for making money, especially one that involves trickingpeople:

The policeman tried to “Trick” me in to giving him money by falsely claiming I was speeding. His plan was also illegal. 
 

He attempted to Scam me.