Bangkok Scams goes offline

Recently I wrote about Bangkok Scams, an excellent website which looks into the issue of tourist scams.

It's with great sadness then that I see (from a reader's comment) that the site has gone offline following a complaint from a company featured in a story.

Visitors to the website receive the following message.

"The Bangkok Scams Website has been told to go offline by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology. Apparently the ICT received a complaint from one of the shops mentioned in the scam reports. At present we don't know whether the ICT are objecting to the whole site or just one scam report.While we investigate these claims, we have decided to cooperate and put the website offline."

Although concerned with dealings in Bangkok, the gist of most stories could be applied to holiday destinations accross Thailand, making it a recommended read for anyone visiting Thailand, particularly first-timers.

Those looking for information can use Thai web-forums (such as Thai Visa) or Google for individual stories but the ease of access to information on Bangkok Scams (which is/was recognised by Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Lonely Planet) will be missed.

Sadly this situation was was inevitable as once word of the site gets out any business will object to being named and shamed.