Beware of Filipino scammers in Phnom Penh

[giblet]

I met a Japanese girl who got taken by a similar scam in Manila. She met a couple members of a family, mostly women (and I think there was a kid), in a park. After chatting for an hour or two, they invited her to try some home-cooked Filipino food. Because it was a family, and mostly women, she thought she was safe. So she went home with them and had a lovely dinner. Afterwards, when they were making plans to all take a day trip the next day ,she started feeling strange.

She asked to go home because she was feeling funny, and they agreed to take her. On the way home, they stopped at the ATM and said she should really take out money because she would need it for the day trip the next day and they had to leave early, so best to get it now. She realized something was up because they were pressuring her to take out so much cash, so she entered her pin code incorrectly until her card locked her out. They ended up dropping her off without any complaint after that. When she arrived back at the hostel we were staying at, I could tell she had clearly been drugged, she could barely walk.

Hearing stories like this totally bums me out because it teaches single women travelers that you should never trust a local -- doesn't matter if it's a woman with kids, whatever. If a tourist follows all the rules for safety and never trusts anyone, their experience in a country is severely limited. I could totally see myself falling for the above scam and I don't think that means I'm a moron, just that I don't necessarily want to spend my entire time in a country hanging out with other backpackers.

[NedK]

Hearing stories like this totally bums me out because it teaches single women travelers that you should never trust a local -- doesn't matter if it's a woman with kids, whatever. If a tourist follows all the rules for safety and never trusts anyone, their experience in a country is severely limited. I could totally see myself falling for the above scam and I don't think that means I'm a moron, just that I don't necessarily want to spend my entire time in a country hanging out with other backpackers.

Well, first and foremost, don't trust the other backpackers. Dirty hippies! They look like they are all headed out to some Phish concert that is a three day walk into the jungle, carrying 200 pounds of survival gear. Or weed. Whatever is in those backpacks, it isn't clothing, never see that get changed.

It's possible that I'd fall for this scam because I'd probably never anticipate getting drugged. That is an ugly way to rob someone and possibly dangerous or deadly. A lot of it could depend on how they are behaving, because people who are about to drug and rob a Japanese girl could be pretty nervous about it. But language and cultural differences could make subtle cues tough to spot. No, I wouldn't be as hard on somebody over this one as I was with the blackjack thing. But even that turned out to be a new version of an old trick when I looked into it, and I think agreeing to gamble with those people is on par with the stupidity of agreeing to help one of them rip some people off. A whole lot of terrible ideas going on there.

I guess I'm also not the type that attracts random strangers - particularly locals - to come up and chat with me. Japanese girls, individually or as a demographic, probably get that sort of thing a lot more than I do. So if somebody approaches me I would start from the assumption that they have an agenda behind it, and that it will reveal itself in due course. I don't know, maybe I sound paranoid or something, but not trusting someone doesn't mean I'm nervous or anything. I feel just dandy. And expecting that they are playing some angle and they'll make their pitch, and then they get to it, suspicions confirmed, I can move on with my life and let the healing begin.

You should write a travel advisory type article where you insist that all women should travel with an official taster from now on, like kings used to have. Somebody to take a nibble of each dish to check it for anything. I suppose they could do other things for you to, but you wouldn't want them distracted from the tasting: that's the focus. It would be a whole new tourism related industry, and you could take credit for it. Go ahead. Run with it. Make me proud.

[vladimir]

you insist that all women should travel with an official taster from now on

Is there any money in that?

Sounds like an enjoyable pastime:

So, whaddya do, hansum man?

I'm a taster.

Ooohhhh, you hansum man. You like me?

I don't know, I haven't tasted.

I looove you!

[KL&fool]

Hearing stories like this totally bums me out because it teaches single women travelers that you should never trust a local -- doesn't matter if it's a woman with kids, whatever. If a tourist follows all the rules for safety and never trusts anyone, their experience in a country is severely limited. I could totally see myself falling for the above scam and I don't think that means I'm a moron, just that I don't necessarily want to spend my entire time in a country hanging out with other backpackers.

Well, first and foremost, don't trust the other backpackers. Dirty hippies! They look like they are all headed out to some Phish concert that is a three day walk into the jungle, carrying 200 pounds of survival gear. Or weed. Whatever is in those backpacks, it isn't clothing, never see that get changed.

We should all don fine gear, such as deerstalkers and khaki shorts and employ a squadron of hod carriers, imho.

Dash it all, they are so uncivilised - they don't even understand the rules of cricket! Absolute bounders.

[AeroCambodia]

OK I met the my sister is going to be nurse man today . I know who they are now. Is there some one working with the police about them? I have some information that may get them locked up.

I got the same story my sister is going to be a nurse and can you come meet her out our house? I said not now so he wants to meet tomorrow. As soon as he walked away some other lady come up asking me the same questions I think she works with him her accent was not Cambodian.

He says he is Filipino and is just too willing to show his ID but he keep his thumb over his name.
He is about 40 years glasses short spiked hair good English nicely dressed.
And I have his phone number.

If they read this post then this is done.

