Folks are always telling me crime is on the rise in Thailand, that muggings, assaults, etc., are increasing. I've been hearing this for the last 10 years.
Of course, statistics rise and fall, depending on the political and economic climate, but one thing is for sure: the large majority of crime committed against foreigners in Thailand remains petty crime: bag snatches, pickpockets, tuk tuk scams, that sort of thing.
But while it might be petty, it can certainly ruin your holiday.
Much of the crime against tourists reported by foreign news outlets follows one of the following scenarios: a bag snatch on an unsuspecting shopper at a mall, a taxi massively overcharging on a pick-up from the airport, a ladyboy bashing a tourist after an argument on Walking Street in Pattaya, a foreigner refusing to pay overcharging on a bill at a bar and being beaten up by security, a drunk as a skunk foreigner mugged in the early hours as he stumbles back to his condo.
I'm in no way suggesting these crimes are justified in any way, quite the contrary. What I will say, however, is that with a bit of common sense, these holiday-ruining situations can be avoided.
Let me give you a prime example…
Robbed by a Couple of Pesky Flower Sellers
It was supposed to be a good night out; a catch-up over dinner with a good friend in Bangkok.
Strangely, after about 10 minutes at the table, I felt a funny sensation on my leg. I looked down to see a Jing Jok (small lizard) crawling up my thigh!
That has never happened before; “A bad luck omen”, said my girlfriend when I got home.
Minutes after this incident, we were approached by two boys of about 8-10 years old selling flowers. They hovered for a suspiciously long time, even though we had made it clear we weren't in the market for roses. Looking back, what they did was very clever.
By confusing us for a minute or so, they then employed an eye diversion technique. They began to ignore what we were saying completely and began staring at each other. They drew us into their trap so at one point in this game, myself and my friend, both ended up looking at just one of them for a split second.
Then, in that split second, one of the boys must have whipped my friend's iPhone off the table. They waited until we were quite annoyed and explicitly asked them again to leave.
We didn't notice that the phone was gone until my friend went to check his email about 20 minutes later.
The crafty buggers. The boy who snatched it must have done it so quickly.
We were so relaxed chatting away after they had left that my friend assumed he'd put the phone in his bag.
He was gutted to the say the least, and the staff were pretty shocked too. There was little anyone could do — the boys had scampered.
We did try to take action. We got the bill, walked to the roadside and found a policeman, who offered to take my friend to the station and report it, and to have a look and see if the boys were still around.
He told us that the kids come to the area every night, but by now they'd be in Sukhumvit looking for the next target.
A range of emotions ran through me, as they always do in situations like this. At first I was angry on behalf of my friend; “Where are the little bas**ards, I'll give em' what for”! I even walked the market for an half an hour, eyes peeled and ready to apprehend the thieves.
But what would I have done? They'd have run like crazy, and if I had grabbed one I would have had to drag him half a kilometer to the police station. In that time, no doubt someone would have intervened, and I'd have struggled to explain why I was dragging a screaming kid down the street.
I tried to let it go: “It's just an iPhone. Stuff happens. No one died”.
And why do people steal anyway? People aren't born thieves. They become thieves through circumstance. These no doubt economically-challenged kids saw an opportunity and they took it, and I wouldn't mind betting they have to give the largest portion of the catch to a bigger boss. Even the policeman said there is usually someone higher up the chain manipulating the kids to carry out the crime on their behalf.
At least now I know where the second hand Macbook and iPhone sellers of Klong Thom Market get their steady supply 🙂
My friend was more bothered about the contacts and work-related stuff inside the phone than having to buy a new one. He uses it relentlessly for business, and having just taken on four new staff he really needed to be contactable.
So then you start thinking, damn, if I could just catch the kids and say, “Look, keep the phone, just let me have the sim and the memory card back”.
And that's a case in point: It isn't just about the theft; it's the inconvenience it causes in terms of loss of data and personal and sentimental belongings.
Don't Be Put Off Thailand, Just Be Sensible
Crime like this happens in every major city of the world. I have never been a victim of a crime in Bangkok — although I did leave my phone in a taxi once and never got it back. The taxi driver turned it off when I rang it. So that sort of counts?
I was burgled in Koh Samui. I lived there for around a year and at one point rented a ground floor apartment. The thief broke in through the sliding doors – which as standard have poor quality locks – and stole my camera off the table.
