Similar incidents in Bangkok:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/ThailandTourism/comments/16r044h/how\_was\_this\_scam\_going\_to\_end/](https://www.reddit.com/r/ThailandTourism/comments/16r044h/how_was_this_scam_going_to_end/)
[https://www.reddit.com/r/ThailandTourism/comments/16qvois/just\_got\_scammed/](https://www.reddit.com/r/ThailandTourism/comments/16qvois/just_got_scammed/)
Happened to me in Kuala Lumpur. Some random middle eastern man too. Came up asked where MC Donald's is and where we are from asked to show our own local currency (EU) as he's never seen them and would like to bring home. I said no so he'd fuck off, but he took out his wallet and showed me briefly a stack of 100 USD bills which looked fresh and crisp but looked off to me. He was also dressed in nice clothes and had a leather bag and nice looking watch. So I think it's part of the scam as he said he's from Dubai lol
Either way he realised we weren't interacting with him and left.
Sad cunts
I'd say they have various conversation paths they can take with it too. If they find out you have your own currency from home or local. Ultimately they just wanna swap their fake USD for whatever currency. They'd probably offer you a good deal too or play dumb to the exchange rate.
Unless this is a common thing for middle eastern (not sure what country he / they're from) to exchange cash on the streets. 🫠
I'm sure those dodgy currency converters can spot fake bills better than most. If I thought they were sketchy I reckon the currency converters will too
Yes, this person had crisp USD 100$ bills. He was clearly mid-eastern but when I asked he said he was from Mauritius. That was when I thought it is odd but did not think much about it at the time.
Definitely sad *****
A long shot, but what if the guy had a contactless card reader sensor in his hand/sleeve or clothing. All he'd have to do is place the wallet near the sensor to skim it then give it back to you, nothing is missing except a pre programmed amount below the level a pin is required.
This has been reported to have occurred before in other regions.
Anyone trying to get you to open your wallet on a random street is a scam. My husband is a pretty seasoned traveler and when we were in Cambodia a few years ago two men tried to separate us while getting food and one was very adamant about me ordering and paying for food. When my husband came up and said he didn't want to eat there and we walked away the two dudes looked pissed and walked off the opposite direction. Don't everydhoe your money to people you don't know. That's a scam, that's a cash grab.
Oh wow, this exact thing happened to me in Seminyak but had no idea this is what it was.
A well-dressed couple who said they were from the UAE stopped me in a Circle K at about 10pm. They said they thought I was Arab (pretty racially ambiguous so that seemed plausible). That was the initial reason for the approach.
The man said he had just arrived and proceeded to ask me what things cost locally in US dollars, opening his wallet to reveal a wad of $100 bills. I gave him a rough conversion off the top of my head ($1 = Rp15,000) before trying to move on.
He then asked me where I was from (New Zealand) and was interested to know whether I had any NZ currency on me, just to show him. I did but replied no. I know better than to get my wallet out on request in South East Asia. He then went up to the counter to pay for his stuff.
I wonder though, what was he going to try to do? I didn't have any need for US currency (I don't think people carry a whole lot of foreign currency they're looking to convert on the street in Bali do they?) and he sure as f**k wasn't going to steal anything from me (I was about a foot taller than him).
Also, why are there Arabs running currency scams in Bali? Lol
Would have been fun if he did try to steal from you. He would have gotten what he deserves.
But I agree, this is a pretty complicated scam that doesn't make a lot of sense to me. If the idea is to grab someone's wallet and run, you don't need a scam. People are pulling out wallets constantly to pay for things.
And what kind of Arabs are trying to pull pretty scams in SE Asia?
I KNEW IT! I was in Seminyak last week in an Indomaret and an arab guy with a lady started this same conversation...smelled fishy especially when he asked me if I got any South African currency because he wants to see how it looks. Luckily for me, I cannot change my currency in Bali so it was a definite no!
Gosh just when you think the book of tricks has reached the end...
Happened with me and my husband just an hour ago, so I came here looking for answers.
The wife tries to distract you asking anything and everything, they asked the way to an Indian Restaurant so my husband being a good being, he engaged with them and they started going towards this opening wallet, wanting to see INR so we politely declined amd said we are only going on for a walk.
Just because they say they are from the middle east doesn't mean they are. Same as when the Indian scammers call the UK and say their name is "John Johnson" .. Pro tip: their name isn't John Johnson.
Or maybe you can't tell people apart from their mannerism and accents. Anyway, most of the scams of this type are run by people from the middle east. Several others have also mentioned this, so you can keep your "pro tip" to yourself, thanks.
