Why are you playing blackjack with Thai people? surely you could see a scam coming. As you said they certainly saw you coming

Yeah totally, I got caught up in this one recently. I was across in Bangkok last week (20 May) and this guy started the rap on me in Chatuchak. I went with them to the house and started playing blackjack. I just went along with it and told them I had no money so we would need to go back to my hotel. When I got dropped off I had a shower and stayed in the room for a while - when I went back out they were gone. Best thing to do in those situations is just keep your cool I reckon.

I was interested to see that this scam is still going.I got caught up in it back in 1988 on my first visit to Thailand.I did'nt consider myself to be naive,i was'nt walking around with an open map looking lost,but i was sucked in by a guy who approached me on Silom Road.He had a sister who was a nurse going to work in London.The family were all very worried about her going and they were having a party that afternoon for her.I,of course,was welcome to go along and meet her and then,perhaps,at a later date meet up with her in London.The sister of course is the bait on the hook in this scam.Even though i was a little wary i still got into a cab with this guy and we went to a house that even now i would'nt be able to find again.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing.All of those seemingly innocent questions such as "is this your first time in Thailand?"-"can you speak Thai?"- "how long are you staying?"etc reveal a lot more about yourself than you think.
To cut a very long story short there was no one else at the house except one other guy.He was the one who showed me how he was going to cheat some Indian guy at Blackjack to get back at him.They painted a very poor picture of this rich Indian.
I believe its the speed of events that keep this con going.The one thing that i remember,in hindsight,is the fact that they never stopped talking to me.All the time talking talking.I'm convinced it was almost a sort of brain washing.I had no time to think.
I did'nt play cards,certainly never for money.But in a sudden rush of events i was handed a large sum of money as the Indian appeard and i found myself playing for seemingly high stakes against him.I was winning because i'd been shown how to cheat.Then in what was going to be the last hand the stakes were getting higher and higher until i ran out of money,none of which was mine up to that point,there was supposedly $32,000 in the pot.With my cards i had 21,the Indian i knew had 20. The game was put on hold for an hour or so so i could raise some more cash,the cards were sealed and the Indian left.The two Thai guys were beside themselves with joy,one was even crying he was so happy.I stood to make $8000.I was almost crying myself.Then it comes to the crunch.They had no more money to lend me,how much did i have?I only had travellers cheques.The money was just for show they said.Although a little reluctantly i found myself in a cab on the way to a bank to cash my cheques and then finish off the game.This is where the mistake was made that allowed me to come to my senses.The one that came with me stopped talking.The whole thing hit me as though i'd run into a brick wall.Again to cut a very long and complicated story short i made my escape and avoided losing all i had.It was a very close call.
I realise that in telling the story the whole thing looks so ridicoulas you wonder how anyone could ever be so stupid to get caught up in such a thing.I do believe though that there is something in the way they just keep on talking all the time.I would be interested to know if anyone else has found this.I also wonder what the outcome would have been if i had cashed my cheques and gone back to finish the game.Would i still be alive today?They would have taken my money somewhere along the line,would it have been by force?Would the cards have been switched so that i lost the game?If that was the case they would still have to get rid of me somehow.
At the time i was so angry with the people that pulled the scam,i was even more angry with myself for being so stupid.I know that many people would say as the Thai's would say "som nam naa"(serves you right)but iv'e learned from it and now nearly twenty years later i'm seldom approached by con men in the street.I guess they can spot a newbie a mile away.And in those days there was no internet with sights like this warning of such things.

That's the reason that anytime a Thai comes up to me on the street and wants to talk, I ignore them. Only bad can come from a stranger approaching you on the street and engaging in personal conversation. The scammers always walk away cursing...but who cares??...I don't waste any time talking to any street people...unless of course I need directions...and I make a quick job of getting instructions and terminating the conversation. Greed and stupidity are no no''''s

I have just been involved in this - approached by a middle-aged couple at Big C in Saphan Kwai. They seemed quite genuine and said that their daughter was going to the UK next month and they were worried about her and wanted her to get some advice from a British person before going. I agreed to meet her (at their house) but surprisingly enough she wasn't there. Some kind of relative was, though, and started showing me how to cheat at Blackjack. At the point where it went from being theoretical to him wanting us to play against an Arab, cheat, and split the profits (70 for him, 30 for me) I decided to leave. It was obviously very dodgy. I am still supposed to be meeting this 'daughter' in an hour and a half - and will go because I am interested to see whether she exists and what the next scam is supposed to be. Certainly won't be hanging around for long, though.

Interesting experience, but could be expensive for those who don't realise what is going on.

13 July 2007. BKK.

Why would you go back? Even if the "daughter" does exist, what then ? maybe go out for dinner? DON'T BE A FOOL!
What happens if they do get violent or maybe even brandish weapons ,say ,oh I don't know, maybe a GUN! What then? Still an "Interesting experience' or just plain STUPIDITY? Maybe you should re-read the end of the previous thread....Greed and "STUPIDITY" are no no''s!!!

Calm down - nobody showed up as far as I could see. I was in James Bond mode, anyway, watching from across the way. I wasn't going to sit and wait where I said I would be, just in case, but it was a public location in the afternoon so I don't think there was much risk involved.

Lao word is heck da. You go in with your eye's open. If your ripped off....to bad so sad. You asked for it.

If you play cards for money while in thailand not only will you lose your cash but also your liberty as it is against the law to gamble here , you will be locked up until you see the judge and either get a jail sentence or a very big fine and you will be deported ,

This scam is also going on in Bali and Kuala Lumpur. Thankfully, I'd been warned about it in Thailand. I ended up getting a meal bought for me before I fronted the woman about it (we were in a crowded public place). Like Richard R's experience,the lady never stopped talking to me and even blatantly passed a security guard some money. Anyway, I guess it's best to always be polite to people you speak to on the street.... some people are genuine.

I'm not sure who said it, but I think that it was WC Fields; "You can't cheat an honest man"

This explains things, twice now here in BKK and once in Bali I have been fed the line about the daughter going to study in America/the UK. I could smell a scam a mile away so would just shake my head and walk away, but I was always wondering what they were up to.

I was caught by this about 20 years ago in Manila, and lost all the money I had with me - about 10 pounds. Hardly worth it for the huge team of scammers - at least 5 people. Then about a year ago I met this friendly chap in the street near Pantip Plaza in Bangkok. He had a sister who was a nurse and was about to go to London....I believed this and agreed to meet the man again 2 days later. The sisterand aged mother allegedly lived nearby but the taxi I got into with the man's "brother-in-law" (the man claimed another appointment) took over 30 minutes to get to our destination. After a snack I was introduced to Uncle X who claimed to be a cruise liner croupier. He started teaching me how to cheat at blackjack and only at this point did I realise what was happening. We were then joined by "Mr Ahmed from Brunei" with a suitcase full of money for me to "win". At this point I said I was leaving. There was no attempt to keep me there and they got me a taxi to the nearest skytrain station. About 2 weeks ago walking down Silom Road in Bangkok I was approached by this (different) friendly person who said his sister was a nurse and was about to go to work in London.....I told him I didn't play blackjack and he went off.