I believe he, or she, was still in the apartment as I unlocked the front door, because the curtains moved quickly as I came in, which startled me. He or she made off across the land at the back.
Again, this sort of crime is easily avoidable: I advise never renting on the ground floor, and don't leave valuables visible through the windows or back door (glass). I have a feeling the person who broke into my apartment had prowled the building previously and seen my camera and laptop on the table.
That's two incidents in 10 odd years. I was mugged twice in London in two years! No big deal. The phone was my fault really. I should have taken more care of it. The burglary I got lucky. I didn't have many images on the camera and it wasn't very expensive.
10 Top Tips to Avoid Being a Victim of Crime in Thailand
It is easy to get caught off guard in Thailand. The holiday vibe: the smiles, the pretty women, the funny guys. Petty crime can creep up on you, taking you by surprise and ultimately ruining your holiday.
My advice is to have fun but remain vigilant. Tourist areas always attract thieves, all over the world. Don't take risks with your valuables and always keep them out of sight and out of reach.
Don't be put off a holiday by what you read in the news about crime in Thailand. Follow these guidelines to be sensible, stay safe and enjoy your trip.
1. Keep your phone in your pocket
Don't leave your phone on the table of a bar or restaurant. It can easily get snatched, as highlighted in my story above. Make a habit of putting it back in your pocket after every use.
2. Walk with Your Handbag facing away from the roadside
Ladies, never walk with your handbag facing the roadside. Bag snatches on mopeds are commonplace, not just on tourists by Thais too. Best practice is to walk with your bag on the shoulder facing away from the road, clutching it in to your chest with the other hand for optimal security.
3. Keep your valuables out of sight, not in hand
Don't walk around with a purse, wallet or phone in your hand. This seems to a common trend now; perhaps due to the fact people are constantly on their phones. But this makes you a target. Thieves can see exactly what type of phone you have, follow behind you and then snatch it from you the moment you get too relaxed. The same goes for purses and wallets.
4. Switch your backpack around
Wear your rucksack on your font, not your back, when walking through markets and crowded areas, and at all times if possible. Thieves operate in popular malls like MBK in Bangkok, and will sneak up from behind and undo your bag.
5. Leave excess cash at home/hotel
Don't walk around with more cash than you will need. Take out the amount you think you will need and leave the rest in the hotel safe, or the ATM. You can always withdraw more, or pay by card if need be.
6. Beware of baggy short pockets
Mosts pockets on shorts are not designed to carry valuables safely. We've all lost something out of poorly designed pockets before, so when in Thailand wear shorts/trousers with zip pockets. You are an easy target for a pickpocket when wearing baggy pockets that don't zip up and reveal exactly what's inside to the person walking behind you. Better still, get a bag that straps tightly to the front of your body and avoid pockets altogether.
7. Never let others take your bags
Don't let staff take/hold your bag when getting on a boat, train or bus. I'll never forget the honeymoon couple I met in Samui who'd just arrived on a boat and handed their bag to the deck-hand to stow for the journey. All their holiday money was stolen. I met them sitting outside a shop, in tears. Keep your belongings with you.
8. Drink sensibly
If you plan on drinking a fair bit, make sure you go out as part of a group. Plan for one of you to take it easy that night so that he/she can make sure the others get home safely. Whatever you do, don't go out drinking alone and get so out of your head that you don't know where you are. You will make yourself a target for petty thieves.
9. Be careful of the “bill scam” in bars
When drinking in a bar, particularly a “lady bar”, pay for your drinks one-by-one, as you order them. Do not let the bill rack up and be kept behind the bar or in a pot on your table. Numerous tourists are scammed each year by extra drinks being added to the bill.
Confusion is also caused when you agree to let one of the workers have a ‘lady drink'. Before you know it, she and her three friends may have added 50% on top of your bill. Shocked by the total of your bill, it is likely that you will feel compelled to refuse to pay. It is then likely that you will find yourself in a dangerous situation, and possibly end up being the victim of an assault.
10. Bite your tongue & walk away
Whether it be a taxi or tuk tuk driver or market stall owner, if a Thai person is rude to you or being unfair, simply walk away. Do not get into an argument or fling insults at the person. I admit, this is hard not to do when you are angry, but fights seldom happen one-on-one in Thailand and you may quickly find yourself surrounded by more than one opponent and out of your depth.
