A YouTuber in Thailand is in hot water after allegedly scamming thousands of followers out of nearly $55 million.
Natthamon Khongchak, also known as “Of nuts”, has built a massive following of more than 847,000 fans on YouTube, mostly through dance videos.
But along the way, the popular social media star had also started advertising private courses for future forex traders on his Instagram account. She posted several images of what she claimed were her earnings, encouraging others to funnel money through a business scam that promised staggering returns on her investments.
According to local media reports, more than 6,000 people gave Natthamon money to invest after they were promised profits of up to 35 percent if they made cash transfers.
To the surprise of fans, it did not go as well as planned. In May, Natthamon posted on his Instagram account that he owed 1 billion baht ($27 million) to investors.
In a short video, the social media star claimed that his trading account was blocked by his broker since March.
A Thai police unit specializing in online scams issued a fraud arrest warrant against Natthamon last week.
Thai officials have reportedly already received complaints from 102 people who claim to have lost a total of 30 million baht ($820,000).
New victims of the sneaky social media scam emerge every day, with most claiming to have lost thousands of baht.
In Thailand, the average worker can expect to earn between 6,000 and 14,000 baht per month.
Local media and Natthamon’s supporters now speculate that she fled the country, as she has not been seen on her social media since June.
However, Bloomberg reported that his immigration records show that he has not left Thailand.
Forex trading is an attempt to make a profit by speculating on the value of one currency compared to another. For savvy investors to make a profit, they need to keep an eye on the market, as exchange rates between currencies can change extremely quickly in the event of major world events such as natural disasters, trade disputes, and COVID-19.
