BANGKOK: With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, the police are warning people, especially women, to be wary of what are known as “romance scams”.
The romance scam is a popular cyber-criminal trick and one that requires them to exert little energy as all it requires is a fake social media account, photos of a good-looking individual and fancy words.
The scam was ranked 10th among cybercrimes committed between March 17 to Dec 31 last year. A total of 1,435 cases resulted in more than 476 million baht in damages to the victims.
In a bid to prevent people from becoming victims of a romance scam on Valentine’s Day, the Royal Thai Police outlined in a Facebook post six types of scammers they have dubbed “love villains".
They are:
Property: criminals create fake social media accounts using photos of good-looking persons, and work on building a relationship with the victim with the aim of obtaining his/her worldly goods.
Fake investment: criminals build relationships to lure victims to invest in “sound” deals with promising returns. That is however just a trick to obtain cash.
Pornography: criminals invite victims to take pornographic shots of themselves. They then ask for cash from victims in exchange for not publishing or sending the photos to their loved ones.
Cheap goodies: criminals use fake accounts to offer unbelievably cheap goods during the month of love. This trick could cause victims to lose their money without receiving the promised products.
Restaurant booking fee: criminals claim to be operators of well-known restaurants, aiming to lure victims to pay a booking fee with attractive promotions on Valentine's Day. Victims will find out the truth once they arrive at the restaurants.
Accommodation booking fee: similar to the fake restaurant booking fee, these criminals lure victims into paying booking fees for hotel rooms and/or other accommodation.
"The Royal Thai Police would like to ask people not to believe in something that is too cheap or too good to be true, and to beware of six types of romance scammers who aim to seek benefits from victims on Valentine's Day," deputy spokesman, Pol Maj-General Siriwat Deepor said.
Those affected by cybercrimes can make a report on the website www.thaipoliceonline.go.th or contact 1441 anytime. - The Nation/ANN
