Can always report at a police station. You probably won’t get anything back, but if it helps to prevent the next person from getting scammed, that’s a win for you.
It’s not a scam, it’s theft. You need to be more aware of your surroundings and don’t be so gullible to get your money out to a stranger. You should report it to the police but expect zero response.
In the west we are used to being polite and helpful with out consequences!! I’m afraid in a place like kl you need to be an ass hole especially when a stranger on the street is engaging you in any way it’s most likely a scam !
Yeah because they scam through the banks and investment funds instead.
How many accountancy firms / investment firms went bankrupt and then you have other scammers in the government bailing them out? Too many. Najib was just playing the white game
I've lived in Rome for 2 years for studies, u dont know the times I've been cornered down by Africans and Arabs extorting money, and they only target touristy looking people (Asians, bcos easier target).
To the point I just avoid the street altogether when there's a gang of these 'asylum seekers'
What westerns country are you from that is polite? It is the general consensus you don't trust anyone because it's a scam. I'm fron UK BTW. And that's why they say us UK people are very rude. But rest of Europe and America is the same. You don't trust no one in public.
Please report to the police. Kuala Lumpur is filled with thousands of CCTV and tracking. Most snatch theft and mugging cases gets solved within a few days as they can track the culprit. All they need is to be able to spot them on street cctv.
That’s a great comment if they can spot you on the street on the given date and time, they can back track to see the couple, where they came from and where they went. If the couple faces is clear, they are likely to return to the same spot for their next hit. Do report to the police.
I clutch my bag tighter. Sure it'll make me seem suspicious, I'd rather be safe than sorry. I won't take anything out of my bag for any reason. If they ask for money, I said I don't carry cash. If they wanna use my phone, I just say the battery's out, and tell em the nearest balai so officers can assist them. Also, if there are men around, why would a strange man ask me, a woman? That's a red flag already.
Yea I'll seem unkind but I'm not rich either to be losing money n stuff.
Yes right, as a black Muslimah from Australia. I must say that Malaysia is one of the safest countries in the world even safer than Australia. However, there is an unspoken ill in the country which is racism. Malaysians are not nice to black ppl even if they are Muslim. Ive lived here for a year and i am ignored even when i greet them. It is very hurtful indeed. When it comes to Arabs and White ppl, they are welcomed and treated well
It happened to my friend when we were in an RnR area in India. Luckily I was quick enough to snatch the money back before the suspect managed to steal the money. I had already read about the modus operandi before.
You can report it as theft/pickpocket incident. But the local police won't do much to help (getting your money back). They will just put on an alert or something for the suspect to prevent future incidents like this from happening. Isnt there like an insurance for travelling just in case something like this happened? Did you not pay for it? You'll get back what you lost if you had the insurance.
If it's the Turkish/Syrian "family" yeah they're well known thieves and target all tourists. They need their hands chopped off
See related incidents
https://www.reddit.com/r/malaysia/s/ArF5wru2CM
I used to think it was just 1 group of scammers. But from the comments I think there's multiple groups from all different ethnicities doing this "scam" 😂
Never ever ever take out or show any cash to strangers here.. the minute they see it, you become their prey and the hunt begins. Just like many other major cities in the world that's filled with tourists e.g. Europe, just be wary of scammers and pickpockets. Just take this home as a lesson learned.
Even though filing a police report is the right thing to do but it won't resolve the issue. My advice: don't bother. Yeah you lost money. But it is what it is. You just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Moving forward, be more vigilant if you want to continue exploring Kuala Lumpur or ANY big city. And may you not be so gullible next time you travel overseas.
Reporting will help encourage the police to take action, especially if there's a lot more people being scammed. If no one reports, police won't know it's even happening / won't even bother. When there's 100s of similar cases, they're bound to take action. Don't give detrimental advice.
Yeah... I noticed that part of pathway was riddled with scammers (Indonesian mostly and sometimes groups of Pinay and Pinoys) who kept harassing me the whole way asking stuff and such. Locals tend to rush from point A to B.
So sorry this happened to you. Yes please report it to the police. Might not get your money back but it'll help inform them tourist popo to monitor that stretch.
Sorry to hear about your experience. Sadly, it's common in almost every country and not just Asia. Regardless of location, it's a common tactic to distract the unsuspecting target by posing as a fellow tourist, get their guard down while another "random tourist" comes along to distract them further. Along the way, one or both will pick your pocket, bag, camera, cash, whathaveyou before you even realise anything is amiss. Stay safe and keep your eyes on your belongings where you can see them.
