You have to be careful in vietnam too, a lot of the scammers in Thailand come from places like Vietnam Cambodia and Laos. I think because farangs have got money, the Thais look at them as lower than themselves to justify their actions.

I was in Thailand 3 times, mostly in and around Bankok, but I spent all the time there with my Thai wife, who is familiar with possible scams, so I fell "victim" to an dishonest taxi driver ONLY once-that when I was riding taxi alone-he took me for about 5o Bahts, to even my wife`s surprise, who said "He looked so honest!"...But that is not gonna stop me from going back to Thailand. You can find dishonest people everywhere-in every country,...and if he needed it so badly, I would have given him those 50Bahts, he would not have had to cheat for it.

Scammers in Thailand.
They are everywhere. Don't expect the Thai Police to help.

I been reading these comments and realised ive probably been scammed too. You know the story-we get out of cab at Grand palace just about to walk up to entrance and a man approaches us and says that we need to come back in 2 hours as there is an official ceremony on. meanwhile to save us going back to hotel he can recommend somethings to see near by - buddha etc. He flags a tuk tuk for us and negotiates 30 BHT for all our sight seeing. Obviously I now know this was a set up but silly me htinking what a nice guy!
Get to golden buddha, have a look about and get chatting to a Thai chap speaking very good English telling us he is from Koh Samui and what to expect to pay for things and if we want a really good suit to go to blah blah tailors as government workers go there. We wanted suits anyway so we gave the name provided to the Tuk Tuk driver and he took us. We were fitted for three suits - god paid about 100 UK pounds each which was more than we wanted to pay but no where near what he wanted us to pay which is one consolation i guess.
Left there and the tuk tuk guy took us to gem stores where we looked for 5 minutes and didnt buy. He then took us to grand palace and that was that.
Tailors turned up twice to hotel for fittings and then delivered suits and i have to say they look really nice so HAVE i been scammed as far as the suits are concerned Im not sure.
Got another tuk tuk later on who stopped at a gem store and i just said drive on or im getting out and he actually did as i asked

One has to know how to use the scammers. I always make a deal with Tuk Tuk drivers in Bangkok. They take me somewhere for 10 or 15 bath. In return I have to visit with him one, we agree just one, Chinese jewelry shop. He usely doesnt even care when at forehand I tell the Tuk Tuk driver I am not going to buy anything. I have just to stay in the shop for 10 to 15 minutes. Then he gets a commision allready they say. Something like free gas tickets. I dont know. Doesnt matter what.
Then enjoy yourself making the chinese smooth talking guys angry when they find out you dont let them rip you off! I allways enjoy teasing people. And get cheap rides too!!!!

Great fun! Pretend to be interested in their diamonds or more probably fake diamonds.
Produce your wallet. At the last moment change your mind, and say you will be back. Of course they know you wont. Friendly when I come in Rude when I leave.
Unlike the Thai they often speak a lot of languages. Even some dutch, my native tongue.
Kijkie, kijkie niet kopen! What means just look not buy. Hustlers say that to me everywhere in the world. The only words in dutch they know. I really like the reputation we have. The chinese call us the chinese of the west.
With many of them I have been talking German, Spanish, French. Like arabs! .

Can some one explain to me how this work's.... How can the Tuk Tuk Driver make any money / commision if you dont buy anything. I to was taken to gem shops and suit shops didnt buy anything the Taxi Driver said that he gets free Fuel is this True? he showed me His fuel card and the stamps everytime we stopped... I felt sorry went in to a couple places and looked he said dont have to buy anything. Do They Really Get free petrol....

OK. So let's get this right. You paid two quid (3 euro) for a 45 minute taxi ride, and paid slightly over the odds for a good quality suit that you were thinking of buying anyway, probably at half of what you would pay in Holland.
You then booked a day trip when what you really wanted was...er...a day trip, and you got pick pocketed.

You might like to look up the definition of 'scam'.

You too fari, you got three taylor made suits for thirty quid each, and you're not sure whether you've been scammed?

Get a life!

Mr Hogan, I dont know. I did it. He only said I had to stay in the shop for like 10 or 15 minutes, and I had to pretend to be interested. Well I did do it because of the money. Just did it. The Tuk Tuk driver was talking about free gas tickets he was getting or something like that. Not commission indeed. And maybe he was thinking I would buy something after all. He asked me when I came out. But He kept his word. Didnt bring me to other shops but to my destination.
After that I did this once again. But with some off those guys I got into trouble. They brought me to another shop.With them I would have wasted a whole day. I got out than and didnt give any money. But, just try it. You need a thick skin with the chinese!! And you only make a little bit of money. Thats why I didnt see the point of it anymore after three times.

I have just returned from Thailand, for 2 days I tried to get a tuk tuk to the grand palace and no driver would take me unless I made 2 stops, tailor shop and gems shop, eventualy gave up and got a private taxi, 150 baht.

