Who Are The Main Scammers
It is a concern for many that there are fake organizations scamming individuals. The motivation behind these scams is often the unwarranted trust and tools provided by legitimate organizations. Many scammers imitate the structure and services of the leading private party planner, but do not deliver any services and eventually disappear. Although some scams can easily be recognized, others are harder to identify as they may have been former employees of the legitimate organization. The high turnover rate in Thailand, with individuals frequently switching jobs, has contributed to the problem. The legitimate organization has taken legal measures to protect against these malicious individuals who abuse the employment system to steal information. In the past, there have been mistakes in allowing interns and employees access to the database without proper legal protection against theft and plagiarism, leading to the current unfortunate situation.
- In 2008, the first scammer in the market was a British individual named “Jermaine”. He attempted to copy the business model of a party planning service by launching his own website “www.bangkokbachelors.com”, but with a significant difference – no services were provided after a deposit was paid. At the time, the only other legitimate party planning services were “www.thailandbucksandhens.com” managed by David, an honest British businessman, and “www.chillievents.com” managed by Steve, both offering reliable services in their respective locations. Jermaine took advantage of the confusion and was active for a longer period than expected. He asked for a deposit and kept in touch with his victims until they arrived in Thailand, making it impossible to reach them. As a result, many people would contact the legitimate providers monthly, upon their arrival in Thailand, asking about the services they had paid for. It was challenging for the legitimate providers to explain that they were not responsible and that their clients had been scammed. They also had to make it clear that they were separate organizations. Jermaine, like most scammers in the area, did not have a Google My Business, Facebook, or TripAdvisor presence and was not a legal entity. David and Steve, along with the legitimate providers of “www.thailandbucksandhens.com” and “www.chillievents.com”, decided to take action against Jermaine as the police were unresponsive unless a large sum of money was paid, which was not an option for the legitimate providers. They believed that corrupt police could be even more dangerous than individual scammers as they abuse their authority to reinforce scams in Thailand. The providers then created a new website, the “Association of Party Planners in Thailand,” to reference reliable providers and raise awareness about the growing number of scams, starting with the Jermaine scam. Unfortunately, the website is no longer active as the designer left for another industry, citing the difficulty of fighting against scammers in Thailand. Jermaine was eventually found by the authorities and deported from Thailand for scamming practices and is banned from entering Thai territories for the next 14 years. Despite this, it has been reported that he is still trying to reach new victims through social media platforms with the help of a Thai individual who is fluent in English. However, by following the advice provided in the previous section, individuals can stay safe and avoid becoming victims of this scammer.
- A second scammer appeared on the market. Sebastian approached a party planning company with a proposal for a partnership involving his alleged gogo bars in Nana Plaza. The party planning company introduced him to the owner of the only party bus in Thailand, as they were in the process of acquiring it and looking for partners. However, it was revealed that Sebastian was not the owner of any gogo bars and convinced the party bus owner to rent the bus to him for an event in Phuket. Despite not paying the party bus owner, Sebastian kept the bus in Phuket for several months. It took time for the party bus owner to retrieve the bus through legal means. The party bus is now owned by the party planning company ‘’Party Vehicles Bangkok’’ Party Vehicles Bangkok. Sebastien then started his own scam company, “Buvado,” offering the same services as the party planning company, but never delivering any services. He scammed victims by offering low rates and enticing packages, taking their deposit, and keeping communication until they reached Thailand, where they were impossible to contact. The Buvado website is still active, and the company continues to scam people. However, the party planning company provides tips for recognizing scammers to ensure safety.
- In 2015, one of the reliable market providers hired 2 students to assist with tasks such as preparing quotation for clients. It was soon discovered that the students were engaging in unethical behavior by attempting to scam the company’s customers. The students had created a fake logo (2 monkeys fist bumping each other’s) and manufactured t-shirts with the logo, which they wore and distributed to the company’s models during events. They also managed to record videos of the events under their fake brand, creating numerous videos of the company’s events with the false branding. In addition, the students stole valuable information from the company, including event photos and videos, client databases, and service providers’ contact information. Despite the company’s efforts to stop them, the two students continue to operate under the website www.mo…….ons.com and use the stolen information to scam innocent clients. They are definitely the most malicious individuals to watch out for, as they might still be in operation at the time you are reading this article.
- A fourth scammer in the market is a French individual named Chris. Chris and the author of the text used to be friends until Chris copied their business with the intention of scamming people. Chris was extracting information from the author for over two years under the guise of a friendship, without the author realizing his intentions. Once their community became aware of Chris’s actions, he was immediately removed from social groups. This caused Chris to focus even more on his scamming scheme and improve his website’s search engine optimization in an attempt to scam as many people as possible in a short amount of time. Chris operates in the same manner as the other scammers, offering extremely low rates to attract victims, but with no Google My Business, Facebook, or TripAdvisor review
- In 2008, the first scammer in the market was a British individual named “Jermaine”. He attempted to copy the business model of a party planning service by launching his own website “www.bangkokbachelors.com”, but with a significant difference – no services were provided after a deposit was paid. At the time, the only other legitimate party planning services were “www.thailandbucksandhens.com” managed by David, an honest British businessman, and “www.chillievents.com” managed by Steve, both offering reliable services in their respective locations. Jermaine took advantage of the confusion and was active for a longer period than expected. He asked for a deposit and kept in touch with his victims until they arrived in Thailand, making it impossible to reach them. As a result, many people would contact the legitimate providers monthly, upon their arrival in Thailand, asking about the services they had paid for. It was challenging for the legitimate providers to explain that they were not responsible and that their clients had been scammed. They also had to make it clear that they were separate organizations. Jermaine, like most scammers in the area, did not have a Google My Business, Facebook, or TripAdvisor presence and was not a legal entity. David and Steve, along with the legitimate providers of “www.thailandbucksandhens.com” and “www.chillievents.com”, decided to take action against Jermaine as the police were unresponsive unless a large sum of money was paid, which was not an option for the legitimate providers. They believed that corrupt police could be even more dangerous than individual scammers as they abuse their authority to reinforce scams in Thailand. The providers then created a new website, the “Association of Party Planners in Thailand,” to reference reliable providers and raise awareness about the growing number of scams, starting with the Jermaine scam. Unfortunately, the website is no longer active as the designer left for another industry, citing the difficulty of fighting against scammers in Thailand. Jermaine was eventually found by the authorities and deported from Thailand for scamming practices and is banned from entering Thai territories for the next 14 years. Despite this, it has been reported that he is still trying to reach new victims through social media platforms with the help of a Thai individual who is fluent in English. However, by following the advice provided in the previous section, individuals can stay safe and avoid becoming victims of this scammer.
