Crime

Scam Call Gangs in Myanmar and Cambodia Targeting Students in Thailand

Scam call gangsters forced university students to record phoney kidnapping videos that they planned to send to victims’ parents in order to obtain ransom money.

The issue came to light after another university student in the Lat Krabang district was duped and rescued on Friday. Police believe the scam call gangs were operating out of Myanmar and Cambodia.

On Sunday, Pol Maj Gen Panthana Nuchanart, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau (IB) and chief of the Police Cyber Taskforce (PCT) Team 1, announced that police had rescued yet another victim who had been duped into transferring money to call-center scammers.

On August 7, one of the fraudsters called the victim, a third-year student at a university in Bangkok’s Bang Khen district, and claimed to be from the Thailand Post Office in Songkhla province.

They informed her that her bank passbook had been discovered in a package associated with money laundering.

According to the scam call gangs, the package contained 12 Myanmar passports, nine ATM cards, and eight bank passbooks, including the victim’s. Knowing that the victim was unable to travel to the southern province herself, the scam call gangs advised the victim file a report with Songkhla police and agreed to help her through the procedure.

They later invited another call centre employee to pose as the superintendent of the Songkhla police station. The bogus cops asked if the victim had received an unusual amount of money in her bank account, and she discovered that a transaction of 13,000 baht had been made earlier that day from an unknown bank account.

Scam Call Gangs in Myanmar and Cambodia Targeting Students in Thailand

According to Pol Maj Gen Panthana, the scammers mailed the victim bogus paperwork with her ID number and full name, telling her that they were police.

After being informed that she was implicated in a money-laundering case, the scam call gang directed the victim to obtain a new phone number and relocate to a hotel room in the Rangsit neighbourhood of Pathum Thani before erasing all of her social media accounts on her mobile phone.

She was told to create a new Line account on her iPad and solely communicate with the scammers, who were dressed as Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) employees. Scammers were continually monitoring her incommunicado state via video calls.

The scammers instructed the victim to tape her hands and ankles together and videotape herself as if she had been kidnapped. They eventually transmitted the victim’s recordings and images to her mother, duping her into thinking she had been kidnapped for ransom.

According to Pol Maj Gen Panthana, as authorities arrived at the hotel in Pathum Thani to rescue the victim, the scam call gang promptly hung up. An investigation revealed that they are based in the Myanmar town of Thachikek.

On Friday, another incident occurred. A second-year university student in Lat Krabang district received the same writing, but Thailand Post Office stated the victim had mailed an unlawful item to Songkhla province.

Scam Call Gangs in Myanmar and Cambodia Targeting Students in Thailand

Later, the victim was asked to wire money from all of her accounts to the call scam gang, who claimed they needed to look into her bank accounts’ activity history. They also wanted a 3-million-baht ransom, stating that she was being held prisoner and that her fingers would be severed if the money was not wired.

With 4.72 billion internet users, 60.1% of the global population currently spends roughly seven hours each day online, accelerating the economy’s digitalization. Crime is swiftly following in this milieu, with most Western countries stating that online scams are now the most reported sort of crime.

According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), 96% of Australians have been victims of a scam in the last five years, with half of them approached weekly or daily by scammers. In the United Kingdom, 50% of TCSEW respondents reported getting a phishing email, text message, or social media message.

Scams are no longer just a Western problem. In three months, 53% of Filipinos reported being targeted by fraudsters, with 11% becoming victims. Other emerging countries, such as Brazil, Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya, have also reported an upsurge in online frauds, particularly via mobile phones.

In Nigeria, the number of mobile transactions climbed by 164% in 2021, and as a result, mobile scams surged as well. 62% of Saudi Arabian consumers reported receiving spam and scam communications, mostly on their mobile phones, while 14% acknowledged to falling for the scam and losing money.

Two big data breaches in South Africa triggered a flood of phishing attacks using highly personal information. According to Indonesia, 25% of its inhabitants have been victims of internet fraud, making it the country’s second-most recorded category of crime.

Scammers try to recruit victims on social media sites in practically every country. According to Pakistani officials, Facebook is the source of 23% of internet crime complaints. According to Indonesia, 51% of scams from scam call gangs begin on social media, but in the United States, more than one in every four persons who reported losing money to fraud in 2021 said it began on social media with an ad, a post, or a message.

There appears to be a trend towards holding social media platforms more accountable over robo call scam. The ACCC is initiating legal action against Meta for allegedly misleading behaviour in advertising scam celebrity crypto adverts on Facebook. On a more positive note, Meta is assisting with an online scam awareness campaign in Thailand and Malaysia.

Another scam tendency that various nations, including Brazil, China, Finland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Thailand, are reporting is that young people are more frequently targeted by scam call gangs and lose more money than the elderly. However, seniors continue to lose the most money, particularly due to investment/crypto frauds.

