Property scam: Elderly woman loses 70,000 baht and gold ring to fraudsters

Devastated by a fraudulent scheme, a 74 year old woman endured the loss of 70,000 baht from her bank savings, as well as her gold ring. She was tricked by a group of four unscrupulous individuals who convinced her of a lucrative land sale. Engaging residents and even monks, they’ve managed to trick multiple victims. This property scam incident came to light when the affected individual reported it to the press yesterday.

Jaroon resides in a village in the Nong Bua district, Phanom Sarakham province. Her ordeal started on July 4, when two men and two women, driving a black Toyota sedan, approached her in her secluded home. They claimed possession of 17 acres of land in the Bang Khla district, which could potentially sell for 3.5 million baht per acre, amounting to a total of 59.5 million baht. Jaroon said…

“They showed stacks of thousand-baht notes and stated they had 600,000 baht in cash but insufficient funds to redeem the mortgage and sell the land.”

They then asked if she had any money. The elderly lady confided in having 70,000 baht in the Phanom Sarakham Government Savings Bank (GSB). They convinced her to withdraw the money with the promise of giving her 200,000 baht from the sale profits.

Jaroon further recounted that she found their property scam story believable, especially when one of the scammers feigned a phone conversation asking a relative for money and shared their plan of selling gold, only falling short of some 70,000 baht. Falling for the ploy, she joined them in their car to withdraw her savings while the con artists stayed back in the vehicle. Jaroon withdrew 70,000 baht after which a female member of the gang took the money. They also encouraged her to remove her gold ring promising to sell it, reported KhaoSod.

Returning to her house, she was told that she “had forgotten to photocopy her ID card.” Jaroon then rode her motorcycle to the assistant village chief’s house for the photocopying. It was then she realised she had been deceived. Upon returning home, she found that the con gang had disappeared.

Distressed, Jaroon expressed her desire for speedy legal action against the thieves and hoped that the police and related agencies would apprehend the culprits involved in this property scam as soon as possible.