A Thai TikToker issued a warning to Thai people living abroad after her friend in Australia lost 10,000 Australian dollars, approximately 230,000 baht, in a money exchange scam.

 

The TikToker, @padnarxx, shared two videos to explain the scam her friend encountered in Australia, aiming to alert Thai nationals in Australia and other foreign countries who frequently exchange money.

 

Pad revealed that her friend wanted to exchange 10,000 Australian dollars for Thai baht and deposit the Thai currency into her Thai bank account. In her search for the best exchange rate, she found a post from a scammer and contacted the person via the LINE application.

 

The scammer called the victim on the phone and arranged a meeting at a hospital in Australia, which is where the scammer claimed to work. According to Pad, the victim did not notice anything suspicious and felt reassured by the face-to-face meeting.

 

Before the meeting, the scammer asked for the Thai bank account details and the amount of money to be exchanged, saying the account should be checked before the transaction.

 

 

 

 

Upon arriving at the meeting point, the person Pad’s friend met was not the same person she was in contact with via LINE. This woman claimed she also needed to exchange money, from Thai baht to Australian dollars, to pay for her tuition fees.

 

Thais fall victim

 

The scam was carried out remotely. The scammer had another victim transfer Thai currency to the scammer’s bank account and arranged for this victim to collect dollar cash from Pad’s friend. The scammer promised to transfer the Thai currency to Pad’s friend’s bank account afterwards.

 

The scammer assured that the Thai currency had been transferred but when Pad’s friend checked her account, there was no money.

 

Suspecting a scam, Pad’s friend requested her 10,000 Australian dollars back. However, the other victim who collected the dollars from her refused to return them.

 

Police officers and detectives were called to the scene but they could not decide who was entitled to the cash. The case was therefore submitted to the court.

 

Many Thai netizens commented that others have fallen victim to this scam, with some sharing their own similar experiences.

 

“I just saw another victim who lost 300,000 baht to this scam.”

 

“I experienced this myself. Luckily, I managed to avoid it.”

 

“This happened to my friend in Dubai. She had to go through court proceedings for nearly a month but only received half of what she lost.”

 

“This scam is prevalent in Singapore.”

 

“This is exactly what happened in New Zealand.”

 

“My friend in Switzerland was also tricked in this way.”

 

“My friend lost nearly 1 million baht in the Maldives.”

 

Pad’s friend and the other victim are currently undergoing court proceedings, and Pad has promised to provide updates on the case.

 

 

By Petch Petpailin

Photo by Alexander Grey via Unsplash and TikTok/ @padnarxx

 

Source: The Thaiger

2024-09-03

 

 

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very unWISE move by Pads' friend

 

Are these people only holding buckets of cash?  With a bank account in the country they are working in it would be a rather trivial transaction.

That's the first biggest mistake:

she found a post from a scammer and contacted the person via the LINE application.

19 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

Pad revealed that her friend wanted to exchange 10,000 Australian dollars for Thai baht and deposit the Thai currency into her Thai bank account. In her search for the best exchange rate, she found a post from a scammer and contacted the person via the LINE application.

So  perhaps to save 1% by simply not using her bank she lost it all. Really should not make a stink if she is there on a student visa, which I would guess she is. Hence complaining in Thai to Thai publications and social media. 

i guess she found the best deal (for the scammer) Honestly, if you deal with shady characters you have to expect something bad to happen. She knew what the legitimate sources were offering to transfer the funds. She chose to find the bigger and better deal outside of trusted sources. She deserves to lose that money. 

9 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Pad revealed that her friend wanted to exchange 10,000 Australian dollars for Thai baht and deposit the Thai currency into her Thai bank account. In her search for the best exchange rate, she found a post from a scammer and contacted the person via the LINE application.

Dumb as they come.

9 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Police officers and detectives were called to the scene but they could not decide who was entitled to the cash. The case was therefore submitted to the court.

 

what ? 

 

this whole thing smells like a scam to me. 

Yeah, go and meet a random stranger in public to save a few dollars.

Greed and stupidity in equal measures.

Wise (formerly TransferWise) operates in Australia, cheaper than a bank transfer, and importantly in my, and thousands of others, experience, 100% reliable.

Not mentioned in the article is that almost without a doubt, all parties involved in the scam were Thai.

11 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

she found a post from a scammer and contacted the person via the LINE application.

It's not just Australia. 

 

Line and Facebook Scammers are everywhere. 

 

Stupid people are everywhere, this is why the Scammers keep scamming, too many stupid people 

 

There is a whole subculture in this world, who absolutely refuse to work for a living, and instead like to prey on those who are vulnerable, naive, dumb, and easy victims. It is our responsibility to be careful, prudent, willing to do some vetting, some research, some due diligence, anytime we part with cash. Especially online. Dealing with Ebay, Lazada, Amazon is one thing. You have recourse. But, dealing with Facebook vendors, Instagram, Youtube, Line, dating sites, or any other social media, the scammers outweigh the real deals. People get taken every day. I get junk emails offering me at least $100 million a month. 

 

Darwin was right. Some people just do not have good skills to survive and thrive in this world. 

 

Currency exchange booths in Oz offer ripp-off rates, but trusting a stranger at a hospital to exchange and 'later' transfer funds to one's bank account is very foolish indeed.

2 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

Darwin was right. Some people just do not have good skills to survive and thrive in this world. 

 

To be fair, travelling to other countries, e.g. Thailand, can help the most trusting person to become wary of offers that are too good to be true. 

thais running a scam in Australia,  as usual a thai wanting to make as much money as possible out of it so is open to being ripped off just like the idiots in Thailand that just give their money away thinking they will make more money,. Once money is involved many thais stop thinking and just try to make a profit from it, they lack the common sense that would require them to make sure it is all above board before giving their money away but unlike Thaland the aussie  police became involved straight away so as yet she hant lost her money and it will be sorted in a court again unlike Thailand

yes take any advise on tik tok from that to investing in crypto

4 hours ago, Classic Ray said:

Wise .... in my, and thousands of others, experience, 100% reliable.

...as are all the banks and official currency exchanges!  The woman in this case chose to use neither.

3 hours ago, Gsxrnz said:

Not mentioned in the article is that almost without a doubt, all parties involved in the scam were Thai.

Not mentioned probably because, without a doubt, your allegation is 100% false.

3 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

It's not just Australia. 

 

Line and Facebook Scammers are everywhere. 

 

Stupid people are everywhere, this is why the Scammers keep scamming, too many stupid people 

 

Hear, hear.

19 minutes ago, seajae said:

thais running a scam in Australia

Where was it reported that it was a Thai scam, not a scam on a Thai person?