be aware of scams in bangkok!!!!

You're right you should never tell your story again.

Some of you should be embarassed by your posts - why is someone posting a valid warning to other travellers being flamed for it (and since when does a victim "deserve" what happens to them)?? Have a little compassion, people, these posts are for any sharing information, not only information that you deem worthy.

#8 - love ya sarky humour :)

i think he meant united states guy...U.S.

I used to be a us-guy. Now as I've grown older and selfish I'm more of a me-guy

"Never tell anyone where you are going. I hopped in a taxi once and refused to tell the driver where I was going. There was no way I was going to be scammed. "

Isn't that sort of counter-productive for actually getting to somewhere?

GEM SCAM - Really simple ... worldwide ... if you don't know gems, don't try to be a wheeler-dealer.

I dont think it is about greed. I think it is about gangs of thugs frightening and taking advantage of disoriented travellers. There are some details here about how it happens;

http://www.2bangkok.com/2bangkok/Scams/Sapphire.shtml</a><BR><BR>I think there is one organization trying to raise awareness of this, although i cant recall the name, might be on the above link somewhere.

8 - that is beautiful, l bet you kept him idle for minutes with that one.

11 - l think you are right. none of us here know the details, but we can count ourselves older and wiser perhaps because we have been around the block once or twice, but that is no reason to blame the victim or say they got what they seserved. There is only one reason why these scams are still in existence, because they are still working, the scam artists are finding new victims all the time and new ways to make their activities work. The police won't do squat about it, so this is one of the few places where something can be done about it, by warning others. Be careful out there.

"gangs of thugs frightening and taking advantage of disoriented travellers"

please point me in the direction of the article that mentions these gangs of thugs....... the whole reason the scam works is that everbody is so bloody friendly and greed takes over.

Did all the "victims" think "oh this so is good, I can buy these gems and with the profit give all the money away to charity and help people" or did they think "wow, 150% profit"

well here are some quotes from the link above

"The next day it was open as usual. Also in 2002, police were reluctantly transporting cheated tourists back to the store and one of the policemen (not realizing one of the tourists spoke Thai) called ahead to warn the shop owner. When they arrived, a gang of thugs surrounded the tourists and threatened them as the police stood by and did nothing."

"This is a shop renowned for openly beating up foreigners who complain against it. From a Nation article: Some shops have remained open despite pending legal cases. Thaevej Gems, for example, continues to do business even though a dozen fraud and physical-assault charges have been filed against it."

"This is a prolific cheater and a well-connected shop. Tourists were advised by the police that they could be in danger from the scammers and their powerful backers if they pursued legal action."