Thai man, 19, gets scammed, steals mother's life savings worth S$401,854

A 19-year-old Thai man who fell for a scam stole 10 million baht (S$401,854) in cash and assets from his mother.

He handed the valuables over to a call centre scammer, The Thaiger reported.

The scammer had posed as a police officer and threatened his mother with legal consequences.

Modus operandi

On Nov. 21, the victim Mick and his mother appeared on news programme Hone-Krasae to share details of the scam.

To prove his innocence, he had to transfer all his cash and valuables to the officers for inspection, the scammer said.

He was forced into a video call and ordered not to disconnect for an entire day.

Threatened

Mick was also instructed to declare all assets belonging to his mother.

The scammer said she would face legal consequences if he failed to comply.

At the scammer's direction, Mick forced open his mother's safe and revealed all of her valuables to the scammer.

This included gold necklaces, gold bars, and other items.

Handed over assets

The scammer then arranged for Mick to hand over the valuables to an "undercover police officer".

He was instructed not to tell his mother about any part of the operation, and to place the items near a pile of rubbish and leave immediately.

Though he felt suspicious, he was too frightened to disobey.

Following the handover, the scammer pressured him to trick his mother into transferring money to them from her bank account.

Mother forgave him

Mick's mother said she became suspicious when he asked for her mobile phone and bank passcode.

This made her believe that her son had become a victim of a call centre scam.

She rushed to his room in an attempt to stop him, but Mick had already made the transfer.

Later, she discovered that her safe had also been broken into and emptied.

In total, she lost her life savings, worth 10 million baht (S$401,854).

Apologised

During the interview, Mick presented a flower garland to his mother and apologised.

He promised to work hard to repay all the money and return the assets.

In an emotional embrace, his mother forgave him and said his safety mattered most.

Top photos via โหนกระแส [Hone-Krasae] official/YouTube