Same thing almost happened to me. A woman calling herself Fatima approached me in the Siam centre. I told her I was from Birmingham and, guess what, her 21-year-old cousin was going there to learn English in a few months time and would I like to meet her and tell her about UK. Yeah right!!

This brings back memories for me!
I've lived in Thailand for ten years now, but my first ever day in Bangkok I got deliberately involved in an obvious scam. I'd been backpacking around the world and had a hard time in India with some many scams there that I was looking for one here, for something to do. Yes I I was taken for food at someone's house, then the "uncle" tried to get me involved in this scam (I'm a croupier in Malaysia, but need a western guy to help me make money for my sick wife.)
Where he failed was all my fault, as I know absolutely nothing about cards or gambling and it doesn't interest me - the most I've done in my life was to play snap - honestly!
So I was out looking for a scammer in 1990 and found one, only to fail due to my lack of worldly knowledge about cards!
Trip down memory lane for me - thanks!

I was in KL last year, and aware of the scam. I met with a man whom wished for me to call him uncle, outside Plaza Low Yat in Jln. Bukit Bintang. The man somehow new I was from New Zealand (maybe tipped off by someone whom had spoken to me previously), and said "hey! Do you happen to be from New Zealand? My daughter will go there to be a nurse and she needs help settling in." I told him I would go to the coffee stall nearby to meet her, but already knew what was going on. Hey, I was bored and needed something to do.
So the man introduced me to his sister, whom told me the daughter was at the hospital looking after their sick grandmother however, they would take me home and cook lunch for everyone. I went along with it, knowing what was going on (hey, I am a risk taker and not afraid of weapons etc).
Soon after arriving in Cheaw Lin, the man advised me he sold cruise liner tickets, and his brother (whom was also there), used to be a dealer in Las Vegas and on the cruise liners. They first taught me to play (I already knew, but I thought Id have them teach me again for fun). After that, they taught me to cheat. They then told me that a man from Hong Kong was coming to pick up some cruise tickets, and they wished for me to cheat him using their money - I told them I made enough money to not need to cheat anyone, but that I would watch them cheat him. They told me to tell them I wanted a cup of coffee when I think the game should stop. We played, and I listened to the man talk. I can speak Cantonese, so soon knew from the accent of the man as he spoke English that he was not from HK (a Honkee, as my friends like to call each other). At one point, we almost lost, and they asked me for RM70 so they could keep playing. I had some cash, so passed it over (hey, it would have cost me nearly as much for entertainment anywhere else!). I asked the "Hong Kong Man" a question in Cantonese, and he looked at me puzzled. I said it was time for a coffee, and for me to go home. All of them left, except for the leader of the gang, "Uncle".
Uncle told me that on the other side of the door was a man with a gun and if I did not pay 10,000USD, they would take my life instead. I politely told the man what I did for a living, and made him "an offer he couldn’t refuse".
Uncle then, with the rest of his family, took me back to Jln Bukit Bintang. I took the registration plate of the car.
The security manager at my hotel by chance was friends with the chief of Police for KL, and details were passed over (yes, I stayed in one of those flashy 5 stars :p). A few days later, I saw "uncles" car in a nearby street I had been frequenting. Truth be known, after making another "offer he could not refuse", I took far more ringgit than he took from me.
I laugh to this day, about the time I "scammed the scammer". I may have been lucky, and may have been stupid, but I did come out on top. Nobody tells me about his or her daughter who is coming to NZ anymore when I walk around KL.

well done hamish. I was invited to a birthday party in KL and ended in the same scam. Now, when they bring up the cup of coffee, there is one more round to go, they bet high and want you to sign an iou for 50000 to be able to match the bet. Of course they have given you a winning hand. I finally quit there and let them win the initial bets. My main problem was that I could not understand why I had played in the first place. I do not like playing cards, and I do not gamble! Next day I Googled why I was having these constricted pupils,and found that I must have been drugged with rohypnol or something. I had accepted one tea. These drugs slow down your brain, which explains why I was protesting all the time that I did not want to play, but played anyway. It also explains why they keep talking that much, like Richard also writes: it feeds your brain with more info, the brain is slow, and you make the wrong judgment. Impaired judgment is one key word with rohypnol. Registration plate WLC 598 this time. I ll probably see that car again, like you, one of these days. There exists an antidote against rohypnol btw, i just found that on the net. Like you, I have woken up to the reality in KL.

Once again, don't try to make a profit on vacation. This philosophy will make most scams ineffective.

Exacty the same as what Hamish described (jan 6) happened to me some 3 years ago in Bali. I was invited by a Philipino to his house, ... sister story, grandma story,... . Only this time the "stupid" rich gambler was a Malaysian. He brought a brick of USD and put it on the table. I nedded to get out of the game or lose 5000 USD (my "so called debt" to the Philipino which would win from the Malaysian), i made up some convincing story (just like them) and got out... guess i was lucky also.

I was in Thailand in july 07' met a nice guy on the street, was very aware of his technique to get information from me but went along with it because i wanted advice about my Thai gf that i was having trouble with, declined the first invite to meet his sister but then phoned him a few days later for more advice and found myself at a card table in the suburbs of BKK. I just flatout refused to play but went along with learning the trick, finaly after they apparantly lost all their dough to the other player because i refused to be involved' i found myself in a taxi and getting dropped off at the train station somewhat relieved that i was not foced to defend myself and perhaps hurt someone and end up in jail or in a ditch somewhere. Interesting experience indeed.

It happened to me just last week in Bangkok. Guy comes up to me and says you are tall. Where are you from? Canada, he says: my niece is going to go to school to learn english. Are you from Vancouver? Yes, oh, how great. I am so lucky to meet you. Could we have a coffee and you can tell me about Canada. my niece would be so happy. Lets go and have lunch. Wow! a friendly Thai.

Off we go and he tells me his mother is in the hospital and he is going home. We grab a taxi and I still dont have a clue where we went. Somewhere in South Bangkok. They were very nice. I go to his house, very nice home, nice furniture. He tells me he is a blackjack dealer and cheats millionaires. I dont say anything and we have some fruit and drinks. Then he tells me a gay singapore man is coming to pick up tickets and would I play a fun game with him. Sure, fun what to hell they are$50 on me and no credit cards, no interact, I had a winning hand and they wanted me to cover the bets. I said no way and got up to leave , I am 6'6" tall and weight in at 280 # The said we will meet at night and split the money.

I was a bit worried by this time. It was slowly sinking in. I got to get out of here alive. I told them to call a taxi and that they would have to pay. Yes I made it out safely. I loved the guy from NZ that reversed thescam. I was wishing some of my friends were there with me to reverse the stink. But you never know where the gun is. The Police are also involved. Be very careful in Bangkok

be carefull anywhere you go

I was actually stupid enough to fall for this scam today in Bangkok. The same sister-wants-to-work-in-Germany-as-a-nurse story. So I wasted around $1000 and an afternoon. Well, it wasn't completely wasted... At least I learned a lesson.

