General Info

[Amavida]

This does seem to have become a serious issue recently and is an outrageous extension of the police state. An Ozzie friend returned from 2 weeks in th Phils yesterday and was stoped by customs and they spent 40 mins searching his camera and phone. They claim its random, but obviously they are profiling middle aged guys travelling alone to SEA.

He had deleted all naughty pics so was fine.

I'm from the UK does anyone have any feedback on whether UK customs have started to take a similar policy?

Im an Ozzie living PI. I can confirm that almost every time I re-enter Australia in the last 4 years I have been dragged off to the separate search area & put through this crap of extensive bagged search & in depth questioning. I actually build in the delay to my time-table these days. It seems to be even worse at smaller air ports such as Coolangatta/Gold coast. I think these goons are just doing it out of boredom. They never answer my question as to why I am targeted.
AV

[Nightrider1]

Friend, but then you go on to describe what a few people have described already.

WHat is missing is details.

Did your friend ask what they were looking for?

X

I just came back from 6 weeks in Philippines and have been there 12 times now.The last 4 entries into the USA I have had my luggage searched. This time as I was waiting for my bag at the carousel the agent comes up to me and asks where i traveled to and how long I stayed and how many times I have been to Philippines. After I told him he patiently waited with me for my bag and told me to follow him. He checked my camera pics and did a quick hand search of my luggage but to me if I was actually hiding something in there he would not have found it. Makes me wonder why he bothered. I did ask him what red flags I brought up and he said the 3 things you answered are all red flags.. He also said in my demeaner I acted nervous ( whatever that means )..lol.. i said i think its natural to act nervous when your being questioned by any officer of the law. Anyway I did'nt have anything anyway not even naked filapina pics as i had sent them to my e-mail before I left Cebu. I am going back again in August so i will be expecting another trip to the luggage inspection table when i get back

[X Man]

Friend, but then you go on to describe what a few people have described already.

WHat is missing is details.

Did your friend ask what they were looking for?

X

This does seem to have become a serious issue recently and is an outrageous extension of the police state. An Ozzie friend returned from 2 weeks in th Phils yesterday and was stoped by customs and they spent 40 mins searching his camera and phone. They claim its random, but obviously they are profiling middle aged guys travelling alone to SEA.

He had deleted all naughty pics so was fine.

I'm from the UK does anyone have any feedback on whether UK customs have started to take a similar policy?

[GregLondon]

Also with nude pics of sex acts or just women in particular, if they suspect (since asian women do look younger than they really are) but can't prove.

They can always add your name to the "Always check" list. Where each and every time you travel abroad you will be hassled and searched. So why give them reason.

They are already suspicious of any single older men traveling to SEA, so why add to it. But do as you like, it will be you who has to live with the consequences.

This does seem to have become a serious issue recently and is an outrageous extension of the police state. An Ozzie friend returned from 2 weeks in th Phils yesterday and was stoped by customs and they spent 40 mins searching his camera and phone. They claim its random, but obviously they are profiling middle aged guys travelling alone to SEA.

He had deleted all naughty pics so was fine.

I'm from the UK does anyone have any feedback on whether UK customs have started to take a similar policy?

[Betong]

One keystroke puts you into the suspicious persons category and at that point you might as well travel by horse.

I apparently got put onto one of these lists about 15 years ago and it was no fun at all. Special treatment *every* time I entered the US. They even knew me by name. They never showed much interest in my computer -- that wasn't a big thing back then -- but they went through everything else with a fine-toothed comb. Looking for drugs, I suppose, on the basis that I lived in Thailand and therefore HAD to be doing something dubious.

The good news is that you can eventually fall off these lists. At least I did, either because they figured out that I wasn't an international drugs kingpin after all, or else that after 9/11 they had bigger things to worry about. But now I guess things are getting back to normal, because they seem to have plenty of time to snoop into the computers of ordinary innocent travelers.

[ShadowAxis]

just remember. when you enter the us they can seize whatever they wish and are not required to provide you with anything other than a receipt for the items confirep001ed. they are not at all obligated to tell you if it's your massive collection of beaver shots, your mp3's, or the leaked box office release they found on your hard disk.

the typical customs agent starts at gs-5 ($29k to $38k) or gs-7 ($34k to $43k). this is a underpaid guy who puts up with the insecurities of having a shitty job. playing fetch with the drug dogs and busting tourists are the only highs they get. these underpaid sophisticates also have unlimited power to f**k with you. right there, and far into the future. one keystroke puts you into the suspicious persons category and at that point you might as well travel by horse.

the best thing you can do is find some online service that's not hosted in the us and upload your files. i know it's tough to go half a day without your collection of beaver snaps or pirated music. but it might mean you get to keep your notebook.

