Cyber Police Investigators have arrested 13 members of a Chinese call center scam gang that was operating out of Chiang Mai province to steal money from Chinese citizens. The arrest comes after the Chiang Rai provincial court issued a search warrant on June 24th.
Police officers from the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) went to a pool villa in the Doi Saket district of Chiang Mai and apprehended 13 foreigners, including 7 Chinese and 6 Myanmar nationals. They were detained on suspicion of being part of a phone scam gang, CCIB commissioner Pol Lt Gen Worawat Watnakhonbancha said on Friday at a press briefing.
On the property, Cyber police seized 94 cell phones with Chinese SIM cards, 9 computers, and a set of Chinese-language papers.
An investigation into a group of foreigners working as a phone scam gang in the Doi Saket area of this northern province led to the arrests. The pool villa was under the watchful eye of CCIB cops.
The police later found that Chinese nationals lived in the buildings, which was surrounded by cement walls and had CCTV surveillance cameras around the premises. Pol Lt Gen Worawat told Khaosod News that the lights were always on at night showing the scammers were working inside.
Cyber Police seized documents, phones and Computers
The police then asked the court for permission to search the building. When they got there, they saw that the 13 Chinese and Myanmar nationals were working in a room with a desktop computer, eight notebook computers, more than 90 cell phones, and Chinese papers.
The suspects said they worked for a group that used phone scams to target people in China. Assigned jobs to steal money from people who might be victims.
They each had three cell phones that they used to get people to invest in a long-term savings plan. They got lists of the names of the dead on the Telegram app on their phones.
It was the scammers’ trick that got the people to give them their personal information. Another member of the gang was then given information from the victims and told to take money from their bank accounts, according to Pol Col Bancha Srisuk, deputy leader of the CCIB sub-division 5.
At first, the police charged the suspects with working together to join an international crime organization, organizing an illegal meeting, committing public fraud, and entering false information into a computer system. The cops took all of them into custody pending legal action.
Scam Gangs in Thailand
Thailand has a lot of problems with online scams that affect both Thai people and people who come to the country. There are many types of these scams, from fake rental ads to complex dating scams.
Scammers often pretend to be real businesses or nice people in order to trick people. Through letters, social media, and even dating apps, they take advantage of people who don’t know what’s going on.
A common scam is making fake job offers to get people to give up their personal information or pay money up front. Phishing is another type of scam where con artists send emails that look like they are from a legitimate source and ask people to click on links that are actually harmful.
People often try to scam tourists with fake travel deals or cab rides that cost too much. People who fall for these scams can lose a lot of money and feel bad about themselves.
It’s important to be careful, check your sources, and tell the police about any strange behavior.
The Thai government has been trying to stop these scams, but the best defenses are still being aware and careful.