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Dave The Dude
Guest
Criminal law in thailand Part 38: Beware of scams _ the offer of a lifetime
at the right time
Some visitors to Thailand are not here to enjoy the mix of
fine weather and Asian culture. Rather they prey on other foreigners making
honest livings in Thailand and they also victimise innocent Thais.
Here's how it can happen. Let's say you are working for a company in Thailand
and you are approached by a potential buyer of what your company sells, for
example, property.
The buyer says that he wants to buy six of a condominium project's most
expensive units at the asking price.
Wow, you think. Here we are in the middle of a property slump, I haven't sold
a single unit for a month, and now I'm going to get full commission on six.
Is this too good to be true? Let's look a little deeper. The person will tell
you, in the strictest confidence, of course, that he is acting only as a
representative for a well known figure in a far-off developing country. He
implies that the money for the purchase has been skimmed off a state treasury or
earned without paying taxes. Hence the need for secrecy and speed.
Now here's your first important clue. The person sitting across your desk
will tell ''representative'' tells you he needs a small origination fee to make
all this happen. He will say something to the effect thatsays he is a government
employee in his country and has spent his own money to come here. He needs
somebody to pay for his airfare, hotel and some other expenses. The amount is
minimal, just a couple of hundred thousand baht. Of course, he will say, if this
is a problem, he can approach your competitors, but since his principal is
looking for exactly the product you are offering and since from this
conversation he can tell you are a savvy business person, he'd rather deal with
you.
You tell him you have to think about it.
He says, of course, but you must understand that until he hears from you, he
will be forced to look at other projects, because time is of the essence.
If you call him back, you will be given an account to send the money. If you
send the requested sum, you will never see that money again.
This scam relies on exploiting human frailty. If you were in the above
situation, you might be tempted because you haven't had a sale for a while and
you might be desperate to pay bills.
We think you can understand what's happening here. Your human frailty is
being exploited. You haven't had a sale for a while and you may be just a little
desperate to make the car payments.
Perhaps you could find a way to manage, but a great deal like this would
solve all your problems. Because you want it so badly, the plan seems
credible.
But unlike Tinkerbelle, no amount of believing will make this real.
And this scam has two parts. We'll talk about the bigger one next week.
at the right time
- Published: 13/03/2011
at 12:00 AM - Newspaper section: Spectrum
Some visitors to Thailand are not here to enjoy the mix of
fine weather and Asian culture. Rather they prey on other foreigners making
honest livings in Thailand and they also victimise innocent Thais.
Here's how it can happen. Let's say you are working for a company in Thailand
and you are approached by a potential buyer of what your company sells, for
example, property.
The buyer says that he wants to buy six of a condominium project's most
expensive units at the asking price.
Wow, you think. Here we are in the middle of a property slump, I haven't sold
a single unit for a month, and now I'm going to get full commission on six.
Is this too good to be true? Let's look a little deeper. The person will tell
you, in the strictest confidence, of course, that he is acting only as a
representative for a well known figure in a far-off developing country. He
implies that the money for the purchase has been skimmed off a state treasury or
earned without paying taxes. Hence the need for secrecy and speed.
Now here's your first important clue. The person sitting across your desk
will tell ''representative'' tells you he needs a small origination fee to make
all this happen. He will say something to the effect thatsays he is a government
employee in his country and has spent his own money to come here. He needs
somebody to pay for his airfare, hotel and some other expenses. The amount is
minimal, just a couple of hundred thousand baht. Of course, he will say, if this
is a problem, he can approach your competitors, but since his principal is
looking for exactly the product you are offering and since from this
conversation he can tell you are a savvy business person, he'd rather deal with
you.
You tell him you have to think about it.
He says, of course, but you must understand that until he hears from you, he
will be forced to look at other projects, because time is of the essence.
If you call him back, you will be given an account to send the money. If you
send the requested sum, you will never see that money again.
This scam relies on exploiting human frailty. If you were in the above
situation, you might be tempted because you haven't had a sale for a while and
you might be desperate to pay bills.
We think you can understand what's happening here. Your human frailty is
being exploited. You haven't had a sale for a while and you may be just a little
desperate to make the car payments.
Perhaps you could find a way to manage, but a great deal like this would
solve all your problems. Because you want it so badly, the plan seems
credible.
But unlike Tinkerbelle, no amount of believing will make this real.
And this scam has two parts. We'll talk about the bigger one next week.