*Post updated: Aug 2016.
Frank Walter says
I have lived in Thailand for the past 12 years. You may very well get ripped off by any merchant whether at the local market, by a taxi or tuk tuk driver even and very often by the cops themselves but thefts are extremely rare. I have lost my wallet once at the bike week festival in Samui with hundreds of people gathering around. There was 13,000 baht (almost US$400) in the wallet as well as both my driver’s licenses, (in Thailand, you have one for riding motorcycles, another one for driving cars), my credit cards and a few papers, business cards, … Some woman ran after me, she recognized me from the pictures on the driver’s licenses and gave me back the wallet with everything in it!!! Another time, I was walking on the sidewalk in Chaweng, I pulled my cigarettes out and let a thousand baht bill fall out of my pocket. A 14 year old kid called me and handed me the money I had just lost… Thai people will rip you off and love every minute of it but very seldom will they steal your money or belongings.
Aug 27, 2017 at 8:51 pm
jekita says
This is really good and important suggestion because we cannot know where and when the crime will occur. So we have to carefully take care of ourselves all the time, especially when we are in other city or country. Thank for your advice, I will send it to my friend who want to travel in Thailand.
Sep 09, 2016 at 12:13 am
Acajudi says
Always keep your valuables in a money belt next to your body. Never go in it in front of people, but have extra money on the outside zippered cloth and pinned to your clothing. Take only Xerox copies of your passport, and Xerox both sides of your debit cards and the contact number in a seperate place, no gold chains, rings, or earrings. Please dress clean, but poor looking. No purses ladies please.
Judi Grace StoryCorps.
Mar 21, 2017 at 6:43 am
Ken says
I’m sorry, but some of these suggestions seem rather extreme for Thailand and personally I think you are making the place seem much more dangerous than it actually is. For example, concealed money belts are great for those times when you need to transport very large sums of cash (like thousands of dollars) from point A to point B safely, but they are not something that one would want to use in place of a wallet for normal day to day activities. And besides, no matter what country you live in you should never have more cash in your wallet than you can afford to loose. And personally I’ve never found the need to carry my credit cards or even my ATM card around with me in Thailand, except on rare occasions.
Furthermore, I find the notion that women should NEVER carry a handbag around in Thailand to be rather absurd. After all, if you know anything about women’s fashion you know that it does not afford women many options for carrying their wallets around other than in a purse. And in any case, if you have the proper situational awareness about you then you will likely never be the victim of a purse snatching.
As for ones clothing, obviously you should probably avoid dressing in a flashy manner or wearing expensive and flashy jewelry, but this does not mean that one needs to dress like he is “poor” (living at or below the poverty level of one’s home country). In other words, you don’t have to dress like you bought all your clothes second hand at your local Good Will store.
Naturally we should all adopt certain common sense crime prevention measures when living in Thailand, but quite frankly, I would rather be the occasional victim of a crime than to have to drastically alter my lifestyle and to be constantly paranoid that I might become the victim of a crime. After all, peace of mind is much more valuable to me than anything that I carry around in my wallet.
So, do be aware of your surroundings and take certain common sense precautions, but don’t be anxious or paranoid about the possibility of being robbed.
Mar 22, 2017 at 4:09 am
acajudi says
Criminals have told me, that they will grab a purse before anything, and will break your arm to get it. They avoid women without a person,phone or jewelry. These are suggestions that have saved me from over 54 years of travel, and have never been pickpocketed, but it is up to the individuals. People are being killed by very day in Chicago, so,I moved. Thank you Ken, and respect my suggestions as I respect yours.
Google: Murders in Chicago.
Open your own business
Please know these people hate us more, than we hate each other
Korean Air is super racist. Do not use this.
Do not fight for South Korea, if a war breaks out.
Fight the ones killing you in Chicago.
Google: Judi Grace StoryCorps.
Born and raised in Chicago 74 years ago, and to leave due to the murders etc.
Stop killing each other.
Wear your own hair.
Wear nice hair tubes and scarves.
Marry two years before having one child.
Do not get on drugs.
Be 35, before having first child.
Enjoy ages 18-35 to generate an income, get educated, and travel.
