Do you know these boys?

[ChristianPFC]

I have come across pictures of these two in several online dating and social media profiles.
Chat (in Thai) leads nowhere (slow reply, long offline, I never managed to talk business).
The last picture of the tattoo boy (with neck tattoo) is from 2023,
which means pictures without neck tattoo must be before 2023.
There is a good chance both (or rather the person who uses their pictures) of them are fakers or scammers.

 

[mauRICE]

2 hours ago, ChristianPFC said:

There is a good chance both (or rather the person who uses their pictures) of them are fakers or scammers.

What is the basis of your very serious and potentially defamatory allegations?

2 hours ago, ChristianPFC said:

Chat (in Thai) leads nowhere (slow reply, long offline, I never managed to talk business).

Perhaps your alleged reputation for being a finicky customer and "generous" tipper 🙄 has preceded you and/or they're simply not interested in you. Word gets around, you know, especially as regards someone who claims to have been around as long as you have.

[Ian here]

They look familiar and I would say all roads lead to Bali, Indonesia.

I've been there 3 times and I've seen their faces on dating apps.

[vinapu]

10 hours ago, mauRICE said:

What is the basis of your very serious and potentially defamatory allegations?

.................................................

Perhaps your alleged reputation for being a finicky customer and "generous" tipper 

 

your first question  is warranted and makes sense

............................

second one is , at best , rushed.

 tip we consider cheap, often rightly so , may be assessed as generous or sufficient by the guy in question, specially if he did not have customers for week or two and rent is due or shoes are leaking. 

I  was witnessing Christian meeting "his ' boys by chance on the street or in the bars on  quite a few occasions and never noticed any sign of contempt or displeasure.

 

[ChristianPFC]

14 hours ago, mauRICE said:

What is the basis of your very serious and potentially defamatory allegations?

Frequently changing profiles and in one case, I got a reply asking if I want to join a group (for a fee). 

However, I don't want to join a group, I want to meet the boy, but first have to make sure the person I'm chatting with is the person in picture.

The profiles and the chat, if you have been around as long as I have, you notice something isn't right. However, scammer would get quickly to the issue of money and not waste time with slow responses.

[ChristianPFC]

14 hours ago, mauRICE said:

Perhaps your alleged reputation for being a finicky customer and "generous" tipper 🙄 has preceded you...

What is the basis of your very serious and potentially defamatory allegations?

[mauRICE]

1 hour ago, ChristianPFC said:

What is the basis of your very serious and potentially defamatory allegations?

Not at all. Quite a few guys in Pattaya (Thai, Khmer and farang) know you and of you and your habits. Not everyone is a sycophantic old farang desperate for validation from a middle-aged white cock.

And remember, the assumption underlying the law of defamation is that the injured party has a reputation to protect, an assumption I would never make of you.

1 hour ago, ChristianPFC said:

The profiles and the chat, if you have been around as long as I have, you notice something isn't right. However, scammer would get quickly to the issue of money and not waste time with slow responses.

So there isn't a problem then. You said yourself initially they were slow to respond. Or has your precious ego been hurt so badly after being rejected that you needed to post the pics of these two men when there are perhaps hundreds if not thousands of non-genuine and dubious profiles on gay hook up sites?

[vinapu]

7 hours ago, mauRICE said:

Not at all. Quite a few guys in Pattaya (Thai, Khmer and farang) know you and of you and your habits. Not everyone is a sycophantic old farang desperate for validation from a middle-aged white cock.

And remember, the assumption underlying the law of defamation is that the injured party has a reputation to protect, an assumption I would never make of you.

So there isn't a problem then. You said yourself initially they were slow to respond. Or has your precious ego been hurt so badly after being rejected that you needed to post the pics of these two men when there are perhaps hundreds if not thousands of non-genuine and dubious profiles on gay hook up sites?

unnecessary nasty, offensive and belligerent.

Exactly kind of post which makes others thinking they should bother with participating in forum.

It's better to discuss possible scammers than other members alleged shortcomings. OP came across those two men and decided to warn us about. 

He even made  this disclaimer :

On 4/16/2026 at 9:28 AM, ChristianPFC said:

There is a good chance both (or rather the person who uses their pictures) of them are fakers or scammers.

 

 

 

[mauRICE]

It's reckless and irresponsible to use pictures of two random guys obtained online and raise suspicions on their characters when they aren't here to defend themselves. Putting a so-called disclaimer doesn't help: imagine taking a random pic, obtained online, of an older white male seated next to a tiny twenty-year-old, youthful-looking Thai guy, posting it on some faith-based forum and calling the white male a paedo, with a fine print on the bottom of the pic saying the Thai guy could actually be an adult but he's just small built. The damage is already done and potentially libellous as one doesn't have to show malicious intent to prove culpability under Thai defamation laws. What's worse is that the image will forever linger in people's minds, possibly with a question mark, disclaimer or no disclaimer.

