2 fake wealthy men scam party entertainers out of 200,000 baht

Police arrested two men posing as wealthy business operators after they tricked two female Thai party entertainers in the Isaan province of Khon Kaen into an investment scam, resulting in a loss of nearly 200,000 baht.

The two victims, who worked as party entertainers, filed a complaint against the two Thai men at Mueang Khon Kaen Police Station on September 17, after losing 189,700 baht. The two scammers were identified as 27 year old Sarin and 44 year old Tum.

The victims explained that the two men, who posed as wealthy businessmen, contacted them, expressing interest in hiring party entertainers. Prior to the scheduled event, the victims communicated with the men until they gained their trust. The men then invited them to invest in their business, claiming it would yield high profits.

The scammers subsequently asked the victims to install a fraudulent application and tricked them into sharing the one-time passwords (OTP) sent to their phones. After obtaining the OTPs and gaining control over their mobile phones, 189,700 baht of the victims’ money was transferred to Tum’s bank accounts.

An investigation into the case led to the arrest of Sarin and Tum at a house in the central province of Nakhon Pathom today, September 30. They were then transferred to Khon Kaen province for further legal proceedings.

Sarin admitted to his involvement in the crime and revealed that Tum hired him to open a bank account for the scam operation. He gradually withdrew sums ranging from 500 to 1,000 baht for Tum, though he did not disclose how much he earned from the scheme.

Police investigated Tum’s bank account and discovered that daily transfers into his account ranged between 10,000 and 20,000 baht, with the total amount of money circulating in the account reaching several million baht. Officers have not disclosed whether other suspects are involved in the case.

The two suspects face two charges:

• Section 342 of the Criminal Code: committing fraud by impersonating another person, which carries a penalty of imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to 10,000 baht, or both.
• Section 14 of the Computer Crimes Act: importing false information into a computer system to cause damage to a person or the public, which carries a penalty of imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to 100,000 baht, or both.