Farang house owner scammed

Fake Police extort money from English house owner in Banglamung.
Pattaya City News

An interesting case now from house number 98/1 in Soi Mapyailia 20 in Central Pattaya. Police Lieutenant Colonel Pirom, Deputy Chief of Banglamung Police was assigned to this case and made his way to the house, owned by Mr. Joseph Fitspatrick aged 57 from England who stays with his Wife, Khun Malissa aged 32.

On 24th January, they received a visit from five men, who claimed to be Pattaya Police Officers. The lead officer claimed he was a Police Captain and was holding a search warrant for the house. The couple assumed they were real police and allowed them to conduct the search.

They uncovered 50 counterfeit football shirts and two packets of Marlboro Cigarettes. They confiscated the items and the Police Captain told the pair that if they wanted to clear the problem without the courts being involved they must go to Pattaya Police Station on 25th January at 3pm and must pay 80,000 Baht to the Captain who claimed he worked at the station.

The officers left and one hour later called them to change the location to the lobby of the Flipper Lodge Hotel in Soi 8 which then changed to the front of the Welcome Hotel in Jomtien. This aroused suspicion and the pair decided to make a complaint at Banglamung Police Station about the matter. They are now investigating this case and believe the group are not real police officers but a well organized gang who are targeting foreign house owners.

[TrongpaiExpat]

I had a run in with what I think was a phony cop last month. The BF and I were in Chiang Mai and waiting on the side walk for a tuk tuk. Just as one stopped, this man dressed in business clothes driving a motorcycle was pulled over and talking to the BF. I got in the tuk tuk thinking may this guy was just selling something or asking for directions.

The BF then got in the tuk tuk. I asked him what he wanted and the BF said he is police and was telling me I look like a kamoye (thief). We started leaving and the man on the motercy pulled the tuk tuk driver aside and whispered in his ear.

The tuk tuk diver returned and we started leaving and the man on the motercy caught up with us and did a police style traffic stop on us. He asked the BF for his ID. He asked the tuk tuk driver for his ID, he seemed to be ignoring me.

I kept saying ask to see his ID but neither the BF or tuk tuk driver thought that was a good idea. I also said call the police station and that was also not received well. They told me to say quiet, they will handle this.

There was a lot of discussion between the tuk tuk driver and this man.
The tuk tuk driver then just got in and drove around the man and headed off to our destination. I asked what is going on and the tuk tuk driver just laughed and said he kahmoy, not real police, mai pen rai.

I still do not know what this man wanted to do.

I write of being in London and 2 young thugs pulling up beside me in a racy looking car and telling me to move off quick smart as I was in their parking spot and they were police officers.

Naturally I called their bluff and demanded ID...they produced their genuine police warrant cards along with a book and wrote me a parking ticket for 100 pounds and told me again to shove off quick which I dutifully did.

there's a moral there somewhere.

Is it my imagination or is every farang who has a problem in Pattaya always aged 57 or 58 ??

Is it my imagination or is every farang who has a problem in Pattaya always aged 57 or 58 ??

That's lucky for you, Pearl. You left that rough part of life behind during World War II. :compress:

I thought the Male Menopause was earlier. Perhaps it's when Singha induced Alzheimer's kicks in.

I've yet to hear of a favourite scam in Manila being perpetrated in Thailand but perhaps I lead a sheltered life. A couple of well-dressed guys approach an obvious tourist, explain they are a members of the police force, perhaps showing some ID (how would a tourist know what police ID looks like?) and ask if he has US dollars on him, as they are investigating counterfeit US dollars. The tourist hands over his dollars, the well-dressed guys inspect each one, keep several, claiming they are counterfeit, and walk off. You could do it with any currency and possibly get away with it

You could do it with any currency and possibly get away with it

I really rather doubt that. For instance, unwrapping digits from the Scottish Pound would take more than a couple of Manila bobbies ... then there is the Chinese Yuan ... the Japanese Yen would probably be a cinch though

Is it my imagination or is every farang who has a problem in Pattaya always aged 57 or 58 ??

That's lucky for you, Pearl. You left that rough part of life behind during World War II.

I'm sure she thanks you for your attempt at kindness toward the elderly but you have forgotten her untiring service in earlier wars. She was Miss Foxhole of 1916, 17 & 18--Still going strong after slogging it out with our brave boys in the foxholes of the Crimea. Luckily, Florence Nightengale never caught her out.

I heard that the young Pearl was a cabin boy for a famous admiral and that there was a close bond between them. No, I am not implying that anything improper went on at sea, as we all know what is said about the Royal Navy and rum and buggery is untrue. But it must have been an honour to bring Lord Nelson breakfast on the morning of the battle of Trafalgar.

The Royal Navy has only three traditions - rum, sodomy and the lash

[Surfcrest]

......A couple of well-dressed guys approach an obvious tourist...(blah / blah / and lots more blah blah)...and ask if he has US dollars on him......

.....and he says no, and the quick / fruitless scam is over.......

...it must have been an honour to bring Lord Nelson breakfast on the morning of the battle of Trafalgar.

Up to that point, I thought you were refering to Columbus....'Had a cabin boy, he loved him like a brother--And every night, in the pale moonlight, they'd...____ & ____...each other.'
(Sorry, I don't know some of the words; my mommy still won't sing them to me when she rocks me to sleep--With real rocks.)

......A couple of well-dressed guys approach an obvious tourist...(blah / blah / and lots more blah blah)...and ask if he has US dollars on him......

.....and he says no, and the quick / fruitless scam is over.......

When someone asks me that I always say, "No. I was just about to ask if I could borrow some from you."