An attorney representing a banker tricked into paying THB1,360,000 (US$37,000) to secure a loan worth under half that said today that it’s not as implausible as it sounds.
Asked how the manager of a bank could be talked into sinking a vast sum in hope of receiving a relatively paltry amount, a lawyer from the Network of Campaigning for Justice told Coconuts that people shouldn’t rush to judgment.
“This kind of scam happens more often than you think,” said the attorney from the law firm of Ronnarong Kaewpetch. “The scammers built a web of trust with the victim. The woman fell for it because the company offering the loan seemed legitimate.”
According to the unlikely story that emerged last night, the woman, identified by police only as B, had gone seeking a personal loan from Kasikorn Bank. Soon thereafter, she received a message via Line inviting her to apply for a personal loan through a link, which was conveniently included in the message. She clicked it.
After applying through the malicious link, the woman, who lives in the capital’s Lat Phrao district, got the happy word she’d been approved for a THB500,000 loan. But, of course, locking it in would require a deposit of 11% of the principal.
But wait – there’s more. She was next told another THB150,000 was needed to correct misinformation in her form, then another THB150,000 for another alleged mistake.
That’s when her Sunk Cost Fallacy must have gone into overdrive. She next paid a requested THB185,000 for a document preparation fee. Knowing they had a live one on the line, the scammers notified her that THB215,000 was needed because her credit was insufficient.
Just when it seemed the money was headed her way, her account was “locked.” Unlocking it required THB255,000 and then, finally, the scammers’ imaginations ran out of ideas and they recycled “insufficient credit” for another THB350,000.
The woman said she regretted being tricked, given her financial services career, but insisted the scammer had very convincing documents.
She went to the Network of Campaigning for Justice for help from high-profile, media-savvy attorney Ronnarong Kaewpetch.
“They showed her forged documents that seemed real including a company certificate,” his legal aide said today.
Suspecting it might be an inside job, Ronnarong told reporters he would make inquiries with the two banks where she had sought loans: Kasikorn and Government Savings Bank.
She intends to file fraud charges under the Computer Crime Act.
