Getting mugged - physically and now online

In Hanoi, a fake taxi driver (with only 1 helmet) mugged me upon arrival. But I fought back and he fled without my wallet.

Now I am in a tough spot, getting once again defrauded by an employer.

* I am to pay a lot more than my actual income (meaning the little portion of the salary which was paid
* "7 days' hotel (instead of the actual 5) and "2 meals" (try that ad hoc after a disappointing date. Lady, I spent 421 k on cocktails, 563 k on cinema tickets and you ate popcorn worth 2 x 77 k. I had to get a taxi to pick you up... etc. We went out 5 times and now I want you to pay me for my time and the 'English lesson' you got by speaking with me for 30 minutes on the phone...

There are these FAKE JOBS and this guy has perfected a scam where he suckers foreigners into working unpaid. Then he blackmails them into paying for stuff (without paying for their work)
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OT: a friend, making 10 million as an engineer, is still waiting for his April salary. Such scams appear to be going down everywhere, with locals getting victimized as well.

Q1: Is there a TOURIST POLICE?
Q2: who to call? With my passport being held, I cannot even go to the bank and withdraw money (if I choose to allow the perp to blackmail me - it has worked on my 8 predecessors in the last 7 months, a teacher with WP and TRC told me).
Q3: Calling 113 would be not right, as it's not an emergency. - But which number shall I call?

I had a good experience when a fraudster tried to charge me weeks' for meals for a time period when I was out of the country. Easy to prove with my passport stamps :---)

(It seems to be a hobby of rich people to see how clever they are, how they can sucker some foreigners. 
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One payment was made. The following day, I handed over cash to add to the day's salary. - You can guess the outcome. Bla bla and pretending to use the banking app (without showing the confirmation).

Q4: Does anyone give a hoot? IS it okay when the victims are foreigners? (Is there a Labour Court like in Thailand)?

So many questions!

Closing, paying up (it's only a few millions) would enable this perp and he will certainly keep up his crime spree.

Apologies for the rant. Wish I could post documents. Image BB? Perhaps later? OR would that be not permitted?

Not sure if I would e allowed to post my # for Whatsapp, in case someone has an answer? or a link to my Facebook? ***

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Ha ha ha ....
The Vietnamese,,,they're adorable aren't they.😆😆😆

You've got to laugh at it.   

However,,all their sneaky shenanigans are really only benefitting the tourists & Expats.     You know why.....?

Because all of their classless & short sighted bullshit is keeping the place CHEAP.      While ever they are throwing their garbage everywhere, stealing & eating their neighbours pets & pissing in the streets .....it will always be a third world joint.

You can rent ocean front accommodation , eat drink & play for peanuts here.    There's always a trade off.

And as the suns about to rise Yogi sets off for the mornings trek & will enjoy a big bowl of Pho for $1.50  on return.

Yogi would like to thank all those dudes rorting, stealing & pissing on fences for making that possible. 😆

Yogi, in his own inimitable style, has it right again. Cheap gets expensive as soon as a place works out how to lose corruption and rip off jobs, clean up, and cater for fat foreign wallets.
Until then it's 'buyer beware' ...... but you get a cheap life .

This might end up messy but, if our intrepid OP can't get his passport back, the only way might be to report it as stolen with your embassy and take it from there. It's likely to see a replacement passport, but could mean a flight out if things turn sour.

Told my Viet wife this story...I once was looking at jobs online and my wife said absolutely not as most anything advertised online in Vietnam is most likely going to be a scam...especially jobs.

But I would think handing over your passport to someone rather than the company itself is asking for trouble...good luck

.
       "Until then it's 'buyer beware' ...... but you get a cheap life"

        " and (I) will enjoy a big bowl of Pho for (less than) $1.50"

        Common cents applies...   

         ..the (real?) reason most expats are here..?      :idontagree:

            (My) bowl of happiness runneth over; stupid or simple?

              Please?   No need to bite at the baits...       :shy
.
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Well, with hindsight, I'm now convinced that the wealthy individual is mentally ill.

After a lot of worrying (including the high hotel bill and the need to retrieve my passport), I went to the Police.

* Found English speakers.
* the boss was summoned.
* We went to an interview room and I decided to KISS while he was talking incessently in Vietnamese.

Key points: #1, I quoted the relevant criminal code paragraph for fraud. #2, alluded to the 8 previous victims of similar scams. #3 Just asked for very little to END the pointless discussions.

Here is a principal of not one but two government schools. Very wealthy, owner of a posh new language center.

He even wanted the 50 k he said he spent on a dinner invitation. You cannot make this up.

He paid the hotel bill (by making one phone call), handed me a banknote and stayed behind to deal with the officers while I was on my merry way.

He now has someone from Ghana - poor devil, someone needs to tell him that he won't get paid (without going to great lengths).
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Why the hash assessment of his mental state? He claims to have a "MA in Education Methods" (if that exists). OTOH, he ordered me to use the same freaking book he bought for the kindergarten class. Homework for the 10-11 year olds? Tracing letters. They can write!!!

A class of 5 year olds. He barks an order: "make them  r e a d". Huh?!? They cannot read!!!

Wish I could post his employment contract, you won't believe the stuff:

a) An accident (not the employees fault). He gets to decide what to do, to make all arrangements at the employee's expense - not a word about providing insurance -. And that month, he won't pay a salary.

b) Miss a class? Lose $ 1,000.

c) 2 hours of 1 on 1 "instructions" - humiliating a foreigner is good for one's ego.

d) Instead of fixing the company Yamaha (the main brake was not working at all), he wrote a letter, explaining that he hasn't got time to repair it. As if he, the big boss, would get his hands dirty when a phone call will suffice. A tort lawyer's dream in case of an accident with that bike. // A Vietnamese friend just received <<50% of his May salary>>. Seems to be a national sport, withholding wages.

Should have stayed in your own country, it's not shangrila coming to a foreign country to teach.

Canman63 wrote:

Should have stayed in your own country, it's not shangrila coming to a foreign country to teach.


Being treated like a piece of shit is not part of the job. Some difficulties can be accepted, but many of the owners of small schools are absolute mongrels.

I didn't mean for my comment to be takin as a jab, just some people come here teaching and expect a bed of roses, but yes, he shouldn't have been treated that way for sure.

The TEFL industry throughout most of the world can be a very dodgy business to get into, all the way from the smallest privately-owned language schools to the largest, most well-known international universities and NGOs. Nice guys and gals get exploited and ripped off all the time.

This is the main reason that young inexperienced applicants who are naive and idealistic are often preferred over candidates with a long CV and too many qualifications. Experienced teachers want more money, make demands and ask questions.

Thus, if you've been in the business a few years and have taught in a few different countries and types of institutions, you should know the way things work and what to expect. In addition, you should be able to recognize the red flags and avoid signing up for crappy gigs, and if you find yourself in a less than ideal situation, know how to find alternative employment and get out gracefully asap. Basically, you have to be a "tough cookie" and learnt to say 'no' and 'adios'.

There are always options, so if you don't like what you're hearing at the interview or what is printed in the contract, be skeptical and don't accept the job, or at least put them on hold. There's another school down the street or across town that's looking for a teacher.

Don't just be a tough cookie but also be a smart cookie and you won't become a victim of the bad guys in this cowboy industry.