The Scam
One of the most
pervasive scams in Thailand is the Thai gem scam. Typically, a tourist
meets a friendly Thai at a tourist attraction who eventually offers to
take them to a "government" gem stone shop where the tourist is told
about how they can sell Thai "blue sapphires" or other gems back home
and make a 100% profit. It is all lies, of course, and the tourist ends
up with a pocket full of overpriced gems. Like Thais themselves, the
scam is low-key and the touts are friendly rather than pushy. A rule of
thumb for Thais is that "real" Thais do not just walk up to strangers
and strike up a friendly conversation. Thais typically "speak when
spoken to." If you are approached at a tourist attraction by a friendly
fellow who just walks up and starts speaking to you, watch out!
Too many otherwise wonderful vacations have been ruined by this scam, so
watch out. No official ever dares mention the "protected" gold shops
that actually run the scams (UPDATE: Gold stores were finally
mentioned in a Tourist Police brochure circa January, 2004). One of the
tuk tuk drivers who takes victims to be scammed operates in front of the
Tourist Information Centre and the local Police Station on Khao Sarn
Road.
The funny thing is that over the years the reports are from the same
locations--only the names of the stores change. Officials claim that
just changing the name of the shop prevents them from doing anything to
stop the scam. See our
Family Tree of Corrupt Shops.
As one shop owner bragged to some cheated tourists: "I'll reopen again,
just like I have for 20 years!"
How it is done
This is a
by-the-numbers scam. Most people have the exact same experience. It
usually goes something like this:
1. You are riding in a tuk-tuk
2. The driver tells you that wherever you are going is closed for
some reason.
3. The driver tells you he is specially trained to be helpful to
tourists.
4. You are told the government has launched a promotion to sell
gems to tourists.
5. In the course of riding around with the "friendly" tuk-tuk
driver, you "accidentally" meet a well-dressed young man or an older,
distinguished man.
6. The younger man claims he is a student. The older will claim
he works for the government and shows you his government ID. (Thai IDs
mean nothing. They are readily available for a small fee to anyone.)
7. The person you meet independently confirms the story the
tuk-tuk driver told. (This is a nice touch.)
8. Eventually you ask to be taken to the "government" jewellery
house and are told that you can make 100-150% profit by reselling the
gems back home. It seems okay since the seller writes something like "if
everything is not ok we will offer a full refund" and puts an official
looking stamp on it.
9. You've now been cheated by one of the oldest and most openly
practiced scams in Thailand.
editorial and picture from :-
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