Cyber patrol corners notorious online fraudster who caused 2 million baht losses

A cyber patrol unit successfully arrested an infamous online fraudster, a 32 year old woman from Roi Et province. The joint investigation yesterday tracked her down, resulting in her arrest under several warrants from different provinces. Her modus operandi was primarily carrying out fraudulent activities online, causing significant distress and loss to innocent social media users.

The alleged fraudulent actions conducted by Sunanta or ‘Apple Kammoonta’ placed the blame on unsuspecting individuals by shifting the financial transactions while she slipped away unnoticed. Operating with a 2 million baht (US$57,950) brand name, her tactics remained the same in each instance – she ran an online shop selling brand-name bags through Instagram and Facebook. Once a customer contacted the fraudster to purchase a brand-name bag, Apple would provide the bank account details of another shop, or another group of victims, such as beauty salons, cosmetics stores, or cash garland stores.

Upon receiving payment to these accounts, Apple would request a money transfer slip, which she would forward to the stores with the false claim that the money transfer had been made by her brother or sister. Once the shop received payment, they would send the products to the fraudster. The group that originally wired the money to purchase the brand-name bags never received their goods and was blocked from all communication channels by Apple.

The unsuspecting victims wrongly believed that the bank accounts provided by Apple, the accounts of the shops where Apple made purchases or used services, were Apple’s accounts. This led to them filing legal cases against the owners of those accounts, causing a total loss of 2 million baht.

During the investigation, Apple confessed to initially operating a fashion clothing business, primarily at annual provincial events. However, as the Covid-19 pandemic hit, she shifted to selling northeastern food in the Yasothon province area before accepting pre-orders for brand-name items such as bags, shoes, and mobile phones, reported KhaoSod.

Due to financial troubles within her family, she started using funds from customers who pre-ordered to cover her family’s expenses. In the first year, she admitted to spinning cash for personal use, and in the second year, she devised a scheme to no longer directly accept money from her customers into her bank account.

Apple has been operating fraudulent schemes since 2021, causing around 6,000 to 8,000 baht damage per transaction. She reportedly targeted three to four victims per week.

Upon the completion of the arrest, the police sent the suspect to the inquiry official at San Suk Police Station, Chon Buri province, to proceed with the case according to the law. They coordinated with the inquiry officials at Bang Len Police Station, Nakhon Pathom province, and Wang Noi Police Station, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province.

Theeradej Thammasuthee highlighted the importance of keeping vigilant against the myriad forms of ongoing scams. He urged the public to report any suspicions to the police for investigation, or submit tip-offs about criminal activities to the ‘Metropolitan Investigation Division – IDMB’ page at any time. Although the damage may not be significant, they prioritise cases that cause public unrest.