Thai student rescued from phone scam at Kamphaeng Phet resort
A vocational certificate student was rescued by police in Kamphaeng Phet today, December 16, after relatives tracked his location to a resort, uncovering a call scam that had already deceived another student just hours earlier.
Today, investigators were dispatched to a resort in Mueang district, Kamphaeng Phet province, where they found the 19 year old student alone in a room. He had been targeted by scammers posing as officers from the Department of Special Investigation (DSI).
Earlier the same day, another student from the same college was deceived similarly and transferred 7,384 baht of his student loan funds and the income from his freelance work.
After the rescue, police escorted both victims to the investigation unit at Mueang Kamphaeng Phet Police Station to record formal statements.
The first victim, identified as Rainbow, told officers he received a call from an unfamiliar number at around 4.30pm. The caller instructed him to add a LINE account claiming to belong to the DSI and advised him to continue the conversation privately.
Rainbow said he was persuaded to book a room at a resort and send proof of payment after being told the cost would later be reimbursed. The gang allegedly warned him not to open the door, threatening that he would be harmed if he tried to leave.
The caller then claimed the case would proceed to court, citing a fabricated 50,000 baht mule account offence, and asked Rainbow to access his banking apps so his accounts could be checked.
He was allegedly told to put the funds into one account and prepare to transfer 25,000 baht to an account said to belong to DSI officers, but before any transfer was made, his relatives tracked him down via a GPS signal and alerted the police, who intervened just in time.
Khaosod reported that the second victim filed a police report after realising he had been scammed. He said scammers posing as DSI officers pressured him into transferring money twice, causing him to lose his savings.
Police warned that no government agency will ever ask citizens to transfer money for verification or investigation. Anyone receiving such calls is advised to hang up and contact police directly.
In related news, police apprehended a key member of a call scam gang that impersonated the Mueang Mukdahan Police Station to defraud victims of over 40,000 baht.
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