Gem Scam
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The gem scam is a
confidence trick A scam, or a confidence trick, is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using a combination of the victim's credulity, naivety, compassion, vanity, confidence, irrespons ...
performed usually against tourists. The most known version occurs in
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...
,
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
as well as other cities in the country. It is one of the most pervasive scams in Thailand. Most of the shops are gold or jewelry shops. The
mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...
s tend to be
tourists Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...
from outside Thailand. It has been alleged that this scam has been operating for the past 20 years, sometimes in the same premises. It has been suggested that individuals in the
Royal Thai Police The Royal Thai Police (RTP) (; ) is the national police force of Thailand. The RTP employs between 210,700 and 230,000 officers, roughly 17 percent of all civil servants (excluding the military and the employees of state-owned enterprises). The R ...
and even politicians protect this scam. The scam was demonstrated on an episode of the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
series '' The Real Hustle'' and in a '' Scam City'' episode in Bangkok. Also in other countries such as Turkey and Sri Lanka, the trick is performed in various versions.


The scam

A network of
tout A tout is any person who solicits business or employment in a persistent and annoying manner (generally equivalent to a '' solicitor'' or '' barker'' in American English, or a '' spruiker'' in Australian English). An example would be a person w ...
s and con men present the mark with an opportunity to profit from buying discount gems from a jewelry shop. The mark is convinced that he can buy gems at duty-free price and bring them overseas for a threefold or more profit. Through a network of helpers, each of whom tells the mark bits of information, the mark is guided to the jewelry shop. #A tout will be on the lookout at popular tourist spots like the
Grand Palace The Grand Palace (, Royal Institute of Thailand. (2011). ''How to read and how to write.'' (20th Edition). Bangkok: Royal Institute of Thailand. . ) is a complex of buildings at the heart of Bangkok, Thailand. The palace has been the officia ...
,
Wat Pho Wat Pho (, ), also spelled Wat Po, is a Buddhism, Buddhist temple complex in the Phra Nakhon, Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok, Thailand. It is on Rattanakosin Island, directly south of the Grand Palace, Bangkok, Grand Palace. Known also as the Temp ...
, Khaosan Road,
Siam Square Siam Square (, ) is a shopping and entertainment area in the Siam area of Bangkok, Thailand. The square is located at the corner of Phayathai Road and Rama I Road and is owned by Chulalongkorn University, managed by its Property Management Of ...
, or other temples or tourist attractions in Bangkok. (Also, the scam may often be initiated by a
tuk-tuk An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many other terms in various countries, including three-wheeler, Adaidaita Sahu, Keke-napep, Maruwa, auto, ...
driver.) The tout will be dressed as a student or gentleman and will approach the mark to tell him the place he is about to visit is closed today because of some made-up
holiday A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. ''Public holidays'' are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often ...
. The tout, taking advantage of the Thai people's reputation for friendliness, may strike up a conversation, asking where the mark is from, and if this is his first time in Bangkok. The tout will also tell the mark that a certain
tuk-tuk An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many other terms in various countries, including three-wheeler, Adaidaita Sahu, Keke-napep, Maruwa, auto, ...
waiting nearby is cheap or even free because it has been sponsored by the tourism ministry and can bring him to other temples elsewhere to visit. Sometimes this gentleman finds out which country the mark is from and informs the con man at the next layer about it. #If the mark gets on the tuk-tuk, the driver will bring him to a secluded temple in the city, drop him off, and wait for him to return. #When the mark walks into the temple, there will be a gentleman praying inside. That person will tell him about a scheme by the government which allows people to buy jewelry
duty-free A duty-free shop or store is a retail outlet whose goods are exempt from the payment of certain local or national taxes and duties, on the requirement that the goods will be sold to travelers who will take them out of the country, who will ...
and make a profit when the gems are shipped to their home country, adding that today is the last day of this scheme. # The tuk-tuk may take the mark to another temple, where another person (sometimes a Thai, sometimes a Westerner) tells the same story, building up the mark's confidence through a seemingly "independent" verification. If the mark is interested, the person will tell the tuk-tuk driver to take him to the jewelry store. #At the shop the mark will be pressured to buy jewelry. If the mark purchases the jewelry, the gem will be packaged and shipped directly to the mark's address in his home country so that he will not have a chance to get the gem appraised or return it for a refund. In the purchase process the mark may be told to go to a nearby gold shop to purchase gold to be exchanged for the gem – this
money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...
ensures that any stop-payment on the part of the mark will not affect the gem store's profits. #The mark returns to his home country, only to find the jewelry to be worth far less than he paid for it (often due to inferior quality of the stones or gold). Other scams include fake Thai Mikimoto certificates. Once in a store, a variety of selling tactics are employed, including
bait and switch Bait-and-switch is a form of fraud used in retail sales but also employed in other contexts. First, the merchant "baits" the customer by advertising a product or service at a low price; then when the customer goes to purchase the item, they disco ...
, and "educating" gemstone novices about "fake gems" which are in fact real, and selling them "real gems" which are in fact fake.


Variants in other countries

Gem and jewel scams take place in other countries as well. In the Turkish tourist town Antalya, the tourists are ensnared by an organised trip to a tourist attraction such as a waterfall, after which the tourists are transported to a state-licensed jewelry store. Here the jewelry sold is of regular quality, but overpriced due to large commissions charged on them. In Sri Lanka the jewelry scam takes place more or less in a similar way like in Thailand. Also, a similar scam takes place with old Dutch VOC-coins, supposedly from ship wrecks, which are sold to tourists. The sellers mix low-value real coins with high-value fake coins and sell them for high prices.Oplichters in het buitenland (in Dutch), episodes S4E5 and S5E6


See also

*
Thai tailor scam Thai tailor scam, also known as the Bangkok tailor scam is one of the most common confidence tricks performed in tourist hotspots in Thailand, such as Pattaya, Bangkok, Phuket, and beach towns like Khao Lak. The scam usually involves a friendly ...
*
Thai zig zag scam The Thai zig zag scam is a confidence trick where one is falsely accused of shoplifting, and then held by police, or those claiming to be police, until "bail" is paid for the alleged theft. At times those fleeced are shown faked closed-circuit telev ...
*
Crime in Thailand Crime in Thailand has been a defining issue in the country for decades, inspiring years of policy and international criticism. Drug use and corruption make up the majority of the crime in Thailand and due to this, many Thai administrations attempte ...


References


External links


travelscams.org - 45 Tourist targeted acams in Thailand
{{Scams and confidence tricks Confidence tricks Fraud in Thailand Tourism in Thailand