As much as I hate those guys (and myself) now, as much I admire their talent for acting.

Let's see..... meeting a stranger..... they take you away from a public spot to
a remote location/house.... you have no clue to where you are or how to get to/from
there........ NOPE... this is totally legit.. nothing to worry about here folks......
other than risking getting your picture on InterPOLs missing persons list......
DO NOT GO ANYWHERE WITH ANYONE YOU DO NOT PERSONALLY KNOW... the best way to
end up on the State-side 9 O'Clock news! I know foreign travel can be fun adn adventurous, but there IS a difference between adventurous and fool-hardy!

isnt it strange that most stories begin with, we met these nice guys/girl/ stranger etc etc etc . Hello if someone is intent on scamming you they are not going to be nasty to you are they. Beware of the Thai smile, it can be so false. would you trust anyone from your home town , who smiles at you and promises to make you money. its the same in Thailand, the faces are different but the people are the same.

A nice find this site, and relieved to find I'm not the only travelling fool ;)

Anyways, same same story, happened a few years ago; friendly woman walks up to me in MBK, and starts chatting to me (note to self: friendly women don't usually walk up to farangs in MBK, at least not without monetary reasons). Says she has a sister wanting to be a nurse in farang-land, so she needs to learn English, would I be interested in meeting her and helping her practice a bit? I couldn't find fault in her story so far (practice makes perfect I guess, and they must have a 6th sense in picking out naive victims to fool). She is still single and a very nice lady, she adds. Goes without saying, I was sold, let's go!

We're off in a taxi. Is it far? No, not far at all she says. So we drive to somewhere far, in the north-eastern suburbs, to arrive at a 1-story house. A few teens in the living room. Sit down please, would you like a drink? Beer please.

My sister is not here at the moment, but she will be soon; please eat in our house while we wait. We eat some simple dishes. In comes this man, the father. After some chitchat, he asks me if I play cards, blackjack. No I don't. Would I like to learn? Sure why not, we're done eating, and the sister hasn't arrived yet. We enter and sit in another room, a bedroom IIRC. While he's showing me how to play, he tells me he's a croupier at some underground casino, making a lot of money by scamming rich business-men. How clever, I'm thinking (but why are you living in this hovel then?), and alarmbells start ringing in my head. I play along and feign interest and naivity (a natural at that). He tells me he's expecting some Arab businessman to arrive at his house soon, and he's expecting to make a lot of money by cheating this man, but he needs the help of another player, can I help him? I answer I can't play this game, as I'm not a gambler. Don't worry my friend, it's easy, and you will get half of the money we win. How much money can we win, I ask merely out of curiosity. About a few hundred to a few thousand dollars if we're lucky. Uhuh. In the meantime he's showing me how to play the cheating game. Some moments later someone is entering the living-room, it turns out to be the Arab man, well ... I can barely hold laughing out loud, he looks more like a neighbour disguised as an Arab man, with beard and some kind of Arab dress. He speaks English, with a Thai accent. I say I have to go. No no, they say, you can't go yet, the lovely sister will be here soon. The 'Arab' is ushered in the gambling room, and I excuse myself for really having to go as I have a meeting in a few hours with business partners; I made that up, but just to let them know I will be missed should they have other plans with me. Anyhoo, it made some impression, as they budge, and the woman offers to escort me back. No, it's all right I say, I can find my way back, now raging inside, and wanting to get out as quickly as possible. Really, it's nothing, and you can't get a taxi here. So she orders a taxi by phone. I expect anything to arrive, some thugs to beat me up perhaps. But no, a shiny taxi arrives promptly. The woman escorts me in the taxi (go away woman!), and we drive amongst the ringways north of the city. Suddenly she makes an excuse she has to go another way. We stop and she waves for another taxi. The woman tells the second taxi driver where to take me. When I entered the taxi, the driver laughs out loud, laughing at yet another victim of the scam he seems to know well ...

Lesson learned, for the fee of a taxi-ride back to my hotel. Having travelled throughout Asia extensively I usually can smell a scam from miles away, because mostly their stories are easy to see through. But her story was quite believable, and like I said, I couldn't find fault or harm in it, at first. Of course, this stuff may happen if you trust people too easily; afterwards I could kick myself for being so foolhearted/headed. Then again, I couldn't live with the premise of trusting no-one in life, as some suggested. It wasn't greed for money that led me to following the woman, as this wasn't discussed at all at first, and when the gambling story turned up, I still wasn't interested in winning money. Just the chance to meet up and chat with a normal, single, female Thai citizen and the curiosity to see what would come of that ... a different kind of greed you say?

A stranger invites you to rob some poor unfortunate with him, you have no moral qualms about it and say yes. It turns out you're the one who's robbed.

There's a kind of Som Num Na to this scam.

With all these stories about the scammers teaching the mark how to cheat at blackjack, why doesn't anyone please explain how this is done?? I live near a casino and that kind of info wouldnt go astray lol

Nice to find this site. I loved Hamish story! I also involved this scam in Phonm Penh just two weeks ago.
I met a philippino who told her sister will work in Finland in two weeks. Of course I'd like to help a poor girl!
I like new friends and so on. I ended a house where was no sister but many men. Phillippino, Hong Kong, Malesia ie. Same story. But also one new. They told they are casino workers and plan to cheat Casino. I was one part of the plan. Yes I listened the story and the plan and waited the sister. I knew a scam was going on but I could not go out because there were very heavy thunderstorm. And then electricity black out! We did this black jack in candle light. Have to say I was little scared! Finally I got out. Door was locked and I was sure they do not let me go. We already played three round and I was winning app. 10000$ but the new deal smell real bad. If I'd continue I was lost app. 30000$!!!!! They had all evidence. They wrote everything down and other people were eye witnesses.
I said all the time I do not play but they just keep dealing cards.... Be very very careful. BTW next place I went was a pub called 'hearts of darkness' ;) I did not learn anything...

Had this happen to me yesterday in bangkok. A guy walks up next to me near The Landmark Hotel. Strikes up a conversation...his daughter is about to be traveling to my hometown. I played along. Finally, I said " I know what your up to " and he vanished.

The security guards at the Landmark and many other tourist business see this crap happening all day long but do nothing.
There is a permanent scammer working on tourists next to the Nana Police Box.
Why does a tourist destination tolerate this?

Well... it happened to me, about a month ago.
Long story short... nice lady with niece who is a nursing coming to Canada, and Uncle who works in a casino and wants to teach me blackjack, Oh and there is someone in the hospital too... WOW!

Same thing happened to me in MBK, if I didnt know that gambling was illegal here and said no, I wasnt interested, then I could have been scammed for 1000s. Went to the house of this contact supposedly to meet his sister and heard the spiel, invisable mama in hospital, could I make a donation blah blah blah.

