Thailand’s lovers warned about ‘sextortion’ ahead of Valentine’s Day

The Thai police have warned women to be wary of “sextortion” scams as lovers throughout the world tomorrow celebrate the most romantic day of the year – Valentine’s Day.

Valentine’s Day on February 14 has become a symbol and celebration of romance and love throughout the world. Couples come together and make an extra special effort to show their love with flowers, romantic dinners, and expensive gifts but the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) warned that danger lurks around the corner.

The TCSD issued a warning to couples about the dangers of recording their sexy time on Valentine’s Day.

According to Pol Col Siriwat Deepor, the division’s deputy commander, some women may be susceptible to blackmail if the relationship ends and the footage falls into the wrong hands, reported Bangkok Post.

Instead of capturing the moment on video, he suggests couples take precautions and celebrate their love in other ways.

“Lovers may voluntarily record their sexual intercourse. [But] if they break up in the future, men may release the clips online and damage women.

“Such cases fall into the category of “sextortion” by those who have pornographic material of others in their possession. Such wrongdoers could be people with close relationships or strangers who managed to convince others to share their private pictures online.

“Such private images could be abused for blackmail – to demand money or sex – as offenders could threaten to post the pictures or videos in public.

“Sextortion is only one of several categories of crimes linked to love, although it causes the greatest financial and reputational damage.”

The TCSD also warns people not to fall for romance scams. In these scams, scammers create fake profiles of attractive individuals, usually posing as foreigners, to establish relationships with their victims. The ultimate goal of the scam is to convince the victim to transfer money to the scammer.

Individuals need to be cautious when engaging in online relationships and never transfer money to someone they have not met in person.

Another type of scam to be aware of is the hybrid scam, according to Pol Col Siriwat.

In this type of scam, criminals manipulate women into falling in love with them and then convince them to “invest” their money. The victims only realize they have been scammed once it is too late.

The TCSD is warning individuals to be wary of individuals who try to build romantic relationships quickly and to thoroughly vet anyone before investing money in them.

Pol Lt Col Nopawan Panya, the deputy spokeswoman of the Royal Thai Police Office, made known that 168 reports of romance scams and 235 reports of hybrid scams were reported last month.

The estimated total damage from these cases was approximately 190 million baht. The division is emphasizing the importance of being vigilant and cautious when engaging in online relationships or making financial investments. It is important to always verify the identity and intentions of the other party before proceeding.

Happy Valentine’s Day!