Bangkok: When the man with a charming smile and impeccable online profile reached out to 57-year-old Narakorn Tiyayon, a former Thai television news anchor, she never imagined she was about to fall for a sophisticated digital scam. It began innocently, Narakorn said, with a hello message on Facebook on 4 June 2025.
According to UN Women, what followed was a slow, calculated manipulation that combined emotional connection with financial deceit. The man claimed to be an expert in cryptocurrency investment and sent her screenshots supposedly showing high returns and his equally realistic-looking Chinese ID and passport.
Weeks of daily texting on Facebook and the LINE messaging app ensued, including morning greetings, coffee chats, and goodnight wishes. He seemed to remember every little thing she had told him. Narakorn said she started to envision a dream relationship complete with a fantasy family they would both build together.
The man then convinced her to try a small investment and demonstrated how she could earn and withdraw small profits. "That was how they got me," she explained. "Seeing real money come back made it feel legitimate."
Narakorn earned 5,000 baht (about $154), then 7,000 baht ($216), and then 8,000 baht ($247) from various legit-looking platforms he helped her navigate. However, when he tried to get her to invest $100,000, offering to chip in $300,000 himself, she realized something was wrong. "I woke up from the spell," Narakorn said, and subsequently shut down all their chat channels and reported him to Facebook and the Stock Exchange Commission of Thailand.
It was later revealed that behind the glossy profile was an elaborate criminal network. The scammers' investment platform, Muropro, was a fraudulent website that redirected her transactions through legitimate Thai crypto exchanges before vanishing into anonymous digital wallets. Narakorn realized she was part of a global "pig butchering" scam, a mix of psychological grooming and fake investment returns.
Cybersecurity experts and UN Women highlight that surging online financial scams disproportionately target women, exploiting emotional vulnerability and trust. Authorities and civil society groups have urged stronger digital literacy, safety education, and multilateral crackdowns on online scam centers located across Thailand's borders with Cambodia and Myanmar and elsewhere.
Narakorn is scheduled to speak at a seminar on 27 November, focusing on ending digital violence against women, led by the Embassy of Belgium in collaboration with UN Women, United Nations Population Fund, and the Embassies of the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The event is part of activities to mark the United Nations annual 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence.
"I want people, especially women, to know that being cautious online isn't paranoia. It's protection," Narakorn said. "We must talk about it openly so others don't have to go through what I did."