Published: April 28, 2019 - Reading time: 7 minutes
» Updated: May 29, 2025

The Thai girl pregnancy scam is a disturbing con that plays on emotions and can lead to serious financial or emotional harm. If you’re spending time with ladies in areas like Pattaya, Bangkok, or Phuket, this is something to be aware of.

Quick Summary (Read This First)

• We cannot check medical records or confirm pregnancy status.
• We can monitor behaviour: drinking, nightlife, or other inconsistencies.
• Background checks and marital status checks can uncover major red flags.
• If she's married, her husband could sue you. This is a real legal risk in Thailand.

How Does the Pregnancy Scam Work?

You meet a Thai bar girl, dancer, or "non-working" girl from Tinder or similar. You spend time together. Maybe the condom breaks—or you didn’t use one. You go home. Days or weeks later, you receive a message: "My period is late... I think I’m pregnant."

The story can then go many ways: she might ask for money for check-ups, talk about needing help for the baby, or even ask for support to stop working while "pregnant." Many men start making plans or sending money at this stage.

Can You Check if a Thai Lady Is Pregnant?

Medical information in Thailand is confidential and protected by law. Many women use private medical clinics where records may not be centrally stored or accessible. It is not possible to check hospital or clinic records without the explicit consent of the individual involved.

Fake Pregnancy Tests in Thailand

Fake pregnancy tests are cheap and easy to get in Thailand. Some women buy them online, others get them from friends who are actually pregnant. We have even observed cases where women sent photos of tests pulled from Google images.

Why Lie About Being Pregnant?

Because it works. Many foreign men feel emotionally trapped once a pregnancy is mentioned. The woman might ask for abortion money (aborting a child is not cheap here), funds to stop working, or even a visa. In some cases, it’s just a way to get more financial support or emotional leverage.

My Thai Girlfriend Is Really Pregnant – What Should I Do?

If your partner is pregnant and has previously worked in a bar, go-go venue, club, massage shop, or any similar nightlife establishment, it would be sensible to arrange a DNA test to confirm paternity. There are various companies in Thailand that offer DNA testing services—including prenatal paternity testing, which can be done before the baby is born.

Please note: we are a private investigation agency and do not offer DNA testing services. If you require this, please search for a provider online—do not contact us requesting DNA testing.

Even if your girlfriend has never worked in a nightlife venue, you should still be cautious. If she lives in a metropolitan area such as Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, Chiang Mai, or on an island, and is attractive and speaks good English, there’s a realistic chance she has interacted with multiple men via dating apps. If that’s how you met her, it's quite possible others did too. Unless you’ve been with her 24/7 for months, how can you be certain the baby is yours? Proceed carefully.

Did you know? If your partner is still active on dating apps, this can often be uncovered as part of our background check service.

Don’t Be Fooled

Some women have been running this scam for years. They know precisely what to say and how to behave. We’ve encountered cases where a woman conveniently “miscarried” just before a scheduled ultrasound—by which point, our client had already flown back to Thailand to attend the clinic with her. She knew he would never abandon her when confronted with a flood of crocodile tears. Others have gone so far as to fake entire pregnancies, employing highly convincing tactics.

We Can Help

We offer surveillance, background checks, marital checks and more to help you find out if someone is lying to you. While we cannot confirm pregnancies, we can gather real evidence about the woman's lifestyle and history.

Contact us for a free quote. We offer investigative services across Pattaya, Bangkok, and Phuket.

Note: We do not offer free relationship advice. If you need a consultation without hiring us for investigation work, a fee will apply.

Learn more at Pattaya Private Investigators.

Published: February 20, 2019 - Reading time: 10 minutes
» Updated: September 2, 2024

Are you involved with a Thai lady that doesn't ask you to send her money? Some men see this as a positive trait in their girlfriends, however, many Thai ladies understand that asking for money from their foreign boyfriend could be seen as a red flag. Whether or not your Thai girlfriend even needs you to send her money will of course depend on her individual circumstances.

