A deputy spokesman for Thailand's National Police has called on the public to be vigilant against possible online dating scams during Valentine's Day.

According to the January 2023 cyber crime statistics released by the Thai Network Reporting Center, in January this year, the statistics of emotional fraud cases were as high as 403. Among them, there were 168 cases of emotional fraud in the transfer category and 235 cases of emotional fraud in the investment category, with cumulative losses of more than 190 million baht for all victims. The spokesman added that the ultimate goal of "love scams" such as online love scams is to obtain money, use psychological and information technology to develop a relationship with the victim, gradually build trust, and finally commit fraud through various means. Common fraud methods are as follows:

1, by making up a variety of stories that are easy to make people sympathize and sell miserable, in order to obtain the emotional trust of the victim and wait for the opportunity to transfer funds or defraud high transfer.

2. By displaying investment digital assets or transfer records on fake online platforms, entrap the victim's feelings and guide the victim to invest in virtual projects.

3, by inducing the victim to click the link/download the APP to achieve remote access, control the phone and suck the account funds.

4. By organizing sexual activities online, luring victims into having sex and threatening them with images or videos.

The Thai National Police Department has issued a notice calling on the public to be vigilant and not to become victims of online dating scams. Be aware of the following:

1, the other person's profile photo is extremely exquisite: scammers usually use all kinds of attractive profile photos to create false identities, please confirm the identity information of the network chat object through various channels. Keep in mind that both identity documents and company or agency websites can be forged. If the other party suggests that you download an app or click on an unknown link, do not click on it, as it may be a remote app that silently absorbs funds from our account.

2, full of dreams and the future: scammers usually pretend to have dreams, yearning for love, countless fantasies of living with you, full of your future, and wait to gain trust and then wait for an opportunity to build a better life on the grounds of inducing you to invest. So, if the person on the other side of the network invites you to invest through an app or website; Ask you for financial help with transportation, medical care, etc., under the guise of a family emergency; To ask you for high price transfer, please think before you go, the opposite is likely to be a liar.

3, defrauding personal information: when the scammers talk with us, they usually trick us into revealing personal information for later threat blackmail. Therefore, the public must be cautious when Posting personal information, check-in, daily activities and other information on social media. Also, don't send intimate photos or make pornographic video calls. These are all subject to blackmail. Online love needs to be careful, always pay attention to the safety of life, body and property.