Bangkok police are hunting two suspects for allegedly using photos of THAI Airways hostesses to deceive men on the popular dating app into thinking they were “matching” with stewardess hotties.
The Crime Suppression Division (CSD) is acting on a report by two air hostesses who claim their personal pictures were stolen from their Facebook pages and used on the dating app without their permission. The pictures may have been used to scam millions of baht from more than 30 men that the fraudsters “flirted” with through the app since 2014.
One of the male victims in Bangkok told cops he sent THB15,000 baht to a supposed air hostess after she told him she was overseas and her credit card wasn’t working, reported Bangkok Post.
The man, who identity was withheld, chatted regularly with the “woman,” and was not suspicious since she kept sending him pictures. He thought they were dating, but she could not meet him due to her overseas work schedule with the airline.
After he sent her the cash, she stopped responding and he went to the police to make a complaint last month, realizing she wasn’t who he thought she was.
The air hostesses whose photos were allegedly used claim that they had no idea about the fraud until they began getting phone calls from angry suitors asking why they accepted money but would not meet their online paramours.
The airline began to investigate the women, but they claim they are innocent victims that have had their identities stolen.
One woman said she has been charged with fraud and her professional reputation is at risk.
While two women have filed a complaint about their stolen pictures, cops think at least three THAI employees’ photos were used on Tinder.
Police have their sights set on two suspects, men that live together in the Bangkok suburbs. One of the suspects already has nine warrants out for his arrest on on swindling and fraud charges.
The investigation is ongoing.
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