Thai student’s tragic death after falling victim to iPhone online scam

A tragic incident unfolded in Nakhon Si Thammarat when 19 year old Atiya, a student, was found hanged in her home after falling victim to an online scam.

The fraudsters duped her into paying 20,000 baht for an iPhone 13 that never existed. The police launched an investigation yesterday to capture the culprits, including a woman who held an account used by the scammers to receive payments.

Atiya, a Grade 12 student, was discovered in her bedroom in a house in Tambon Koh Thuad of Pak Phanang district on Sunday evening. The police subsequently questioned three of her friends and her aunt who resided in the same house.

According to witness statements, Atiya had interacted with a supposed mobile phone shop called Hannah via Facebook. The shop, later confirmed as non-existent by the police, provided a counterfeit address in the Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai. The fraudsters tricked Atiya into making an initial payment and subsequent payments, resulting in four transactions amounting to 18,500 baht transferred to a bank account under the name Dokkaew Kaewjerm.

by Mitch Connor

Photo: digitaltrends.com

Full story: The Thaiger 2023-10-18

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