LOVE OR LIE?

Authorities warn romance scams propelled through love bombing and 'pig butchering' investment schemes

- STORY: SUWITCHA CHAIYONG

According to the Royal Thai Police, there were 5,164 cases of romance scams with damages of over 1.6 billion baht from online crimes reported between 2022 and 2024.

To raise awareness of romance scams, COFACT (Collaborative Fact Checking) organised the forum "Love Or Lie? Exposing Romance Scams on Valentine's Day".

Pol Lt Col Peabprom Mekhiyanont, deputy director of Foreign Affairs at the Technology Crime Investigation Bureau, was the main speaker who addressed the topic of romance scams. The forum was hosted by Suchai Charoenmukyanan.

Supinya Klangnarong, founder of COFACT, said that romance scams are closer to people than they think. She gave an example of a mother of her friend who developed a romantic relationship with a younger man via a social media platform.

The young man approached her mother and they hit it off. Fortunately, Supinya's friend found out about the relationship and uninstalled financial applications on her mother's mobile phone. Thus, there was no financial damage.

"This case made me realise that romance scams are closer to us than we think," Supinya said.

"It may happen to any family, especially to elderly people living by themselves. I believe that romance scams are not as commonly revealed compared to other kinds of scams because victims feel embarrassed to reveal the truth. They do not want to tell even their children or friends about it."

Pol Lt Col Peabprom revealed that targets of romance scams are people aged between 20 and 40. She explained that romance scams are different from real romantic relationships because a real relationship usually involves some argument, disagreement or adjustment. However, the key aspect of romance scams is often financial transactions.