Thai single mother stressed after being scammed, allegedly kills herself & her 2 children

An online loan scam reportedly led to a single mother in Thailand allegedly killing herself and her two children.

On Oct. 6, the local police station was alerted to three bodies being found in a low rent housing unit in Bang Khuwa.

The school that the two children had attended had alerted the police after the children did not attend school.

Officers found a suicide note at the scene, alongside other records related to loans.

Investigations revealed a possible motive stemming from the mother falling victim to an online scam.

The scam, according to Chiang Rai Times, would involve the scammers luring victims in by offering quick online cash.

They would then ask for their personal information before asking them to make upfront payments.

The scammers would ask the victims to read certain sentences out loud while recording themselves. Any mistake made doing so would incur “penalty fees”.

The scammers were able to scam about 1,000 Baht (S$38.16) from the single mother. Money she desperately needed to tide her over until the end of the month.

She was able to file a report through an online police reporting system. However, she reportedly remained burdened by financial debt and emotional distress, leading to the suspected murder-suicide of the family.

On Oct. 8, the police were able to arrest two suspects related to the case, a 20-year-old and a 29-year-old. The 29-year-old woman is believed to be the mastermind behind the operation.

Police investigations are ongoing.