2 Thai taxi drivers deceived by scam passenger posing as wealthy man

Two Thai taxi drivers urged Channel 3 and the media to issue a warning after they were deceived by a scam passenger who posed as a wealthy man. The drivers lost valuable amulets, a mobile phone, and 2,000 baht.

The Thai taxi drivers were identified as 54 year old Yanyong Pongkit and 35 year old Nopporn Chewanitjakun. Yanyong revealed that he lost his valuable amulets to the scammer while Nopporn lost her mobile phone and 2,000 baht in cash.

Yanyong said he met the cheating passenger on Thepharak Road in Samut Prakarn province near Bangkok on Tuesday, September 26. Yanyong said the scammer looked trustworthy and rich. The scammer told him he owned a car dealership in the area.

During the ride, the scam passenger could be heard on the phone with another taxi driver. After hanging up, the scammer told Yanyong that he had hired another taxi driver to pick up car parts for him but the driver was unreliable because he was an alcoholic.

The scammer then invited Yanyong to work for him. He said all Yanyong had to do was pick up the parts from Huachiew Chalermprakiet University and deliver them to his showroom on Thepharak Road for 700 baht a trip. Yanyong said he accepted the offer because he could earn 700 baht from just a 10-kilometer journey.

After Yanyong accepted the job, the scammer gave him a debit card to withdraw the money to pay for the spare parts. The scammer said he had 600,000 baht in his bank account and asked Yanyong to leave his valuable amulets and debit cards as a deposit.

Mission failure

Yanyong embarked on a mission to retrieve the alleged car parts. To his dismay, the location he sought was nowhere to be found, and he was unable to withdraw money using his debit card.

Yanyong realised he had been scammed but it was too late. Fortunately, Yanyong said he was able to transfer 200 baht to his wife from his bank account.

Another victim, Nopporn, said he was in a similar situation to Yanyong and lost his mobile phone and 2,000 baht to the scam passenger.

The two filed a complaint against the rogue at Bang Kaew Police Station, where CCTV footage showed the scammer continuing to cheat Nopporn after he got out of the first taxi.

Nopporn added that he felt neglected by the police response. Officers said the money he lost was only 2,000 baht but the money meant a lot to him.

The money would cover the family’s expenses for almost a month. He hoped the police would take the case seriously and arrest the scam passenger as soon as possible before other people fell victim to his trick.

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