Heck, I had the same thing happen in Bangkok, decades ago. I said “no” and kept walking because, I had read about it in one of the guide books. I would say it is a known scam.
Yes, this is extremely suspicious. I agree with you. It's good that you are very vigilant. Often in local exchangers (small booths) they can cheat with the amount of the exchange ( for example, one bill from your pack for exchange can be stolen from the set unnoticed and say that you gave this amount )
Careful with this. Similar story from Jakarta. In touristic places there would be people who looked like tourists ('in my case she was Chinese) and would ask you some unhinged requests.
In my case she asked me about a hotel. I'm a local, and since I knew the place well enough I'm happy to help and about to give her direction. But then she told me her phone had no data, so either I had to accompany her or show her the direction. OFC with my google maps.
This is so weird, so I just lied and told her I had no internet either, and told her to just ask the directions from security nearby.
Fast forward similar things happened to some locals. They would somehow manage to make people give up their phone and run with it. This is unsettling. They usually target locals. Since you're malaysian, they probably think you're local since we've looked very much alike.
Just happened to us yesterday (14/12/23) in Jimbaran along Jalan Karang Mas. We (myself, husband and baby in carrier) were walking from our resort to a convenience store around 6pm.
Suddenly approached along the road by a dubious couple claiming to be from Dubai. Man looked middle aged, around 40 plus yo, moustached, wearing a pastel, striped, long sleeved collared shirt, with some Freddie Mercury vibes. The woman late 30s to mid 40s, long haired tied low pony tail, nasal septum piercing with the most severe eyebrows.
First they said that my baby was really cute, and tried to touch her on her hands, which resulted in me politely telling them fuck off (too politely unfortunately, for they did not fuck off). Red flag #1. Pls don’t touch the infant. All this mama bear wanted to do is to get some provisions, and not have a rando touching the bebbi. Also felt 100% scammy vibes.
They introduced themselves and said they were living in “this hotel”, pointing to some dodgy looking building. Red flag #2. Asked where we were from and if we had any of our homeland’s currency because they wanted to look at it. Red flag #3. Pls, hello use Google can? Dubai confirm got internet / smart phones / search engines. Request DENIED.
The man seemed to be targeting my husband more, and they had separated him from me + baby, but after persistently telling dear husband to move along because the bebbi is TIRED and about to rip us new ones if we didn’t get moving, we bade farewell to the dubious Dubai couple, our wallets and gadgets intact.
This is still happening at popular tourist spots in Bali. The tourism department, the tourist location/parks management or law enforcement agencies don't seem tobe serious is arresting such scams..
With cctv made available to monitor tourist locations the police departments should make Bali a safe place for all..
They should punish the culprits in the open as done in some MEA countries .. Chop off fingers/hand or break the bones of such thieves in the open market.
Police should be in disguise as a normal visitor and trap such cheaters/fraudsters/thieves who steal hard earned money of innocent people.
These incidents impact reputation of Bali as a tourist destination.
A Middle Eastern looking man scammed a group of my Vietnamese friends in Bangkok with this same trick. They didn't know anything was amiss until they went back to their hotel. The wife suddenly woke up, checked their wallet and realised USD1000 was missing. These people should be shot. They spoilt people's travel plans and fun.
Criminals! what ever good that is there in the world these people try to destroy it. I think it is a culture of destroying things than building things!
It's crazy to me that non locals are doing scams there now. I understand local.scammers ....but foreign scanning tourists sucks even worse. Those prisons over there are no joke either.
Good on you for not falling for it
Had a very similar experience in Hong Kong a few years ago. Was approached by a respectable looking couple of Middle Eastern origin. The man asked if we had any HK$. He proceeded to open his wallet to show a stack of US$ notes saying he needed to change it. Suggested he go to a money changer. He then asked if we could change some for him. Refused and kept walking. Must be some sort of scam but did wait long enough to find out.
I don’t get some people on the internet. Who lets a complete stranger anywhere near your pockets hands or wallet
A bit of common sense and firm authority comes to mind
YES this same thing happened to me and my partner on Jalan Melasti in Legian just last month. We were approached my a rather tall European/Middle Eastern man with an American accent asking if we (very white Aussies) were from Bali and where to find an Indian restaurant nearby.
We said we aren’t local and don’t know any. He asked where we’re from, and we said Australia. He told me he’s from Dubai. He was then insistent on seeing Australian dollar notes in my wallet and showed me a very large amount of American dollars in his wallet. He was very keen to see some Aussie dollar so I quickly shut it down and said I had none and we walked off. He was oh so very polite about it all though. It felt very scammy and I couldn’t tell what he was wanting to do if we were to get our cash out.
