Bangkok Scams
A helpful little Bangkok website is Bangkok Scams. A site truly dedicated to the few Thai people out here you could live without them. We’re not pretending there are no farang scammers around, but especially when you’re newer to town you’re some locals’ thankful prey.
Or you still talk to your first real estate broker? I’m sure every foreign Bangkok resident has a scam story or two to tell. Bangkok Scams may be a worthwhile taker. You may help others by warning them of the latest stunts and ruses to rip off the credulous and innocent.
And rest assured, the creativity to cheat is a sport among certain circles in certain areas. You only don’t get cheated any longer when the ever-smiling host is made aware that you’re already around for some time. But boy, despite all warnings, why is it that some classics as the Thai Girl Scams don’t die off? Because of reciprocal exploitation, or so it seems.
Well, at a market, you’ll maybe still get slightly overcharged now and then even as a longtimer over here. That’s a tolerable price to pay in view of a possible prosperity gap. And as Bangkok Scams notes: “The intention of this website is not to put Thailand in a bad light.”
“All countries have scammers,” you’ll read on. “However, we are concerned that a small minority of Thai people (and some foreigners) who are giving Thailand a bad name.”
Thinking really hard about it, I’ve never really been scammed over here. Ok, when arriving at Koh Samet you feel scammed for having to pay an entrance fee for a national park that looks all but a holiday park.
The two-price system is a kind of scam. But just boycott those places – or produce some Thai identity paper, be it a driver’s license or whatever.
Here some samples of Bangkok Scams’ latest reports as per this August: Siam Ocean World doubles prices, Disco scam at Windsor Hotel, Fake ticket scam, Haircutting scams, Mafia in Patpong markets.
Anything sounds familiar? Or you never got scammed?
Report it right here. We’re all ears.
Tourist mafia is ruining Thailands reputation as a safe/friendly destination.
Erawan Shrine Tourist mafia – photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21533131@N06/2776818028/
Silom Road tourist mafia – photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29324583@N05/2775978801/
What do these flickr photos prove?
BangkokDan
We got scammed by them on our trip.
Everywhere we went we met people trying to scam us.
This is the way they treat guests?
Uncle Frenk, they saw you coming, as they say. Some people are like walking flypaper when they leave their closets.
Photos of Thai Tourist Mafia here:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=676476&page=6
This is a repeated scam at the airports. Beware of duty-free shopping there.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8154497.stm
How can I check on a company that is scamming me for money, how can I report them – and how can I get my money back.
Look out for UNSEEN TRAVEL!!!!!
We just got back from the holiday from hell … Newbies to Asia, having read-up a lot about scams we were not prepared for this.
We were taken by tuk-tuk to unseen travel in Pathumwan, Bangkok, where everything looked legit, we checked licensing etc. and everything seemed fine, they even checked us into a non-insect infested hotel for a reasonable price so everything started out great.
We paid 91,000 baht for three flights (two of us) and supposedly all of our hotels, food, tours etc. The s### hit the fan when she told us to come back and get the final details after we checked into our hotel.
We went back to get “details” of which there were none, scribbles (I mean this literally, un-readable!) on bits of paper, no addresses no matter how much we tried, not even the name of the hotel in some cases, not even flight reservation numbers or anything. She even started to get aggressive with us when I tried pushing for details. We were very VERY lucky we managed to find an English speaking person to help us even confirm we had flights booked!! We were so scared about the reservation I canceled my credit card thinking they would try and charge it again.
The first low-blow was our “English speaking tour guide” spoke NO English, not even enough for us to ask for the bathroom.
Then, amazingly, we were actually picked up for transfers to Siem Reap, not by the “luxury bus” we were told but a mini van that was full. The transfers were messy with no instructions of what to do, and running late (to the point others missed their next transfer).
We get to Siem reap, again with a shared car not the private car we were told and dropped at a backpacker hostel not the 4-star hotel we were promised. Our tour guide was fantastic though which was about the best part of Cambodia. Oh she also booked our flights so we would be in Cambodia four days and three nights, however she only booked accommodation for two nights, so we had to pay further.
Amazingly our flights went without a hitch (even had checked luggage which we thought would be forgotten considering how the rest of the trip had been going).
So we arrive in Ho Chi Minh and the hotel that had been booked didn’t exist, nor did the number she gave us for our “tour guide” so again, we had to pay more!
Next, flights to Hanoi. once again no tour guide to pick us up so we took a stab in the dark and went to the “Hanoi View,” turns our there are two and guess what, we were not at the right one, no we were to be staying at the disgusting “city gate” (a sister hotel and a downgrade so unbelievable you wouldnt think it would be the same chain) which had a hole in the shower so water peed everywhere, stained sheets with holes in them, a broken computer, oh and musn’t forget the cockroaches. Checked out of here ASAP and had to pay AGAIN.
SO, now that we are back in Australia I am going through my credit card company (EVERYONE make sure you get a gold card for amazing legal benefits etc.) to try and recoup some money as we estimate we were overcharged by at least $900+.
Word of advice for anyone looking to do Thailand-Cambodia-Vietnam … you DO NOT need a travel agent it can all be done easily, safely and most definitely cheaply online by yourself! Had we of known this we would have had a much easier, WAY cheaper and less stressful holiday.