Woman arrested over alleged luxury villa booking scam in Phuket

Police in Phuket have arrested a woman accused of posing as a luxury villa booking agent and collecting more than B5 million from customers in similar cases, authorities said.

The arrest followed complaints from two Russian tourists who told the Royal Thai Police Region 8 centre dealing with transnational crime that they had contacted a woman using the name “Thanaporn” or “Yu”. She allegedly presented images and details of luxury villas in Phuket.

The tourists booked a villa in Cherng Talay, Thalang district. One transferred B1.5 million and the other paid B500,000, with their combined reported losses exceeding B2 million.

When they arrived in Phuket for their stay, they allegedly could not contact the booking agent. The villa operator also told them there was no reservation in their names.

Police said the woman was wanted under three arrest warrants involving similar alleged conduct and that additional victims had been identified.

Officers from the Police Region 8 investigation division and Thalang police arrested her at a house in Thep Kasattri, Thalang, at about 6am on 26 August 2026. She was taken to Thalang police station for legal proceedings.

Police urged anyone who believes they were affected by the alleged scheme, or who has information about similar conduct, to contact Thalang police.