A retired British pensioner has revealed how he was left penniless Thailand after falling victim to a romance scam.
Former UN flight operator Simon Charles Hill, 68, from Luton, retired to Bangkok 11 years ago and lived comfortably on his state pension.
But after splitting from his Thai wife, the British expat ended up living alone before being targeted online by ruthless cyber predators posing as a smitten American woman named Emily Smith.
The fictional woman, seen in photos posing in sportswear, claimed to be waiting for a $3 million inheritance.
But she had to pay fees to claim the money, she claimed, which Mr. Hill willingly provided.
Apparently believing the story, Mr Hill started transferring his pension – around £500 a month – as soon as it hit his bank account. He then drank down his own savings before running out of cash.
Months after the scam began, Mr. Hill was evicted from his apartment after discovering he could no longer pay his rent.
He said he was also unable to buy food and was eventually found sleeping in a hotel lobby by concerned locals.
Former UN flight operator Simon Charles Hill (pictured), 68, from Luton, retired 11 years ago to Bangkok, where he lived comfortably on his state pension
The fictional woman, seen in photos posing in sportswear, claimed to be waiting for a $3 million (£2 million) inheritance
Mr Hill thought he was speaking to a woman called Emily Smith before realizing he was the victim of ruthless cyber predators
It is suspected that the scammers used artificial intelligence to create the image of the woman Hill thought he was talking to, or that the identity was falsely used.
A local charity, the Bangkok Community Help Foundation (BCHF), helped Mr Hill – who overstayed his visa and was therefore in the country illegally – avoid weeks in prison and paid for his flight back to Britain, where he is now recovering.
Recounting how the scam started, Mr Hill said: “I started talking to a lady on social media. There was a girl named Emily Smith.
“She contacted me on Facebook. And her lyrics were very warm and inviting, and she sounded like a three-dimensional girl, even though I didn’t know if she existed or not.”
He continued, “She introduced me to her lawyer, who sold her property and assets, a total of $3 million to be deposited directly into my bank account.
‘There were costs associated with selling the house and transferring the money to my account. And I was assured that I would receive the bank transfer once I paid these fees.
‘I was able to hold on for a while, but it wouldn’t last. And then it dawned on me that I was actually homeless.”
Mr Hill told the Daily Mail that he had made seven or eight transfers in a period of just under five months.
The desperate retiree ended up spending several nights in the lobby of a hotel in Bangkok’s Surawong district because he ran out of money and had nowhere else to go.
The BCHF said Mr Hill was ‘very vulnerable and weak’ when he was found on July 9.
The Briton said he had been told by the embassy that he could be placed in immigration detention.
But Friso Poldervaart, 34, Dutch and co-founder of BCHF, believed there was another option for the retiree.
Mr Hill transferred his full pension – around £500 a month – as soon as it hit his bank account. He then drank down his own savings before running out of cash
Months after the scam began, Mr Hill was evicted from his apartment and unable to buy food when he was found sleeping in the lobby by concerned locals.
A local charity, the Bangkok Community Help Foundation (BCHF), helped Mr Hill – who illegally overstayed his visa – avoid weeks in prison and paid for his flight back to Britain, where he is now recovering.
Friso and the team decided to take Mr. Hill to the organization’s ‘Centre of Dreams’ shelter, where he was given time and space to recover.
Looking back on the day he first met Friso, Mr Hill said he believed he had hit rock bottom until he was rescued by the ‘knight in shining armor’.
The grateful expat says: ‘At the time I thought there was nothing. I thought I would be on the street. And then you appeared, looking a bit like a knight in shining armor, and said that I would indeed go with you.
‘I didn’t go to the immigration detention center as directed by the British embassy, I believe, which I find quite frankly astonishing.’
The retiree said he was initially nervous when he arrived at the shelter, but the care he received quickly made him feel safe.
‘When I first came here, I was a bit pensive and thought: OK, but my stay here was unforgettable. I mean, for the right reasons.
‘To be honest, the care and warmth shown to me here has been a lesson for me. Ever since I started staying here, I knew I was safe.”
Speaking to others in the center who had become homeless, Mr Hill said he feared he would end up on the streets himself.
He said: ‘Conditions on the streets are absolutely terrible. I was very afraid that I would end up there, but thank God that never happened.
‘It is the care and friendship I have received from the center and from the staff, and from you too, that have been virtually unforgettable and have always helped me to sleep well at night, or sleep reasonably well.’
Mr Hill stayed at the Center of Dreams while the organization worked for almost two months to repatriate him to Britain.
They organized fundraising and logistical arrangements to ensure he could finally return to his home country.
Mr Hill is now safely back in Britain, where he is staying in a homeless shelter in London while he waits to enter supported housing.
However, Friso said it is unlikely the money he lost will ever be recovered.
The Dutch philanthropist said: ‘He said to me: “Finally I had someone to take care of me.” He admitted that he sometimes suspected he was being scammed, but he didn’t want to believe it because the relationship made him feel cared for in a way he hadn’t experienced in years.
‘He lost […] in fact his entire pension. Every month when his pension came in, he sent almost the entire amount to the scammer. “He was then unable to pay his rent, electricity or buy food and was eventually evicted from his apartment.”
Friso added that romance scammers often target elderly and vulnerable people who have no one, building an emotional connection before draining their savings.
The suspects were said to have been traced to Nigeria, while Mr Hill’s money was sent to a Thai mule account – bank accounts used by criminals to collect or launder money obtained through illegal activities such as fraud, scams and other cybercrimes.
Friso said: “We have reported the scam to the Yan Nawa district police. The police received the report and the information about the Thai Mule account was passed on to the bank, but to our knowledge no wider investigation has taken place.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have much hope of Mr. Hill getting his money back.”
Acting Police Major Loetchai Phiwlongchai, an investigating officer at Yannawa Police Station, said Mr Hill had filed an official report against the scammers in July.
He said: “The complainant has officially reported the matter to the police and we have received the complaint and recorded it as evidence. The matter will now be dealt with in accordance with the complainant’s legal rights.’