Students appear to be a targeted demographic in Finland. Individuals between the ages of 18 and 30 were the hardest hit (23.3%), with 8% more scams than in 2020.

According to New Zealand, 55% of people who report fraud by scam call gangs are above the age of 40, while a Thai study found that Generation Y and Z are the most vulnerable to internet scams owing to the amount of time they spend online.

Scam Call Gangs in Myanmar and Cambodia Targeting Students in Thailand

Similarly, according to a Chinese poll of college students, more than a tenth of respondents lost money to scam call gangs, prompting the Chinese government to begin a fresh wave of education efforts targeted at making young adults more sceptical.

For years, scams have been industrialising. In a new development, Taiwanese and Chinese individuals have been duped by scam call gangs who mostly target young Asian people via social media, offering well-paid work and lodging in countries such as Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos.

When they arrive, their passports are confiscated, and they are sold to various groups and forced to work in offices that run illegal phone or web frauds. Taiwanese officials believe that about 5,000 individuals had gone to Cambodia and never returned.

Another trend is the increasing expansion of SaaS (Scam-as-a-Service). Scams are becoming more automated and tailored to certain target groups. Local scam organisation receive scam scripts (websites).

Cybercriminals also specialise in certain areas (for example, traffic generation via social media, SMS and email spamming, cryptocurrency laundering, and retargeting scam victims).

More countries are beginning to offer tools to its citizens to check for harmful websites, email addresses, bank accounts, cryptocurrency addresses, and phone numbers, similar to commercial organisations such as ScamAdviser.com and Trend Micro. Malaysia is going this a step further by providing the public with a search engine and app that allows anyone to examine phone and bank account numbers used by criminal syndicates.

Call Scam Gang Siphons $454,000 from Man’s Bank Account

Call Scammers Siphon $454,000 from Man’s Bank Account

Crime

Police Officer Being Ordained at Temple Arrested for Running Scam Call Center

Police in Northern Thailand have arrested a fellow officer as he was being ordained at a temple in Ngao district of neighbouring Lampang province.

Pol Lt Col Bandit Khonkan chief inspector from the Hang Dong police station was disrobed and taken to the Chang Puak station in Chiang Mai. He was arrested on charges of running a call centre scam gang in Chiang Mai Province.

According to Thai Media Chiang Mai Provincial Police Region 5 obtained an arrest warrant for Pol Lt Col Bandit on Friday from the Chiang Mai Provincial Court for procuring illegal telecom equipment, setting up a station and using public airwaves to run a telecommunications business without permission.

Pol Lt Col Bandit reportedly told investigators that he was not the ringleader and was only a member of the gang with Chinese partners.

His arrest followed the apprehension of his 26-year-old daughter, Miss Wanuchapond, 26, and three others during raids at three housing projects in Chiang Mai on Friday, Pol Maj Gen Weerachon Boontawee, deputy chief of Provincial Police Region 5 told Thai media.

During the raids police police discovered around 12 GSM gateways, or SIM boxes, which are devices used for converting cellular networks into mobile phone numbers used domestically.

The chief inspectors daughter Miss Wanuchapond told the arresting officers that she was paid 8,000 baht a month at each of the three locations for renting thr rooms and monitoring devices.

She claimed she had no idea what the devices were and accepted the job because the pay was attractive.

Police investigators working with telecom regulators used a special tracking device to monitor the gang’s communications and learned that its base was in Myanmar opposite Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai.

The call center gang used the GSM gateways to make calls over the internet to scam people in Thailand out of million of baht.

The GSM gateways transmitting signals via SIM boxes to convert them into domestic phone numbers, duping victims into thinking they were being called from Thai government agencies.

Pol Maj Gen Weerachon said that each SIM box held 32 SIM cards, with a capacity of up to 300,000 calls a month. The seized devices had made fraudulent calls over 3.6 million times.

He said the their investigation is ongoing and they are working to track down the remaining conspirators, including Chinese and other Thai suspects.

Authorities are still deciding whether Pol Lt Col Bandit will be dismissed from the force, he said, adding that so far, no other officers are known to have been involved.

Police in Chiang Rai Launch Crackdown on Cyber Criminals in Golden Triangle

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Settha Thavisin has authorized the establishment of an emergency cyber center operated by the Royal Thai Police to combat transnational crimes committed by call center gangs along the Thai border in Chiang Rai province.

On July 19, Prime Minister Settha Thavisin directed the Center to combat information technology crimes. The Royal Thai Police (Royal Thai Police) will crack down on call center gangs in Myanmar, Laos, and along the border.

His directive comes as call center gangs ratchet up their scams to defraud people of their money, causing concern among Thais and jeopardizing the country’s economic and social stability.

