Buriram woman loses 530,000 baht in unauthorised transfers

A woman in Buriram is in distress after discovering 530,000 baht missing from her bank account, with two banks deflecting responsibility. The funds were transferred to accounts in China and Vietnam, although the account holder insists she did not authorise the transactions.

Benjawan Supanam, a 35 year old resident of Buriram, reported that money had vanished from her bank account. Despite her insistence, the banks involved claimed that she had conducted the transactions herself.

Benjawan explained that her husband works in South Korea and initially sent 40,000 baht monthly to her mother’s Bangkok Bank account. After two years, he began depositing the money directly into Benjawan’s Krungthai Bank account, with the amount increasing to 80,000 baht per month.

She used the funds for household expenses like electricity, water, and car payments, transferring the remainder to her Thanachart Bank account to save up for building a house. Recently, the balance in this account had reached 560,000 baht.

Benjawan’s aunt requested a 200,000-baht loan on July 21. After discussing with her husband, Benjawan agreed. She visited Thanachart Bank to withdraw the money but was shocked to find only 30,000 baht remaining. Upon inquiry, the bank staff informed her that the money had been transferred via her mobile bank application to her Krungthai Bank account. Benjawan firmly denied making the transactions.

The bank suggested that someone in her household might have made the transfers. However, Benjawan dismissed this, noting that her parents, aged 59 and 53, were not tech-savvy and relied on her for such tasks. Her children, aged seven and four, were also incapable of conducting such transactions.

Thanachart Bank staff cautioned Benjawan about filing a police report, hinting at potential legal repercussions for filing a false report, which carries a prison sentence. She returned home to discuss the matter with her family, who confirmed they had not made the transfers.

Mysterious transfers

Benjawan obtained statements from both Thanachart Bank and Krungthai Bank on July 22. The records revealed that the money had indeed been transferred back to Krungthai Bank and subsequently sent in increments of 10,000 to 30,000 baht to accounts in China and Vietnam, totalling over 530,000 baht.

Benjawan then reported the issue to the police at Nong Song Hong Police Station. The police, after inspecting her phone, echoed the bank’s suggestion to reconsider filing a report, fearing legal complications if an error was found.

“I am completely baffled. How could I know foreign accounts? I have never engaged with or ordered anything from abroad, nor have I gambled.”

Benjawan received a call from an unknown number at 10.45pm on July 22. The caller claimed the missing funds were due to a bank error and assured her the money would be returned to her account between 10am and 11am the next day. Relieved, Benjawan waited for the notification of the deposit on July 23, but it never arrived. After visiting the bank again that afternoon, she was told the same thing—there had been no transactions.

Currently, Benjawan is extremely stressed and is urging the bank to recheck the details or for any relevant authority to advise on resolving the issue. She noted that typically, she receives notifications for transactions through her application, so she is perplexed as to why she was unaware of the international transfers, reported KhaoSod.