Retired Thai nurse loses 12 million baht in romance scam
Victim misled by lavish lifestyle clips and affection from scammer
A retired Thai nurse lost nearly 12 million baht in a romance scam after being contacted by a scammer via the TikTok application last year.
The 65 year old victim sought assistance from the Foundation Campaigning to Reclaim Social Justice yesterday, June 15. She said she had no knowledge of the law and did not know where to begin taking legal action against the female scammer, identified as 40 year old Da.
During a press conference, the victim explained that Da first contacted her via TikTok on December 5 last year. Da claimed she was lonely, and the two began to form a romantic relationship. After around a week of chatting, Da invited the victim to invest in cryptocurrency.
Da claimed that her aunt worked for a leading crypto company in Singapore and was an investment specialist. She reassured the victim that the investment was legal.
Despite never having met in person, the victim agreed to invest as Da suggested. Da urged her to buy USDT via the Bitkub platform, telling the victim to transfer money directly to her, and that she would handle the transactions.
The victim made her first transfer of 5,000 baht to Da on January 10 and received 6,000 baht in return as profit. Encouraged by this, she continued transferring money. From February to March, she made 14 transfers, amounting to nearly 12 million baht in total.
At the end of April, the victim asked to withdraw her funds. Da responded by saying the victim would need to pay 10% in tax, approximately 5 million baht, if she wanted her investment returned.
The victim replied that she had no more money to continue, and Da abruptly ceased communication. It was at this point that the victim realised she had been scammed.
The retired nurse said she had initially trusted Da due to the TikTok videos showing her enjoying a luxurious lifestyle. Da often expressed love during their chats as well.
However, Da never allowed the victim to meet her in person or even to video call. Phone calls also went unanswered.
The victim admitted that she continued messaging Da even after realising she was deceived, but Da became increasingly distant and eventually stopped replying altogether.
Ronnarong Kaewphet, President of the Foundation Campaigning to Reclaim Social Justice, told the media that he would accompany the victim to file an official complaint with the cyber police. He also planned to verify Da’s identity to determine whether she was using a fake persona.
If it turns out Da operated the romance scam herself, Ronnarong said he would act as a mediator in any negotiation between the two parties in an attempt to resolve the matter.
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