Thai woman accused of stealing identity to swindle 3 million baht from man

A Thai woman accused another in the central province of Kampang Phet of stealing her identity to swindle more than 3 million baht from a man. The accused woman denied the allegation but admitted to knowing the victim.

The male victim, who works as an engineer, filed a police report after realising that his girlfriend, named Bumbim, did not love him but was tricking him into giving her money. The engineer explained that he met her on Facebook and later decided to start a relationship with her in 2020.

Bumbim, a university student from the northern province of Phitsanuloak, confided in the engineer about her financial struggles. She claimed to need money for her education and resorted to fabricating stories, such as her mother’s fictitious death, to elicit funds.

The engineer, initially empathetic, sent thousands of baht her way, gradually increasing the amount to tens of thousands. Astonishingly, he transferred over 3 million baht to her, even though they had never met in person because she was always studying.

In April of this year, the engineer’s realisation dawned as he received a message from a 26 year old woman named Aom. Aom disclosed that all the pictures Bumbim had shared were sourced from her own Facebook account.

Aom explained that her friends had identified Bumbim’s use of her photos on social media. Consequently, they forwarded her Bumbim’s profile, prompting her to reach out to the man to unravel the truth behind Bumbim’s impersonation.

No resolution

After conversing, both Aom and the engineer complained to Bumbim. Regrettably, the case met an impasse, with no resolution in sight.

According to the engineer, his money was transferred to the bank account of a woman called Wassana Lao-on. Channel 3 reporters tracked down Wassana and discovered that she lived near Aom’s house.

Wassana denied involvement in the scam. She admitted that she had noticed money being transferred to her account but thought it was money from her online shop.

Wassana also admitted that she knew the engineer but only as a customer. The man had bought products from her shop a long time ago. She insisted that she was not the fraudster and that she had never stolen anyone’s identity.

The case remains mysterious. It is possible that Wassana and Aom knew each other and worked together to defraud the engineer, or that Wassana committed the crime alone, using Aom’s identity. The police have not yet come forward to investigate.

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