Land Department scam dupes dentist out of 300,000 baht

A renowned dentist in Ubon Ratchathani was targeted by a fraudulent group claiming to be from the Land Department. The fraudsters duped him into confirming land ownership through the LINE application, leading to a loss of over 300,000 baht. The dentist revealed this incident today while issuing a musical warning about such scams.

While working with a patient, Mohal Sakbhuakeaw received a call from an individual impersonating a Land Department official. The caller wanted him to confirm his land ownership but he asked them to leave their LINE ID for further communication.

About a week later, Mohal contacted the impersonator on LINE, who had a Land Department profile picture and asked him to confirm his land ownership. Mohal complied, confirming his ownership through a link sent via the LINE application and following the impersonator’s instructions, which included a face scan.

Mohal stated that he was fooled by the imposter’s accurate knowledge of his details, including his land’s title deed number, plot number, name, and location that the Land Department would have. Despite his clinic staff noticing the suspicious activity and advising him to stop, he did not believe them.

Further suspicion arose when one of his subordinates wrote in a notebook asking if this was a call centre gang scam. He then attempted to cancel the Land Department transaction, removing his SIM card and turning off his WiFi to disrupt the internet connection, but it was too late, reported KhaoSod.

By the time he switched off his phone, the fraudsters had already transferred over 320,000 baht from his bank account. He attempted to freeze his account but was unsuccessful. The only information he had was the name of the recipient account. He then reported the incident to the police but has yet to recover his money.

Mohal, who had been cautious and had previously encountered various forms of call centre gang scams, had even written a song named Call Center Gang last year as a warning. However, he had not recorded it yet when he fell victim to the Land Department scam. He advises maintaining vigilance as criminals adopt various forms and avoid conducting online transactions.

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