Thai police official and daughter fall victim to cyber fraud, losing 2 million baht
A former police official and his daughter report a recent cyber fraud case where their bank account was drained of 2 million baht. Yesterday, Suthep, a 65 year old former director of Klongtan Police Station, and his 30 year old daughter, Suthinika, owner of a bakery business in the Lat Phrao area, reported the incident to Naphaporn Rakphichai, an officer from the Cyber Crime Division 4, after facing a cyber fraud attack. The attackers had posed as representatives of the Revenue Department concerning unpaid taxes and provided a fake link to the Revenue Department’s webpage.
Suthinika stated that on Tuesday, a call centre scammer had contacted her, claiming to be associated with the Revenue Department of the Ministry of Finance. They demanded financial reports that remained unpaid, along with prompt updating of her data. The criminals also sent a link via the messaging app LINE to simulate the Revenue Department’s webpage. Filling in the requested information on this page led to her smartphone freezing, raising suspicions of foul play.
Alarmed by the situation and fearing cyber crime, Suthinika immediately informed her bank to freeze her account. However, the bank insisted on a police report before taking any action. Once her phone started working again, she quickly checked her account balance and discovered a loss of 2 million baht. As a result, she reported the matter at Chokchai police station and filed a complaint with the cybercrime police, urging them to follow up on the incident.
Suthep, the victim’s father, questioned why the bank had not acted promptly when they were informed about the possible fraud. It contradicts previous public announcements that had claimed citizens subjected to online scams could instantly freeze their accounts. Moreover, banks discovering irregular withdrawals or transfers were allowed to freeze accounts independently without requesting any approval. Citizens were advised to report incidents at a convenient police station within 72 hours for a thorough investigation, followed by obtaining an account freeze warrant with the bank. However, the reality didn’t match these guidelines, leading the victims to seek assistance from related authorities to expedite matters and streamline account-freezing procedures.