Help others out of your excess.
Mar 22, 2017 at 4:38 am
Ken says
I’m sorry, I thought we were talking specifically about Thailand. And you are right of course about Chicago being a very dangerous place to live. And there are definitely parts of that city that I would not be caught dead in – or at least not without my handgun.
Also, I am painfully aware of just how much snatch and grab thieves LOVE purses – not only in Thailand, but here in the States as well. I’m also saying however that, if I were a woman in Thailand, I would not let this completely stop me from ever carrying a purse under any circumstances. But then again I’m better at spotting potential threats than most women, and if a thief tried to steal my bag he would be the one to end up with a broken arm, or worse.
By the way, I was not able to find the purse snatching statistics in Thailand but in the USA it is supposedly 1.54 incidents per 100,000 people (obviously Chicago is way above the national average). Now, even if the rate is 20 or 30 times higher than this in Thailand, I would still not consider this to be a likely enough threat that I would actually refuse to every carry a handbag or backpack. Still, every individual has to decide for himself (or herself) what level of crime statistics will cause him to consider drastic lifestyle changes. Although peoples worries about crime are often based more on their own personal perceptions of crime rather than actual statistics. And because of this I’m sure there are some people, even in my very safe city, that are constantly worried about becoming the victim of a crime.
Incidentally, I was in no way “disrespecting” your opinions. I was simply saying that those opinions might give people the impression that Thailand is a much more dangerous place than it actually is. Also, I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt here and assume that your comment about “wearing your own hair” was in no way meant to be racist. After all, there are a LOT of Blacks in Chicago and as you know most Black women wear weaves or wigs these days. And although Tommy Sotomayor is constantly complaining about weaves as though they are the scourge of the Black community, I just consider it to be a matter of personal preference.
Mar 22, 2017 at 7:23 am
doctor phil says
get a doctor or just take the pills that you were prescribed because obviously you have serious mental issues.
Jun 21, 2017 at 7:49 am
Ken says
Great advice! As I have said before, I have never been robbed, ripped off, or taken advantage of in any way while in Thailand or any of the many other South East Asian countries I have been to, and one reason for this is that I have always instinctively exercised exactly these kinds of common sense precautions. Another reason is that I always project self-assuredness and confidence in my surroundings, even if it’s actually the first time I have ever been to that particular country. The thing is, people are much more likely to rip you off if they think you are a first time tourist and don’t know the ropes. But if your body language says that this is all old hat to you then they are much less likely to try and take advantage of you. The scammers always know how to spot the easy targets.
Another bit of advice I would give to men would be to always keep your wallet in your front pocket (works best with a tri-fold wallet). I started doing this myself when I was just 16 years old. And this is because one evening while I was getting up to leave the movie theater I noticed my wallet on the seat and I almost did not see it. The problem is that when your wallet is in your hip pocket it can work its way out when you are seated. So I decided right then and there that the hip pocket was just a stupid place to keep ones wallet. Anyway keeping it in the front pocket also has the added advantage of making it much harder for a pickpocket to get at. Also, whenever I am walking through a very dense crowd of people (and wearing loose slacks or shorts) I will instinctively put my left hand in my left pocket so that it’s covering my wallet. If I have on more snug fitting jeans then I just hang my thumb on the pocket and my hand is still covering the wallet on the outside of the pocket. And if my hand is not over my pocket at the time and someone bumps into me in a crowd I instantaneously, but indiscreetly, tap my finger on my left front pocket to feel that the wallet is still there (the bump and grab is a very common tactic among pickpockets).
The funny thing is, in most cases I am never even remotely worried about such things happening to me. But for some reason these kinds of precautionary habits have just always been instinctive and automatic reflexes for me. Its kind of like an automatic security program running in the back of my brain that I don’t even have to consciously think about.
Of course if I am in a really dangerous place, like parts of Rio, where I might get robbed at gunpoint or knifepoint then I don’t even take my regular wallet with me when I go out. In such cases I have a secondary cheap nylon wallet that I use and my regular wallet with all my credit cards and ID stays in the room safe. The cheap wallet only has a small amount of cash and maybe a photocopy of my passport and visa stamp. In other words, it no big deal if its stolen.