Amazingly when the leader of this scam heard me talking that I lived in Thailand and after me drinking a free beer of theirs (from a sealed Heineken bottle that I saw opened in front of me or I wouldnt have touched it) he aborted the scam there and then! Lucky for me because it was all so plausible and almost anyone could have been taken in by the hospitality.

Filipinos living in outer Bangkok behind the scam that time.

I knew those guys as I knew one of the people who is part of the operation but died due to accident Their names are JOY QUITAY, TEODY, ROMA ROSALES AKA MYRA, ETC. They are all Filipino disguised as Malaysian, cambodian and Thailander. They hangout various places such as MBK, Phom Phen, Patpong and Vietnam. Caught one and youll be able to caught all. I have al their pictures but no where to post in here. If you need to find these people lets form an alliance to finally kill the blackjack and credit card scammers.

@scammer killer

Yeah, I'd like to get my hands on those blaggards, where shall we meet?

I see a Philippine guy near the Landmark Hotel trying to pull this crap.

The phillipino man that tried to scam me was called Alex and he usually operates on the ground and first floors of the MBK shopping centre.

Pighoglet, do you have a description please?

Only a fairly vague one, about 5 feet 7 inches, 30 years old, wearing a t shirt and jeans with typical asian hairstyle of shaved at the back and sides longer on top.

Doesnt really stand out in a city with millions of similar looking people, only that he will make himself known by introducing himself and saying he likes the tshirt you are wearing, get into conversation and mention that his sister will be studying in london / new york / los angeles depending on where you are from.

He then offers to buy you and drink or something at a place like macdonalds or chesters so you can talk further where he suggests that if you have time you meet his sister to discuss life in the city you have told him. He explains he is Phillipino and shows you bank notes of his former country and seems very friendly to get you back to his neighbourhood where the more hardline scammers live.

He also mentions his mothers heart disease to pull the heart strings and hopefully open the wallet.

Then its blackjack talk and the whole scam associated with, I ended up with free beer, free transport there and as sister was nowhere to be seen, took my leave before playing blackjack as it seemed this family lived in a large townhouse in Bangkok and didnt look particularly broke to me.

I have no interest in gambling because its illegal in thailand so maybe that helped?

The area he lives in is way beyond the Bang Sue MRT station but about 5 minutes by taxi from there going outwards. Area looked quite smart for BKK with 3 story townhouses behind gates.

Hey everybody, it's spelled "Filipino."

It sure is Manny and what lovely people the Filipinos are.

I have been stopped by the same supposedly Malaysian girl on Sukhumvit soi 3 and again one week later on Sukhumvit near Soi 22. I was not aware of that scam before. First time she asked me if I had the time, second time where I had gotten my glasses from cos she liked them very much. Right away asked me where I come from and oooooooh surprise her sister was studying there and wanted to get a coffe with me to talk more. Both times I said I have to go cos I never trust people coming to me like this but wow this is scary....

Yes, filipinos are nice, honest people as a rule, but some of them play on this to make money from the scams, thank heavens its only a few.

Like everywhere, all races have their scams and mis fits, I work in a porfessional capacity with quite a few Filipinos, an intelligent great race of people and life hasnt been easy for them either. Thousands leave their own country in search of work, leaving their children and family behind them, they are also explouted heavily eg. Dubai, Cyprus etc etc. No I have a lot of time for this nation.

*Professional

"Yes, filipinos are nice, honest people as a rule, but some of them play on this to make money from the scams, thank heavens its only a few. "

@pighoglet, really sorry to be pedantic, but how do you know its only a few, have you done some market research, or is it just you're opinion?

Everything is based on my opinion and based on the experience of a scam on me that failed.

The man was filipino and so were his associates, therefore amongst the filipinos that I know some are scammers and the majority including those I dont know are good in my eyes as they havent tried to scam me.

The majority of items on any forum represents opinion based on previous knowledge or experience, if the attempted scam never happened I would have had no reason to write about it.

I see pighoglet, interesting? Just for fun look at the crime stats for the Philippines!

http://www.nationmaster.com/red/country/rp-philippines/cri-crime&all=1

Hmmmmmmmm they seem to like the murders, dont they?!

The prisons are way overcrowded meaning at least they are imprisoning the criminals in the P.I.

Thailand and the Philippines have a high murder rate many drug related or domestic related. Street crime more prevalent in the P.I but scary statistics none the less.

Things are'nt always what they seem Theo, I lived in the Philippines for several years, I saw things that would grow hair on your teeth! Armed guards everywhere: restaurants, shops, shopping malls, etc,etc?

.......and why are you calling me theo?

And in Thailand murders of tourists!

This happened to me just now in Bangkok - same scenario as Brian above. I can't believe I fell for it, I know it sounds so obvious afterwards, it's embarrassing. I left with my 21 in 3 cards in one envelope against his 20 in 2 cards in another which they wanted to lock up in a cupboard while I sorted out money. I didn't have much money with me, about 1500 baht and 30 euro and gave them that during the first few rounds, then told them I'd no other money or credit on my credit cards, said the max I could get out of my bank card was 10,000 baht and the guy said he'd cover the rest. Got as far as the nearest shops with one guy in a taxi and then I lost it and roared at the guy and got out of the cab...finally found a bus to take me back to the city.

In my hostel now and kinda bricking it cos I can't remember if I told them the name of my hostel.

Greetings from Hong Kong :) Phew, that was a bit scary, I don't remember ever being scared that shitless...I ended up back at the hostel and was telling the people in my room about it and that calmed me down, took me about 24 hours to calm back down to normal though, I was still looking out my hostel window expecting to see a vanload of thugs parked outside or something. Didn't see them again so all's well!

I had a great time in Thailand apart from that, so I'm gonna just forget about it and chalk it down as a lesson learned - there's crooks in every country. It's funny, I met some really nice people in Thailand who chatted to me or gave me directions and just genuinely wanted to be helpful so I guess my guard was down and then I met this bunch of crooks. It's a tough one - on one end of it if you're too trusting someone eventually takes advantage of it, but on the other side if you go around being to hard-nosed and dismissing every local you meet you miss meeting some genuinely nice people. There's a balance somewhere in the middle...takes a bit of work to find it :)

Anyway folks, the moral of the story is don't gamble - the house always wins.

So many nicxe people in Thailand just waiting to meet you.
Taxis parked in front of your hotel, scammers surrounding tourist sights, tailors, travel agents.
All big smiles.

Yes this happened to me just a week or so ago in Bali. The reason this scam works so well isnt because the person is naive or stupid, its because they are usually good people who are trusting, thinking everyone is usually nice and honest and trust worthy.

Secondly there is a formula here: a nice pretty girl who is a nurse or studying to be in school, a lunch that is in a unknown and remote area and then finally the guy teaches you a trick or how to fool someone. Not to mention that you are in a foreign country and everyone and everything seems different which makes you a bit unbalanced to begin with.

