Thai police arrest woman in 1.8 million baht call centre scam

Thai police arrested a woman involved in a money laundering scheme linked to a call centre scam that tricked victims into transferring 1.8 million baht. The woman confessed to opening bank accounts for the criminals for a fee.

Police arrested 40 year old Yupaporn, in front of a house in Chang Klang, Nakhon Si Thammarat. This followed an order from Police Lieutenant General Worawat Watnakornbancha, head of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB), and Police Major General Poomphat Pattharasirivongchai, commander of CCIB Division 5, along with Deputy Commander Police Colonel Buncha Srisuk and the news analysis team from CCIB Division 5. The arrest was made based on two warrants issued on September 7.

The case began when a victim reported to the police that someone posing as a credit card company official had called them. The caller claimed the victim used their credit card to withdraw cash to buy gold and was involved in illegal activities.

The call was then transferred to another person posing as a police officer. This fake officer told the victim they were part of a money laundering investigation and needed to transfer all their money to be checked. Trusting the caller, the victim transferred a total of 1.8 million baht (US$53,340) across several accounts.

The news analysis team from CCIB Division 5 tracked down Yupaporn, discovering she was staying at the house in Chang Klang. Upon locating her, the team presented the arrest warrants and took her into custody.

Further investigations revealed that Yupaporn had another outstanding arrest warrant for a similar crime related to a call centre gang.

During questioning, Yupaporn denied knowing the full extent of the call centre gang’s operations. However, she admitted to owning the bank accounts used to deceive victims into transferring money.

She said she was paid to open these accounts, which were then used by the scammers to move the funds elsewhere. Yupaporn stated she connected with the person who hired her through Facebook and was paid 1,000 baht (US$30) for each account she opened, reported KhaoSod.

Police charged Yupaporn with fraud and entering false information into a computer system in a way that could harm the public. She was handed over to investigators from CCIB Division 1 for further legal proceedings.