Of course if you are truly aware of your surroundings at all times you can often spot the thieves before they even spot you. In fact, I remember just such an incident on my very first trip to Thailand back in 1990. I was in Bangkok one afternoon and had just cut through this alley which opened up onto some busy street which was full of street vendors and people. Anyway as I was entering this crowded area I noticed these four your Thai guys in the crowd and something about them just didn’t seem quite right. They were all standing side by side on this short half-meter tall concrete bench or dividing wall, which allowed them to easily survey the crowd. And though they were all laughing and talking to each other and just acting like normal Thai guys there was just something about their body language that told me that they were up to no good. So as I passed the group I kept an eye on them out of my peripheral vision. And sure enough the guy on the end gestured to his friend and suddenly broke away from the group and fell in about 20 feet behind me. I knew he was following me of course but to make doubly sure I stopped and pretended to look at some items for sale on a cart and he immediately, if somewhat awkwardly, stopped where he was and did the same. I remember at the time I just kept thinking to myself “just who does this guy think he’s fooling”. It was just pure amateur hour.
Anyway, after doing the fake stop one more time I just suddenly turned and started briskly walking back in his direction, at which point this totally panicked look came over his face like he didn’t quite know what to do next. I actually had no intention of confronting him though. There was a footbridge about halfway between him and me which went directly into a shopping mall across the street and I took it across knowing that he would probably not follow me into the store, and he did not.
Well, I just have one last bit of advice. If you are in the habit of picking up strange girls in nightclubs and taking them back to your room it is always wise to lock your wallet up in the room safe. Although, naturally you should wait until she goes to the toilet so that she won’t know that you don’t fully trust her. It’s not really about trust though, its just a common sense habit that one should adopt when picking up strange girls in very poor foreign countries. And of course in Thailand if a girl who you just met in a nightclub goes home with you she is likely a prostitute (even if she never mentions money) and occasionally these girls can turn out to be crooks.
And obviously if you are in Rio or some such place and some hot girl tries to lure you into some dark alley for a little fun you should take a pass because her thug pals are probably waiting there to knock you over the head and take your wallet. It’s all about common sense and staying aware of your surroundings and being able to recognize potentially dangerous situations.
Aug 17, 2016 at 1:40 pm
TheThailandLife says
You make two really good points here Ken. The first about projecting self-assuredness and confidence, even in new surroundings. I adopted this from school I think, since my school was quite a rough environment and weakness got targeted. Even though I wasn’t much of a fighter, my bravado got me through at times. Interestingly, your experience with that group of guys when you turned and walked back towards him proves this theory that those who pray on weakness will usually walk away when challenged or confronted with a display of assertiveness/confidence.
It’s key to try and never look lost and vulnerable, even when you might be.
The second about developing positive habits, like the tapping of your pocket to check for your wallet when you enter crowds, is something I do too, with my phone. Habits like this act as touch points to keep your awareness about you and keep you safe.
Aug 18, 2016 at 3:57 am
Ken says
Yeah, some schoolyards can be more like prison yards and you always have to be ready for trouble at any moment. Luckily my own high school was pretty mellow though and I can’t remember ever even witnessing a fight there (I guess they all got it out of their systems in Jr. High). I know lots of people who were not so lucky though. In fact, this really cute and super sweet girl I used to know who went to high school in Santa Maria once told me how she got badly beaten by three Mexican girls on her first day of high school because she went into the wrong restroom. Apparently the Mexicans had claimed this particular restroom as their own and no Whites were allowed to use it. But naturally my friend did not know about this unwritten rule as it was her first day of school.
Unfortunately when you have a school in which half the student body is made up of middle to upper middle class White kids and the other half is made up of poor Hispanic kids you are bound to have some trouble (and this was in the late 70’s or early 80’s). The poor kids are just going to be very resentful of the wealthier more privileged kids and this sometimes leads to violence. Of course, where verbal bullying is concerned I actually believe that it’s probably worse at the ritzy private schools (or what you call public schools). But, as I have never exactly been Eton material myself I never had a chance to personally test out this theory.
