Bangkok theft from tuk-tuk passengers

Bangkok theft from tuk-tuk
Backseat scooter thieves snatch from tuk-tuk passengers.

Bangkok theft has gotten bad enough that police have posted warnings about theft from tuk-tuk passengers. The convenient little auto-rickshaws, ubiquitous on the streets of Bangkok, are completely open and often stuck in traffic. Scooters can maneuver the interstices of clogged roads, sneak up on tuk-tuk passenger, then slither away between vehicles to beat an escape.

It’s a technique long in play in Italy, especially in Naples. There, targets of scippatori, the Italian version of scooter-riding bandits, are more often pedestrians. (Though the thieves have a nasty technique for stealing watches from expensive cars stuck in traffic, even with their windows closed.)

When riding in the three-wheeled open taxis, be sure to keep your bags secured, out-of-sight, or away from the perimeters.

Tuk-tuks—another setting for Bangkok theft.

Bangkok theft extends beyond pickpocketing and bag snatching to scams that cost the tourist serious money. Particularly prevalent are gem scams, in which the visitor is brought to a “special sale” and encouraged to buy gems for resale at huge profits in their home countries. And bar scams, and vehicle-rental scams, drink-drugging, and pseudo-cops.

Then there’s the awful shoplifting-set-up scam at Bangkok’s airport, about which I’ve already written.

As if all these Bangkok theft issues weren’t enough for a tourist to worry about, there’s more. Road safety is one of the worst in the world, with poor vehicle and driver safety standards, little if any enforcement, few ambulances, and roads too clogged for ambulances to get through anyway. Add to that wild motorcycle riders attempting to speed around traffic by veering suddenly onto sidewalks, and even pedestrians must be seriously watchful.

I strongly recommend that travelers planning to visit Thailand read the U.S. State Department’s Country Specific Information on Thailand. Like all U.S. State Department country profiles, it covers very real ongoing crime and safety issues without exaggeration.

© Copyright 2008-2013 Bambi Vincent. All rights reserved.

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3 Comments

  1. Wow, Ameer, I’m so sorry to hear about your bag-snatch! Thanks so much for taking the time to report it here. It’s helpful to everyone who follows you, and a reminder that awareness and appropriate behavior can prevent an incident like yours. Thank you!

  2. The threat is real and persistent. Unaware of these scams and bag snatching moto-scavengers, we were riding a Tuk tuk yesterday 17 Aug 2014 searching for a Restaurant at Nana Street Bangkok, and out of no where a pair riding a bike came and snatched bag from my wife’s hands, left us virtually penniless in an alien land. Conduct of the Tuk tuk driver was more than suspicious andppolice wasn’t helpful at all. Not only the trip is marred but the incident has left us with worst memories of Bangkok for rest of our lives.

  3. I’m glad our family has survived Bangkok and made it out of Saigon as well. Maybe we should plan a trip to Canada.


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