The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau has reported that more than 200,000 complaints of online fraud and scams were filed over the past year.
The figure was reported by Police Lt-Colonel Tananat Kangruambut during a seminar of Thai journalists this week. He noted that between March 1, 2022, and January 31 this year, the bureau received more than 200,000 complaints of online fraud and scams – totaling over 30 billion baht in damages.
According to the bureau, the majority of victims are people in their 40s who fell for so-called romance scams. Such groups have reportedly become the primary target of criminal gangs due to their often precarious or unfavorable relationship status, which can make them particularly vulnerable to love scams.
Lt-Colonel Tananat said criminals will study their targets through public profiles before approaching the victims with fake profiles to ease their loneliness and earn their trust. These scammers will then develop a bond with their victims in order to deceive them into transferring money to their accounts.
The victims often refuse to report the crime after realizing the deception due to embarrassment or not wanting to be exposed for having pursued an online affair, which is advantageous to the scammer. (NNT)