Imagine if somebody used your pics indiscriminately and cast aspersions on your character - or are the reputations of brown-skinned, probably impoverished Asian guys who haven't had the opportunities that you've had, not worthy of protection because only the reputations of "superior" blue-eyed, fair-haired Aryans matter? There are certainly enough bootlickers here who are quick to jump in to defend the latter.

The correct way of managing suspected fake profiles or those used to solicit funds under false pretenses, is to simply report them to the site's administrator*, instead of indiscriminately posting the pics that were used in those profiles and raising unfair suspicions on the subjects who aren't able to defend themselves. And if they are working boys, you could possibly be destroying their livelihoods.

Honestly, people who live in glass houses shouldn't cast the first stone. As I said earlier, the circles we move in in "gay Thailand" aren't that big and word gets around.

 

 

*I believe all hook-up apps have a "report dubious profile" function.

[vinapu]

fine reasoning  but doesn't explain offensive narrative of your attacks on OP

On 4/16/2026 at 11:40 AM, mauRICE said:

Perhaps your alleged reputation for being a finicky customer and "generous" tipper 🙄 has preceded you and/or they're simply not interested in you. Word gets around, you know, especially as regards someone who claims to have been around as long as you have.

 

and 

18 hours ago, mauRICE said:

Not at all. Quite a few guys in Pattaya (Thai, Khmer and farang) know you and of you and your habits. Not everyone is a sycophantic old farang desperate for validation from a middle-aged white cock.

And remember, the assumption underlying the law of defamation is that the injured party has a reputation to protect, an assumption I would never make of you.

 

 

[forrestreid]

9 hours ago, vinapu said:

fine reasoning  but doesn't explain offensive narrative of your attacks on OP

Good point, Vinapu. MauRICE can make interesting contributions, but there’s definitely a streak of vitriol running through many of his posts.

Part of it seems to come from a kind of self‑righteous mindset that is increasing common online: as long as someone holds the “correct” views on Middle East politics, or the “right” opinion on how much to compensate a service provider, then their tone in their postings apparently doesn’t matter — they can still consider themselves the better person.

Combine that with a generally sneering attitude toward older white men, who make up the majority of posters on this board, and it’s hardly a recipe for winning friends or influencing people.

[ChristianPFC]

On 4/17/2026 at 3:25 PM, mauRICE said:

Quite a few guys in Pattaya (Thai, Khmer and farang) know you and of you and your habits.

What habits? You must be confusing me with someone else.

I walk into a gogo bar (the few that are left who have my type of boy) or pass a beer bar, and everyone is smiling and wants to go with me. 

 

[ChristianPFC]

On 4/16/2026 at 11:40 PM, mauRICE said:

Perhaps your alleged reputation for being a finicky customer and "generous" tipper

The "generous" tipper I agree, I tip at the lower end.

But can you elaborate about "finicky customer"? Can you share details or are you making things up?

[Shax]

To answer the question, I've seen the 1st guy's profile on RM for guys available in Bali.

[Travelingguy]

Some of these guys online are trying to attract people to their other platforms which are often paid.  So not exactly a scam, but they are trying to make money through their content.

[kram987]

Interesting thread.  My take is I’m concerned about posting pics like this is it is impossible to know if the guy in the pic is the one running the profile.   Scammers often find a pic and steal it.  I’ve known someone who had his pic stolen and his reputation as a massage guy damaged.

[vinapu]

45 minutes ago, kram987 said:

  My take is I’m concerned about posting pics like this is it is impossible to know if the guy in the pic is the one running the profile.   Scammers often find a pic and steal it.  I’ve known someone who had his pic stolen and his reputation as a massage guy damaged.

I noticed it on Grindr in Cambodia quite often. Guys are using pics lifted from internet most likely and placed instead of their own. I even alerted to such fact one of Space Hair boys who was not aware his picture  was being used. Also I saw pics of Thai BL moves actors and some Thai massage and bar boys including one who  confirmed he never travelled to Cambodia. 

In some profiles main picture is lifted  but subsequent ones seem to be genuine or at least somebody else's 

I guess in smaller country  guys are more aware to be incidentally noticed by relatives or friends and even without malicious intend hide behind  somebody else, often more attractive looking , pictures 

[Enchanted_Elixir]

7 hours ago, vinapu said:

I noticed it on Grindr in Cambodia quite often. Guys are using pics lifted from internet most likely and placed instead of their own. I even alerted to such fact one of Space Hair boys who was not aware his picture  was being used. Also I saw pics of Thai BL moves actors and some Thai massage and bar boys including one who  confirmed he never travelled to Cambodia. 

It is especially prevalent in Cambodia as you say. I notice that on Grindr, boys have lifted the pics of Myanmar MBs presumably because fewer would know them and report them as a fake profile.

This is a greater problem, I believe, on Hornet because it is easier to register again once banned.

[ChristianPFC]

Fake profile pictures is a huge problem in Myanmar as well. 

23 hours ago, ChristianPFC said:

But can you elaborate about "finicky customer"? Can you share details or are you making things up?