Im not sure if or how I was drugged, I think I would of noticed but seriously, I was under a trance or a spell of some kind when I went to the bank and tried to pull out money. Not to mention that winning 10s of thousands of dollars would be nice, it wasnt greed just a simple enjoyment of making quick cash.

Chances are this has been going on forever but just now we are able to post comments about our experiences. Its too bad when you buy your visa or check into a hotel they don't hand you a piece of paper that reveals some of these scams.

Some warnings in Philippines hotels about drugging, crime and being careful. All it would need is a sheet of paper in each room and most people would avoid the scams in Bangkok etc.

are u sure? JOY QUITAY, TEODY, ROMA ROSALES AKA MYRA, ETC. are blackjack and credit card scammers? Will you please send me their pictures?

This also happened to me in hanoi, was my first time out of europe and has been away for a week, so funny to read everyone elses and remember little details. These really are done well and though there is an element of stupidity you have to trust some people, its designed to trick you. Realised it was a scam when they wanted to cheat an evil lady from Singapore- also said i didn't gamble but has no idea where i was to leave. ended up crying agreeing to meeting them later and running away. was so scared the rest of that day. Was most upset as was so willing to help their sister. oh well free meal, funny story

also gained the classic line me the scruffy traveller billed as "miss jen, she big player, she big player in las vegas." repeated over and over.

In 2006 I stopped in KL as part of a round the world trip. Whilst I was hunting for an ATM a man approached me and asked where I was from. Upon me telling him that I was from the UK he apparently had a sister that was going to study in Manchester. He invited me to spend time with him and "meet his sister" which presumably was a ploy to get me involved in a card scam of some sort. I had the excuse that I had to check in to my hostel and made up something about my friends waiting for me (even though I was travelling alone). I agreed to meet him later at a bar but had no intention of ever going. Back at my hostel the manager would not let me pay or show me to my room until I had read a notice she had put up. It described the exact scenario that I had just experienced although they were not able to steal from me as I told him I needed to get back to my hostel.
The next day I went to the Batu Caves a short bus ride North of KL. Another local approached me and conversation quickly turned to a sister that was also going to Manchester UK in order to work as a nurse. I knew what he was up to but I just said that I had catch an early bus the next day. He tried all sorts of different angles to try to get me to go to his house. I don't know if he was following me but he got on the same bus back to KL as me. I got off the bus early and walked as I did not want him to know where I was staying. Do not go with these people or give them the benfit of the doubt. At the hostel I was at an English guy had a lot of money stolen in cash and expensive gold bought on a credit card. Be warned, you would not do this in your own city or town so don't do it in a far away land!

I was surfing the web and looking for - mostly for curiosity - the most common scams involving tourists and travellers when I got into this page so I think I can tell my story (not so different to many other ones, though).

Last June I was in Bali and I was walking alone on the beach (Kuta) to take some photos. Suddenly a girl showed up and offered her to take me some pictures with my camera. I am generally wise, I think I can spot something "strange" but the girl seems really genuine, absolutely no malicious and we started to chat.

She told me she was from Philippines and "quite new" in town since she was visiting her brother, married to a local. She offered me to visit Ubud the next day, she told me she had a car and she would have offered me a breakfast at his brother's gaff first. The girl was also very pretty, very good looking but I wasn't interested into that, she didn't seem to me a prostitute either.

I must admit - and that should have warned me - she tried to get some information from me, information I didn't obviously give to her but she tried to get to know as much as possible in a genuine but sneaky way, "innocent questions" at the right time. I was asked which hotel I was stayin' at and if I had a number to be contacted at; I didn't say which place I was stayin' at claiming I had just arrived in town and can't remember the name of the hotel and had no mobile so I got her number, email and arranged a pick up at a petrol station not far from there (and from where I was staying, but she didn't know that).

To sum up, the next day I met her around 9am at the place we arranged the day before; she was there with a couple introduced to me as "my brother's driver" and his girlfriend. We got into the car (a van), I was sitting in the back with the girl (whose name was Anna) and we started to chat again. She told me we were going to have a proper Philipino breakfast, meet his brother then go to Ubud. Nothing different from what we planned the day before, so no surprise so far.

Of course, I had taken all my precautions: no credit cards (I was basically hanging around with a stranger), just enough cash for the day and nothing more, photocopy of the passport (the original was safe in the hotel) and constatly repeated her I have friends to wait for me at the hotel (although it wasn't really the truth) but it was just a "normal" thing, I did the same for example when I was out in Laos with other backpackers, so far nothing seemed strange.

Anyway, after a 15/20min ride and loads of chat (probably in order to distract me from the way they were driving) we arrived to this place and the atmosphere was normal.

I was offered a breakfast (anyway, I made sure I was eating the same things they ate and drinked) and the rest.. well.. not so different comparing to the other stories read in here: croupier on the crusies boat, blackjack, rich lady from Brunei and so on...

Before I realized and can't say "no" I found myself with 300$ in hand and a scam going on. It was now clear I was trapped and if I had some doubts before I was now sure they were eventually scammers. the only thing I was thinking is how to get out of such a situation (gambling and cheating with strangers in a muslim country).

I said "last bet" (I was "winning" around 500$) and the girl from Brunei took out from the bag what it should have been 50000$. At this stage I got up and said "that's too much for me" and reached the door: the girl and his "brother" tried not to stop me but to convince me I was goin' to win and stay but I refused and went out from the door. I played my game and told the croupier I'm not feeling comfortable with cheating or using other people's money, I just played my role, my part. They offered me a lift back and I asked for a taxi, then the man told "ok, my driver is taking you back and my sister stays here". I accepeted the lift back into town but pretended Anna to come with me as well.

To go back by car was the worst moment ever, I was sitting next to the door, thinking to any possible consequence and well aware to sit as far as possible from Anna (I was worried about her to put something in my pockets for example and then being stopped by police or other stories, my thoughts were going so fast): she claimed she didn't know anything about his brother and say "sorry" asking me "not to tell everyone what happened" and "offering to meet me again in the afternoon to go to Ubud".

She also told me "I don't want to rob you" and at this point I open my wallet and show her what i had (very little money) and explained "you can't steal too much". She now invented a story about his mother's diseas and asked me if I can lend her some money she would have given me back in the afternoon. I gave her something like 3€ (she asked me around 40€ or 50€) and say "that's all, you can keep them". On the way back I made some "faked phone-calls" to my (imaginary) friends waiting for me.

I was drop near the place they picked me up just few hours before and I realized that the journey was much quicker now. I said hello and told Anna I would have contacted here in the afternoon anyway.

I didn't go to the police, basically I didn't lose any money (got a free breakfast instead) and I wasn't sure about it.

If anyone thinks it might be useful, I still have the names and contacts of these people (can't remember the car numberplate, though.

Great, great story and thank you so much for the detail.

I had exactly the same scam pulled on me in KL.

Looking back I was incredibly naive and foolish for not spotting it sooner, but I agree about the brainwashing thing. they NEVER stopped speaking, asking me questions. they never gave me the opportunity to think the situation through.

