BANGKOK, THAILAND – A celebrity fortune teller allegedly squeezed over 30 million baht from a terrified businesswoman, using made-up horror scenarios and threats against her family for years.
The 32-year-old victim, who asked to stay anonymous for business reasons, finally came forward after spotting an identical scam against another woman that broke just one month ago.
Extortion through fear for the family
The nightmare stretched across four to five years. The fortune teller demanded between 30,000 and 700,000 baht per session for his supposed rituals.
When she once hesitated and refused a payment, the man pressured her with brutal threats. He predicted terrible things would happen to her family and surroundings, and that her entire grocery business would be ruined. Out of fear, the woman caved in and transferred money every time.
said the victim.
First hits made him credible
She first connected with the fortune teller on Facebook after stumbling onto his page. His early predictions about her business actually came true, building trust he later exploited ruthlessly.
Convinced by those early successes, the 32-year-old agreed to ever more absurd and expensive rituals. The financial damage piled up over the years to over 30 million baht.
Nearly identical case with 40 million baht damage
The turning point came another case that made headlines just one month ago. A Thai-Hong Kong-Chinese businesswoman went public with an almost identical story – she was cheated out of over 40 million baht by the same fortune teller.
When the 32-year-old saw those news reports, she immediately recognised the patterns. The described rituals matched her own exactly, and she knew: she was not alone.
Fortune teller dodges a statement
After the report on the other victim went public, the fortune teller contacted the 32-year-old. He tried to calm her down and dismissed the reporting as false.
When she clearly demanded he publicly respond to the allegations, he flatly refused. That refusal strengthened the businesswoman’s conviction that she had been the victim of a calculated fraud system for years.
said the victim.
Stop paying and go to the police
On August 2, the woman finally went to the coordination centre of the aid organisation “Saimai Tong Rod” in the Saimai district. Her urgent appeal targets the hundreds of other students of the fortune teller.
She urges all followers to come to their senses and stop making further transfers. She firmly believes many other victims exist beside her who have stayed silent out of shame or fear.
A lucrative business with desperation
Ekaphop Lueangprasert, founder of Saimai Tong Rod, sees a real boom in fake fortune tellers and self-proclaimed miracle workers. He sees a clear link to the tense economic and social situation that plunges many people into existential fears.
The fraudsters deliberately exploit that desperation. Their system is as simple as it is insidious: a few lucky hits are enough to drive people into emotional dependency that gets financially exploited for years.
Police now checking financial flows
In the case of the Thai-Hong Kong-Chinese businesswoman, police pursuit of the fortune teller is already underway after Ekaphop personally accompanied her to file a complaint at Prawet Police Station. The deputy commander of the police for combating technology crime, Pol. Maj. Gen. Chatchapantakarn Klaiklung, is involved.
As the next step, Ekaphop will also bring the 32-year-old businesswoman to the special investigators to file a criminal complaint. In parallel, a detailed examination of all the fortune teller’s financial flows shall take place to seize assets and return money to the victims.