The public is being warned to carefully check the suppliers of Labubu dolls amid receiving complaints about fraudulent sales of the expensive designer toys.
Prime Minister’s Office Minister Puangpet Chunlaiad issued the warning while arriving at Government House on Tuesday morning with a green Labubu doll hanging from her handbag and a pink doll in her hand.
She said prices of the dolls — often in the thousands of baht — had risen after Thai K-pop superstar Lalisa “Lisa” Manoban showed off her Labubu doll on social media.
“I would like to warn consumers to verify suppliers. The delivered boxes might be genuine but the dolls inside them can be fake ones,” the minister said.
“Sometimes, bogus suppliers disappear after receiving money transferred from victims.”
Ms Puangpet said that she was receiving complaints about fraudulent supplies of the dolls through the Office of the Consumer Protection Board.
Labubu is a toy doll with pointed ears and serrated teeth that became popular after Lisa posted a photo of herself holding a Labubu Macaron on Instagram.
Labubu dolls are typically 18 centimetres tall, but there are also 28cm versions. Kasing Lung creates the dolls, and How2Work and Pop Mart produce them.