A 65 year old retiree fell victim to a scam after participating in an online auction for a luxury watch, resulting in a loss of nearly 50,000 baht. Police are now preparing to summon the account holder involved for questioning.
Nitikarn reported the incident to the Pak Kret District Police Station in Nonthaburi province yesterday, July 10. He recounted being deceived by a fraudulent Facebook page called 24 Ticker, which purported to auction second-hand luxury watches.
On July 4, he was lured into bidding for a pre-owned Rolex Oyster Perpetual watch, initially listed at 29,000 baht.
Many were drawn to the Facebook auction, and Nitikarn, already interested in the watch, decided to participate. As the auction neared its 2pm close, he placed a final bid of 48,000 baht, which secured his win as the auction concluded.
After winning, Nitikarn was contacted by the page’s administrator, who instructed him to transfer 48,000 baht for the watch and an additional 100 baht for shipping, totalling 48,100 baht. Trusting the credibility of the page, which had no negative comments and appeared popular, he promptly transferred the amount to a Bangkok Bank account under the name Thawatchai.
However, shortly after, a supposed insurance company contacted Nitikarn, demanding an additional 9,999 baht for shipping insurance. This demand raised his suspicions, as the auction terms did not mention any insurance costs. Despite pressure from the watch page’s administrator and the insurance company, he refused to pay the extra fee and requested a refund.
Nitikarn’s suspicions of a scam grew when the page blocked all communication after his refund request. Realising the page was likely operated by scammers using fake bids to create a facade of legitimacy, he gathered evidence and reported the incident to the police, reported KhaoSod.
He warned others considering online purchases, particularly of high-value branded goods, to exercise caution and consider buying from physical stores to avoid scams. Despite being aware of online scams, Nitikarn admitted he fell for this one, resulting in a loss of almost 50,000 baht.
Police are investigating the bank account details used in the transaction and are preparing to summon the account holder for questioning and to address the allegations.
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