Most travelers accept that low-level graft, bribery, and off-the-books transactions are an unavoidable part of visiting certain foreign countries. Sure, the security guard in Zambia might suggest you give him a few kwacha to "buy a beer" if you want to gain access to a government ministry, or the border agent in Latvia may hint that a ten-euro note folded into your passport might help you make your ferry in Tallinn on time, but rarely does this chicanery rise to the level encountered by a number of tourists in Thailand recently. As the AP points out, the governments of several European countries have put out warnings to their nationals to be wary of a scam in Thailand's Suvarnabhumi Airport in which tourists browsing in the duty-free shop are falsely accused of shoplifting, and then shaken down by seedy intermediaries for sums of up to $10,000 or more to win their freedom. ]]>