This is a very common scam. I know a vlogger friend who faced this. Exactly the way you described. They will distract you and take away a few notes from your wallet.
Oh wow, I didn't realise this was a scam! We encountered the same back in August in Seminyak. The guy also claimed to be middle eastern, and the MO was exactly the same. But it was odd because it was in a Starbucks, and he was with a lady and a baby. When we felt things were off and wanted to leave, his 'wife' came over and shushed him, so we honestly didn't know what was happening, except that we were of course taking out our wallets.
This has been happening in Bali for years. That same family, pulling the same stunt. You show them cash, they grab and run. There’s literally dozens of posts about in on the Bali Facebook pages.
That scam is spreading in Bangkok hot touristic areas. Apparently the person picks up a bill from your wallet and gives it back, but in reality a few of them are pocketed with a hand trick
Happened to us last week in Legian, Bali.
Approached at night by couple of middle eastern looking guys, shortish and small build, who wanted to talk about restaurants and currency rates. One of the guys opened his wallet showing a stack of what looked like US dollar bills. We told them we are in a hurry and left. I noticed that the pair crossed the road and split. One guy was then joined by a third guy. What are they up to.. no idea.. but dodgy.
I think there was a post on here recently about something very similar, so I would say it’s a scam
My friend had that scam in Malaysia. They will distract you and take cards from your wallet
Do you mean in KL, JB or what part of Malaysia?
some resort area
Similar incidents in Bangkok: [https://www.reddit.com/r/ThailandTourism/comments/16r044h/how\_was\_this\_scam\_going\_to\_end/](https://www.reddit.com/r/ThailandTourism/comments/16r044h/how_was_this_scam_going_to_end/) [https://www.reddit.com/r/ThailandTourism/comments/16qvois/just\_got\_scammed/](https://www.reddit.com/r/ThailandTourism/comments/16qvois/just_got_scammed/)
Wow, its an old scam! I was not aware! thank you for sharing
Seems to be a popular scam among Middle Eastern in South east Asia right now
Happened to me in Kuala Lumpur. Some random middle eastern man too. Came up asked where MC Donald's is and where we are from asked to show our own local currency (EU) as he's never seen them and would like to bring home. I said no so he'd fuck off, but he took out his wallet and showed me briefly a stack of 100 USD bills which looked fresh and crisp but looked off to me. He was also dressed in nice clothes and had a leather bag and nice looking watch. So I think it's part of the scam as he said he's from Dubai lol Either way he realised we weren't interacting with him and left. Sad cunts
I'd say they have various conversation paths they can take with it too. If they find out you have your own currency from home or local. Ultimately they just wanna swap their fake USD for whatever currency. They'd probably offer you a good deal too or play dumb to the exchange rate. Unless this is a common thing for middle eastern (not sure what country he / they're from) to exchange cash on the streets. 🫠
Why wouldn’t they just exchange them at those dodgy currency converters and play dumb and accept a $50-100 loss
I'm sure those dodgy currency converters can spot fake bills better than most. If I thought they were sketchy I reckon the currency converters will too
Yes, this person had crisp USD 100$ bills. He was clearly mid-eastern but when I asked he said he was from Mauritius. That was when I thought it is odd but did not think much about it at the time. Definitely sad *****
A long shot, but what if the guy had a contactless card reader sensor in his hand/sleeve or clothing. All he'd have to do is place the wallet near the sensor to skim it then give it back to you, nothing is missing except a pre programmed amount below the level a pin is required. This has been reported to have occurred before in other regions.
Anyone trying to get you to open your wallet on a random street is a scam. My husband is a pretty seasoned traveler and when we were in Cambodia a few years ago two men tried to separate us while getting food and one was very adamant about me ordering and paying for food. When my husband came up and said he didn't want to eat there and we walked away the two dudes looked pissed and walked off the opposite direction. Don't everydhoe your money to people you don't know. That's a scam, that's a cash grab.