I'm just grateful I got out when I did: a hand came up that I was definitely going to win if I carried on playing, but I'd have to chip in another $100 of my money.

I think I would have won that hand, but then as soon as my money's involved they knew I wouldn't leave so quickly.

In saying that, that very same afternoon I hitch-hiked from KL and now I sit in Phuket after 1000km of hitch-hiking. Most people ARE really friendly. Its the $$$ you have to watch out for.

p.s. I think the thing which is most surprising about the scam is the time of day, it was 1pm when I met the woman. I assumed scams only happened at night, I was wrong! But I got away with it...

p.p.s. I'd love to read a full report of someone who got done over, I'd find it really interesting. Do people try fighting it or just admit defeat? Do the police ever help out

and p.p.p.s. to the people who come on here and say 'don't be sooo stupid, that'd never happen to me', thanks for the warning...

This happened to me in bali. I'm well travelled and can't believe they got me. I was robbed of 900 USD. Feel stupid and angry. They even cooked be the same beef and rice as the original post (which was very good, but it turned out to be a very expensive meal). oh well, at least it was only money. be careful. wish i'd read this a few days ago.

Hey Trev, where did they approach you? Are you still in Bali now? Can you give us more details about what happened? It's maybe the same person who approached me (I still have her "contact", maybe you can find it useful).

Trev, how did they get the money from you?

did you have it on your person, or have to go to a cash machine? did they use any force?

thanks mate, sorry to hear of your loss... hope life's going your way now! kev

Just happened to me in Bali, I feel very stupid but relieved, and it was kind of fun at the start, they dropped me home when they knew I wasn't playing ball. I wonder what would of happened though if I had given up any money. I have traveled all over south east Asia and thought I would be wiser but I just got to Bali 2 days ago on my own and probably looked like fresh meat walking around. I also think that I was just very tired and hungry and couldn't process what was happening or put a good perspective on it. I think that genuine experiences with the locals of any country really add to your travels so I wasn't too concerned at first. The funniest part was probably when the guys driver asked me to give him some money for petrol when they dropped me off - the cheek of them after trying to do me out of everything I had, which wasn't much. I need a beer. Careful now!

Was just involved in this exact scam an hour ago in BKK.

If you've read this far then you already know all the details of how it works, but i'll give an outline in any case - I must say it's pretty surreal to be reading these posts just after it's happened. Also comforting too, as these scammers don't seem to be malicious - and i'm not the only fool in the world.

So here's the story. Approached on the street on Asoke Rd, went in taxi to his place, had coffee, met the brother and sister - it was the daughter who was going to be working where I live, mother was having an operation that day. so he decides to teach me some Blackjack while we wait etc etc.

After we'd almost won against the Malaysian business man it was time to get the money together, they took me to an ATM a nearby mall at which point I said "no, I'm not giving you any money" and walked into the bank where they had a security guard.

I can see how people would be lured into this, its all very cleverly orchestrated when you think about the details that go into a scam like this and how everything is happening around you.

In the beginning I was a tiny bit suspicious about the coincidence of his daughter going to work as a nurse where i lived but i brushed that aside and went to supposedly meet her anyway (I guess that was my first and most important mistake)

For me the penny dropped when the business man Mr. Malik walked in the room. It was the terrible acting that gave them all away - and the fact that he turned up at the door of the room about 2 mins after he called on the moblie - way too quick. Now I had a problem, I knew it was all a scam and when you're in that head space you start to see a bit clearer and see some of the holes in their little scam as it unfolds. The problem was that I was worried about the potential "guy behind the door with the gun", so I played along, literally. I realized that sooner or later they'd have to take me to an ATM and that would be my moment to escape. And so I did.

I feel this has ultimately been a positive experience, It cost me nothing - except of the whole "fearing for my life" part. It's made me very aware that there really are some people out there who will try and pull this on you. It hasn't damaged my faith in people, the truth is the overwhelming majority of people aren't trying to scam you.

My mother is always warning me about exactly this, for once I should have listened to her!

Same thing happened to me in Ho chi Minh City This August.Philipino..daughter is a nurse,going to Stuttgart (where I have family,what a coincidence !)got lured into playing blackjack with a stinking rich chinese jeweller from Kuala Lumpur who "we" were cheating .and so on...
It was all very cleverly done,they managed to extract money from my wallet just by being clever,so I see it as school money ,I paid,and I am glad my knee caps were not threatened and I got back in one piece and only gave them the minimum.Or it was just a very expensive lunch....

2 guys thais or filipino i am not sure, played the game with me too.
I only wanted to help.
If i will meet one of them in Thailand again, i will forget me and i would do something what i never done with a human.
I promised to good that i will do that.

I was involved this scam in 2004
August. That time one filipina(with a diamond in her tooth) and
one Malysian man approached in Bangkok City. Then took me to the
apartment where a tall man(dealer) was ready to show me a lesson.
Then suddenly a millioner? from Singapore vistited the apartment
and played the game together. The trick is exactly same as the above.
Well, It's been already 6 years but there are still such a scam is
paracticing in Bangkok. I heard they went to Vietnam, Hochiming city,
And Bali, Indonesia. And Many Japanese tourists have been involved this matter.
I lost about US$10000. If I could draw more money from ATM I would
lose more. But there was limit for daily allowence.

This happened to me in Bali 2002. Some guy approched me about his sister going to be a nurse in Sweden, and could I come with him to calm his mother down about the whole thing.

Then there were black jack and scamming an old man from Brunei.

Fortunately I came out of it alive and no money lost.

Last year a guy in Kuala Lumpur started to talk with me in a shoppingmall, he asked me to go see his sister (that "surprisingly" was gonna study to a nurse in my country) I told him he could ask her sister to come to the shoppingmall instead but he said she had to stay in the house and take care of their mother or something like that, i didnt go with him but i guess it would have been the same as for everyone else here!

Nice information, I really appreciate the way you presented

In Bankok Siam shopping street and just outside BMK market - mature lady approaches and sis studying in scotland of course the brain washing thing then I am at table and loose £400 back in taxi for more before I escape , but like many other I will buy TAZER gun and look for my revenge when her eyes will melt from her head. I meet many nice folk and lifelong friends in thailand but never feared so much that my life was in danger so I know my treatment will also be slow and calculating as they were with thier scam .Just hope no one else falls for this scam as it taints your fondest memories .

Hi Guys, BE WARNED

We just got scammed in this very same way in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. In front of the 24 hour Smile Convenience Mart on the corner of 136 St and Monivong St a really kind and cute man struck up a conversation with us about where we were from etc.