Does your Thai girlfriend need money from you?

Without a university degree, or the capital to start a business, it can be very difficult to earn more than the minimum wage in Thailand. If your Thai girlfriend has a good education then she might be able to enter a decent career and earn a good salary.

Does your Thai girlfriend need money from you? The answer to this question will depend on how much money she earns, her lifestyle, whether she has debts or other financial problems, and how many dependants rely on her for support... If a Thai lady has a good education and career, or simply a low-cost lifestyle, then she might not need financial support from you.

At the time of writing, the Thai minimum wage is around 330 THB per day. It can be a struggle to live on such a small amount of money, and especially without support from a spouse. Think about it... Could you live on just 10,000 THB per month (approx.) in a major city? For most of us it would be a real struggle to survive.

Thai women are usually expected to provide for their families, and especially so if they have children that are being raised by their parents. If the lady is earning minimum wage or not much more than minimum wage, it will be difficult to sustain a life for herself, as well as her parents and children.

Of course, many Thai ladies are university educated or entrepreneurial and able to earn excellent salaries. In our experience, it is generally less common for financially well off or 'middle class' ladies to form romantic relationships with foreign men, though it can happen. Some of the Thai ladies most keen to find foreign boyfriends might not be doing so well financially and could benefit from extra support.

My Thai girlfriend doesn’t ask for money

Ladies in Thailand aren't stupid, and many of them understand that asking their newly minted Western boyfriend for money will be seen as a red flag by them. If she is not asking you for money, you need to deeply examine her circumstances and question how she is able to support herself, rather than assume that she will never need support from you. After all, one of the major perks of being with a foreign guy is their ability to help out with money... This is, of course, why a lot of Thai ladies seek out Western men.

If your Thai girlfriend earns enough money to support herself and her family, then there is no reason that she should ask you to help out. However, you will need to really examine your girlfriend’s finances in order to understand exactly how much money she takes home and how much it costs to support herself as well as any of her dependants.

If your Thai girlfriend lives in a city such as Pattaya, Bangkok, Patong, etc, then there is the danger that she could be earning cash on the side through work in the adult entertainment industry. Many women that have regular jobs also “freelance” during the weekends and evenings in order to earn more money. This turns out to be true for many of the Thai women in Pattaya which we investigate for our clients. Without hiring a detective to check the movements of your girlfriend it can be extremely difficult, or impossible in most cases, to find out what she is truly doing when you are not around.

Supporting a Thai girlfriend long term

If your Thai girlfriend is able to get a good education and achieve a university degree for example, then she will have the potential to earn more money than with a basic high school education. Many white-collar jobs in Thailand will require the candidate to have a university degree, or relevant training.

If your Thai partner does not have a career or an education which could lead them to a career, then you might choose to support them through education with the hopes that they can earn more money later on down the line.

A popular alternative amongst foreigners is to help their Thai girlfriends setup a business, with the hope that this could lead to them making more money. Whether or not this path is likely to be successful will depend on the type of business that you decide to pursue, and whether your partner is hard working and skilled enough to get a business of the ground. There are indeed many horror stories which you can find online, but there are also plenty examples of Thai ladies setting up successful businesses with their boyfriends or husband’s support and backing.

Thai girlfriend working in a bar

If your girlfriend works at a bar and you're not sending her money, then it's almost certain she is leaving the bar with customers in order to support herself. Don't kid yourself on this... A bargirl's wage is designed to be propped up by accepting bar fines and regularly leaving the bar with customers. In fact, many bars require a minimum amount of 'bar fines' in order for the lady to receive a base salary.

Most of the time when we are asked to check bar girls in this way for our clients, we discover that the lady is keen to leave the bar and earn money. During other investigations we will observe the lady and find out how many customers she is leaving the bar with during an average night or week. The results are often shocking.