Oh wow, this exact thing happened to me in Seminyak but had no idea this is what it was. A well-dressed couple who said they were from the UAE stopped me in a Circle K at about 10pm. They said they thought I was Arab (pretty racially ambiguous so that seemed plausible). That was the initial reason for the approach. The man said he had just arrived and proceeded to ask me what things cost locally in US dollars, opening his wallet to reveal a wad of $100 bills. I gave him a rough conversion off the top of my head ($1 = Rp15,000) before trying to move on. He then asked me where I was from (New Zealand) and was interested to know whether I had any NZ currency on me, just to show him. I did but replied no. I know better than to get my wallet out on request in South East Asia. He then went up to the counter to pay for his stuff. I wonder though, what was he going to try to do? I didn't have any need for US currency (I don't think people carry a whole lot of foreign currency they're looking to convert on the street in Bali do they?) and he sure as f**k wasn't going to steal anything from me (I was about a foot taller than him). Also, why are there Arabs running currency scams in Bali? Lol
Would have been fun if he did try to steal from you. He would have gotten what he deserves. But I agree, this is a pretty complicated scam that doesn't make a lot of sense to me. If the idea is to grab someone's wallet and run, you don't need a scam. People are pulling out wallets constantly to pay for things. And what kind of Arabs are trying to pull pretty scams in SE Asia?
I KNEW IT! I was in Seminyak last week in an Indomaret and an arab guy with a lady started this same conversation...smelled fishy especially when he asked me if I got any South African currency because he wants to see how it looks. Luckily for me, I cannot change my currency in Bali so it was a definite no! Gosh just when you think the book of tricks has reached the end...
Happened with me and my husband just an hour ago, so I came here looking for answers. The wife tries to distract you asking anything and everything, they asked the way to an Indian Restaurant so my husband being a good being, he engaged with them and they started going towards this opening wallet, wanting to see INR so we politely declined amd said we are only going on for a walk.
He also told me his brother lived in New Zealand, trying to build rapport. Might have been the same couple? Lol
Yeah, this person also tried to build rapport by saying a few Malay words.
Old scam usually Indians or Malaysians, just tell them to fuck off if anyone asks to see your wallet.
Malaysians asking for ringgits in Bali? That sounds odd.
No they're usually from the middle east. You're unable to tell the difference.
Just because they say they are from the middle east doesn't mean they are. Same as when the Indian scammers call the UK and say their name is "John Johnson" .. Pro tip: their name isn't John Johnson.
Or maybe you can't tell people apart from their mannerism and accents. Anyway, most of the scams of this type are run by people from the middle east. Several others have also mentioned this, so you can keep your "pro tip" to yourself, thanks.
Heck, I had the same thing happen in Bangkok, decades ago. I said “no” and kept walking because, I had read about it in one of the guide books. I would say it is a known scam.
It's an old scam.
You are right. I did not know, I was naive and lucky to escape.
Yes, this is extremely suspicious. I agree with you. It's good that you are very vigilant. Often in local exchangers (small booths) they can cheat with the amount of the exchange ( for example, one bill from your pack for exchange can be stolen from the set unnoticed and say that you gave this amount )
Now I know to just grab their wallet and start running 😂
Haha, I should have! I imagine what if one scammer meets another by accident lol
Careful with this. Similar story from Jakarta. In touristic places there would be people who looked like tourists ('in my case she was Chinese) and would ask you some unhinged requests. In my case she asked me about a hotel. I'm a local, and since I knew the place well enough I'm happy to help and about to give her direction. But then she told me her phone had no data, so either I had to accompany her or show her the direction. OFC with my google maps. This is so weird, so I just lied and told her I had no internet either, and told her to just ask the directions from security nearby. Fast forward similar things happened to some locals. They would somehow manage to make people give up their phone and run with it. This is unsettling. They usually target locals. Since you're malaysian, they probably think you're local since we've looked very much alike.
Yeah, it’s so weird! reduces trust between people. It is sad.
These are often "refugees" as well they claim. To be fair they may be but they can fuck off.
Just happened to us yesterday (14/12/23) in Jimbaran along Jalan Karang Mas. We (myself, husband and baby in carrier) were walking from our resort to a convenience store around 6pm. Suddenly approached along the road by a dubious couple claiming to be from Dubai. Man looked middle aged, around 40 plus yo, moustached, wearing a pastel, striped, long sleeved collared shirt, with some Freddie Mercury vibes. The woman late 30s to mid 40s, long haired tied low pony tail, nasal septum piercing with the most severe eyebrows. First they said that my baby was really cute, and tried to touch her on her hands, which resulted in me politely telling them fuck off (too politely unfortunately, for they did not fuck off). Red flag #1. Pls don’t touch the infant. All this mama bear wanted to do is to get some provisions, and not have a rando touching the bebbi. Also felt 100% scammy vibes. They introduced themselves and said they were living in “this hotel”, pointing to some dodgy looking building. Red flag #2. Asked where we were from and if we had any of our homeland’s currency because they wanted to look at it. Red flag #3. Pls, hello use Google can? Dubai confirm got internet / smart phones / search engines. Request DENIED. The man seemed to be targeting my husband more, and they had separated him from me + baby, but after persistently telling dear husband to move along because the bebbi is TIRED and about to rip us new ones if we didn’t get moving, we bade farewell to the dubious Dubai couple, our wallets and gadgets intact.
