Thai daughter begs police to act after mother loses 10 million baht to romance scam
Police and bank protocols prevent freezing accounts despite evidence
A woman pleaded with police to take action after her 74 year old mother lost nearly 10 million baht in a romance scam and ignored all her warnings.
The 41 year old daughter, Mint, brought the case to the non-profit organisation Saimai Survive after failing to get help from both the bank and police. Bank staff told her they could not suspend her mother’s accounts or the scammer’s account, while police refused to act, saying Mint was not the victim herself.
Mint explained that the scammer approached her mother via the TikTok application, using a fake profile of a famous television executive. The two later moved their conversations to the LINE app, where they developed a romantic connection.
The scammer then persuaded her mother to invest in fake gold and cryptocurrency schemes, leading the elderly woman to transfer money to the gang more than ten times, with each transfer ranging between three to four million baht.
Mint said her mother spoke to the scammers for hours every day, including late at night, believing she would soon receive profit from her investments.
Mint only realised that her mother had been deceived after discovering she had pawned diamond rings and gold to send more money to the scammers. The most recent transfer was made yesterday, October 29, when her mother sent another 100,000 baht and even asked for land deeds to use as collateral.
Mint said…
“I tried to explain that she was being scammed, but she refused to believe me and got angry. She shouted, ‘If I lose the money, then it’s my own stupidity!’”
Mint recounted how she brought police officers from Din Daeng Police Station to speak with her mother, hoping they could convince her. However, her mother dismissed them, saying, “Police don’t know anything. I can take care of myself.”
The daughter also visited both a police station and a bank to request a freeze on her mother’s accounts to prevent further losses. However, officers reportedly told her they could not take action unless the victim herself filed a complaint.
Mint pleaded with officials to act quickly, arguing that police should be able to freeze the accounts based on clear evidence. She believes many others may have fallen for similar scams but have yet to realise it.
The founder of Saimai Survive, Ekkaphop Lueangprasert, revealed that he had contacted the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, which has already launched an investigation into the case.
Ekkaphop urged police to treat such cases seriously, stating that elderly victims are often trapped in psychological manipulation and unable to accept that they are being scammed.
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