OK any one know what police are working on this? any one know some one looking for them? Look me up and I will delete this before any one tips them off I'm on to them.
Any one know what to do with this? I hate to just let this just end when I have a meeting set up with him and his phone number.

B

[fritspaap]

Today one of my customers was almost scammed by them fillipones, but they didnt get his money, we the police again, and they are busy on it atm. Go to the police station of the district st.136 is located on. They might appreciate your information, and who knows you even might achieve royal status or earn a medal!
Cheers

[fritspaap]

Ok guys, the guy what was almost scammed met 2 filiponas girls at the sorya market, and went to there house and the guy showed up to play cards, the customer stayed there 3 hours and did not give them any money since he hadnt had his creditcard with him,
He said he was voluntering and if the voluntering didnt happen than he would look for work, the filipino guy said his niece does tutoring for 20 dollars an hour. He gave him the adress of a orphanage/school where he could meet his niece, here the adress: tuk thla village, sangkat tuk thla, khan sen sok, phnom penh, cambodia. Tel: 012862653 / 0888132129/016. Sccdo_org@yahoo.com : cccbox422

I dont know if the adress exis at all or not, anybody care to check it out ?

[jm]

Just saw the scammers at Night Market. Coming back from the boat today one of us -- wearing a Garage shirt -- stumbled upon los scammerros at the Night Market:

"Hey that's a nice t-shirt?
"Thanks."
"Where'd you get it ?"
"Manila."
"Hey! I''m from Manila!"
"No way! My sister's studying nursing there."
"Oh my." (Scammerro smiles)
"She loves cards and I do too."
"Oh, no, I don't like".
"Oh no no no, I like very much".
"No, it's against my religion."
"Yes, yes, and my friends like cards too (beckoning to JM and Cambod following behind).
(Los Scammerros hop on bike as JM struggles with cameraphone and Cambod does whatever it is that he does, amazed, befuddled...)

Score one.

[gavinmac]

Nooooo! I just missed it.

[LTO]

Excellent, jm! I think I might try that one.

[AeroCambodia]

Today one of my customers was almost scammed by them fillipones, but they didnt get his money, we the police again, and they are busy on it atm. Go to the police station of the district st.136 is located on. They might appreciate your information, and who knows you even might achieve royal status or earn a medal!
Cheers

What where is the police station on st 136?

[cambod]

Nooooo! I just missed it.

U missed it by no more than 5 mins!

Oh
My
God!

It was epic! To see the scared look on his face when he knew he had been called out! I hate my phone now for taking longer than .5 seconds to take a shot! It would have been the best pic ever!

By the time i realized what was going on, the Flipo card dealer was on his Missus's moto and zipping outta there! Classic moment!

The Garage t-shirt wearer Did it! Stuck to a great script! If we had all been sober it could have been a much better story!

I'm still laughing about it hours later!

[LTO]

Hearing stories like this totally bums me out because it teaches single women travelers that you should never trust a local -- doesn't matter if it's a woman with kids, whatever. If a tourist follows all the rules for safety and never trusts anyone, their experience in a country is severely limited. I could totally see myself falling for the above scam and I don't think that means I'm a moron, just that I don't necessarily want to spend my entire time in a country hanging out with other backpackers.

A good thing IMO. 'Never' is perhaps too strong, but she should be scared, or at the least very wary. One wouldn't ordinarily go home with some random stranger met on the street in her home country, and she should be even more cautious overseas where she doesn't know the local scams, dangers, warning cues, customs and such. Contrary to what many 'travelers' may want to believe, foreign brown people are no more trustworthy than the average joe stranger back in the West. And they are no more likely to invite some strange foreigner into their house than people in the west, or at least without having some ulterior motive. And, unfortunately, the world is full of bad people that target gullible tourists and play on their naivete. It's just mind-boggling to me that tourists actually drop their guard when overseas when in fact it should be heightened. Yes, this may deprive the tourist of experiencing 'real' Cambodia, but it also may save them from being scammed or far worse, especially for women. Like in your home country, if you have been introduced by somebody you know and trust, or if you have been here long enough to have some grasp of local customs and dangers, or if there is some real reason to go with somebody such as mutual business, that may be a different story. But to go home with some random stranger on the naive believe that the locals want to have some sort of cultural exchange or invite unknown white people (male or female) into their homes as a matter of course is just stupid.

[proyat]

How hard would it be to sting them right back ? Simply have one of your tuk tuk mates in on it with you. You wait till your approached and agree to go. "I have a tuk tuk already.I've paid for the day.I have to use him...
he's just here". Jump on with the scammer."I just have to go to my hotel to get some money..". Your tuk tuk takes you to a pre arranged spot where justice awaits.

Mabuhay !!

[NedK]

Well, possibly some good news on the Filipino front: A reliable Khmer source told me that recently three of them knocked a Singaporean businessman on the head and took $3000 from him. But he was enough of a somebody that it was noticed by the powers that be and the police have been told to get rid of all of these shirt-loving, card playing, double dealing Filipinos, along with any of their sisters, whether they study nursing or not. So hopefully they go after them with some enthusiasm and nobody else has to to be bothered by them in PP for a while.