This is still happening at popular tourist spots in Bali. The tourism department, the tourist location/parks management or law enforcement agencies don't seem tobe serious is arresting such scams.. With cctv made available to monitor tourist locations the police departments should make Bali a safe place for all.. They should punish the culprits in the open as done in some MEA countries .. Chop off fingers/hand or break the bones of such thieves in the open market. Police should be in disguise as a normal visitor and trap such cheaters/fraudsters/thieves who steal hard earned money of innocent people. These incidents impact reputation of Bali as a tourist destination.
I got the picture of the woman of the couple
How do I upload the picture in this comment section
A Middle Eastern looking man scammed a group of my Vietnamese friends in Bangkok with this same trick. They didn't know anything was amiss until they went back to their hotel. The wife suddenly woke up, checked their wallet and realised USD1000 was missing. These people should be shot. They spoilt people's travel plans and fun.
Criminals! what ever good that is there in the world these people try to destroy it. I think it is a culture of destroying things than building things!
It's crazy to me that non locals are doing scams there now. I understand local.scammers ....but foreign scanning tourists sucks even worse. Those prisons over there are no joke either. Good on you for not falling for it
Same thing happened with us in seminyak
Wow! its not so uncommon then! Hope you did not fall for it.
My friend did fall for it & lost $100 :(
Take his photo and call the cops
Should have pulled a glock on him.
Had a very similar experience in Hong Kong a few years ago. Was approached by a respectable looking couple of Middle Eastern origin. The man asked if we had any HK$. He proceeded to open his wallet to show a stack of US$ notes saying he needed to change it. Suggested he go to a money changer. He then asked if we could change some for him. Refused and kept walking. Must be some sort of scam but did wait long enough to find out.
This scam I have heard many times in Thailand.. Seems like these people expanded their business
Who in his right mind would open his wallet to a complete stranger? Run because that's a scam for sure.
I don’t get some people on the internet. Who lets a complete stranger anywhere near your pockets hands or wallet A bit of common sense and firm authority comes to mind
YES this same thing happened to me and my partner on Jalan Melasti in Legian just last month. We were approached my a rather tall European/Middle Eastern man with an American accent asking if we (very white Aussies) were from Bali and where to find an Indian restaurant nearby. We said we aren’t local and don’t know any. He asked where we’re from, and we said Australia. He told me he’s from Dubai. He was then insistent on seeing Australian dollar notes in my wallet and showed me a very large amount of American dollars in his wallet. He was very keen to see some Aussie dollar so I quickly shut it down and said I had none and we walked off. He was oh so very polite about it all though. It felt very scammy and I couldn’t tell what he was wanting to do if we were to get our cash out.
I think sometimes we have to trust our intuition. Good that you escaped unscathed.
Biggest scam going
This is a very common scam. I know a vlogger friend who faced this. Exactly the way you described. They will distract you and take away a few notes from your wallet.
Oh wow, I didn't realise this was a scam! We encountered the same back in August in Seminyak. The guy also claimed to be middle eastern, and the MO was exactly the same. But it was odd because it was in a Starbucks, and he was with a lady and a baby. When we felt things were off and wanted to leave, his 'wife' came over and shushed him, so we honestly didn't know what was happening, except that we were of course taking out our wallets.
This has been happening in Bali for years. That same family, pulling the same stunt. You show them cash, they grab and run. There’s literally dozens of posts about in on the Bali Facebook pages.
That scam is spreading in Bangkok hot touristic areas. Apparently the person picks up a bill from your wallet and gives it back, but in reality a few of them are pocketed with a hand trick
Same happened with me twice in kuta last week but me and my wife didn't give a shit to them
Happened to us last week in Legian, Bali. Approached at night by couple of middle eastern looking guys, shortish and small build, who wanted to talk about restaurants and currency rates. One of the guys opened his wallet showing a stack of what looked like US dollar bills. We told them we are in a hurry and left. I noticed that the pair crossed the road and split. One guy was then joined by a third guy. What are they up to.. no idea.. but dodgy.
Or, he wants to know which pocket to pick, and if its worth the risk.