Thailand is known as the land of smiles and the Thai people are generally very friendly and welcoming of tourists. Thailand has become very popular with backpackers who enjoy meeting other travellers and making new friends. However, it is easy to become too trusting and there are those both foreign and Thai who will be looking to cheat you.
These are some examples of current scams to be aware of.
Scams Run by Foreigners (‘Farang’) in Bangkok, especially Khao San Road area
There are some foreigners who will try to extend their stay with various ‘far-fetched’ begging schemes. There is one foreigner with a German accent, who is of tall, slim build and wears glasses who may come up with a story something along the lines of needing to make an international phone call or a Western Union money transfer, but there is a small hole in his bag, where some coins had fallen out?!? He frequents the Khao San Road area. It is best to take such stories with a pinch of salt and do not give these people any money.
Patong Beach, Phuket
There is a group of English with strong London accents that are involved in handing out scratch cards for a hotel promotion. They are white, both male and female and range in age from early twenties to perhaps late forties. They will appear friendly and start by saying ‘Excuse me, do you speak English?’ Do not bother getting involved with this because at the very least it will waste a lot of your time.
Scams Involving Thais
General Scammers - The Khao San Road Area
Any taxi or tuk-tuk driver loitering around the Khao San Road area is likely to try and charge considerably more than local price. It is commonly known that they get fuel tokens as commission for taking tourists to certain shops. Therefore there will be an incentive for them to try to coerce you into going to places that you don’t want to go.
Jet ski rental (especially in Pattaya and Patong, Phuket)
There have been many reports of people renting jet-skis and then being intimidated into paying huge sums of money (e.g. perhaps US$1-2,000) for any alleged damage done. Why bother renting them if they are playing this game? If you must make sure you scrutinise the jet-skis carefully for any existing damage and perhaps take photos, as evidence should they be needed later.
Richard Milnes - Richard was born in London, England, but has since spent much of his life travelling the world and has visited nearly 50 ...
