There are people out to scam tourists everywhere. When I was in Singapore, an Indian "fortune teller" tried to scam me for some money. In Malaysia 2 Chinese ladies tried to scam me at the airport. In both cases I followed my old mentor's advice to hand them a small bill in foreign currency and quickly walk away. It keeps their hand busy and occupied as they try to figure out "WTF is this worth". Funny thing is Mexican 20 peso bill looks just like Malaysian ringgit. By the time that I reached the security desk, they were running away at full speed. Now if only the Royal Malaysian Police would be less laid-back and actually get off their butt to do something about it...
In the Philippines, the dregs of society don't even bother trying to scam you, they just expect a hand-out from anyone wealthy enough to have a car or van.
In Taiwan, people would randomly call your phone to claim that they had kidnapped your children, and you must withdraw $$$ immediately and deliver it in a bag somewhere or they'd toss your kids out of a boat. I have several family members who received such phone calls, much to their amusement. Um, sure you kidnapped my... "young" children, when they're attending college in the US.