OF THE 5,514 scam cases reported to police last week (Sep. 13-19) a notable incident involves a 19-year-old male university student who was duped out of 2.4 million baht by fraudsters who posed as police officers and threatened to expose him for money laundering, Amarin TV said today (Sep. 22).
The fake cops communicated with the student by Line application and tricked him into proving his innocence by withdrawing all 400,000 baht in his account and handing it over to a scammer waiting nearby, which he did in Pathum Wan district on Sep. 2.
The ruthless swindlers did not stop there, demanding 2 million baht more to clear him, promising to return the cash once inspection was complete. When the victim refused because he did not have any more money, they told him to ask his father for this large sum by lying that he had got a scholarship to study abroad and needed it to process visa.
His father complied and transferred 2 million baht to his account after which the student was told to check into a hotel in Soi Srinagarindra 65, Prawet district. He then withdrew 1 million baht each over Sep. 12-13 and handed the cash to the scam gang’s accomplice at a blind spot in the hotel to avoid being captured by CCTV.
Subsequently, the scammers coerced the victim io ask his father for an additional 1.5 million baht by lying that he needed it for travel and life insurance plus living expenses overseas and his father again transferred the money to his account.
When the victim went to Kasikorn bank to withdraw the money, an employee noticed irregularities and froze the account and notified the victim’s father plus the “War Room” to dispatch police officers to assist.
However, the scammers continued to pressure the victim to get the account released, threatening that failure to do so would result in arrest for money laundering and ruin his future. The victim returned to the bank to request the lifting of the freeze, claiming an urgent need for funds to help resolve a case and redeem a land title deed belonging to his mother, who was currently detained at Pattaya Remand Prison.
The bank staff noticed the victim was wearing headphones and talking to someone the entire time, so asked, “Who are you talking to?” The victim replied, “My older brother.”
Suspecting the person on the other end was a scammer, the bank employee asked to speak with him to find out the purpose of the money transfer. The scammer immediately impersonated the victim’s brother and gave the same explanation.
However, the bank employee was not deceived and refused to lift the account freeze and informed the victim he is being scammed. This brought the victim back to his senses after suffering a total loss of 2.4 million baht.
The Anti-Online Scam Centre’s statistics for the past week following investigations, arrests, and victim assistance efforts showed that during Sep. 13-19, a total of 5,514 cases were reported via Thaipoliceonline, with total damage amounting to 236 million baht. Compared to the previous week, Sep. 6–12, the total dropped by 204 cases, and damage value decreased by over 61 million baht.
Data analysis revealed that “scams involving goods and services” remained the most frequent type of offence, accounting for 4,103 cases (74.4% of the total). This category also resulted in the highest financial losses, totaling over 54 million baht (22.9% of the total damage).
Meanwhile, the provinces with the highest number of reported cases the previous week were:
1/ Bangkok: A total of 89 cases, with damage amounting to 6.8 million baht;
2/ Chiang Mai: 31 cases, with damage totaling 960,000 baht;
3/ Nonthaburi: 22 cases, with damage adding up to 14.6 million baht.
An analysis of the victims’ gender and age during the past week reveals that women continue to fall victim more frequently than men. The 21–30 age group remains the highest-risk demographic, having consistently been the primary target of scammers for several consecutive months.
When categorised by case type, the 21–30 age group also accounts for the highest number of victims in the top three categories: 1) scams involving the purchase of goods or services; 2) scams involving impersonation; and 3) employment-related scams.
Over the past week, the ACSC centre — working in coordination with various banks — handled cases that led to immediate police intervention and victim assistance. This included successfully halting money transfers to scammers’ accounts for 21 victims, preventing the loss of over 3.8 million baht.
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Top and Front Page: The young student who lost 2.4 million baht to scammers. Photo
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