Woman in Her 70s Scammed by Voice Phishing Ends Up Making 100 Million Won Profit

Gold Bought on Scammer's Orders Surges in Value
Police Arrest International Voice Phishing Ring

A story has emerged about a woman in her 70s from Thailand who nearly lost 18 million won to voice phishing, but ended up making a profit of about 100 million won thanks to the rise in gold prices.

A woman in her 70s from Thailand, who nearly lost 18 million won to voice phishing, has become a hot topic after making a profit of about 100 million won thanks to the rise in gold prices (photo for illustrative purposes only and unrelated to the article).

According to reports from international media outlets such as Mothership in Singapore on October 25, a 70-year-old woman, referred to as Ms. A, who lives in southern Thailand, recently received a phone call from a man claiming to be a police officer. He told her, "Your bank account is involved in an international money laundering case," and demanded her cooperation.

Overcome with anxiety, Ms. A transferred 410,000 baht (approximately 18 million won) to a specific bank account in Hong Kong as instructed by the scammer. The scammer then told her that her remaining savings of 14 million baht (about 600 million won) would be safe if converted into gold, and Ms. A purchased gold bars over several weeks according to his instructions.

A few days later, Ms. A sensed something was wrong and reported the incident to the police. The Thai police planned a sting operation to catch the scammer. They instructed Ms. A to hide the gold bars in a powdered milk container and go to a designated location. Undercover investigators at the scene arrested a man of Hong Kong nationality who came to collect the gold.

Investigations revealed that he was a member of an international voice phishing ring and had participated in large-scale financial fraud targeting the elderly in Thailand.

The case took an unexpected turn after the arrest. The price of the gold Ms. A had been holding surged, resulting in significant profits. She sold the gold bars for 1,670,000 baht (about 730 million won), making a profit of approximately 270,000 baht (about 12 million won).

In the end, even after deducting the initial scam loss of 410,000 baht, Ms. A made a net profit of about 2,300,000 baht (approximately 100 million won). Even more remarkable is that she sold the gold near its peak price, after which the gold price dropped by about 6 percent.

The Thai police are currently tracking down accomplices in the international scam organization and have launched a joint international investigation to identify additional individuals who instructed Ms. A to sell back the gold.