We had a similar situation in another thread. You (mauRICE) cast some general aspersions on me based on what people you know, who have seen me, told you about me. When I ask for details, you remain silent. That says more about your character than about mine.

Forum members who have met have only good things to say about me. 

[Ian here]

Ive seen profiles with Babe pics from Moonlight.

[iendo]

14 hours ago, ChristianPFC said:

Fake profile pictures is a huge problem in Myanmar as well. 

We had a similar situation in another thread. You (mauRICE) cast some general aspersions on me based on what people you know, who have seen me, told you about me. When I ask for details, you remain silent. That says more about your character than about mine.

Forum members who have met have only good things to say about me. 

I can confirm, I met christian a few times IRL in Bangkok, Pattaya and Jomtien. And even though I think he is a very nice person, and I love his blog, he NEVER tipped me. 

[hank75]

42 minutes ago, iendo said:

And even though I think he is a very nice person, and I love his blog, he NEVER tipped me. 

Maybe he didn’t enjoy the massage 

[floridarob]

2 hours ago, iendo said:

And even though I think he is a very nice person

would you consider him Lovely?

1 hour ago, hank75 said:

Maybe he didn’t enjoy the massage 

Or the happy ending?

[mauRICE]

On 4/17/2026 at 6:44 AM, Ian here said:

They look familiar and I would say all roads lead to Bali, Indonesia.

I've been there 3 times and I've seen their faces on dating apps.

No, not all roads lead to Bali. My trainer, who's straight and a popular fitness model in Bangkok, was just complaining on his social media this morning that, based on reports from his many followers, his pics, all taken in Thailand, were being used without his permission on gay hook up apps and commercial sites and have been seen in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and places in Thailand he had never been to. His pics could be mis-used all over the globe for all he knows. Such is the nature of the technology and the disingeneous nature of man. Therefore it doesn't mean that, if somebody had seen my trainer's pics three or ten times on a Grindr profile in Singapore, the profile belongs to my trainer or that he's physically in Singapore. Common sense.

When I first saw the pics posted in this thread, my first thought was that the first guy was either of south Indian or Timor Leste origin and the second was from one of the Tai tribes in northern Thailand and I will explain why I believe this to be true. 

Besides his features which I feel are typically south Indian if one takes away the bright flash filter, there is a poster on his wall which I've attached below by Vidya Sharma, a modestly known local writer, guru and mindfulness coach from Karnataka State in South India. It follows that a budding bodybuilder from the same region would be inspired by a quote from Vidya Sharma than one remotely in Bali. 

Secondly, the staircase design and barrier is quite common in more modest south Indian homes, as confirmed by my friend at lunch today. My friend is Malaysian of south Indian origin and has been all over South India to visit his relatives and Bengaluru for business numerous times. When he showed me the pic, he immediately teased me that I had gone Indian in my tastes (I have no racial or skin colour preference). Coincidentally, we were at a banana leaf restaurant where all the staff were from various parts of South India and the three we asked all said the guy in the pic is south Indian and one even claimed it was his friend from Cennai. 🤣

Now, I shall move on to the cute guy in the second pic. The bird/garuda/owl? chest tattoo wasn't very instructive as it is not unusual in cultures with Buddhist or Hindu influences and consequently elements flowing from the Ramayan. Next was the full choker tattoo and stretched earlobe. Stretched earlobes aren't common in Balinese culture. I thought he could possibly be Dayak from Kalimantan or East Malaysia but the Dayak do their neck tattoos and stretched earlobes differently. And he's just too cute to be Dayak (my bias). 😅

So I went back to my first instinct and sent his pics to two good friends in Thailand: one is a tattoo artist and the other a cultural anthropologist. They both came back with nearly identical replies: the overall tattoo design and style of dress would suggest the young man is from a northern Tai tribe but they couldn't pinpoint which because of cross-cultural influences. Even the stretched earlobe isn't confined to the Kayaw or Lahu tribes anymore and it has been adapted by other tribes/cultures to look "more cool" by having only one earlobe pierced or stretched these days instead of both.

To say that my circumspect analysis and reasoning show that all roads lead to South India and northern Thailand would be too arrogant and simplistic, but I would leave them here as a plausibility worthy of consideration.

 

 

[Enchanted_Elixir]

6 hours ago, iendo said:

can confirm, I met christian a few times IRL in Bangkok, Pattaya and Jomtien. And even though I think he is a very nice person, and I love his blog, he NEVER tipped me. 

I believe you. In fact I would expect you to find him lovely and charming. That has never been Maurice’s or my point. It is not how he treats his peers, but those in vulnerable positions.  

As regards to his blog there is a recurrent pseudo-anthropological tone in it. He likes presenting himself as the man who sees the system clearly and refuses euphemism. But that “clarity” often just means he speaks about vulnerable young men in the idiom of selection, yield, and market sorting. Add to this a fixation on small price differentials, and a dislike of whatever constrains his ability to select.