Bangkok Gem Scam

One of the most pervasive scams in Thailand is the Bangkok gem scam. Typically, a tourist meets a friendly Thai at a tourist attraction who eventually offers to take them to a "government" gem stone shop where the tourist is told about how they can sell Thai "blue sapphires" or other gems back home and make a 100% profit. It is all lies, of course, and the tourist ends up with a pocket full of overpriced gems. Like Thais themselves, the scam is low-key and the touts are friendly rather than pushy. A rule of thumb for Thais is that "real" Thais do not just walk up to strangers and strike up a friendly conversation. Thais typically "speak when spoken to." If you are approached at a tourist attraction by a friendly fellow who just walks up and starts speaking to you, watch out!

How it is done?

This is a by-the-numbers scam. Most people have the exact same experience. It usually goes something like this:

1. You are riding in a tuk-tuk
2. The driver tells you that wherever you are going is closed for some reason.
3. The driver tells you he is specially trained to be helpful to tourists.
4. You are told the government has launched a promotion to sell gems to tourists.
5. In the course of riding around with the "friendly" tuk-tuk driver, you "accidentally" meet a well-dressed young man or an older, distinguished man.
6. The younger man claims he is a student. The older will claim he works for the government and shows you his government ID. (Thai IDs mean nothing. They are readily available for a small fee to anyone.)
7. The person you meet independently confirms the story the tuk-tuk driver told. (This is a nice touch.)
8. Eventually you ask to be taken to the "government" jewelry house and are told that you can make 100-150% profit by reselling the gems back home. It seems okay since the seller writes something like "if everything is not ok we will offer a full refund" and puts an official looking stamp on it.
9. You've now been cheated by one of the oldest and most openly practiced scams in Thailand.