His Description:
- 55-60 years old (he said he was 58 but could have been lying)
- Had a camel coloured cap on
- Wore gold-rimmed glasses
- Was wearing a small white and black satchel that went around him and over his shoulder
- Wearing a white polo shirt and blue jeans
- Gold Rado watch with a black face (very distinctive)
- He said his name was something that sounded like Tseng
- roughly 5 ft 6
-medium build

My boyfriend and I having been travelling around SE Asia for two months and I thought we were pretty good with avoiding scams but obviously not.
After telling us he was on holiday in Cambodia visiting his brother who married a Cambodian, he said his 21 year old daughter was traveling to Auckland New Zealand (our home town) to study engineering. His story was all very legitimate down to which university she would be studying at, when she was going, her flights EVERYTHING. His story was perfect and he was so friendly and disarming. He explained his wife was terrified that their only daughter was moving away and could we speak to her to calm her down and let them know local information - that he would be honoured to take us to lunch. We thought he would bring his family to meet us in the city, but soon called his wife and told her to make us some food because we were special visitors. We felt obliged because he had already called.

He dashed away to get a tuk-tuk (saying for us not to follow him because they would change us more because we are westerners). We felt a bit weird riding off with him but he just kept talking and talking and being so specific we had no time to talk between us. Each time I tried to talk to my boyfriend the man kept interrupting us to ask us questions about Auckland (rent prices, weather etc etc).

We drove for a while, with him taking some wrong turns (most likely to confuse us as to where we were) and he was laughing and joking like we were old friends. Finally we arrived at a small surburban street off st 163 in a nice neighborhood. We went through a huge gate to be greeted by his 'sister in law' a lady in her early sixties wearing a red patterned pant suit and had dyed red hair. She instantly offered us some drinks while we sat in her nice living room. The man told us he was a croupier on a cruise Ship called the Virgo Princess that went around Asia only (they even had a picture of the ship on the wall or the house). He explained he worked in the VIP gambling lounge and knew how to control the cards to see who would win.

As we sipped our tea, a meal of rice, prawns, vegetables and squid was served which they hurried us to eat. Having read other posts these must have been drugged because NO ONE else ate the food except us. And as im writing this a few hours later, i feel a bit strange still. His younger sister came in and chatted to us very happily as well about working for Tourism Thailand and was based out of Bangkok, but they were all originally from Chiang mai. Her excuse not to eat was she was on a diet, and the man told us he had already eaten, but he kept asking us to eat more and have more chilli etc. At the table we told them we wanted a picture with them, but they avoided it by saying they would ruin the picture, we'll take one after etc.

They then told us that the daughter we were going to meet was at the hospital with his wife, because she had heart problems (grrrrr as Im writing this it seems sssssoooo stupid, but honestly they were so disarming and had their story water tight.)After eating he asked us to come upstairs so he could show us how to play Black Jack. We followed, not wanting to offend.

There was a table set up with cards and he showed us how he could read the cards by where they were in the deck and that was how he could assure which people would win or not. As he showed us, they must have noticed we were really not interested at all because suddenly he says 'Oh my I must go and see my wife at the hospital, she has not come home yet.' And as quick as we arrived, we thanked them for lunch and were out the door. he hailed us a tuk-tuk and even bargained the price down for us??!

We were so confused, but some googling soon showed us how dumb we had been and how lucky we were to get away without anything being stolen or got roped into card games for cash. BE CAREFUL AND DONT TRUST SOMETHING THAT IS TOO GOOD OR TOO FRIENDLY- THAT WAS OUR DOWNFALL.
Also, he said he was from Thailand but had a Fillipino accent now that I think about it.

We have learnt a very valuable lesson and were very lucky to get away, so please learn from our stupidity.

I had this in Saigon in December 2007. It went down exactly as described by the previous posters. Kindly middle aged man appraoches me while I was having lunch in the Pham Ngu Lao backpacker area. Niece is going to be a nurse in my country and so on. On the way over he insisted on giving me his phone number and then Bluetoothing a Brian Adams song to my phone to use as his personal ringtone. I'm guessing that was to stop me remembering the way to the place.

Like a lot of people who post their experiences about this I do not play cards or gamble. No moral objection, it's just deadly boring to me. This must have showed while he was trying to teach me to play blackjack and cheat. They might as well have tried to teach me how to play piano scales or conjugate Danish verbs.

One thing stands out in my mind. After the card cheating tutorial the dealer said, "and that's how you cheat at blackjack. Now if someone came to the table and said they wanted to play, say, mahjong, you would have to say 'I don't play mahjong, my game's blackjack.' So I repeated it in a Sean Connery Bond Scottish brogue and he was all, "Wow, you're a natural."

Next thing a "Businessman" who I think was meant to be from Singapore walks into the room, plants a two inch stack on $100 notes on the table looks around and says, "I'm here for the mahjong game...huh? Where are the other players?" The dealer looks at me expectantly, waiting for me to do my Sean Connery line. Instead I said, "Sorry, I have just remembered that I have something important to do and walked out."

They didn't try to stop me leaving. As I said, I'm not a gambler and they must have thought I was pretty hopeless.

I didn't really think much more about it in the three odd years I lived in Vietnam, but just before I left I went for a last walk around District 1, the touristy part of Saigon. I was approached by 4 groups of them in the space of only 15 minutes or so. It was a hot day and I lost my temper and cursed them, telling them to f$%^ off back to the Phillipines. One of them then started a hue and cry which I suppose was designed to attract help from the gang hevies who are there watching from a distance. Some people have estimated that there are up to 50 of them working this scam in Saigon on any given day.

If you are interested in this you should also check out http://johnnyvagabond.com/featured/poker-scam-saigon/
For people like FrankBFriday who would like a little revenge you should read my story on the above site. For one thing the money is almost certainly fake and they will have backup very close by.

Exactly the same scam in Phnom Penh last friday (7.10.2011)...

I was first approached in Bangkok a number of years ago by a group of young women. I fell for the story and went back to a house in the burbs. As soon as I met the 'uncle' I knew something was up, I refused food and drink, saying I was on a fast. I had actually worked in a casino in Australia for a couple of years and knew all the tricks this 'uncle' tried to teach and basically in a friendly way blew him out of the water, with some tricks of my own. There was a bit of an internally 'family' squable and we were all back in the taxi to MBK. They paid the taxi to and back and I even managed to talk the girls into lunch (god knows why they agreed and they forgot about my 'fast') which I manipulated a situation where they paid. Once they realised I wan't ponying up for lunch they made excuses and we parted. Even though I came out ahead I still feel a goose for getting caught on the scam, anything could have happened once we arrived at that house, I had no idea where I was and no one knew where I was.

Since then I have been approached in Bangkok, Pattaya, HCMC and Phnom Penh. I ussually just say something like "Oh I know Monica (the nursing relative is always 'Monica'), she'll be fine in Australia and her mother will make a full recovery." The smile disappears and a few of them have had the gall to tell me to f@@k off.

Wow, I tried to google this scam, now only year after this same thing happened to me.

It was February in 2008 and I was approached by a middle-aged guy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The same story, he has a daughter who is coming to work in Helsinki. She has received some mail but it is all written in Finnish, so if I could meet them and translate it to english.
This was already very alarming to me, but as a curious nature, I kept going on.

