I Was Scammed Into Selling a 14M Baht House — True Experience

#IWasScammedIntoSellingAHouseWorth14Million

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Hi, is the property still available for sale? I’m interested to buy.

The greeting message from the customer showed interest in a single house priced at 14 million baht via Line OA chat. The profile picture looked like a foreigner, quite classy.

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After chatting for a while, the customer asked:

How much is the selling price?

#FirstSuspicion Starts. They want to buy a house, there’s a budget, and the price is clearly displayed on the website.

My flight is from London direct to Phuket, and from Phuket, I will book a local flight ticket to Bangkok ok? Then, they sent a flight ticket.

Flying from London to Phuket, then coming to see a house in Bangkok, near Watcharaphon, close to Don Mueang, close to my house too, easy to check.

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Please send me contact phone number and location.

#NextSuspicion Why not fly directly to Bangkok? But okay, let’s check the ticket. There’s a name, email, flight time, origin, transfer, arrival time, everything. And at the top, it said Business(D) — business class flight.

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After checking the ticket, I suggested they land at Don Mueang instead. Close to the house.

Please send me contact phone number and location. That will enable me to contact and locate you when I arrive. Please, it’s important.

I gave a nickname and phone number. Out of habit, I shared the location of the house for sale in Watcharaphon. Reiterated again that it’s near Don Mueang Airport. Convenient. But in bad luck, there’s some good luck too. I’ll tell you later.

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What your name? The customer asked, normally.

I asked their name back. But they replied: Check my name on my ticket. A smart answer. "Didn’t you look at the ticket I sent?"

“Send your full name.” They asked again.

I replied: You can call me “FLUKE.”

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I started to suspect and asked back:

Do you have a Thai contact number?

Their reply: I will buy Thai number when I arrive.

So you are doing real estate agent and you don’t want client to know your real name?

Wow, they asked that directly. Honestly, I #FeltSuspicious But still gave my real name.

It was already on Marketplace, but I didn’t give the surname.

This is important — probably used for data collection.

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Before parting, they said: Please do not accept another buyer request on that house. I will pay for it. I almost melted. Never seen this sentence before. Half felt weird. Another half thought... whatever.

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After talking, I called the homeowner. Can someone open the house?

Told the whole story, also mentioned my multiple suspicions. The owner asked if the customer knew that foreigners can’t buy a house directly in Thailand. There are many processes. I knew that already, but it’s okay. Two more days. Maybe I’ll ask again. Or if they arrive in Thailand, they might talk to a Thai person before flying to Bangkok.

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Next morning, opened Line OA to follow up as usual. Messaged this customer: Have a safe flight. Around 1 p.m. Thai time, they replied: Thank I’m in the airport and will meet you tomorrow? And sent a picture.

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Heard before: Scammers often send plane pics sitting in Business Class. “I’m now inside aircraft, see you tomorrow, please be nice with me, I will buy the property from you ok? I am coming with enough cash to pay for the house? Be nice with me.” Agents love cash buyers. But this time, after hearing, I didn’t want them to buy cash at all. #GrayArea Will it be money laundering? Bringing cash into Thailand. And repeated “nice with me” twice.

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Decided to call the homeowner again. Told them the buyer would bring cash.

The homeowner was kind. Said: Up to you whether to open or not. I was greedy and hesitant. Big property, many millions, close to my home.

Alright #HalfAnHourForHalfAMillion Thought of a backup plan. This project is a leading project with good security. Planned to consult the juristic person before the customer arrived. To have witnesses and peace of mind. Also transferred money out from my account to another account without online access, just in case something went wrong.

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Morning of the house viewing day, at 8:10 a.m., I got a call but didn’t pick up. I was buying coffee. Called back. Caller said they were immigration from Phuket. Immigration stated: There’s a customer named XXXxxx, which matched the ticket name. Said they were coming to buy a house with me, carrying a large amount of cash. Asked me to provide name and documents to verify I was really the person.

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Here it is!!! 100% Scammer confirmed. I replied: I’m not available. Hung up immediately.

Thought to myself: Wow, I’m so sharp. Detected and protected myself.

Called back to the source number 095XXXxx49 to ask again: How much money did they bring? They replied: Almost 100,000 USD or about 4 million baht.

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#ButItWasn’tOver Yet. I called a senior friend at Airports of Thailand (AOT). They said: You’ve been scammed. “Yes, I knew. But they couldn’t get me. I realized in time.”

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#ButWrong The one who scammed you is immigration too. They work as a team.

They explained:

1. Immigration won’t call others. The person in trouble must call you.

2. If they call, they use office numbers with area codes, like Bangkok 02 or Phuket 076. Or check the number on Google.

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Before hanging up, they gave advice:

1. Don’t let greed blind you.

2. Step back 1-2 steps and look at the situation.

3. Consult others. We focus on ourselves, but outsiders see wider perspectives.

4. Don’t be curious about what will happen next. Just get out of there.

5. Don’t think you’re smarter than scammers. They are way smarter.

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After calming down, checked my account. All money still there. Quickly transferred it out. Blocked the scammer on Line. Restarted phone for peace of mind. Called homeowner: It was a scammer. No viewing today. LOL.

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Sat and reflected. Reread Line chats (already captured). Spotted many #SuspiciousPoints:

1. Ticket said landing at 7:35 but called at 8:10. So fast. No delays? Perfect timing?

2. They always chatted around 2 p.m. Thai time.

3. When I asked their name, they said to check the ticket.

4. At 13:20 they were at the airport. At 13:38 they were on the aircraft. So fast.

5. They asked: Please send me contact phone number and location.

They wanted my address. Luckily, I misunderstood and sent the house location instead.

If I sent my own address, they might have more accurate info.

6. I missed the fake immigration call. When I called back, they weren’t prepared. Lucky again. If they led the questions, I might have fallen for it.

7. Fake immigration asked if I was an agent or independent. I said independent, so they continued. If a company, they might not continue since companies have teams and advisors.

8. After the incident, no further contact on Line or calls. Only saw spam at 10 a.m., asking to return the call to immigration (fake).

9. Things we don’t know, consult someone. Like flight tickets, schedules. Ask friends in the airline industry.

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*** Hope this story serves as a warning for agents or real estate investors. Because this scammer was so smooth. From flight tickets, arrival times, fake immigration calls.

But I chose to end it there. Didn’t want to know what’s next. ***

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“If anyone has other experiences or prevention tips, please share.”

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