Title – Tourists warned of Thailand airport scamSource – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 20th July 2009
There is not a continent on earth (with the exception of
Antarctica where the penguins are remarkably honest) where scams are not perpetrated. Some are worse than others, some more frightening, some more expensive, some more obvious, some very clever, some criminal and some just ‘cheeky’.Date – 20th July 2009
There is not a continent on earth (with the exception of
Thailand is no exception to this rule, in fact it can sometimes feel like Thailand specialises in the scam at every level. They range from the fake gemstone scam, to the planting of illegal drugs. Sadly as with many countries where the police are paid a very low wage, some scams inevitably involve rogue police officers and other government officials.
In countries where corruption is almost endemic, some scams effectively become accepted as part of ‘the system’.
The thing which worries me about this scam is first that it seems to target victims using technology (CCTV) which is easily manipulated, but more that it takes place in what many travellers feel is a bit of a ‘sanctuary’; the airport.
Culture shock affects us most in unfamiliar environments like the Far East where the heat, humidity, hustle and bustle, traffic, food, chaos of the urban areas, poverty etc. delivers sensory overload, which can be significant. Sometimes the ‘sanctuary’ of an international airport, an environment we feel comfortable in, which is familiar to us and one more akin to our home environment, is just what we need to boost confidence for the next leg of a journey.
This also means we let our guard down, we behave in a manner more familiar to the one we know at home. Everything has a price so there is no need to haggle, the food (even if we take the local option) is presented in a more western style and so we assume that we will also be protected in the way we are at home; a way we take for granted.
So to be suddenly caught up in this kind of scam is frightening and the fact that those involved are officials within the airport, the police and potentially even the judiciary, make it a very difficult one to get out of. The loss of passport puts you at the mercy of your ‘captors’ and the facilities you are kept in mean that any sum of money to free yourself seems reasonable.
The hope is that by uncovering this scam publically and by consulates putting pressure on the Thai government, it makes them clamp down and put and end to this practice.
To avoid getting caught up in the scam the best and most obvious way is to avoid shopping at the airport. If you want to shop, just don’t touch anything you are not buying and pay with a credit card so you not only get (and keep) a receipt, but also a record of your transaction is made by your card company. The last piece of advice is to be more obvious than usual when handling anything you are going to buy, don’t open your bag, hold everything at arm’s length and with finger tips so any cctv footage will clearly show you paying for items and shop alone. Shopping alone means that if you are travelling with a partner at least they can call the embassy for help if you are caught up in the scam.
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