Gem/Suit/Restaurant/Travel Agency Scams

• In this scam, the Tuk Tuk driver takes you to one of these locations. For the gem scam, they take you to a “jewelry” store where prices of gems like “Sapphires,” “Rubies,” and “Emeralds” are deeply discounted. They will try to push you to buy them and sell them back in your country. Turns out that these “gems” end up being either pieces of glass or extremely low quality. They may look quality but people get swindled out of hundreds of dollars. At the suit shop, you will see patterns of fabric. You will pay around ฿6000 ($173USD) they will make you a custom suit and you can return tomorrow to pick it up. When you go to pick it up either it won’t be ready, the shop will be closed, or the suit is such poor quality you can’t wear it. While there are legitimate suit shops in Bangkok it would be who of you not to trust anyone you discover from a Tuk Tuk. Obviously at some point during the day you will get hungry and of course, the driver knows the perfect place 🙄. He will take you to an expensive restaurant, where he not only eats for free but also receives some sort of compensation. The food will be shit nasty but you will eat it for fear of being rude. At the travel agency, they will convince you to book tickets that more than likely don’t exist with the actual company (airline, bus, train, etc). Read about these girls experience Getting Scammed in Bangkok.

Cheap Sex or Ping Pong Show

• For those of you who choose to partake in the infamous red-light districts, a word of warning. Be wary of anyone who approaches you to offer you a free show. Stating that all you have to do is pay for ฿100 drinks. I guarantee you the show isn’t free and the drinks are way more than ฿100. I have heard of people only staying for a few minutes, being brought drinks they didn’t ask for, then trying to leave. When they attempt to leave they receive a huge bill and meet a giant man who physically won’t let them leave until they pay the outrageous charges. Be cautious. These instances are known to become violent. My tip would be to not go alone and don’t flaunt the fact that you have money. Calling the police will not help you in this situation. If you ask me it is best to avoid the whole scene.

Wrong Change Scams

• This could probably happen anywhere but it is a common occurrence in 7-11. If someone can tell you don’t know the currency very well they could shortchange you. Always make sure to count your change right in front of the person who gave it to you. What they usually do is give you change for ฿500 or a ฿100 when you originally handed them a ฿1000 bill. They will be adamant that you did not give them the higher bill. The best tip (for any country) is to just pay someone with the smallest bill you have available. 
  

  Thai Baht

Pregnancy Scams

• No judgment for those who partake in Thailand’s extracurricular activities but be careful of the women you keep. Especially the ones you take home from a bar. Sometimes a woman will seem to genuinely like you while you are in town but once you get back to your home country there may be problems. She may contact you and tell you she’s pregnant. Then she will tell you that she needs money for an abortion or money to raise the child. She may send you pictures of her swollen stomach. Do not believe this without proper proof. There is a pill here that allows the stomach to become swollen making the women look pregnant and it is easy to obtain. There is no telling how many men she has told this to. If you have the funds I would fly back to Thailand and go with her to get an ultrasound. It’s the only way you can see for yourself that there is an actual baby in there. Then once the baby is born, make sure you get a DNA test. It is a running joke here not to trust these women if they tell you within the first week/month of knowing you that her mother is sick. If she tells you this and expects you to help foot the hospital bills, RUN!

Long-distance/overnight bus Scams 

• If this is truly the only route you can take to get to your destination make sure you do not have large bags or suitcases that have to go underneath the bus. People have found the contents of their bags missing upon reaching their destination. There have also been cases of people being drugged and getting their personal bags, that were in their laps or under their seats, riled through. I would avoid any drinks you are given for free as it may end up costing you in the end.

Floating Market Scam 

• A couple of friends of mine got got by this scam when they visited us. First things first. The floating market you have seen online IS NOT in Bangkok. It is about an hour and a half to two hours away depending on traffic. So anyone who tells you otherwise has ill intentions. Secondly, this market closes at noon so if someone approaches you after that time telling you they will take you there, you know they are lying. If you want to go to the actual Floating Market it is only ฿200. 
  

  This is me at the real Floating Market

Story Time – Can you spot the red flags? 

Now that I have told you all the scams you should be able to tell where my friends made some mistakes. 

• My friends got approached outside the palace by a random man who told them it was closed. 🚩 The man promised that he would get them a ride on a Tuk Tuk to a long-tail boat. 🚩 This boat would take them to the floating market. It was after 1 pm at this point. 🚩 This man charged the ฿800 per person. 🚩 One of my friends knew this didn’t sound right but ultimately went along with it anyway. They got in the Tuk Tuk and the driver drove them to some random pier. When they got there it was a speedboat and they asked where was the long-boat. The man told them they would change boats later. 🚩 Still thinking it was all good they got in. The boat driver drove them through trash, canals, and people’s backyards. In someone’s backyard, they happened on ONE woman selling overpriced souvenirs from her boat. 🚩 Obviously, they didn’t want any and knew they’d been played but still kept a good spirit and just had fun anyway. At the end of the ride, the boat driver attempted to drop them off at some random pier. When they complained about him taking them back to where they got picked up he got mad. He told them they would have to pay an additional ฿20 per person for a “landing fee.” 🚩 They openly laughed at this man and got out and just walked away. He said he would call the police but obviously didn’t cause he was the one who scammed them.

Bonus

Motorbike, rental car, jet ski damage

• This is a pretty common scam that happens in the islands. When renting any type of motorized vehicle make sure you properly document (pictures/videos) of the equipment before you even touch it. Also, try to avoid giving them your real passport. It is best to just tell them it’s locked in your hotel and just give them a copy of it. Sometimes when you return the bike/car/jet ski the company will try to say you caused some type of damage to the vehicle. They will try to charge you some type of fee to fix it. More than likely you didn’t cause this damage but if you have no evidence to prove it they may hold your passport ransom until you pay the fee.

As I said, in the beginning, Bangkok is a great place but it is always better safe than sorry. Reading these tips could save you a lot of time and money!

If any of these or any other scams have ever happened to you, let us know in the comments below.