Beware of Filipino scammers in Phnom Penh

[digiboy]

Stranger Danger?

[NedK]

Naivite and/or greed.

Nevertheless conning people is unethical and, if I am not mistaken, illegal.

Yes, despite my 'ranting and raving being directed at the sheer madness involved in the victim's behavior, I certainly don't think the Filipino con men should therefore be allowed to rob people with impunity. Criminals are unethical people who do illegal things. That's pretty much how they roll. Places that have actual law enforcement should indeed lock them up. It'd be nice if people stopped making life so easy for them, though.

[cambod]

Haha, i like the smashing-their-phone routine! I hope to try it!

I really hate this scam, because I'm very trusting of people right from the get-go. Always have been, hope I always will be. I've definitely been burned a few times(no flipo card games), but it seems the average person will most likely be burned by people they know, rather than strangers.

After hearing of this scam i would naturally be more suspicious compliments from total strangers, but i wouldn't ever completely rule out accepting random invitations from sketchy peeps.

But have to agree that anyone that goes along with a card game with total strangers here has an extra chromosome.

And I do feel bad for the chick at the Russian Market.

[keeping_it_riel]

If the scammer says he likes your shirt, tell him you like his shoes and ask to see one of them up close. When he takes it off to show you, throw it onto the nearest roof or chuck it in the river.

[gavinmac]

No, I like the phone better. You're more likely to get his phone in your hand than a shoe. Just ask to talk to his sister on his phone. There's a bunch of ways to get his phone. You can throw it further than a shoe too and phones are more valuable.

Someone posted a scam report in Spanish saying she had been lured into the tuk tuk with the Filipino but was tipped off by Cambodians who pulled up next to the tuk tuk and said "He's from the Philippines and he's going to rob you." That's pretty good. I suspect that if you got into a post-phone-smashing scuffle with one the Filipinos, Khmers might actually come to your defense. Or they might not.

[andyinasia]

No, I like the phone better. You're more likely to get his phone in your hand than a shoe. Just ask to talk to his sister on his phone. There's a bunch of ways to get his phone. You can throw it further than a shoe too and phones are more valuable.

Someone posted a scam report in Spanish saying she had been lured into the tuk tuk with the Filipino but was tipped off by Cambodians who pulled up next to the tuk tuk and said "He's from the Philippines and he's going to rob you." That's pretty good. I suspect that if you got into a post-phone-smashing scuffle with one the Filipinos, Khmers might actually come to your defense. Or they might not.

One thing they love stealing more than phones, is shoes. Middle of Sorya, crowded ground floor - hurl a Flip shoe or two down the escalator and watch the feeding frenzy. Marvellous.

[fritspaap]

This is what the customers wrote, to us she said it happened at russian market, or that they met there or something...
The went to the police and the police said same thing happened to another girl the day before and that they were working on it..
Lets see what will happen.
Ps: thanks to jm for recommending tapatalk

[mr.cool]

In 2007 i met these people in bangkok. They approached me in MBK, he had a sister that was going to norway to work as nurse, and they whanted help to find apartment for her. I went with them. Had a nice dinner, but the sister never showed up. Suddenly they got a phonecall saying that their mom was in hospital, and that they needed money. They whanted me to play cards with a nother person, so they could earn the money. They showed me the game, and the dealer was really skilled. I said no to play, first off all because I knew it was a scam, and second, I don't have a poker face:), and it is not legale to play poker in thailand. All in all it was just a free dinner for me.

[AeroCambodia]

[RobW]

Then you could frogmarch them off to clean the scurge of graffiti from the city's civic amenities.

[nightmare.believer]

When you get approached, play along with them. Tell them that you'd love to go to their house and talk about their sister who is going to go to nursing near your hometown (what are the odds?!), but you need to stop by a bar and tell your girl that you are going with your new Flip friend to dinner. Text your boys. When you get your hat-admiring Flip friend to the bar, your friends have all already shown up and a blackjack game is in progress. Get the Flip to play a hand or two with you...you'll pay for it. Tell him that there is a $100 charge to play and if he doesnt pay it, he'll have to commit suicide by beating himself to death with his hands tied behind his back and then throw himself into the Tonle Sap.

[Jessb52]

I got approached a couple of weeks back outside the air Asia office on the riverfront. A guy stopped me, asked where I was from etc (I wasn't wearing a hat, scarf, sunglasses or jewellry) he said he was from Thailand, an older guy and had remarkably good English. He then said his sister wanted to practice her English and would I be able to help as she is going to work in my hometown. His sister was sitting on a bench on the other side of the road and when he motioned to her she waved and started to get up. I just politely took my leave.

