KAMPHAENG PHET – A school teacher in Kamphaeng Phet has fallen victim to an online loan app scam, thinking quick funds would solve her money troubles. Instead, the loan came with sky-high interest and non-stop offers to borrow more to cover old debts.
Before long, she found herself in deep financial trouble and unable to keep up with repayments. The criminal gang behind the app then collected her personal information and targeted people she knew, posting their details online and damaging their reputations across the province.
Even the local Subdistrict Administrative Organization (SAO) office got caught up in the mess, leading to misunderstandings and more distress. Things got worse when the news reached a popular influencer, and the story spread further, until the case reached the police.
A well-known TikTok influencer, @futkong_lewjunjin (futkong), highlighted this loan app scam and called attention to others caught out by high-interest loan apps that operate illegally. These loan apps don’t just chase late payments; they use people’s contacts to shame them online, which causes widespread trouble for both the borrowers and innocent people around them.
Most recently, Futkong posted about a female school teacher in Khlong Khlung, Kamphaeng Phet, who was summoned by the president of Wang Bua SAO. She was asked about her debts and told to transfer money to the loan app that had already exposed her private details online.
The scam loan apps behind these posts often lure users into taking out new loans to pay off existing ones, trapping them in a never-ending cycle. The influencer appealed to the public to support the teacher, worried she might be treated unfairly.
The SAO president considered setting up a committee to investigate her and possibly dismiss her from her job, adding to her humiliation.
The influencer advised her to stop making payments, but the loan app relentlessly called her workplace and posted images of her colleagues and friends, damaging both her reputation and the organization’s image. The school teacher recounted that the SAO president took her phone to look at her loan apps and pressured her to transfer money back to the app, thinking it would resolve everything.
The influencer called out loan apps as criminal operations and announced plans to join legal experts and victims in filing a complaint with the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to stop these illegal lenders.
He expressed concern that the SAO president was overstepping his role. Rather than supporting his staff, he appeared to side with the loan scammers and tried to take the teacher’s wages to settle the debt, even though she was caring for her child.
On the other side, Thaworn Mueansri, president of Wang Bua SAO, stated that he and seven staff members had gathered all evidence and reported the influencer to Khlong Khlung Police Station on 27 August 2568. They allege the influencer’s videos wrongly accused him of forcing the teacher to repay a loan to criminals, damaging his reputation.
He stated the real story was different. The SAO leadership only wanted to get the facts and help solve the problem, not force anyone into repaying criminal lenders. Sharing the story online only escalated the impact and caused more harm.
Thaworn was clear: he did not force the teacher to repay debt to illegal loan apps. After learning about her situation, he spoke with her about finding a solution. It was confirmed that she genuinely borrowed money but failed to repay, leading the lenders to publicly shame her colleagues and managers.
This created confusion and hurt for many who didn’t know the truth. He advised the teacher to address the issue herself to avoid causing problems for coworkers. The influencer’s online post made things worse, so he filed a police report to protect the organization’s interests.
Pachara Raksakun, a 43-year-old legal officer at Wang Bua SAO, explained that after the online shaming began, she gathered evidence for legal action. The teacher was invited for a conversation to understand the problem and seek solutions. Claims that her phone data was shared without consent were not true; the teacher gave the device herself and was not forced to hand over any information or money.
The school teacher spoke openly about what happened. She explained that she applied for a loan after seeing adverts showing how much money she could get. She allowed the app access to all her data.
In the end, she received much less than promised and faced interest rates that ate up two-thirds of the principal. When she couldn’t pay, she looked at more apps to cover the old debt, which only deepened her struggles. She decided not to take another large loan, fearing she could never repay it.
Desperate people can find these loan apps easy to use, since you only need to allow access to your data. But if payments stop, the pressure grows. She faced constant calls and online threats, so she blocked the numbers. The scammers then posted photos of people at her workplace, shaming them in public—a tactic she believes is used to scare borrowers.
About the claim she was forced to repay the loan on 26 August, the day her salary was paid, the school teacher admitted the atmosphere in the SAO president’s office was tense. Several staff were present, wanting a resolution. She admitted feeling pressured to settle the problem as quickly as possible.