He also asked me punch of questions (in a clever way, of course) to find out more about me. I was a perfect target, a blond 24-year woman traveling alone, new in a town.
So he suggested to meet me the next day with his daughter in a restaurant to have a lunch and chat.

When I got to meet him next day, he is there alone, saying that his daughter had to stay to do some overtime in a local hospital. His wife with heart problems has been in a hospital for a long time, and is now feeling worse. Daughter had to stay there.
He offers me a nice lunch, is very friendly and insists of paying it.

We meet the next day again. This time he has his two innocent looking daughters with him, other one being the nurse. We took the tuk-tuk to some motel, where his wife should of been as in his words she was discharged from the hospital.

So we walk into nice motel. In a room there is his "uncle" and wife of the uncle. His own wife is still in the hospital, they say, but should be coming back soon.

In this while, of course, uncle says he is a dealer on a casino and starts teaching me how to cheat on game etc..I am not interested and just follow reluctantly. You all know this part.
I am not interested, he mentions about his client, lady from Brunei who owes him so money and that he is a bit pissed off as he has not get his part yet.

Amazingly, there is a knock in the door a little bit later, and here she comes in. They start playing, and I refuse. So it is the the guy I met on the street against madame Brunei.
It was rather hilarous how this hotel owner lady was admiring my "silver earring" or "Calvin Klein" copy shirt as if they were real. They really thought I am an idiot and naive.

It is time for the last game, and I am drawn into the game. I start sweating but keep it cool. THe lady puts the money on the table. She wants to see our money too(sometime ago I was introduced her as a girlfriend of the guy...). I said I have no money so the dealer-uncle promises to back me off and gives 5 000$. Now the uncle asks if he can talk with me in a private. Madame nods and so we go in the bathroom!

He is all being very excited and says we are going to win and I have to loan money from my family etc.. I am playing along and just say that yes I will do that. I am worried about my security at that point.

We go back and cards are put into envelopes for the while "I would get money from the am" and the game is to be put on hold. My "boyfriend" is leaving with me. I have no idea if they are dangerous, so I kept playing stupid. I knew I had hardly any money on my credit card. So in a bank I asked them to withdraw me a ridiculous amount of money, which I knew was not possible to withdraw.
And when it did not work, I was playing stupid, that there must of been a mistake.

The guy was getting bored and frustrated now, and he asked me to work on this project but he had to go. He asked me to go on with finding money and gave me a phone number to call as soon as I had the money.

Of course I went back to my hotel and left right away.

-------------------------

And I agree with anyone here, they are psychologically very very intelligent and in my case in a way very good actors too. They talk to you, they are nice and they dress well so you would think they are rich already.

Jsut warning to anyone here, remember these people might be dangerous too. It is not always a good idea try to walk away. At least you should have any excuse. Play stupid. They talked to you in first place as they thought you are a good target.

And another reminder; never, ever hnad money to anyone you really dont know personally well.
Scam happens usually fast too. There is someone sick/dying/innocent and they need help. Something has to be done fast and they are helpless to do anything without 100/1000/etc$ of help.

It is the catch, they look rich, they meet you in a secure place (town halls, public place etc).

And PLEASE, remeber that any phone call can be recorded too. Especially if you are on the business trip etc and are using the landlines. Someone might be listening your phonecalls and take advantage of ANY situation.

Wow, I tried to google this scam, now only year after this same thing happened to me.

It was February in 2008 and I was approached by a middle-aged guy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The same story, he has a daughter who is coming to work in Helsinki. She has received some mail but it is all written in Finnish, so if I could meet them and translate it to english.
This was already very alarming to me, but as a curious nature, I kept going on.

He also asked me punch of questions (in a clever way, of course) to find out more about me. I was a perfect target, a blond 24-year woman traveling alone, new in a town.
So he suggested to meet me the next day with his daughter in a restaurant to have a lunch and chat.

When I got to meet him next day, he is there alone, saying that his daughter had to stay to do some overtime in a local hospital. His wife with heart problems has been in a hospital for a long time, and is now feeling worse. Daughter had to stay there.
He offers me a nice lunch, is very friendly and insists of paying it.

We meet the next day again. This time he has his two innocent looking daughters with him, other one being the nurse. We took the tuk-tuk to some motel, where his wife should of been as in his words she was discharged from the hospital.

So we walk into nice motel. In a room there is his "uncle" and wife of the uncle. His own wife is still in the hospital, they say, but should be coming back soon.

In this while, of course, uncle says he is a dealer on a casino and starts teaching me how to cheat on game etc..I am not interested and just follow reluctantly. You all know this part.
I am not interested, he mentions about his client, lady from Brunei who owes him so money and that he is a bit pissed off as he has not get his part yet.

Amazingly, there is a knock in the door a little bit later, and here she comes in. They start playing, and I refuse. So it is the the guy I met on the street against madame Brunei.
It was rather hilarous how this hotel owner lady was admiring my "silver earring" or "Calvin Klein" copy shirt as if they were real. They really thought I am an idiot and naive.

It is time for the last game, and I am drawn into the game. I start sweating but keep it cool. THe lady puts the money on the table. She wants to see our money too(sometime ago I was introduced her as a girlfriend of the guy...). I said I have no money so the dealer-uncle promises to back me off and gives 5 000$. Now the uncle asks if he can talk with me in a private. Madame nods and so we go in the bathroom!

He is all being very excited and says we are going to win and I have to loan money from my family etc.. I am playing along and just say that yes I will do that. I am worried about my security at that point.

We go back and cards are put into envelopes for the while "I would get money from the am" and the game is to be put on hold. My "boyfriend" is leaving with me. I have no idea if they are dangerous, so I kept playing stupid. I knew I had hardly any money on my credit card. So in a bank I asked them to withdraw me a ridiculous amount of money, which I knew was not possible to withdraw.
And when it did not work, I was playing stupid, that there must of been a mistake.

The guy was getting bored and frustrated now, and he asked me to work on this project but he had to go. He asked me to go on with finding money and gave me a phone number to call as soon as I had the money.

Of course I went back to my hotel and left right away.

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And I agree with anyone here, they are psychologically very very intelligent and in my case in a way very good actors too. They talk to you, they are nice and they dress well so you would think they are rich already.

Jsut warning to anyone here, remember these people might be dangerous too. It is not always a good idea try to walk away. At least you should have any excuse. Play stupid. They talked to you in first place as they thought you are a good target.

And another reminder; never, ever hnad money to anyone you really dont know personally well.
Scam happens usually fast too. There is someone sick/dying/innocent and they need help. Something has to be done fast and they are helpless to do anything without 100/1000/etc$ of help.

It is the catch, they look rich, they meet you in a secure place (town halls, public place etc).

And PLEASE, remeber that any phone call can be recorded too. Especially if you are on the business trip etc and are using the landlines. Someone might be listening your phonecalls and take advantage of ANY situation.

Marke, can you describe the two guys?