How Safe Is Your Safe?

[readerc54]

At 2am, on the morning of December 21, Pattaya police received reports of a robbery at the Sweetheart Bar Guesthouse on Soi Buakao in the center of Pattaya.

In a room on the second floor Mr Graham Robinson, a fifty-seven year old British tourist, complained that he had been out for dinner and when he returned, three hours later, the room safe was missing, along with his Bht 64,000 holiday spending money.

http://pattayaone.news/en/british-touri ... uesthouse/

[Gaybutton]

That's not the first time I've read stories about safe break-ins or thieves managing to walk out with the entire safe. There have even been recent news stories about thieves managing to make off with entire ATMs. These stories are quite rare, but they do happen.

The first question that enters my mind is how do the thieves know whose room to rob? I doubt these are random robberies and the thieves were just incredibly lucky. The victims must somehow reveal they have large amounts of cash and/or valuables.

[Alex]

Exactly. If they robbed my safe when I'm in Pattaya, they'd find a shitty little netbook I use when traveling, my passport and maybe a few thousand baht in cash. Hardly worth the effort! These victims seem to be targeted pretty well.

[Jun]

A proper safe installation should involve some 8mm bolts going all the way through the wall. Most hotels just fasten the safe to the wardrobe with some wood screws.

[Gaybutton]

I don't understand why so many people risk carrying large amounts of cash and bring unnecessary valuables with them. Nearly every day there are news reports about pickpockets and thefts, sometimes violent, of mobile phones, gold necklaces, wallets, etc.

The gold necklaces really make it to my "I Don't Get It" list. People sporting gold necklaces might as well be wearing a target. What does anyone need them for? You might as well assume if you are wearing a gold necklace and a thief spots it, the wheels immediately start turning trying to figure out a way to take it.

As for large amounts of cash, that's where having a Thai bank account comes in handy. If you don't have a Thai bank account, at least have sense enough to come with traveler's checks - and cash out only the amount you need.

The last thing anyone should do is carry around, or even store in a hotel safe, more cash than you can afford to lose. Why take that kind of risk? People who take such a risk make zero sense to me.

[readerc54]

The internet offers a wide variety of videos describing how a room safe can be defeated. Enclosed a link below to a Canadian guy who demonstrates how using an "all-zero" default code opened his box. Manufacturers have to provide buyers with a way to open safes when a guest forgets his code or leaves the box locked upon checkout and default codes are just one solution. Others include mechanical methods.

GB is right: when theft does occur it's usually an inside job. I made the mistake once (while staying at a popular BKK sauna that also rents accommodations) of paying in advance for a four-night stay in cash at check in. The clerk must have assumed that if I had that much cash on hand, I probably had more. The next day I was greeted by him on my way into the main building and he asks, "you go to breakfast now?" and I said yes. A few hours later when preparing to go out,I opened the safe to get some cash for the day. I always jot down the amount I leave in safe and found that it was a few thousand baht light. It had been a test run; if I hadn't noticed more would have probably been siphoned off over the remaining days.

Since that lesson, I only stay at hotels that have a solid reputation and professional safe deposit boxes. And I no longer carry large amounts of cash. What I really fear losing is my passport. That was one benefit of Tarntawan Place: they have a bank of high-quality safe deposit boxes visible behind the desk that can be accessed anytime.