A few days ago I was walking past again but there was a group of us and the guy and girl were there, same positions-the man outside the air asia office and the girl sat on the bench on the other side of the road, just waiting. I don't think we got approached as there were some Khmer and Thai people in our group.

[Karong]

I was sitting on the riverside just before sunset the other day and was approached by two Flips on separate occasions trying to make lame small talk.

It was so obvious they were up to something dodgy. I just stared at them for a few seconds, said nothing, and turned my back to the pricks.

They got the message and went off to the next mark.

I believe the first genius started a conversation about how nice one of those crap karaoke boats looked. He's gonna need to up his game to get some barang to fall for his intended scam - whatever it was. But then there are a lot of morons out there...

[NedK]

--- Well, folks, it has finally happened. I did it. I edited down a post to a more reasonable length - after I had already written up a much longer, more comprehensive, more everything, version. I was going to hit submit, and I thought ... Come on, Ned. It's the weekend. You already went off in this thread and made every lame joke you could about people who get scammed. You did your duty. So I went to bed, and this morning had a fresh outlook on life and I cut most of it out. But since I did go and read some Interpol information on this scam, and it answers some of my own questions about how anyone gets taken by this, I figured I'd share the much abbreviated analysis.---

I figured there had to be something I was missing here, since it sounded like the most asinine set-up I'd ever heard of, so I read the Interpol stuff on it.

Here's one approach: They ask where you're from, then demonstrate a lot of knowledge (or whatever the hell they can) about the place, and then claim their sister is going to study there. He'll want you to come home with him to meet his sister to talk to her. He might initially buy you some drinks or a meal, make you feel obligated.

When you get to the house, Lil Sis isn't home, and after bullshitting for a while, the guy shows you some fancy card tricks, ways to cheat. And he suggests that you and him play in a rigged game against these guys he knows, and you'll make a bunch of money.

But, of course, the game is rigged for you to lose your shirt and at the end of the night, if you're still thinking that you and Franky Filipino were in cahoots to cheat these guys but you fucked it up, you aren't going to object to paying or say that it was rigged ... because you thought that it was YOU doing the scamming. Or, alternately, the guys you are playing against could catch your partner cheating and in the ensuing shit storm, you agree to pay them off since you believe that you were trying to rip them off. Well, technically you were TRYING to rip them off, you were just failing at it spectacularly.

It's an old trick - they get you to believe that you're their accomplice in a crime, or that you're buying stolen goods, and somehow turn it around on you. You won't go to the police because you either still believe that your end of the crime was for real, or at the very least you don't want to admit that you were willing to commit a crime, just one that happened to be a charade, making you not only dishonest but also a sucker.

I, personally, wouldn't get taken by this and still think it's pretty obvious, but I guess I've known a lot of young men who would get off on the danger or risk or excitement of becoming a real live Filipino-trained con-artist, but that's because they are immature and if they are lucky they'll learn a lesson and not get themselves into anymore trouble with attempts at being an outlaw. If they got taken by this scam, then they aren't good candidates. Plus, uh, it is kind of, you know ... wrong to do bad things to people. That's my advanced moral philosophy.

Oh, also, I can tell you this with utter certainty: even when you do "succeed" in your life of crime, it is all inevitably going to come crashing down around you, whereupon you'll lose everything - seized, forfeited, sold to pay for lawyers, your parents will be crushed, your "friends" will abandon you, and you will ponder the wreckage of your life endlessly as the long hours of your bleak existence slowly pass by.

[AeroCambodia]

There needs to be some type of licence issued for tourists before the can travel abroad when they are issued a passport to weed out the completely stupid ones or the other who are clue less on some of the dangers even it what looks like a safe place. That includes a yearly of bi yearly test. A simple test with questions like: A stranger pulls up to you in a car tuk tuk or what ever and asks you to get in . What do you do? The answer should be obvious. But still people jump right in.

Next question should you carry a purse with a long flimsy strap or lay it on the table next to you? I see women carry purse all the time here or a camera dangling from there hand on a long strap. It just says steal me.

Last night perfect example. I'm sitting on the bench across the street from Paddy Rice and 2 boys run by looking over there shoulders clearly hiding some thing under there shirt.
I look back and don't see any one chasing them so I don't know whats going on if I seen people chasing them especially foreigners and yelling thief I could have tripped them up but you don't know why they are running they may have taken their gangsters friends drugs. But 5 min latter two women in the 20's come running by after them. To slow to late .
She lost her purse with all her credit cards cash and phone to two punk kids here.

When will people learn . Don't carry a purse . Use a fanny pack or carry every thing in your pockets.

What will the police do for them nothing!! will they get things back no!

Brian