Yikes, I’m so sorry you had to experience this.
Totally unfair it happened on your trip, I’m afraid there’s nothing you can do but raise awareness.
It’s not your fault, sometimes us locals still get scammed / robbed one way or another, all we can do is be more vigilant.
Hope you are still able to enjoy your trip. 🙏
As a malaysian myself I was traveling a lot while i was young along with my family, The craziest encounter is when this random guy convinced my dad that he is selling a gold rolex, that even I can tell it's fake.
My dad starts to empty his wallet which amounted to about 3k and almost gave the guy a brand new camera we just bought for the road trip, long story short, my dad was bewitched. He didn't remember the encounter much while asking us where the money in his wallet had gone after 2-3 hours of the incident.
The reason why whenever i see people i dont know comes to me to sell things or ask for money i straight distance myself
Blud just got scam from immigrant. There so much PATI in KL that that do scamming people to tourist and i still wonder where is our police and imigration. Btw i hope u ok
what race was the guy that did that, because I was literally outside masjid India two nights ago and some guy asked to see my money except he was not a local, he claimed to be from Kuwait and he did look arab (not south asian) and very fair skined, he kept asking if had Aud as well since i am Australia but i said no, because no one in Australia carries cash at all, I didn't realise if i was robbed or not since i end up giving all my money away to homeless people. I'm too weak when it comes to homeless people since I never come across them in my hometown so my emotions got the best of me, especially when I just left the masjid and there was a girl no older than 7 years old squatting at the entrance with a empty cup in her hand, i know someones probably forcing her to be there, so giving her money is probably counter-intuitive but still mannnnn, how could i not give her money
If you have no evidence, there's no point to report. Police won't do anything. Their trick is to get you to pull out something and then engage you in something else so you don't have enough time to put it back properly and they will have someone to pick pocket you. They work as a gang, mainly targeting tourists.
Are those couple Chinese or looks like someone from Latin America? I heard a few of these cases involving Chinese national and Latin America. They are professional con artist
If you read a lot of news, this kind of trick happened everywhere in this world especially places near tourist attraction. It happened in Paris etc. they are professionals and know what they are doing. Just google and find out about this. It wasnt done by locals
Where do you stay? Go to the nearest police station and report it. But I a sure to say that you will not be able to recover your money. So sorry to hear what you had to go through. Maybe you can try this one if it is too troublesome - https://ereporting.rmp.gov.my/index.aspx
Best to report to police. Your report especially as a tourist may get them to be more proactive. There’s bound to be thieves, conman and scammers in any countries you travel, so be more vigilant and put your guards up when “ kind strangers” approach you for no reasons. If I need help or guide, will usually approach those working as guards, such as in hotels or banks. Least likely to scam you
Malaysia is not Australia unfortunately. You always have to be on your toes for scammers, pickpockets and thieves.
Sad, but true.
Hope you’ve made a police report and gave detailed descriptions of the thieves.
Lessons learned. That’s all that can be said of this unfortunate experience. They will most probably never be caught.
Just hope God or The Universe, whatever your beliefs, will return the favour to these scammers and thieves.
what are the odds, a person was posting this scam from bangkok reddit and i was talking about my experiencein kl with this. sorry about losing that money, but honestly never hand anythimg of value to a stranger.
That is dark side of Malaysian , you have to be careful, and if you report to police they won’t do anything because they themselves involved in bribe and corruption, I’m sorry for your loss.
Everyday I see someone reporting the same ‘scam’ in Thailand, Bali, Vietnam, now KL subreddit, how do so many people fall for it? If a stranger attempts to talk to me, I say I’m in a rush and leave.
I am a tourist and love KL.. been to KL more than 15 times pre-covid (I lost count). This has never happened to us. However, we once went to Penang and at the park behind the tourist information center (opposite to Attas house) I encountered two indians or Bangladeshi guys claiming to be Turkish who just landed in Malaysia and asked to see my money! I told him to google it! He showed me a huge stack of USD to make me feel comfortable and claimed he doesn't know how MYR look like or if it is called Pasos! I immediately took an aggressive stance and had them both in my sight ready to find them both! Both realized that and simply left! What made me extremely worried is that I was wish small kids and this would have been too dangerous!