I also tried to get a tuk tuk to take me to Kho san road, they would not go for less than 400 baht, eventualy I got one from Nana for 130 baht.

All the tuk tuks I tried were from Sukhumvit, soi 3,5,7,7.1, 9 and 11. The really are scam merchants.

John,
Quite a valuable feedback.True especially for Soi 11.

I stay on Sukhumvit Soi 11 when in Bangkok.
The professional tourist scammers are lining the entire Soi.
I must have to fight my way past 30 or 40 scammers to get to the Skytrain!
This used to be a nice Soi to stay.
What is wrong with the Thais that they let these scumbags harass their visitors?

Ken..... hopefully things are getting harder for them all now, these sites are valuable and people are becoming more informed (take a long time lol) I have always loved this country and its people, they have a special place in my heart, but like most beautiful places, they become ugly with greed..... no many farangs are leaving this country now for pastures new, (Pattaya, Phuket , Chain Mai) too many farangs supposedly are committing suicide (Pushed!!!) too many burgleries ...... and this safe haven is being spoilt. As farang we are tourists no matter how long we stay or how much we consider it "home" and it is farang that has spoilt it along side their greedy counterparts.... I dont know what the solution is, probably leaving and letting the country regain some pride and decorum again..... the days of Siam when my grandparents were living here are long gone by, but I still love to hear their stories of the real Thailand.

The Tuk Tuk drivers on my Soi lie to every tourist they meet.

They are criminals posing as Tuk Tuk drivers.

They are telling every tourist to stay away from the Grand Palace. "BOMBS GOING OFF" they tell them! Scaring the hell out of arrivals and then they try to scam them.

I called the Tourist Authority of Thailand.

They told me to call the Tourist Assistance Center.

They told me to call the Tourist Police.

The Tourist Police told me to personally go to the Lumpini Police Station and make a complaint.

Since the Police protect the scammers, I declined to get any furthur involved.

What I am doing is publicizing this every day.

I have been advising travelers to stay away.

Thailand does nothing to protect it's visitors so they do not deserve our holiday cash.

i went to bangkok for the last bit of my honeymoon and we'd read loads about the scams around the grand palace etc. We'd used tuk tuks' successfully and felt liked we'd escaped being scammed. On our last night, we got into a tuk tuk and asked them to take us to a restuarant called cabbages and condoms (really good once we got there!). We showed a map and the driver seemed to know where he was going. The journey progressed and we seemed to be heading further and further off track, into dark streets. I was a bit concerned but maybe the restuarant was really in such an off beat place? He pulled into a yard and got out and walked away. We were then surrounded by men who said ' welcome to my restaurant' and wouldn't move away from the tuk tuk. It definately was not C&C and we realised that we were in the middle of nowhere and had been scammed. My husband went crazy and demanded to be taken to our original destination and threw money at the men. After a scary 10 mins, they finally moved away from the tuk tuk and we made a run for it. Luckily we walked for about 15 mins and managed to get a taxi. It really frightened us both and ruined the last night of our honeymoon. I just don't know why some thai folk feel the need to do this, i felt like we'd been kidnapped and it was a really frightening experience. Imagine if a taxi driver did that to you in your home country, you'd be scared right?

After completing a 2 week vacation to Laos with my Thai girlfriend, I returned to the"Land of Smiles". After arriving at the airport, I nonchalantly passed all the non-metered taxi scammers and headed for the metered taxi stand. After being seated in a metered taxi, I noticed that the taxi meter started at 65baht. My girlfriend asked about it and we were informed that the starting price of a taxi had gone up.

I was expecting an increase, as the price of gas was skyrocketing and I had read about an increase in the papers, but this was a big just. I trusted the driver's story as we had gone to the official taxi stand. But, the next day I learned that the starting price had not gone up at all. That taxi driver must have left the meter running before he picked us up.

Scared Woman ..
I feel for you i dont know how they always seem to know its your last night and ruin it they ruined my girls and i last day in thailand and others i speak to seems to be on the last day last night. they suck

Never tell a local when you are leaving.
The scammers will act like your best friend until they have an opportunity to steal.

Look, it really is simple. You just don't ask the locals for anything. If you want to make a big purchase, you are less likely to get scammed if you ask an expat that you know. I would never buy anything worth more than 200tb directly from a Thai. I would say you are even better off seeking out accommodation owned by a westerner; after all, he is only tolerated there as long as his money holds out.

For the life of me, I cannot really fathom "thaicophants." There are better countries around SE Asia that still appreciate our presence. I have met many people who have never really been anywhere else.

khun issan, your so kind, why do you presume I'm a farang, I'm of Asian descent thank you very much, what about you? By the way, are you the same Khun Issan that works Patpong?

Yeah there such a scams its unbelievable