Thai woman loses 100,000 baht to online dating scammer
A 42 year old Thai woman warned others about the danger of online dating scams after she lost valuables worth 100,000 baht to a man she met on social media on Tuesday.
The victim, Natthamon reached out to Channel 3 urging the media to spread her story to warn other people searching for a partner through online dating applications or social media. Natthamon said she had just opened up to a 40 year old man named Tong but ended up losing all her money to him.
Natthamon revealed that she met Tong on Facebook about five days before the incident. They talked with each other every day after that. Tong informed her that he was single because his wife passed away a long time ago. Natthamon said she was also single and saw that Tong had the potential to be a good boyfriend.
Natthamon explained that Tong expressed feelings for her. He said he liked Natthamon because she was hard-working and diligent. He sent her more and more romantic messages. He added that he did not care about her financial status or appearance.
The couple then carried on chatting on the LINE application, messaging and video calls. Tong even sent her a picture of a wedding ceremony and said he hoped they would make it to their wedding day.
After four days of online conversation, Tong asked Natthamon to meet him in Bangkok and travel together. She agreed and travelled via a mini-bus from Koh Chang in Trat province to meet him at Ekkamai Bus Terminal in Bangkok on Sunday.
Tong booked a hotel in Sukhumvit for them and paid for everything. On the second night, Tong took her to a restaurant in the Payathai district. They drank three bottles of wine and three bottles of beer. She was very drunk that night and fell asleep immediately after arriving at the hotel.
Natthamon woke at 5am and Tong was gone with all of her valuables, including 25,000 baht in cash, a 15 grammes gold necklace, a buddha amulet in a gold frame, a gold bracelet, and three gold rings. A total cost of about 100,000 baht.
Natthamon contacted Tong at 7am. He told her that he was at another hotel and would pick her up. She waited until 9am, but Tong remained silent. She realised that she had been robbed so visited Payathai Police Station to file a complaint.
Natthamon left a message to Tong via Channel 3 saying…
“I opened up to Tong because I appreciated how he talked to me and said he would take care of me. I am a single mother and wanted someone to take care of me. All of the assets are important to me. I have to pay tuition fees for my child on April 2 and have to pay off my mother’s bank debt. Please give them back to me. I will forgive everything you did.”
The police have not yet updated any development on the case. Natthamon still keeps trying to contact Tong via all social media channels but he has not responded.
