Spotting a Conman in Pattaya

Pattaya has attracted all sorts of farangs and Thais. Most are upstanding citizens, however there is a small percentage of miscreants to avoid and be seen avoiding, which unfortunately excludes your Thai in-laws. Farangs are stuck with them and they with you, but a westerner can't live in a Thai vacuum, especially without any ability to speak Thai, so farangs end up going to bars and meeting go-go girls as well as engaging in seemingly harmless conversation with fellow westerners. Only some farangs aren't so harmless. They prey on the gullible and there are plenty of those around judging from the number of men who sign over ownership of their houses to Thai women without having a lawyer examine the contract.

So farangs enter dubious investment with a bar mate only to find out six months later that this enterprise is sucking away their retirement income faster than their crack addiction in the 80s. The hapless farang has nowhere to turn and tell other sad sacks, "He seemed like such a good guy."

My old boss Manny Winick taught me one thing. "Never trust anyone."

A good rule to follow, but how can you tell if someone is a con.

Here are some warning signs;

Does your prospective business partner only know by one name?

Does he express concern about his business endeavor saying, "If only I had another $10,000, then I would be on top of the world."

Do his stories change from time to time?

The eyes are the windows to the soul, so if people look to the right when they are telling a story, then in all likelihood they recalling the incident from reality, whereas someone looking to the left is fabricating the story off the top of his head.

Of course if you want to be sure it's good to do a check on the character of your new best friend and finally if something seems too good to be true then it is too good to be true and if you have any real doubts, get an elephant to sniff him out, you don't see them getting conned too much. And remember, anything that sounds too good to be true is usually too good to be true.