Thailand’s Cyber Police Warn Over Social Media Scammers

Social media has created a lot of influencers and idols, but some use their fame in the wrong way to make money, scamming their followers to live the good life.

Cyber police warn people to be careful when they read or watch social media content, especially social media celebrities because all the glitz and glamour can lead to big financial losses.

This week, a popular TikTok star who acts “super-rich” in her videos got kicked in the face during a live TV talk show when she failed to deliver a followers iPhone.

Miss Wanwan, who has more than 900,000 followers on TikTok, used her fame to get people to do nice things for her. She often posted videos of herself counting stacks of money or throwing away what she said were iPhones and gold.

When she offered cell iPhones during a live session for just 200 baht each, many of her fans were eager to buy. But it turned out that the deal was too good to be true, and the phones never showed up.

One of her followers said, “at first, I liked her because her content was so different. But after almost five months of waiting for my iPhone, I realized she was a fraud.”

After her request for a refund was ignored, the woman joined with other people who had been scammed to find Miss Wanwan.

She said the police told her it’s not worth the time and effort to go after Wanwan when the damages are small.

However, she felt that if she didn’t do anything, the woman would keep fooling people on TikTok and getting rich over her fraud.

The attraction of a high-class life

Nathamon Kongjak is a YouTuber who goes by the names Nutty Suchatta and Nutty Leeah. Her Nutty’s Diary channel has more than 800,000 subscribers. She looks good, can dance well, and inspires many.

She tells a dramatic story about how she was born rich, lost everything, and got everything back. She says she married a rich Malaysian when she was a child and had a music career in South Korea.

She often checks into high-end places and makes big claims about them.

In 2021, she posted a selfie of herself with a luxury car and said that it was a gift she got because she had learned how to trade and invest during the COVID-19 crisis.

“… I’m glad I have the will to fight… I’ve decided to make the most of my life! Anyone can do it,” she tells her followers, encouraging them to get in touch with her through Line if they are looking for “extra income” or are interested in how she trades.

Nathamon also bragged on social media about making a lot of money in a short amount of time.

More than 6,000 people went to her for stock trading advice because they believed what she said and thought she was credible. They lost more than 2 billion baht as a result.

When the scandal came to light in April, Nathamon said she would pay back all the hurt people.

In May, she still gave promises, but then she disappeared, and people thought she had run away to another country.

Laws to protect social media users

Nitithorn Kaewto, a well-known lawyer, told Thai PBS that shady people often show off their supposed wealth and accomplishments to impress their victims and get them to trust them.

They go on social media and talk about their famous friends and how much money they made in a short amount of time.

Nitithorn said, “Be wary of anyone on social media that makes claims or offers ways to get rich quick.”

Victims say that even though there are laws against social media scammers, they are hard to follow.

For example, Nathamon had a chance to escape the police before they could catch her, even though they were trying to bring charges against her.

People are telling social media victims whose losses are small, like Wanwan’s, to start a group activity so that a mediator can be chosen for their case.

If the court agrees to appoint a mediator, they won’t have to hire a lawyer or pay legal fees to get justice.

Source: Thai PBS

Keywords: social media platforms, social media influencers, social media addiction, what is social media

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