Fraudsters in Thailand have come up with new “wiring” for Russian tourists

Russians in Thailand are increasing every day: since November, several direct flights from the Russian Federation to Thailand have been launched at once, both regular and long-awaited charters – so far from Moscow to Phuket, but in the very near future they will also fly from Siberia and the Far East. And the more guests from Russia in the Kingdom of Siam, the more people who want to warm their hands to them – compatriots who have long lived in the country warn about this.

What scammers can promise to both “packagers” and relocators from the Russian Federation and what cannot be trusted, we learned from those who have already encountered such figures.

From November 27 to 29, charter flights to Thailand will depart from Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, Kemerovo and Khabarovsk. The average price for a 10-day tour for two with flights included is from 170 to 190 thousand rubles, depending on the level of accommodation.

According to the tour operator raising charters, almost all offers with a departure in late November have already been booked, so it is likely that the flight program from the Russian regions will expand further. And on the spot, judging by the warnings of the Russian-speaking Thais, who miss the serene resort life, swindlers of all stripes are already lying in wait.

“Those who promise to help rent a bike below the market or take their car to beautiful places closed to foreign tourists are even the most harmless,” warns Russian woman Larisa, who has been living on the Thai island of Koh Samui since the beginning of the pandemic. “They just get paid up front and disappear.

Renting transport and ordering excursions – only in hotels or in city travel agencies, they are here at every turn. But no pages on social networks, private channels and other online offers. Everything is so well-established here that any network alternative is 98% fraud. I leave 2% for the fact that the network stranger does not want to immediately steal your money, but has a cunning plan. For example, under the pretext of a bike or an excursion, meet in person and offer some not entirely legal service. Having burned down on which you will not be able to run to complain to the police.

– For example?

– Now, in relation to Russians, fraudulent schemes around non-working cards are most popular. There was a case when tourists, right at the ATM, transferred rubles from their card to a certain account under the dictation of such an “assistant” found on the Web. Immediately after that, he had to withdraw cash in baht for them through this ATM. He stood next to me, map in hand. And as soon as the transfer took place, they turn their heads, and he melted into thin air.

A Russian blogger living in Thailand talks about the same thing, especially warning those Russians who intend to move to the country for a long time: “Such people ask about the level of medicine, about dangerous insects, but no one has ever asked about dangerous compatriots-swindlers. And now there are more of them around than there were homeless people on the street during the pandemic.”

According to the Russian woman, fraudulent schemes “from fellow countrymen” are designed for those who chose Tai for relocation not for any special reasons, but because they “heard” that it was “relatively clean”, “the child can be given both to Russian and and to an English school”, “there is decent housing with playgrounds” and everything else.

They are offered “guaranteed assistance in getting to school”, “euro insurance with an indefinite policy”, “immigration assistance”, “work visa for 2 years”, “opening a bank account”, etc. and so on. And sometimes they don’t even sell help, but advice.

However, as the blogger writes, there is no immigration program in Thailand, there are only long-term visas for foreigners, so there are no agents “helping with the immigration procedure” in nature. As for schools and banks, they will do everything themselves if you contact them directly. A work visa will be issued to a foreigner only at the official request of an employer registered in Thailand, and this certainly does not need to be encrypted in social networks. Accordingly, insurance “only from a London company” and only for an amount in terms of pounds may be required only by an employer that does not exist in reality.

Russian-speaking residents of Pattaya say that in their resort city, Russians are substituted not only by their own, but also by the Thais themselves. For example, when renting a home via the Internet. Unscrupulous Thai hosts agree with the client on the price even before his arrival, take a deposit, and when the guest has already arrived, the price is much higher. If the client refuses, the deposit will not be returned to him.

“Before the pandemic, this was not the case,” shares the ex-resident of Belgorod, now Pattaya Andrey. – Starved, apparently. The most extreme option – housing that you booked on a prepaid basis on the Web, does not appear in nature at all. But more often it just turns out to be a different price. Often, Thai hosts work in conjunction with Russian-speaking partners who know better how to breed theirs for an advance payment. And they take upon themselves the “arrow” when the indignant failed tenant demands the deposit paid back.

A separate topic for fraud is a bill issued on October 25 by the Thai Ministry of Internal Affairs, which allows foreigners to buy land in Thailand for development or sublease, which gives certain benefits in status (today it is only allowed to buy real estate, but not land). Immediately after this proposal was made, “land agents” began to spring up in the Thai resorts beloved by Russians like mushrooms after the rain, helping to select a site and complete a deal. If you suddenly meet them, know that 2 weeks after the adoption of the Thai Cabinet of Ministers, this bill was withdrawn. The reason is the dissatisfaction of the Thai people, who resolutely objected to even an inch of their native land falling into the wrong hands.