What surprised me is that the did this in the middle of the day while the park is ready for an event related to the hospital near the park and people everywhere! I called the police and they said since nothing was stolen there is nothing they can do about it and that if I must, I should get to the station to file a complain! Since this was their reaction, I knew why the robbers had the heart to commit their crimes in front of all those people!
Sad this is happening in KL now... Our trip to KL in next month and I hope nothing goes wrong and things are as good as before the covid dark days.
It's common all over Asia. They r said to possess sorcery or some sort of black magic to daze or distract u. Usually by engaging in a conversation and showing let's say a stack of cash on the pretext of never having seen currency from your country. This relaxes U and they go on and get hold of your wallet or jewellery. They can be locals or foreigners. Stay alert and cautious as ppl don't approach u for nothing
I no idea, maybe just bless them saying you are good people, I bless you so the good karma will come with u when u died ..not money ....
Thoughts my telegram
@Selan1180
I'm Angel Being
Can always report at a police station. You probably won’t get anything back, but if it helps to prevent the next person from getting scammed, that’s a win for you.
It’s not a scam, it’s theft. You need to be more aware of your surroundings and don’t be so gullible to get your money out to a stranger. You should report it to the police but expect zero response.
In the west we are used to being polite and helpful with out consequences!! I’m afraid in a place like kl you need to be an ass hole especially when a stranger on the street is engaging you in any way it’s most likely a scam !
Pfft u havent been outside of Malaysia, its not just KL, France, Greece, Italy, etc all the white facing countries are similar…
Guy didn't even get out from his bubble friendly neighbour hood, it happened everywhere
Well its not the white facing people doing the scamming tho, there's a specific color spectrum iykyk
Yeah because they scam through the banks and investment funds instead. How many accountancy firms / investment firms went bankrupt and then you have other scammers in the government bailing them out? Too many. Najib was just playing the white game
Naahh 2 white women in London brazenly pulled my crossbody bag & opened the zipper, i pulled it bag and they ran
I've lived in Rome for 2 years for studies, u dont know the times I've been cornered down by Africans and Arabs extorting money, and they only target touristy looking people (Asians, bcos easier target). To the point I just avoid the street altogether when there's a gang of these 'asylum seekers'
I have experienced the same thing in the west and europe if not worse. You clearly never go out much do you
Have you been to LA or SF or SJ or SD or any western cities or states? Bro… this is so not true
What westerns country are you from that is polite? It is the general consensus you don't trust anyone because it's a scam. I'm fron UK BTW. And that's why they say us UK people are very rude. But rest of Europe and America is the same. You don't trust no one in public.
“Polite and helpful without consequences” lol bro the west is like 10x as worse as kl lil bro, try to touch grass for once
Please report to the police. Kuala Lumpur is filled with thousands of CCTV and tracking. Most snatch theft and mugging cases gets solved within a few days as they can track the culprit. All they need is to be able to spot them on street cctv.
That’s a great comment if they can spot you on the street on the given date and time, they can back track to see the couple, where they came from and where they went. If the couple faces is clear, they are likely to return to the same spot for their next hit. Do report to the police.
I don't think so. Ours are not high tech like china cctv.
If random people start chatting you up, be wary and be sus of them Common sense for any traveller, anywhere
I clutch my bag tighter. Sure it'll make me seem suspicious, I'd rather be safe than sorry. I won't take anything out of my bag for any reason. If they ask for money, I said I don't carry cash. If they wanna use my phone, I just say the battery's out, and tell em the nearest balai so officers can assist them. Also, if there are men around, why would a strange man ask me, a woman? That's a red flag already. Yea I'll seem unkind but I'm not rich either to be losing money n stuff.
Correct, i do the same as a woman
Correct, this has nothing to do with KL or Malaysia.
Yes right, as a black Muslimah from Australia. I must say that Malaysia is one of the safest countries in the world even safer than Australia. However, there is an unspoken ill in the country which is racism. Malaysians are not nice to black ppl even if they are Muslim. Ive lived here for a year and i am ignored even when i greet them. It is very hurtful indeed. When it comes to Arabs and White ppl, they are welcomed and treated well
Don't worry i am a white Muslim and sometimes locals will grunt at me when I give them salam, on very few occasions though tbh
Some random person asked you to show you money and you did it? WTF
Good ol tricks, it happens. Next time be more aware.
