Chinese-Thai Pair Arrested for Alleged ฿91m Romance Scam

[webfact]

Picture courtesy: Bangkok Post

 

A Chinese national and her Thai partner have been apprehended in a Bang Phli district housing estate over allegations of orchestrating a complex romance-investment scam that reportedly defrauded victims of 91 million baht.

 

Authorities have identified the suspects as Zhou Zhou, aged 29, and 31-year-old Alisa Lamkrathok from Nakhon Ratchasima. Their arrest occurred at the Indy 4 estate in tambon Bang Kaew on Wednesday, confirmed Pol Maj Gen Theeradet Thumsuthee, Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau.

 

During the search, police uncovered 102 bank passbooks, 70 debit cards, approximately 1,000 SIM cards, four mobile phones, a laptop, and a Toyota Yaris. These items are believed to be connected to a series of romance scams that lured victims into fraudulent investment schemes.

 

One such scheme tricked a victim into investing in what was presented as a TikTok shop based in Singapore. Initial returns were provided, bolstering trust before subsequent investments vanished.

 

The suspects reportedly converted the illicit gains into bitcoin, utilising a prominent Thai digital currency exchange. Zhou, unable to communicate in Thai, recruited her partner, Alisa, to handle local operations. Zhou allegedly persuaded Alisa to resign from her teaching career to assist in recruiting individuals to open mule bank accounts and digital wallets.

Pol Maj Gen Theeradet highlighted that the 102 bank passbooks seized were linked to 132 online fraud complaints, cumulatively claiming losses of 91.2 million baht.

 

Separate operations saw police detain three additional Thai individuals. Two of these were attempting to facilitate the opening of a bank account at a hotel tied to the activities of Zhou's network, further implicating them in the suspected scheme.

 

The authorities' continued efforts underline a commitment to cracking down on such sophisticated scams, which exploit digital platforms to disguise illegal activities. Victims, often targeted through romance scams, are persuaded to invest in non-existent ventures, highlighting the importance of vigilance and skepticism in online financial dealings, reported Bangkok Post.

 

-- 2025-02-21

 

 

[Gottfrid]

That´s lovely

[hotchilli]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

During the search, police uncovered 102 bank passbooks, 70 debit cards, approximately 1,000 SIM cards, four mobile phones, a laptop, and a Toyota Yaris. These items are believed to be connected to a series of romance scams that lured victims into fraudulent investment schemes.

Busy bees

[newbee2022]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Picture courtesy: Bangkok Post

 

A Chinese national and her Thai partner have been apprehended in a Bang Phli district housing estate over allegations of orchestrating a complex romance-investment scam that reportedly defrauded victims of 91 million baht.

 

Authorities have identified the suspects as Zhou Zhou, aged 29, and 31-year-old Alisa Lamkrathok from Nakhon Ratchasima. Their arrest occurred at the Indy 4 estate in tambon Bang Kaew on Wednesday, confirmed Pol Maj Gen Theeradet Thumsuthee, Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau.

 

During the search, police uncovered 102 bank passbooks, 70 debit cards, approximately 1,000 SIM cards, four mobile phones, a laptop, and a Toyota Yaris. These items are believed to be connected to a series of romance scams that lured victims into fraudulent investment schemes.

 

One such scheme tricked a victim into investing in what was presented as a TikTok shop based in Singapore. Initial returns were provided, bolstering trust before subsequent investments vanished.

 

The suspects reportedly converted the illicit gains into bitcoin, utilising a prominent Thai digital currency exchange. Zhou, unable to communicate in Thai, recruited her partner, Alisa, to handle local operations. Zhou allegedly persuaded Alisa to resign from her teaching career to assist in recruiting individuals to open mule bank accounts and digital wallets.

 

Pol Maj Gen Theeradet highlighted that the 102 bank passbooks seized were linked to 132 online fraud complaints, cumulatively claiming losses of 91.2 million baht.

 

Separate operations saw police detain three additional Thai individuals. Two of these were attempting to facilitate the opening of a bank account at a hotel tied to the activities of Zhou's network, further implicating them in the suspected scheme.

 

The authorities' continued efforts underline a commitment to cracking down on such sophisticated scams, which exploit digital platforms to disguise illegal activities. Victims, often targeted through romance scams, are persuaded to invest in non-existent ventures, highlighting the importance of vigilance and skepticism in online financial dealings, reported Bangkok Post.

 

-- 2025-02-21

 

 

And then? What will happen? Is there some money or only bitcoins hidden somewhere? If police will not get the password for the wallet the stashed money/bitcoins will be safe.

[Confuscious]

What wonders me are the amounts published in these scames while most Thais are living in "poverty".
91 million baht is a lot of money for most Thais.

[black tabby12345]

On 2/21/2025 at 9:03 AM, Gottfrid said:

That´s lovely

 

Both onto behind bars at the same time.

[black tabby12345]

15 hours ago, Confuscious said:

What wonders me are the amounts published in these scames while most Thais are living in "poverty".
91 million baht is a lot of money for most Thais.

 

They must have targeted Middle-Class/and/or Above.

Recent statistics say that 37.5% of the population is regarded Middle Class.

While the top 1% holds 67% of the nation's wealth.

 

population ratio of the middle class in thailand - Google Search

 

Many of the poor Thais seem to  marry(within the same social class) at earlier age(high teen to their 20s).

While in case of the more affluent, career/wealth building tend to be their higher priority in life.  

Bangkok Post - Wedding belles in steep decline, study says

 

So those scammers got the latter in their scope.

The monied, but short of time for romance; their prey(like any other cases of this kind of  crimes)...

 

 

[black tabby12345]

23 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Busy bees

 

Hard working criminals.

Should have used that energy and passion for something straight.