Anyway, I was just thinking today about a news story I read on Pattaya One a few months ago which I think makes a very good case for always following rule number ten on your list. As the story goes, this American expat parked his motorbike in front of the Tesco in a space that a motorbike taxi guy considered to be his own personal spot and the taxi guy ended up vandalized the expat’s bike (although the story does not make it clear whether this happened before or after the insults went flying). Anyway at some point some heated words were exchanged and the American guy rode off only to discover the other guy chasing after him and trying to pull him off his bike. When the American got back to his condo the Thai guy tried to follow him in but was stopped by security. Then the guy started screaming that he was with the Mafia and threatened to kill the American guy. Later that week he found some bullet holes in his car and it was discovered that the taxi driver and his friends were hanging around in the area the night it happened. But naturally the police did nothing except to suggest that the American guy apologize to the taxi driver. His Thai wife has also said he should apologize by the way. Anyway, now this guy is getting harassed and threatened on a daily basis by this taxi driver and his thug friends and he is actually considering leaving Thailand after 16-years because of this. All this trouble simply because he couldn’t hold his tongue and just walk away.
I have to admit though I am actually one of those people who finds it very difficult to just walk away myself. Fortunately I have never actually gotten into any kind of altercation with a Thai person but I have blown up a few times at foreigners in Thailand who were really asking for it. Come to think of it I did come close to having it out with a Thai person one afternoon about ten years ago.
At the time I had just gotten into Bangkok from California and I called up this Thai girl I know and she agreed to come pick me up so we could go out and do something together. I was staying at this little boutique hotel off of Sukhumvit Soi 19 and when she got there she parked her car on this short little dead end side street right across from the hotel and came up to my room. We were only in my room about ten minutes and when we went back down to the car we found that all four of her tires were completely flat. It seemed pretty obvious what had most likely happened. Some asshole did not want people parking in front of his (or her) house and so decide to vandalize my friend’s car. The funny thing is there were no other cars on the street and she was not blocking any driveways and it was a perfectly legal place to park. But some people seem to think they own the street just because it runs in front of their house. And even if it were a privately owned street a simple note on the car would be the acceptable response from any sane rational person. In fact, letting the air out of the tires just ensures that the car will be parked there much longer than it ordinarily would be.
The only other possibility I can think of is that a jealous ex-husband or boyfriend had tailed her to the hotel and then let the air out of her tires to get back at her for being with another man. And I believe she did actually have someone like this in her life at the time.
Anyway I was absolutely livid and I told my friend I was going to find out who did this and give them a piece of my mind (to put it mildly). My friend on the other hand, although clearly not happy, was fairly calm and kept telling me to just let it go and not to do anything. And I actually found this rather troubling. Don’t get me wrong, I actually have a lot of respect for people who can rise above their anger but unfortunately this was not that. This was someone who was below the point where they were even capable of getting angry rather than above it. She just kept everything bottled up inside and that’s not healthy. And even worse, in all the time I’ve know her I don’t think I ever once saw her laugh or even smile. She just took life way too seriously and always acted like she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. Like she was a hopeless victim of circumstance and there was nothing she could do to take control of her own destiny. There is nothing more depressing than someone who has fallen into that trap of thinking they must live their lives according to what others expect of them. In fact this is one of the reasons I never got involved in a serious romantic relationship with her despite that fact that she was an extremely attractive, intelligent, and highly educated girl from a good Bangkok family. It’s just too much of a downer to be around someone like that all the time.
Back to the story though, if we had left the hotel even 5-minutes earlier we almost certainly would have caught the culprit in the act. And if that had happened I would have been so out of control with rage that there is no telling what kind of shit would have gone down. So, in hindsight I guess it’s for the best that we did not catch him.
Sep 03, 2016 at 2:45 pm
JamesBrown says
It`s amazing
Jul 20, 2016 at 12:48 am
Porky says
I’ve never understood why so many Bangkok expats put their iPhones on the table. Those who do invariably get them stolen so it’s an expensive affectation. I guess it’s the price they pay for showing off – just like those Pattaya expats who are always getting their heavy gold chains snatched. Sensible gentlemen don’t wear expensive jewellery and they keep their iPhones in their pockets (in vibrate mode).
Apr 28, 2012 at 12:55 am
TheThailandLife says
I agree Porky, but to be fair my friend isn’t showy at all. He only put the phone down on the table because he had taken it out of his pocket to look at a message, yet because I was in mid conversation he politely put it down quickly….and then the incident occurred.
Apr 28, 2012 at 12:25 pm