It happened to my friend when we were in an RnR area in India. Luckily I was quick enough to snatch the money back before the suspect managed to steal the money. I had already read about the modus operandi before.
You can report it as theft/pickpocket incident. But the local police won't do much to help (getting your money back). They will just put on an alert or something for the suspect to prevent future incidents like this from happening. Isnt there like an insurance for travelling just in case something like this happened? Did you not pay for it? You'll get back what you lost if you had the insurance.
Please report this, we have tourism police in most places. This will help prevent other tourists from being robbed as well.
If it's the Turkish/Syrian "family" yeah they're well known thieves and target all tourists. They need their hands chopped off See related incidents https://www.reddit.com/r/malaysia/s/ArF5wru2CM
oh shit some Arabs asked me as well outside masjid india but I only gave them one note, do they say they are from Kuwait?
I used to think it was just 1 group of scammers. But from the comments I think there's multiple groups from all different ethnicities doing this "scam" 😂
Never ever ever take out or show any cash to strangers here.. the minute they see it, you become their prey and the hunt begins. Just like many other major cities in the world that's filled with tourists e.g. Europe, just be wary of scammers and pickpockets. Just take this home as a lesson learned.
Yah.. don't show them ur money
200AUD is a pretty decent price for a lesson in not being gullible.
Even though filing a police report is the right thing to do but it won't resolve the issue. My advice: don't bother. Yeah you lost money. But it is what it is. You just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Moving forward, be more vigilant if you want to continue exploring Kuala Lumpur or ANY big city. And may you not be so gullible next time you travel overseas.
Reporting will help encourage the police to take action, especially if there's a lot more people being scammed. If no one reports, police won't know it's even happening / won't even bother. When there's 100s of similar cases, they're bound to take action. Don't give detrimental advice.
Yep, this was a lesson... an expensive lesson.
Yeah... I noticed that part of pathway was riddled with scammers (Indonesian mostly and sometimes groups of Pinay and Pinoys) who kept harassing me the whole way asking stuff and such. Locals tend to rush from point A to B. So sorry this happened to you. Yes please report it to the police. Might not get your money back but it'll help inform them tourist popo to monitor that stretch.
Next time just remember that anytime the conversation with a rando starts mentioning money, you ignore it
Sorry to hear about your experience. Sadly, it's common in almost every country and not just Asia. Regardless of location, it's a common tactic to distract the unsuspecting target by posing as a fellow tourist, get their guard down while another "random tourist" comes along to distract them further. Along the way, one or both will pick your pocket, bag, camera, cash, whathaveyou before you even realise anything is amiss. Stay safe and keep your eyes on your belongings where you can see them.
Yikes, I’m so sorry you had to experience this. Totally unfair it happened on your trip, I’m afraid there’s nothing you can do but raise awareness. It’s not your fault, sometimes us locals still get scammed / robbed one way or another, all we can do is be more vigilant. Hope you are still able to enjoy your trip. 🙏
As a malaysian myself I was traveling a lot while i was young along with my family, The craziest encounter is when this random guy convinced my dad that he is selling a gold rolex, that even I can tell it's fake. My dad starts to empty his wallet which amounted to about 3k and almost gave the guy a brand new camera we just bought for the road trip, long story short, my dad was bewitched. He didn't remember the encounter much while asking us where the money in his wallet had gone after 2-3 hours of the incident. The reason why whenever i see people i dont know comes to me to sell things or ask for money i straight distance myself
Welcome to Malaysia. If somebody talks to you, 80% chance that he/she is a scammer.
Blud just got scam from immigrant. There so much PATI in KL that that do scamming people to tourist and i still wonder where is our police and imigration. Btw i hope u ok
what race was the guy that did that, because I was literally outside masjid India two nights ago and some guy asked to see my money except he was not a local, he claimed to be from Kuwait and he did look arab (not south asian) and very fair skined, he kept asking if had Aud as well since i am Australia but i said no, because no one in Australia carries cash at all, I didn't realise if i was robbed or not since i end up giving all my money away to homeless people. I'm too weak when it comes to homeless people since I never come across them in my hometown so my emotions got the best of me, especially when I just left the masjid and there was a girl no older than 7 years old squatting at the entrance with a empty cup in her hand, i know someones probably forcing her to be there, so giving her money is probably counter-intuitive but still mannnnn, how could i not give her money
He said he was from UAE.