Whether or not you are sending your girlfriend money; if she works at a beer bar in Thailand then she is most certainly still accepting ‘bar fines’, and still going with customers to their hotel rooms. Please, don’t delude yourself into believing that she is different. We have been conducting this type of investigation for many years and can say from experience that the vast majority of ladies who work in beer bars continue their activity despite having boyfriends.

This also applies to women working in go-gos, massage parlours in Thailand, night clubs, karaoke bars, and other roles dealing with the public... However, if your girlfriend works a different job, don't think that you're safe either.

Many women in Pattaya who work regular jobs often turn to freelancing in nightclubs to meet with customers in the evening or night time. Other ladies prefer to meet men using hookup apps or online dating, to earn more money and subsidise their incomes from regular jobs. Other women might already be receiving plenty of money from other boyfriends abroad.

Photo: If your girlfriend works at an a go-go bar or a beer bar then you aren't the only gentleman enjoying her company!

Sending money to a Thai bar girl is not a good idea as you may find yourself falling victim to the classic bar girl scam, where a lady has several men sending her cash on a regular basis… Each of the guys will believe that they are the only man in her life, but the reality is very different. You may read about this scam and think that it could never happen to you – this is exactly what everyone thinks when they are falling victim to a romance scam.

If you decide to support a bar girl, then you should make sure that she stops working in the bar immediately. The claim that "I will work in the bar but not leave with customers" is almost always false.

Ladies perpetrating romance scams might also convince their overseas boyfriend that they are a university student, while in reality they are working in a beer bar or getting wasted every night in a nightclub. Because fraudsters are excellent liars, most victims of the romance scam will never find out what is going on unless they decide to investigate the lady's activities.

Essentially, it should be a cause for concern if your girlfriend doesn't ask for money, unless her finances truly add up. (I.e. she has no dependants, or is able to support her dependents by earning a decent wage). It would be wise to deeply examine your partner's income and cost of living before declaring this to be a positive trait, as she may be concealing other income streams from you. You will need to check whether her story adds up (literally).

Want to learn more about your partner's circumstances and history? We can help to check your Thai girlfriend by running a background check or checking her claims through personal surveillance or our decoy service. Please contact us for a free quote, or continue browsing our website for more free information and insights.

Learn more about Pattaya Private Investigators on our homepage.

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Published: January 19, 2018 - Reading time: 5 minutes
» Updated: October 16, 2024

“Can you bar fine my girlfriend?” – This is a question we regularly receive from clients who are concerned about their partners' faithfulness. Thousands of men visit places like Pattaya, Patong, and Bangkok every year and become romantically involved with women working in beer bars or go-gos. In the world of private investigation, we call these cases "sting operations" or "Thailand honey trap investigations". Then these are effective tests of loyalty that leave no room for doubt.

What is a Bar Fine Test?

If your girlfriend is working in a bar in Thailand and you're concerned about her faithfulness, a "bar fine test" could be the quickest and most effective way to find answers. A bar fine is essentially the fee paid to the bar, allowing a customer to take one of their staff members (often a bar girl) out for the evening or night. The test involves an investigator posing as a customer to see if your girlfriend is willing to leave with them, effectively revealing her loyalty. These tests are often called a "honeytrap investigation" or a "decoy service".

Signs of Suspicion

Is your girlfriend working at a bar? Does she still accept 'bar fines' from customers? Does she tell customers that she has a boyfriend? Does she even give her phone number out to customers perhaps? If you would like to have these questions answered, then performing a bar fine test might be the simplest route to uncovering the truth.

Key Factors to Consider

Before hiring a private investigator for a bar fine test, there are several factors to consider:

• The age of the investigator/subject: The popularity of bar girls often allows them to be selective. Hiring an older or scruffy investigator might yield different results than using a younger, smartly dressed man. At PattayaPI, we use investigators who are well-presented and polite to ensure the accuracy of the test.
• Evidence gathering: Capturing reliable evidence in dimly lit bars with loud music can be challenging. Hidden cameras can struggle with the lighting and noise, so we use state-of-the-art technology and specialised techniques to provide you with clear and indisputable results.

