Crime Couple Scammed in Second-Hand Car Purchase Fiasco

[webfact]

Picture courtesy of Daily News

 

In a bewildering scam, a Thai couple found themselves out of pocket and embroiled in a legal quandary after an attempted purchase of a second-hand pickup truck.

 

Mr. Nop, 27, and his heavily pregnant wife, Ms. A, 29, had agreed to buy a Toyota Rocco for 640,000 baht, sourced through a Facebook page promoting repossessed vehicles. They had already paid a 7,000 baht deposit, with plans to transfer the remaining 627,000 baht upon collection.

 

During the handover on 23rd May, at a petrol station in Bang Phli, the situation took a dramatic turn. Moments after Ms. A transferred the funds, ostensibly to the vehicle owner’s account, a man named Santi accused the couple of transferring money to the wrong account before driving the truck away, leaving Ms. A inside.

 

Mr. Nop acted swiftly, jumping onto the truck bed and breaking a window to stop Santi, who subsequently fled. The local police later arrived but deemed Santi and an associate, Tanongsak, as victims and rightful vehicle owners, refusing to proceed with any charges against them.

 

Feeling unjustly treated, the couple sought assistance from a social justice advocacy foundation. Lawyer Chanchai, representing the foundation, vowed to pursue charges of fraud and unlawful detention against the alleged scammers, urging caution for future buyers.

 

This cautionary tale warns potential buyers against too-good-to-be-true deals on vehicles advertised at half price.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from Daily News 2025-05-27

 

 

[Liverpool Lou]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

This cautionary tale warns potential buyers against too-good-to-be-true deals on vehicles advertised at half price.

Really?  The pickup in question was nowhere near "half price".

[impulse]

1 hour ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Really?  The pickup in question was nowhere near "half price".

Got curious so I looked it up on the Toyota website...

 

Can anyone spot the discrepancy here?

 

 

[hotsun]

Dont buy used cars from thais. If they werent trying to hide an expensive repair required then theyd still be using it

[Liverpool Lou]

On 5/27/2025 at 7:06 PM, impulse said:

Got curious so I looked it up on the Toyota website...

 

Can anyone spot the discrepancy here?

 

 

Yes, the discrepancy is that you quoted new car prices, not used.  The pickup in question was "being bought" from an existing owner, i.e. it was used. 

[vinny41]

On 5/27/2025 at 5:59 PM, Liverpool Lou said:

Really?  The pickup in question was nowhere near "half price".

It was a green Toyota Rocco pickup truck, 2025 model, for 640,000 baht  with only 2,000 kilometers and new price is  1.1 million baht 

https://www.dailynews.co.th/news/4749287/

[Liverpool Lou]

4 minutes ago, vinny41 said:

On 5/27/2025 at 5:59 PM, Liverpool Lou said:

Really?  The pickup in question was nowhere near "half price".

It was a green Toyota Rocco pickup truck, 2025 model, for 640,000 baht  with only 2,000 kilometers and new price is  1.1 million baht 

https://www.dailynews.co.th/news/4749287/

Thank you, I stand corrected if the excellent Google translate version of the Thai-language Daily News article can be relied upon!  Perhaps you're a Thai language reader , though, and didn't need Translate.