BANGKOK, Thailand – A well-known phone shop owner in Bangkok fell victim to a scam perpetrated by a massage parlor worker, resulting in the theft of nearly 2 million baht. On September 3, the victim, Wittawat, 47, sought help from Ekkapop Luangprasert, an advisor to the Minister of the Interior and founder of the “Sai Mai Must Survive” Facebook page, to ensure the perpetrator is brought to justice.
The incident began in early August when Wittawat visited a massage parlor in the Soi Wat Pho Man area of Bangkok, where he met a masseuse named “Nong Lay.” After a standard massage session, Nong Lay offered additional special services, which Wittawat accepted, paying her 5,500 baht in cash. However, Nong Lay insisted on receiving the payment via bank transfer instead and asked Mr. Wittawat to drive her home in the Ramkhamhaeng area, where she requested the transfer be made in the car.
Following this encounter, Nong Lay continued to engage with Wittawat, inviting him to return to the massage parlor, go out for meals, and even visit his phone shop. Wittawat, believing Nong Lay was genuinely interested in him, complied with her requests. Each time they met, Nong Lay would check Wittawat’s phone under the guise of jealousy, ostensibly to see if he was communicating with other women.
On August 15, Nong Lay asked to borrow 20,000 baht, which Wittawat transferred to her account. He noticed her keen interest in his phone during the transaction but did not realize she was memorizing his banking app password. The next day, Nong Lay visited Wittawat at his shop and, as usual, checked his phone. Unbeknownst to him, she transferred 1,000 baht to her own account as a test, followed by three more transfers of 49,999 baht each—just under the threshold requiring facial recognition. Over the next 16 days, she continued to siphon money from his account, totaling 1,788,594 baht across 39 transactions.
Wittawat only discovered the theft on September 1 when he noticed an unexpected transfer from his SCB account to his Kasikornbank account. Upon reviewing his transaction history, he found that large sums of money had been transferred to Nong Lay’s account. He immediately reported the matter to the police and requested her account be frozen. Wittawat is determined to pursue legal action to recover his stolen funds, despite Nong Lay’s attempts to negotiate a settlement.
Ekkapop Luangprasert described Nong Lay as a seasoned scam artist, exploiting her victims’ vulnerabilities with professional-level cunning. He believes her biggest mistake was stealing from Wittawat, who otherwise might have continued supporting her financially. Ekkapop has vowed to coordinate with the Huamark Police Station to expedite the arrest and prosecution of Nong Lay.
