Buying goods directly from people on social media is never a good idea, but for those who take the gamble and lose, it’s still possible to get at least some of their money back, police said.
Established e-commerce sites that use verified payment gateways exist for a reason: They offer buyer protection against fraud. Yet every day, people send money to random bank accounts with no protection for the sake of saving a few baht.
The results have been a rising tide of online fraud, with scammers selling various items for 1,000 baht or less, then doing a bait-and-switch or not delivering a product at all. They’re bettering people won’t report the crime due to the small amount.
That’s dumb, said officers from the Technology Crime Suppression Division. Every online fraud case should be reported as it’s possible to get up to 90 percent of a victim’s money back.
TCSD officers said fraud victims should file a “report for prosecution” – not “report for daily record” – with police and then photocopy the report and its Garuda seal.
Take those documents to the bank to which the money was transferred. The bank will put a hold on the account and alert other banks in the country, stopping the fraudster dead in his tracks.
The bank will then attempt to prosecute the account holder and recover the funds. Up to 90 percent can be refunded, although it may take months.
However, consumer advocates stress that the best way to prevent online fraud is to not buy from unknown buyers on social media. Only shop on websites that have buyer-protection insurance or only pay with services such as Paypal that guarantee transactions with fraud-protection insurance.
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