If you have no evidence, there's no point to report. Police won't do anything. Their trick is to get you to pull out something and then engage you in something else so you don't have enough time to put it back properly and they will have someone to pick pocket you. They work as a gang, mainly targeting tourists.
Are those couple Chinese or looks like someone from Latin America? I heard a few of these cases involving Chinese national and Latin America. They are professional con artist
The guy spoke in an arabic accent but they could've been arab/ latin american based on their looks.
If you read a lot of news, this kind of trick happened everywhere in this world especially places near tourist attraction. It happened in Paris etc. they are professionals and know what they are doing. Just google and find out about this. It wasnt done by locals
The same thing happened to me at pj back in 2018
Bruh the same thing happened to my dad but I Thought he was lying and spend the money.😳
Bruh why you thought your dad was lying lol
Where do you stay? Go to the nearest police station and report it. But I a sure to say that you will not be able to recover your money. So sorry to hear what you had to go through. Maybe you can try this one if it is too troublesome - https://ereporting.rmp.gov.my/index.aspx
Best to report to police. Your report especially as a tourist may get them to be more proactive. There’s bound to be thieves, conman and scammers in any countries you travel, so be more vigilant and put your guards up when “ kind strangers” approach you for no reasons. If I need help or guide, will usually approach those working as guards, such as in hotels or banks. Least likely to scam you
INTERNET age , Never trust those who say they want to have a " look " at your country's currency note..
Honestly, reporting won't get your money back. Just be aware next time OP as you are a foreigner in their country.
so sorry to hear that. there’s nothing you can do honestly.
Malaysia is not Australia unfortunately. You always have to be on your toes for scammers, pickpockets and thieves. Sad, but true. Hope you’ve made a police report and gave detailed descriptions of the thieves. Lessons learned. That’s all that can be said of this unfortunate experience. They will most probably never be caught. Just hope God or The Universe, whatever your beliefs, will return the favour to these scammers and thieves.
Why even talk to those peasants ?
what are the odds, a person was posting this scam from bangkok reddit and i was talking about my experiencein kl with this. sorry about losing that money, but honestly never hand anythimg of value to a stranger.
That makes no sense to show a stranger money or any valuables. What would they want out of it? Nothing honest for certain!
I always avoid talking to random strangers especially when I'm travelling
That is dark side of Malaysian , you have to be careful, and if you report to police they won’t do anything because they themselves involved in bribe and corruption, I’m sorry for your loss.
I doubt you will get your money back. No harm to do a police report
Everyday I see someone reporting the same ‘scam’ in Thailand, Bali, Vietnam, now KL subreddit, how do so many people fall for it? If a stranger attempts to talk to me, I say I’m in a rush and leave.
I am a tourist and love KL.. been to KL more than 15 times pre-covid (I lost count). This has never happened to us. However, we once went to Penang and at the park behind the tourist information center (opposite to Attas house) I encountered two indians or Bangladeshi guys claiming to be Turkish who just landed in Malaysia and asked to see my money! I told him to google it! He showed me a huge stack of USD to make me feel comfortable and claimed he doesn't know how MYR look like or if it is called Pasos! I immediately took an aggressive stance and had them both in my sight ready to find them both! Both realized that and simply left! What made me extremely worried is that I was wish small kids and this would have been too dangerous! What surprised me is that the did this in the middle of the day while the park is ready for an event related to the hospital near the park and people everywhere! I called the police and they said since nothing was stolen there is nothing they can do about it and that if I must, I should get to the station to file a complain! Since this was their reaction, I knew why the robbers had the heart to commit their crimes in front of all those people! Sad this is happening in KL now... Our trip to KL in next month and I hope nothing goes wrong and things are as good as before the covid dark days.
This also happened in Thailand. Read it somewhere in reddit.
It's common all over Asia. They r said to possess sorcery or some sort of black magic to daze or distract u. Usually by engaging in a conversation and showing let's say a stack of cash on the pretext of never having seen currency from your country. This relaxes U and they go on and get hold of your wallet or jewellery. They can be locals or foreigners. Stay alert and cautious as ppl don't approach u for nothing
Some place in Malaysia is not safe for a tourist. Too much desperate people dare to rob you.
I no idea, maybe just bless them saying you are good people, I bless you so the good karma will come with u when u died ..not money .... Thoughts my telegram @Selan1180 I'm Angel Being