Police are searching for two men who they believe duped at least 30 male Tinder users out of thousands of dollars using stolen photos of Thai Airways hostesses.
Last month, a man informed Bang Yi Khan police that a woman he had matched with on Tinder had tricked him into sending her 15,000 baht (around $450).
The anonymous victim said he had matched with a Thai Airways International (THAI) air hostess on Tinder and the pair had been speaking for some time.
She allegedly sent him regular images of herself, deterring him from thinking she might be fake, however the pair never met due to her busy work schedule.
The victim later received a message from the supposed air stewardess to inform him that she had lost her credit card overseas and needed money.
He then apparently sent a transfer of 15,000 baht into what he believed to be her account.
After the money was received, the air hostess ghosted the victim – only then did he realise he might have been scammed and turned to police.
Police suspect two men (they are looking into a third) stole pictures of at least three air hostesses from their Facebook accounts and uploaded them to Tinder to target men on the platform.
Two air hostesses have filed a complaint with The Crime Suppression Division (CSD), saying their photos had been used in the scam.
The women said they received phone calls from suspected victims, accusing them of receiving their money and refusing to meet with them.
Thai Airways International launched their own investigation, and suspect the air hostesses’ photos were stolen from their Facebook accounts and used alongside different names to scam Tinder users.
One of the hostesses claims she has been charged with fraud and could face losing her job as a result of the scammer’s actions.
Authorities believe 30 men were cheated in the scam, the fraudsters taking millions of baht between 2014 and 2016, and are hunting for two men in Bangkok in connection with the scam.