A TOURIST told Phuket police today how he was scammed of 200,000 baht by a Good Samaritan who may well try the same trick on other visitors and residents.

Norwegian Kjell Olav Forseth, 52, told police at Chalong in Phuket's south that he arrived on Phuket on August 5 and on August 9, needed more money.

He strolled from the Tropical Garden Resort in Karon to the nearby Kasikorn Bank, and approached the ATM machine. But there was a problem, Mr Forseth told police today. His card did not seem to be functioning properly.

Just then, a man who wore some kind of head-covering strolled up, and said: ''I see you are having some problems. Maybe I can help.''

Mr Forseth explained his difficulties with the ATM. ''Let me try,'' said the Samaritan. A little later, he said: ''We've tried too many times. The machine has confiscated your card. You need to go into the bank to get it back.''

Leaving his helpful new friend on the footbath, Mr Forseth entered the bank and explained his predicament. The bank staff said he would have to wait an hour for a technician to return.

Mr Forseth waited patiently. Then then technician returned, opened the machine . . . and there was no card to be seen. Outside on the footpath, there was no sign of the Good Samaritan, either.

Mr Forseth placed a telephone call to his own bank and discovered, to his horror, that his account, which once contained 700,000 baht, was 200,000 baht lighter.

It appears that instead of the ATM machine gobbling his card, Mr Forseth's footpath friend had simply slid it into his pants pocket.

Today, one day before he is due to head home, Mr Forseth opted to tell the police about his embarrassing experience. ''Tell other people to be careful,'' he said, contemplating the end of a holiday that cost him a lot more than he had intended.

Mr Forseth's experience follows a scam of a different kind in which an Irishman lost a much larger sum.