Just went for my first trip to Thailand for 3 weeks. I had a good time and didnt get caught by any of these but here are the common scams I saw:

Wat Temples - Temple is closed for . Apparently this is to get you to go some where else. Just ignore them and keep walking till you get to the real entrance.

Dual pricing - Prices posted in Thai are generally due to the Thai national price being different than the farang price. No way around some of this esp at the Wats

Taxi - Not using the meter. Ex. Airport to Bkk downtown is quoted at 500-600, use the meter and its like 250 but you have to pay tolls (that part is legit)

Tuk Tuk - Everything about these guys is a scam from the price to the destinations, avoid them.

Hotel arranged transportation - All over priced. 1,600B for car from Pattaya to BKK. Real price is 1000B downtown, 800B airport. Exhchange rates and mini bar prices are out of line at hotels too

Not giving correct change.

Not adding up bill correctly. Few places use register printed receipts.

Random farang on motorcycle pulling over and asking where your from and being super friendly. Not sure what this is about but again all fake, lies, $$

Pickpockets - dont even use your wallet, put it in your front pockets

Credit cards - I wouldnt use or carry these or let it go out of your site. Leave them in your safe. Alot of card number recording going on even at ATMs.

Drinks - Dont leave your drink unattended, if going to bathroom bring it with or who knows what could be placed in it. Call it parioid but hey better safe.

Girls - incredably hot tall girls with a big chest for a Asian girl, uhm those are not girls those are men, even if his/her waist is super small. Adam's apple checks can help too. Some of them are even chopping off down below. I dont really understand why this is so popular in Thailand, but hey to each their own.

Patong area - if you are into this scene this Soi is the one I would be most careful in, esp places upstiars is what I heard.

Helmets - Cops will ticket you or want a bribe if on motorcycle without these

You are most likely to try and be scammed than physically attacked/robbed but be smart about it and carry copy of passport not the real thing, dont wear fancy rings, watches, chains, have all your money in one place, etc

This is not a negative review of Thailand this can happen anywhere and like when visiting any place new and very far from home, just be smart and observant and you will be fine and have a great time. Learning just a few phrases in Thai will help cut down the above too.

Hope this helps.

JP

You know all of this on one trip, amazing............lol

I read a lot lol

reading is not experiencing............lol

True but preparing means I didnt have to deal with any of the above nonsense during my LOS experience. A lot of it was from the Stickman weekly online journal if anyone reads those. It wasnt research on scams it was just tidbets picked up reading about where to go what to do and then things I saw when actually there...

yes, you learned a lot. Now, tell us how much money per month are you sending to Thailand to keep your girlfriend from going back to work in the bar? ;-))

You must be in the military , Major General !!!

no no friendlyCat, the money is for her sick buffalo.

outstanding work.

your next assignment is to travel to some other Asian countries to see if there are the possibility of a negotiated prices. China and India would be good ones because you could cover about half the planet with that trip. then you might want to try Indonesia - the largest muslim country, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, and Malaysia to get close to another 1/5 of the planet. Africa would be a similar exercise. it either becomes part of the charm or... it doesn't.

or did you get caught up in the whole "time share" scam cause that is about the most prevalent to first timers there. And also another thing about the ATM's if you don't see the locals using it then that normally means it is rigged or just don't work..

Next time when you go to a country you have never been to ask first then people will tell you what to do. Check the water so to say. Don't rely on books and text alone.

All your observations are spot on.

The taximeter scam can also work the other way around:

Tell the guy where you wanna go and hope he doesnt know where to go, he will quote a price anyway though.

Haggle it down and then let him drive you to the other side of town for that 200 baht he thought was a good negotiation on his side.