Tourist Scams in Thailand

Unfortunately, just like everywhere else in the world, there are tourist scams in Thailand. The Thai people are generally good-natured and honest, but you will meet the occasional scam artist. These con artists are of two varieties; the opportunist scam artist and the career scam artist.

The opportunist scam artist is the type of person who realises that they can supplement their income by occasionally overcharging the odd foreigner. This is by far the most common of the tourist scams in Thailand. Thai society tends to be hierarchical with different loyalties and obligations owed to different people. The biggest obligation the Thai person has is to family, monks, and those of higher social rank while the lowest obligation is to strangers who they might never see again. The person overcharging might not even believe that they are doing anything wrong as the issue is clouded by the fact that many tourist attractions have double-pricing for foreigners and locals; it is easy for a Thai person to reason that if the national parks can charge people a special price then why shouldn't they. This type of opportunistic scam artist might only overcharge by a few baht here or there, but if they get away with it they might become more daring.

There are many examples of the opportunistic scam artist in Thailand. The taxi driver who adds a few hundred baht on the fare or the restaurant that increases the price for foreigners. This increased pricing might only be small amounts here and there, but if you are not careful it might soon add up. Depending on your personality and amount of free cash at your disposal you might decide to just pay these extra costs without complaint. The one thing that you should never do is lose your temper and make a scene. All you do in Thailand by getting angry is to make enemies; don't do it. If you feel that you have been overcharged then calmly explain the situation to the person all the time smiling and doing all you can to allow them to save face. You could say something like; "I think you might have made a mistake", and not "you are overcharging me". As tourist scams in Thailand go, these opportunistic price increases are usually no big deal and can often be easy to sort out if handled correctly.

The career scam artist is a danger to tourists and should be avoided at all costs. This is the type of person who makes a living by cheating people out of their money. The career scam artist knows what they are doing is wrong and has no scruples about it. They are criminals who know that if they get caught they will go to jail; they know all the tricks about how to get people to part with their money. They are usually after larger amounts of cash than the opportunistic scam artist. Thankfully only a minority of tourist scams in Thailand fall into this category.

You should always be suspicious of any stranger who is overly-friendly and is offering a great bargain if you go with them. A lot of these scams work by offering you a deal that already has a hint of illegality to it; for example they might be offering pirated goods or cheap jewellery. Never agree to go with these people and avoid being drawn into conversation with them. Trust your instincts and if something sounds too good to be true then it probably is.

Most people who come to Thailand will only ever have to deal with the opportunistic scams for small amounts of money. Many tourists will avoid being scammed altogether. Thailand is far safer than most other tourist destinations and tourist scams in Thailand hardly ever get any more serious than an irritation.