Karma’s a baht: Cheating Thai woman loses 78,000 to scammer

If karma indeed exists, then it worked its magic on a Thai woman in Phuket who cheated on her boyfriend. Subsequently, she lost 78,000 baht to a man she encountered on a dating app.

The woman, whose identity remains concealed, informed the Phuket Times on Sunday, September 1, that she had lost her mobile phone before discovering that all 78,000 baht of her savings had vanished. She disclosed to reporters that the funds were withdrawn from an ATM in the Patong area through a mobile banking application.

The woman disclosed that she and her boyfriend had been saving up from their hard work. She has already filed a complaint with the police and urged the thief to return the money upon seeing the news report to avoid legal punishment.

Many netizens pointed out several inconsistencies in the story and were curious about how the thief managed to access her mobile banking application, which should have been protected by a passcode. Some speculated that the woman might have known the thief and had not revealed some details to the media.

Phuket News later updated the story on the same day, revealing that the victim did indeed know the thief. She eventually disclosed that she met the thief on a dating application and arranged a face-to-face meeting on the day of the incident.

They dined together before going to a resort in the Patong neighbourhood of Phuket. The woman excused herself to use the bathroom and returned to find the accommodation empty. The man had disappeared with her mobile phone and bag.

The woman insisted that she did not reveal the passcode of either her phone or mobile banking app to the thief. She suspected that the man had seen her enter the passcode when she used her phone. She also issued a warning to other women using dating apps to beware of this romance scammer.

After the truth was revealed, many netizens expressed sympathy for her boyfriend, blaming her infidelity for the loss. Others felt it was a case of karma.

“That’s your boyfriend’s savings! You gave it to another man!”

“No more confusion. She had an affair with the thief!”

“I don’t want to blame you but you should warn yourself first. Stop cheating. There are too many scammers these days.”

“Feeling sorry for her boyfriend… Make up for your karma!”