How a Bar Fine Test Works

The test is simple: our investigator will attempt to bar fine your girlfriend and report back on whether she agrees to leave with him. The test is discreet, and the results are usually clear. If we manage to secure photographic or video evidence, it will provide you with proof that cannot be disputed.

We can also check her lifestyle/activities by placing her under surveillance or performing a background check.

Contact us today for a free quote, and we can discuss the best way to proceed with your specific situation.

What If the Results Aren’t What You Expected?

Whether the results of the bar fine test show that your girlfriend is loyal or not, it’s important to be prepared for any outcome. At PattayaPI, we don’t just leave you with the results – we offer advice and support based on years of experience. We can help guide you on what steps to take next.

Why Choose PattayaPI?

We are the leading private investigators for determining whether your girlfriend or wife is being faithful in Thailand, specialising in bar fine tests and other investigation techniques. Every case is handled with complete discretion, and we provide free, no-obligation quotes. Our services cover Pattaya, Bangkok, Patong, and beyond. Get in touch for confidential advice and assistance today, or visit the PattayaPI homepage for more information about us.

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Published: December 13, 2017 - Reading time: 9 minutes
» Updated: January 21, 2025

Tattoos in Thailand have long been associated with stigma, especially in relation to women. Historically, they were seen as an indicator that a woman might be involved in the sex industry. However, in recent years, due to the influence of Western media, music, movies, and the internet, the cultural attitude towards tattoos in Thailand has changed drastically. While tattoos were once a marker of a woman’s involvement in the adult entertainment industry, this is no longer the case for many women today. Although tattoos on women can still carry some associations with the sex industry, it's important to recognise that the meaning of tattoos in Thailand has evolved, and they are now far more widely accepted and worn by people from all walks of life.

Tattoos in Western countries have become firmly embedded in pop culture. They are no longer only seen on bikers, sailors, or criminals but have expanded to individuals from all walks of life, including high-profile celebrities and respected professionals. This cultural shift has been mirrored in Thailand, particularly in urban areas and among younger generations. While some conservative or older communities in Thailand still hold onto the old stigma, the influence of global trends, especially those from Western cultures, has made tattoos far more mainstream in Thailand. They are now a popular form of self-expression, with many Thai people no longer viewing them with suspicion.

Sak Yant Tattoos

Sak Yant tattoo: These are sacred, traditional tattoos that carry spiritual significance. The designs often represent protection, good fortune, and spiritual guidance. One example is the Paed Tidt Yant, which is believed to provide protection in all directions. The text used in these tattoos is ancient Khmer script known as Khom. Sak yant tattoos are typically performed by a monk and are often blessed to offer the wearer blessings and spiritual protection. While these tattoos are popular among both locals and tourists, they are predominantly associated with Thai men, particularly in rural areas. However, they are also sought after by tourists and foreign nationals visiting Thailand.

It’s worth noting that while sak yant tattoos are associated with spirituality and protection, they are often linked to traditional Thai men, especially in rural areas. However, many women, particularly in nightlife areas like Pattaya and Phuket, also choose to get these tattoos, sometimes as a personal or spiritual choice, and sometimes for aesthetic reasons. The popularity of these tattoos among foreigners has also grown, with many visitors seeking out authentic sak yant tattoos during their stay in Thailand.

Sak yant designs can be applied using an electric tattoo machine, or using traditional bamboo instead, as depicted above.

Though sak yant tattoos are spiritual, tattoos that lack religious significance are sometimes viewed more critically, particularly by older generations. Many younger people, however, wear tattoos freely as a form of personal expression, without any specific spiritual connotations.

