Police in Bangkok have arrested two Chinese nationals suspected of being senior members of a call center gang that ran a new and sophisticated “add insult to injury” scam. The gangsters convinced their victims that their money had been stolen but could be recovered if they shared their financial information.
National police chief Kittharath Punpetch said yesterday that the two suspects, Yi Wanyou, 29, and Li Weijia, 30, were taken into custody at a residence in Chatuchak district on Tuesday in accordance with warrants issued by the Criminal Court.
In addition, officers found five cell phones, a Mercedes-Benz, 4 million baht worth of luxury goods, and over 400,000 baht in cash. Investigators discovered that the phones contained information about call center scams.
Pol Gen Kittharath claims that the gang attracted victims and then deceived them by using the “add insult to injury” strategy.
According to the investigation, the gang set up phony Facebook pages for the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo), the Royal Thai Police, and other police units. It purchased social media ads promising to be able to track confiscated assets after purchasing followers to establish the sites’ legitimacy.
The ads led to a Line group for those who replied. Suspects posing as attorneys and tech specialists were contacted there, and they produced convincing financial transaction records that demonstrated their funds had been moved to gambling websites.
The actual fraud started when the con artists promised to assist the victims in getting their money back. According to Pol Gen Kittharath, the strategy has gained traction in both Thailand and its neighboring nations.
Mr. Yi and Mr. Li were taken into custody after one of the gang’s victims complained to the Huai Khwang Police Station. They are both initially accused of unlawfully selling phone numbers and bank accounts. According to Pol Gen. Kittharath, they denied the charge.
A 23-year-old Thai man who was employed by a call center scam gang based in Cambodia that defrauded 151 victims out of roughly 800 million baht has been taken into custody by cybercrime police.
The suspect, who was only known to police as Anuwat, claimed that in 2023 he had been employed to serve as the administrator of a gambling website situated in Poipet, Cambodia.
However, Pol Lt Gen Trairong Phiwphan, head of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, stated that upon his arrival, he was assigned to a call center scam run by Chinese and Thai gangsters.
The scam had three stages, according to the police. After gaining the trust of a potential victim through a phone call, one member would then pass them along to a second line, where another would pose as a police officer to establish credibility, and finally to a third person who would give them financial transfer advice.
Managing the second line, Mr. Anuwat made at least 100,000 baht every month.
Police Rescue 61 victims from Chinese gangs in Myanmar
Meanwhile, On Thursday, sixty-one individuals who had been tricked by call center scammers into working in Myanmar were saved and returned to Thailand.
At the 2nd Thai-Myanmar Bridge in Tak province’s Mae Sot district, the Myanmar Border Guard Force turned them over to Thai officials.
Defense Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, who was in the border region on an inspection trip, greeted them before immigration officials screened them.
39 Chinese nationals, 13 Indians, one Kazakh, five Indonesians, one Ethiopian, one Pakistani, and one Malaysian made up the group that was rescued from the Shwe Kokko complex in Myawaddy.
Mr. Phumtham added that the government is evaluating the effects of its decision to cut off electricity to three regions in Myanmar that are home to criminal networks: Tak, Kanchanaburi, and Chiang Rai provinces.
Before heading to Mae Sot district to inspect operations to combat drug and people smuggling along the border, Mr. Phumtham stated that since the suspension only started on Wednesday, it is too early to make any conclusions.
According to preliminary assessments, the suspension of power supplies has had little impact on border communities in Thailand, but the impact on Myanmar is still being assessed, said Mr. Phumtham, who is also a deputy prime minister.
Households and small businesses have been impacted, according to sources inside Myanmar, but the major criminal organizations—the majority of which are led by Chinese people—had their own generators.
According to the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA), the power outage will cost it roughly 600 million baht annually, or just 0.1% of its total revenue, he said.
The deputy prime minister emphasized that national security comes first, even as he acknowledged possible economic losses.
According to Mr. Phumtham, illegal activities like call center scams in Shwe Kokko were thought to have decreased by roughly 40% after the first day of the power outage.
Mr. Phumtham stated that Myanmar has the right to purchase electricity from Laos in lieu of Myanmar.
Nonetheless, he maintained that protecting Thailand’s borders and combating illegal activity there should be its top priorities.
Authorities have reported that call-center scams in Thailand alone have led to 557,500 criminal cases and over 86 billion baht in damages, or roughly 80 million baht every day on average.
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Geoff Thomas is an award winning journalist known for his sharp insights and no-nonsense reporting style. Over the years he has worked for Reuters and the Canadian Press covering everything from political scandals to human interest stories. He brings a clear and direct approach to his work.
