A 34 year old woman from a veterinary hospital in Udon Thani has fallen victim to a scam, losing nearly 1 million baht. The fraudster posed as a charming dentist, luring her into investing in luxury goods through an app.
Initially engaging in friendly conversation, the scammer eventually persuaded her to invest, resulting in a loss of 849,500 baht.
Anna (pseudonym), who works at a veterinary hospital, shared her experience with reporters to warn others about investment scams.
She recounted how a good-looking man reached out to her on Facebook, initially claiming to be a client seeking advice on pet care. However, the conversation shifted when he introduced himself as James, a dentist, and they began communicating more frequently through LINE. Anna verified the existence of a dentist with that name, which added to her trust in him.
Over time, James claimed to have a lucrative side business investing in luxury goods via an app and convinced Anna to help collect coupons. After transferring her 200 baht to gather these coupons, she downloaded an app named SP Together.
The app featured high-end brand items like cosmetics and luxury bags. Anna was persuaded to invest by buying a product worth 1,990 baht, receiving a coupon valued at 600 baht in return.
She continued investing in increasingly expensive items, with early returns seeming promising, amassing approximately 9,000 baht in coupons.
Encouraged by initial successes, Anna attempted to buy a luxury bag priced at 400,000 baht, transferring 409,500 baht. Yet, when she sought to cash in her coupons, the app’s administrator required her to buy another product priced at 900,000 baht to retrieve her funds.
Alarmed, she consulted James, who offered to contribute 500,000 baht, leaving her to cover the remaining 400,000 baht. He sent her what appeared to be a payment slip for his contribution, prompting her to transfer the amount quickly.
Despite waiting for hours, Anna did not receive her money back. The app’s admin then demanded a third purchase of 1,200,000 baht.
Realising something was amiss, Anna video-called James, discovering his profile picture was generated by AI. The revelation led to a confrontation, and she understood she had been deceived.
Investigating further, she found multiple Facebook accounts using the same name in both Thai and English, reported KhaoSod.
Anna reported the scam to the police and remains hopeful that the cyber police will recover her lost funds. She urges the public to exercise caution when considering investments with strangers, noting that scammers can be highly convincing and sophisticated in their deception.
The story Udon Thani woman scammed by fake dentist out of 1 million baht as seen on Thaiger News.