Fashionable Tattoos in Thailand

Fashionable tattoos are those that are typically influenced by Western trends, and these types of tattoos are seen on many people in Thailand today. Tattoos of this kind may include designs that are common in Europe or the USA but carry no special spiritual or traditional significance. In Thailand, they are seen as a form of self-expression or art, rather than symbols of involvement in any particular lifestyle or profession.

It’s important to understand that while tattoos were once associated with the sex industry in Thailand, the younger generations of Thai people are increasingly viewing them as an art form. In many ways, tattoos are now as common in Thai society as they are in the West, especially among people in urban areas who are exposed to global trends.

Tattoos and the Sex Industry

There is still a lingering association between tattoos and the sex industry, particularly in tourist hotspots like Pattaya, Patong and Bangkok. Many women who have tattoos, especially those with large or visible tattoos, are often assumed to be involved in the nightlife scene. However, this assumption is increasingly inaccurate. The reality is that while many women working in bars or nightclubs in Thailand do have tattoos, this is no longer a reliable indicator of a woman's profession. Tattoos are now commonplace in many walks of life, and their presence alone should not be used to judge someone's career or lifestyle.

In fact, tattoos have become much more mainstream across Thai society, with many women choosing to get tattoos for personal, aesthetic reasons rather than to mark their involvement in any specific profession. Tattoos in Thailand are now worn by a variety of people, including office workers, students, and even the elderly. While tattoos on the neck, face, or hands may make it difficult for someone to secure traditional employment in fields that require a conservative appearance, they are more accepted in the entertainment and hospitality sectors.

The Myth of Butterfly Tattoos

There is a myth in Thailand that butterfly tattoos are linked to the sex industry, specifically to women who are referred to as “butterflies” in the context of the nightlife industry. The term “butterfly” is often used to describe men who flit from one woman to another, and it has sometimes been suggested that women who have butterfly tattoos are part of this lifestyle. However, this is not true. The vast majority of women who get butterfly tattoos do so simply because they like the design and find it aesthetically pleasing. The idea that a butterfly tattoo has any deeper meaning related to the sex industry is a myth, and should not be assumed to indicate a woman's profession or lifestyle.

Are Tattoos a Sign of a Woman’s Past in the Sex Industry?

While tattoos may still be seen as an indicator of a woman's involvement in the sex industry in certain parts of Thailand, this is an outdated view. In modern Thai society, tattoos are now seen as a normal form of self-expression. Many women with tattoos have never worked in the sex industry, and there are no specific designs that definitively signify that a woman is involved in the nightlife scene. However, it is still possible that tattoos in certain visible areas (such as the face, neck, or hands) may suggest a woman has worked in the nightlife sector, as these tattoos are more common in those industries. But it’s equally possible that a woman simply enjoys tattoos for personal reasons and is not involved in any such activities.

If you're concerned about someone's background or if you want to know more about their past, it’s always possible to conduct a background check on them. Having tattoos alone is not enough to definitively determine someone's past or profession. Tattoos are a personal choice and can mean many different things depending on the individual.

Are Attitudes Towards Tattoos Changing in Thailand?

Yes, attitudes towards tattoos in Thailand are changing. Younger generations are increasingly embracing tattoos as a form of art, influenced by global trends from the West. This shift has made tattoos much more common and accepted in Thai society. While tattoos may still carry some stigma among older generations, the overall trend is towards greater acceptance. Tattoos are no longer reserved for those involved in the sex industry; they are now worn by people from all walks of life.

Learn more about Pattaya Private Investigators.

If you're starting to get involved with a Thai lady and have concerns about her background, it’s important to remember that tattoos alone are not a reliable indicator of her past. If you have suspicions about her involvement in other relationships or activities, you can contact us to conduct a background check. This could help clarify the situation and give you peace of mind. To learn more, simply send us a message with the details of your situation and we'll reply to you with a free, no obligation quote.

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