Thailand Online Dating Fraud Drains 58M Baht; Two Foreigners Flee

A single mother from Suphan Buri thought she had found a thoughtful widower on a dating site. Two years later, her "romance" has become a textbook warning for anyone in Thailand moving money on a smartphone. Police say the sting that emptied nearly 22 million baht from her savings is part of a wider web that has already siphoned more than 58 million baht from dozens of unsuspecting Thais.

What just happened? 4 quick points

• Two foreign ringleaders are still on the run—a Canadian known as Mr. Yat and a Cambodian identified only as Mr. Kim.

• Thirteen people have been caught across nine provinces; two others were already behind bars on unrelated charges.

• Bank ledgers link the romance plot to at least 19 call-centre scams, accounting for about 1.6 million baht in additional losses within the broader fraud network (distinct from the 58 million baht siphoned via the romance scheme).

• New 2025 anti-fraud laws let banks freeze suspicious accounts instantly, but officers warn that prevention still begins with the user.

A two-year seduction that bled a life savings

Investigators say the courtship began on ThaiCupid in 2023. The suspect claimed to be a "Jordanian single father" who had hit hard times abroad. Chat moved quickly to LINE, where long nightly calls, photos of a child and stories of a failed import venture established a sense of intimacy. By January 2024 the woman was transferring cash—first 60,000 baht, eventually several million at a time—always under the promise that the pair would "start fresh" in Thailand once the venture recovered.

"He timed every request with a crisis he swore we could solve together," the victim told police. In all, 42 transfers left her accounts before the messages went silent this past July.

How the Central Investigation Bureau cracked the case

Digital-forensics teams traced each transfer through layers of so-called baan chi maa accounts—bank books rented for a fee and controlled remotely with mobile-banking apps. When officers raided an apartment in Bangkok’s Ramkhamhaeng area in late December, they seized 28 phones, 17 ATM cards and 11 SIM boxes used to spoof numbers in multiple countries. Interviews with Thai "money mules" revealed Telegram chatrooms where recruiters offered up to 5,000 baht per account to anyone willing to open a bank book or register a prepaid SIM.

The fugitives and the cross-border chase

• Mr. Yat, Canadian – Believed to have left Thailand via a land crossing in November, he is thought to be hiding in Penang and may hold dual passports.• Mr. Kim, Cambodian – Last phone ping recorded in Poipet. Cambodian authorities have circulated an Interpol Red Notice at Thailand’s request.

Swiss suspect Benoît H. was arrested in Chiang Mai and is expected to be extradited to face money-laundering charges in Switzerland as well. Police stress that the fugitives are key because they allegedly managed the crypto wallets that converted Thai baht into USDT stablecoins.

Why Thai users remain tempting targets

Despite headline-grabbing busts, Thailand still logs more than 1,200 romance-style fraud complaints each month, according to the Digital Economy Ministry. Experts point to three weak spots:

High mobile-banking penetration—the convenience that scammers exploit.

Cultural reluctance to discuss personal finances, which keeps victims silent until losses snowball.

A secondary market for "SIM-ghost" cards, many registered with fake IDs before 2025 rules took hold.

New 2025 safeguards—and their loopholes

Thailand’s second Emergency Decree on Cybercrime, in force since April, criminalises the sale of baan chi maa accounts and SIM-ghosts with up to 3 years in prison and 300,000 baht in fines. It also:

• lets banks block suspect transfers in real time,

• requires mobile operators to share registration data with police within 8 hours, and

• obliges crypto exchanges to verify the device fingerprint of every high-value withdrawal.

Cyber-security lecturer Dr. Noppadol Kannika applauds the measures but warns that "deep-fake video calls and AI-generated passports are already here. The law must evolve at the same speed as the scammers’ tools."

If a love interest starts talking money, do this first

Reverse-search profile photos on Google Images; duplicates across sites are a red flag.

Ask to video-chat in real time—no excuses.

Before any transfer, call 1441 (the Anti-Cybercrime hotline) or visit www.traffy.in.th to check the recipient account.

If you have already wired funds, freeze that transaction through your bank’s emergency menu and file a police e-report within 72 hours.

The broader takeaway

Colonel Worasit Phetsuwan, who leads the task force, sums it up: "The longer the chat, the deeper the hook." In an era when a smartphone can be both a wallet and a window to the world, Thais are learning that protecting the heart now means guarding the banking app as well. Police, banks and telecom firms can close loopholes—but only citizens can close the door on strangers asking for love-fed loans.