Valentine’s Day in Thailand is more than just a day for lovers or a chance for vendors to make money by selling flowers and Valentine’s Day-themed merchandise. Police officials often use Valentine’s Day to warn the public about crimes involving love and sexual acts.
Pol. Maj. Gen. Siriwat Deepoh, deputy spokesman of the Royal Thai Police, said criminals may take advantage of Valentine’s Day to defraud their victims. Police have identified six types of love scams:
- “Romance Scam” involves the creation of fake social media accounts using photos of other people or AI-generated images, often depicting handsome men, beautiful women or financially successful individuals. The scammers befriend victims or start conversations with them on social media platforms, build relationships and then entice them to give away their assets. Romance scams ranked 10th in crime cases with 1,435 cases and a total loss of over 476 million baht between 17 March 2023 and 31 December 2023.
- “Hybrid Scam: Investment Fraud” involves false promises of high returns and the seduction of victims into investing money that is not true.
- “Sextortion” consists of building relationships and then persuading victims to make video calls or record explicit videos, which are later used to extort money from the victims by threatening to publish the videos or send them to their spouses.
- “Commodity Scam” involves the sale of products at unrealistically low prices to entice victims to buy them.
- “Fake Restaurant Reservations” involves the creation of fake social media accounts posing as restaurants offering Valentine’s Day deals. Victims are tricked into paying a deposit for a table reservation, only to discover they have been scammed when they arrive at the restaurant.
- “Fake Room Reservations” involves the creation of fake social media accounts posing as hotels or accommodations offering Valentine’s Day deals. Victims are tricked into paying a deposit for a room reservation, only to discover they have been scammed when they arrive at the hotel or accommodation.
In addition, the Forensic Science Division of the Royal Thai Police warned against date rape drugs, or gamma-Hydroxybutyric (GHB), which can damage the brain and nervous system and can be derived from natural or synthetic substances.
Credit: http://kaosodenglish.com
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