[ThatGuy865]

Also with nude pics of sex acts or just women in particular, if they suspect (since asian women do look younger than they really are) but can't prove.

They can always add your name to the "Always check" list. Where each and every time you travel abroad you will be hassled and searched. So why give them reason.

They are already suspicious of any single older men traveling to SEA, so why add to it. But do as you like, it will be you who has to live with the consequences.

[Warbucks]

alright so let me play "devils advocate" here. if what you all are saying is correct. it is illegal for some reason for me to have naked pictures/videos on my laptop or in my camera/camcorder? or have we gotten a bit ahead of ourselves here and made some kind of an assumption that these women are ****?

no it is not illegal to have porn or naked “adult” women. as in my case when they spotted the photos on my laptop from lbfm.net that just made them look harder ("he's been to thailand, philippines he has images" )so it’s best not to have none of that shit in the first place.

i mean if you don’t have anything “illegal” you have nothing to worry about but who wants to be held up, questioned and embarrassed as assholes go through your porn stash and personal photos?

because from the tone of these postings you are giving the impression that either customs makes the assumption that every naked person recorded is either **** or that they were paid to have sex. in either case how could they prove either of these things without tracking all of the "naked people" down and verifying this info?

they don’t care if you paid for sex. they do care if you paid for sex with children. they will look long and hard at those photos and if they look like kids to them then you are fucked. your shit will be seized and you will possibly be jailed on the spot or have a court date given to you.

also, how do they know these images were made in there country on this voyage rather than some other country or in fact made in the "western" world and taken along on the vacation for our viewing pleasure.

again. they are looking for naked or deviant acts by or with children and osama-bin ladenesque activities. they don’t care when, where or how the images were taken.

i am just trying to get some clarification here rather than a climate of fear which seems to be starting from this topic.

hope this helped.

my only problem was with the questioning. they made an issue of the iraq beheading videos from orgish.com ("why do you have this on your pc?") they found my answer unsatisfactory.

i was repeatedly asked “how did you get your job?” “do you have a college degree?” these questions had nothing to do with me being a **** or terrorist. they were simply jealous and just wanted to give me a hard time but i must admit i was being a bit arrogant. but just a year before that i was broke as hell financially so…..new money.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/defin...term=new+money

good points devil.

other questions for those that were stopped and let go -- did they require you to delete your pictures?

no i did not have to delete my photos as they came from a well known site.

did they explain what the problem was?

yep. they asked why i didn’t put a us address down on my immigration card since i am a citizen. my job requires me to travel frequently so i had no permanent address at that time in the states but i was using a p.o. box. the p.o. is what caused the red flag.

now i just use dear old mom’s address even though i have not lived in that city since 05’ but since then everything is kosher.

[Amavida]

alright so let me play "devils advocate" here...
i am just trying to get some clarification here rather than a climate of fear which seems to be starting from this topic.

commercial pornography is certainly not legal in some places, asian women often look young for their age & could be mistaken for **** etc etc..
as one travels from country to country it becomes problematic remembering what is legal from one place to another.
the point of the warnings about not to carry naughty pics on your device is to avoid potential problems with officials. at the end of a long tiring flight standing in front of some bloody customs/immigration goon with sweeping powers you're not gonna be in a position to play perry mason old son.
i've read reports in the past from us mongers getting a pretty hard time of it about such things returning to their own country.
research the posts on isg. you may be surprised. ymmv.
take care.
av

[X Man]

good points devil.

other questions for those that were stopped and let go -- did they require you to delete your pictures? did they explain what the problem was?

x

alright so let me play "devils advocate" here. if what you all are saying is correct. it is illegal for some reason for me to have naked pictures/videos on my laptop or in my camera/camcorder? or have we gotten a bit ahead of ourselves here and made some kind of an assumption that these women are ****?

because from the tone of these postings you are giving the impression that either customs makes the assumption that every naked person recorded is either **** or that they were paid to have sex. in either case how could they prove either of these things without tracking all of the "naked people" down and verifying this info?

also, how do they know these images were made in there country on this voyage rather than some other country or in fact made in the "western" world and taken along on the vacation for our viewing pleasure.

i am just trying to get some clarification here rather than a climate of fear which seems to be starting from this topic.