Related Police News:

Machete Wielding Man Shot an Killed by Police in Chiang Rai

https://www.chiangraitimes.com/chiangrai-news/machete-wielding-man-shot-an-killed-by-police-in-chiang-rai/

Crime

Thai Immigration Police Arrest Colombian Tourists Over Home Invasions

Immigration police officers have arrested four Colombian nationals in connection with a series of home burglaries at luxury housing complexes in the Bangkok metropolitan area and Chiang Buri Province.

Pol Maj Gen Panthana Nuchanart, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, told a press briefing that three of the suspects were apprehended in Nonthaburi Province and the fourth in South Pattaya, Chon Buri Province.

According to the Bangkok Post, the Colombians were charged with stealing conspiracy and seized around 3 million baht (US$82,500.00).

According to Pol Maj Gen Panthana, the criminals rode motorcycles through housing estates, scoping out the properties and waiting for the owners to depart before committing their crimes.

He stated that all four of the accused denied any involvement in the home break-ins, but the arresting squad discovered evidence that implicated them.

Police called to home invasion

Meanwhile, police were dispatched to a luxury housing development in Tambon Nong Prue, Chonburi Province, after a Chinese man was attacked during a house invasion.

When they arrived, they discovered the house owner, Mr. Qian Peng Yi, visibly scared and with marks from being tied up with a cable. He informed police that three Chinese males broke into his home at 9 p.m., one of whom brandished a gun at him and directed him to his bedroom.

They bound his hands and feet, gagged him with fabric, taped his head, and forced him into the bed. The intruders then attempted to compel him into transferring 10 million baht in cryptocurrencies to them, endangering the life of his 33-year-old cousin who was in a second-floor bedroom.

While they scoured the house in search of riches, Mr. Peng Yi managed to flee and hide; he subsequently observed them leave with his cousin. Officials investigated the property and analyzed security camera footage from the incident and surrounding areas.

Around 9 p.m., a 30-year-old van driver came at the Bang Lamung police station after being contacted by an agency to carry Chinese customers from Pattaya to Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The driver informed authorities that he was supposed to pick them up at a motel about a kilometer from the Chinese businessman’s home. He then drove them to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport, arriving at 1 a.m. and receiving 1,800 baht.

The driver took a snapshot of the group smoking at the airport gate and identified one of them as the victim’s cousin. Police suspected coordination between her and the three suspects in her cousin’s heist, who all departed Thailand on the same aircraft.

Other Bangkok News:

Police in Bangkok Discover Six Vietnamese Tourists Dead in 5 Star Hotel

Police in Bangkok Discover Six Vietnamese Tourists Dead in 5 Star Hotel

Crime

Son of Thailand’s Leading Legal Scholar on Corruption Arrested for Running Online Gambling Network

The son of a former senator and leading economist and expert on corruption and gambling in Thailand has been arrested for on charges of running an online gambling network and its payment system.

Police from Thailand’s Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) have confiscated assets worth more than (US$ 11.1 million) 400 million baht.

Narote Piriyarangsan, 33, was arrested following crackdowns in three sites around the city, according to Pol Maj Gen Athip Pongsiwapai, commander of the police Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD).

Mr Narote’s father, Sangsit Piriyarangsan, is an economist who has written articles and books about corruption and gambling. He was one of the appointed senators that were investigating the government’s intention to legalize casino gaming before their terms expired.

Police also detained 39-year-old Narayut Narakaew, the owner of the gambling website 69pgslot.com. The Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the couple for operating an internet gambling service and money laundering.

According to the Bangkok Post, police seized two desktop computers, one laptop computer, 14 mobile phones, 21 bank passbooks, 53 ATM cards, and four high-end cars — a Ferrari 926 GTS, an Aston Martin, a Lexus, and a Subaru — totaling more than 400 million baht.

Police launched the inquiry after discovering the online gambling site, which accepted funds via an automatic deposit-withdrawal system through bank accounts and deposits in the AskMePay system. Players scanned the VPay QR code as well as the QR codes for Heng Online 888 or Heng Pay Company.

Police also discovered that payments received via QR code scans were transferred to the account of Heng Pay Co and then to the gambling website’s mule accounts using AskMePay, which did not use banks’ face recognition scanning. An inquiry indicated a monthly turnover of approximately 5 billion baht.

According to investigators, the website has been up and running for around four years, with the payment mechanism in use for roughly eight months.

According to Pol Maj Gen Athip, Mr Narote owns the gaming website’s payment systems and is the director of Heng Pay Co. After gathering evidence, authorities requested arrest warrants for 14 people.

Thailand does not allow almost any kind of gaming. Even though the law doesn’t say anything specific about online gaming, it is still considered gambling. The country has pretty strict rules about gambling. Thai punters can bet on the national lottery and horse races, but they can’t bet on any other types of games.

But it’s not a secret that there is a huge illegal gaming business in Thailand, even though it’s illegal.

The illegal casinos, online betting shops, underground lotteries, and pop-up bookies that take bets on everything from cockfights to Muay Thai make a shadow economy that is worth billions of dollars every year.