Online Forex fraud could have swindled 10,000 people out of a billion baht

[webfact]

Online Forex fraud could have swindled 10,000 people out of a billion baht


Image: Daily News

BANGKOK: -- A group of complainants have visited the Crime Suppression Division's computer crimes section to say that they have been swindled on Forex markets. The complainants represented thirty people but this is just the tip of a massive iceberg.

There are thought to be 10,000 victims of the con with a billion baht in losses, reported Daily News.

Thatsaran Salelanon, 41, a victim said that she decided to invest in a Foreign Exchange fund that advertised lucrative daily interest rates.

It was advertised under the name Wealthy-Plus on Facebook.

She ploughed in 183,500 baht in June and all seemed well for a while with dividends paid every day. Then the people who operated the site said that it would be down for three days from July 22 to 25. But it did not return and calls to the site thereafter met a stony silence.

The complainants were advised that the wrongdoing falls under the CSD's economic crimes section as it involves brokers and share trading markets.

Three people were named in the complaint namely Dechawat Watanapot, Jintana Wongchalee and Paphatya Watanasing. The complainants presented investigators with evidence of certificates and Line application messages to back up their claims.

Source: Daily News


-- 2016-07-28

[taotoo]

"Wealthy-Plus on Facebook"

What could possibly go wrong?

[ChrisY1]

Facebook is the Thai bible.....believe everything...

[Colabamumbai]

Well if you believe in ghosts, what do you expect.

[ezzra]

Suckers never dies, they just move around from one scam to another,

some people have more money than brains, despite the many, almost weekly scams and swindles you hear

on the news, they never learn do they?.......

[worgeordie]

Why would anyone with the modicum of common sense,

send even one Bhat to Wealthy-Plus on Facebook.

anything that offers returns that are well above the Bank

rates,should set off alarm bells.I am afraid I have no

​sympathy at all,just hope they learn from their mistakes.

regards worgeordie

[colinneil]

One born every minute.

If it sounds to good to be true, it is a con.

Almost daily we see people being conned into investing money in on-line scams.

People are generally greedy, if we invest in this we can get BIG money.

99.99% of the time it ends with people losing money.

[halloween]

Not many people have a certificate to prove they are an idiot.

[Happy Grumpy]

Line application messages to back up their claims.

[Thian]

Three people were named in the complaint namely Dechawat Watanapot, Jintana Wongchalee and Paphatya Watanasing. The complainants presented investigators with evidence of certificates and Line application messages to back up their claims.

Well are they arrested by now? How can they publish those names without any proof?

[soalbundy]

It is morally wrong to give a sucker an even break.

[clockman]

you cannot con an honest man!

[Kasset Tak]

Why be surprised?!

My Thai friend bought a "Rolex" from a FB advert thinking it was real and that he made a great deal... 1,999 Baht for a fake Rolex is only a great deal for the seller!!!

[WishWashMan]

legitimate FOREeX is just as bad as HANSUM nigerian man.........................lol. I try to warn people stay away from FOREX trading etc, people wont believe. Do they think they can outsmart JP Morgan, Goldman Sacks etc, these firms cheat and they still lose.....may allah help these silly people.

Edited July 28, 2016 by WishWashMan

[NextStationBangkok]

Not many people have a certificate to prove they are an idiot.

Mass idiots, everything thinks they are smarter than others, and try to invest in the never return schemes. All the money must be hidden from avoiding tax. Scam society!

[Whyamiandwhatamidoinghere]

"Wealthy-Plus on Facebook"

What could possibly go wrong?

Wealthy- Minus

[Whyamiandwhatamidoinghere]

Yeah... And I have iPhone 7s 128mg for 15,000 baht for which you will receive a brick with iPhone 7 written on it... Gets them everytime.

[oxo1947]

Facebook is the Thai bible.....believe everything...

Those Thais-----they are quite stupid----------- don't you think so Mr Madoff..??......

[Whyamiandwhatamidoinghere]

These people are the ones that you can easily get to go Snipe hunting with you...

[jerojero]

Yes. They were down alright. Down and out, of the country that is, with all the cash! Bernie Madoff would be proud!

[shirtless]

Facebook , shouldnt they have some duty of care to their uses these scammers are using it as a platform to scam sort out the con artists or shut it down,

[tomacht8]

No worry. Your money is not gone. It has simply someone else.

[Yann55]

Why be surprised?!

My Thai friend bought a "Rolex" from a FB advert thinking it was real and that he made a great deal... 1,999 Baht for a fake Rolex is only a great deal for the seller!!!

Indeed.

I would venture to add that perhaps, maybe, possibly, the greatest con men are the brand names themselves, who so cunningly capitalize on a combination of rather primitive and pathetic human traits to sell their trinkets at obscene prices.

[american12bthai]

i help set up scams like these back in the good ol boiler room days.

they work so great cause you target people who are greedy and have money.

I bet every person who invested in this scheme is already living outside their means.

DO expect greedy desperate people being targeted heavily online. Its in the data. and its easy money. just pay out 3 times and keep the rest. thai style.

[bluesnake]

I am a professional forex trader. Trading is a legitimate business. I wish people who have no clue about what they so readily condemn would instead educate themselves. The problem in this business is that there are ALWAYS losses... obviously. But the goal is to achieve profit in the long run. Ignorant people will freak out at the first sight of a loss and condemn the whole business as a scam. But it is very possible to make a living out of forex trading.

The scam that this article is talking about is not about forex trading in itself. It is about scammers who ran out with the money. Money obviously attracts scammers, and yes, this industry is plagues with them. Be very careful whom you give your money to. NEVER start with a big sum of cash, ALWAYS start small, and once you have doubled your investment, withdraw your initial input and play with the profits only.

But please people, stop making generalizations and condemn everything and everyone because of the actions of one individual or company.

There are many people who make a living with trading. It is very possible, but VERY VERY hard, so don't believe the first guy advertising huge returns on facebook, make your due-diligence, and ALWAYS START SMALL !!

[SOTIRIOS]

...lead by their egos and greed....

...a Google still shows a presence....

..wonder why they don't name the operators.....quite easy to find out especially if it was registered....someone gave them permission...

...hmmm...

[billd766]

Facebook is the Thai bible.....believe everything...

Those Thais-----they are quite stupid----------- don't you think so Mr Madoff..??......

Don't forget Charles Ponzi whose name will be forever associated with the scam.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponzi_scheme

The scheme is named after Charles Ponzi,^[3] who became notorious for using the technique in 1920.^[4] The idea, present in novels (for example, Charles Dickens' 1844 novel Martin Chuzzlewit and 1857 novel Little Dorrit each described such a scheme),^[5] was actually performed in real life by Ponzi who with his operation took in so much money that it was the first to become known throughout the United States. Ponzi's original scheme was based on the arbitrage of international reply coupons for postage stamps; however, he soon diverted investors' money to make payments to earlier investors and himself.^[2]