[Devils 1]

bb: homeland security already knows where you are coming from before you answer. you are very lucky that answering hk (your transit point) did not get you flagged for secondary. if you failed to list the philippines on your customs form you have committed a federal felony. in sum, you didgeed a bullet but i would not make a habit of it.

on the form where you list countries visited you could list hk first but omitting a country you visited (and they can tell without looking at your passport stamps) is a dangerous game indeed. out of almost 40 trips to the pi i have gotten flagged upon return a total of twice (and once because i listed the generic viagra i was bringing back as you are required to do).

if you have racy pictures better to send them home electronically then delete from memory stick or at least hide the memory stick (and have another stick with touristy pics in the camera).

also be aware that pornograpy is illegal in the pi (and they are more prudish that cbp here at home) so you don't want to get caught there either.

alright so let me play "devils advocate" here. if what you all are saying is correct. it is illegal for some reason for me to have naked pictures/videos on my laptop or in my camera/camcorder? or have we gotten a bit ahead of ourselves here and made some kind of an assumption that these women are ****?

because from the tone of these postings you are giving the impression that either customs makes the assumption that every naked person recorded is either **** or that they were paid to have sex. in either case how could they prove either of these things without tracking all of the "naked people" down and verifying this info?

also, how do they know these images were made in there country on this voyage rather than some other country or in fact made in the "western" world and taken along on the vacation for our viewing pleasure.

i am just trying to get some clarification here rather than a climate of fear which seems to be starting from this topic.

[Devils 1]

What do you get for a exchange rate?

It is always moving with the current exchange rates. They will give you the rate when you request it. If memory serves it is close to the going rate, but it is only roughly $200 you are exchanging. But the amount lost in the exchange rate is made up 10XX in the amount of headaches saved.

[Matius]

can anyone tell me how difficult it actually is to open a bank account in pi?

are they familiar with internet banking there at all?

grateful for all tips.

i have an hsbc account in a couple of countries, so when i went to open one in pi i had no problem. their internet transfer system between banks works fairly well. at the time i did not have a permanent resident visa, only a tourist stamp. i now do, and there are some restrictions on moving money between accounts unless you have a permanent residence visa, but that just meant writing my rep in the manila branch and she made all the moves. around the same time, i also opened an account in a pi bank, one of the biggest. had no problem opening the account, but managing it became very difficult, standing in line, transfers "lost" etc. might mention, if you are a u. s. citizen, you are required by law to file an annual disclosure with the irs on holding a foreign bank account with more than $10k u. s. nothing to do with reporting interest income on your return, separate filing with the treasury department, failure to do so is big in fines and confirep001ions.

matius

[Robbaf]

The way to beat this is always get foreign currency from your own bank before you leave. I usually request 200 US dollars worth of pesos but i request it all in small bills. This way you have plenty of 20 - 200 peso notes for things like taxis and tipping.

What do you get for a exchange rate?

[Wizard561]

Hey OEM, one of my business's is in the security industry. Our travel movements are logged trust me. In my home country (Australia) the government is phasing in Passports with a chip in them. Its all stored & available to officials. Airlines log your details. Airports log your details. etc etc. These day's there is no horseing around when dealing with officials in airports. Answer all questions truthfully & don't carry anything you should'nt be carrying because its all deadly serious now.

Im recent years, on return to Australian airports, I have been pulled aside many times & put through the 'third degree' with questions, thorough x-ray & bag search down to the last detail. My crime? Im flagged because Im a frequent traveller to Asia (I live in PI) thats all... Some of the bitches who work in Australian customs are real sneering ball breaking smart arses. I dont let them get to me, when they are doing their little act i just tune out & think of the last wonderful session I had with a chick before getting on the plane. :)

These day's, before travel, I 'sterilise' my electronic devices of any pics/info that could give these goons in customs something to annoy me with.
AV

Well AV at least in our arrival card you only need to put down where you spent the longest amount of time in so in my case its always HK or China which is 100% accurate.

I agree with your view that the airport security has changed for the worse especialy the USA ports of entry, not as bad in Australia yet but that may change as well..

So my advice is the same as AV be nice smile a lot and dont leave any electronic evidence of what you have been doing, I am not a photo guy in the bedroom type so my memory cards are always wholesome and so is my lptop etc....

Enjoy

Wizard