Thai woman at large after swindling money from taxi riders

Thief poses as business owner and wears suit to gain trust

Petch Petpailin3 weeks agoLast Updated: Thursday, May 8, 2025

130 1 minute read

Thai woman at large after swindling money from taxi riders — Photo via Facebook/ Natthida Kao

A Thai woman remains at large after swindling money from at least three motorcycle taxi riders in Bangkok. The most recent victim lost 2,300 baht to the suspect.

Natthida, the owner of a salon near Victory Monument, took to Facebook to warn motorcycle taxi riders in the area and nearby locations after a scammer posed as the owner of her salon and defrauded several riders.

In her post, Natthida included images of the scammer retrieved from her salon’s CCTV footage. The woman was seen wearing a grey and pink suit and glasses. According to Natthida, the scammer always wore a suit to appear trustworthy.

The woman reportedly took motorcycle taxis from various locations, including Din Daeng, Asoke, Huai Khwang, and Pratunam, to her salon. She would briefly enter the premises before leaving on the same motorcycle taxis.

She often made excuses to Natthida, such as coming in for a hair-dying appointment but forgetting her belongings and promising to return later. At times, she would pretend to enquire about prices and service details before making a swift exit.

bangkok motorcycle taxi riders targeted by scammer — Photo of the alleged scammer via Facebook/ Maksunton Nuchanat

Later the same day, the motorcycle taxi riders who had served her would return to the salon and inform Natthida of the scam.

During her first visit last year, the suspect claimed to be the salon owner and used the taxi service without paying, causing the rider to demand payment from Natthida.

Thai woman steals money from taxi riders — Photo via Facebook/ Maksunton Nuchanat

In a second incident, she again claimed to be the salon owner and took a motorcycle taxi to a shopping mall, saying she needed to buy items for the salon.

She asked the rider to wait and borrowed 1,500 baht, claiming she lacked sufficient cash. She then disappeared with the money.

Thai motorcycle taxi riders lost money to scammer — One of a victim | Photo via Channel 7

In a third case, which occurred on April 24, the suspect claimed to be a salon worker and again took a motorcycle taxi to a shopping mall. This time, she borrowed 2,300 baht from the rider and vanished.

The latest victim filed a complaint at Din Daeng Police Station, but as of the latest report from Channel 7, the suspect has not yet been apprehended.

Petch Petpailin

Petpailin, or Petch, is a Thai translator and writer for The Thaiger who focuses on translating breakingThai news stories into English. With a background in field journalism, Petch brings several years of experience to the English News desk at The Thaiger. Before joining The Thaiger, Petch worked as a content writer for several known blogging sites in Bangkok, including Happio and The Smart Local. Her articles have been syndicated by many big publishers in Thailand and internationally, including the Daily Mail, The Sun and the Bangkok Post. She is a news writer who stops reading news on the weekends to spend more time cafe hopping and petting dwarf shrimp! But during office hours, you can find Petch on LinkedIn and you can reach her by email at petch@thethaiger.com.