Thai police crackdown on app scam, seizing nearly 1 million baht
The Crime Suppression Division launched Operation AOC Case targeting the money-syphoning app scam.
The operation dismantled a criminal network posing as close friends to trick victims into clicking links and entering personal information, resulting in nearly 1 million baht in stolen funds.
Today, February 10, Police Major General Wichaya Sriprasertphap, head of the Crime Suppression Division, ordered the arrest of 34 year old Nuch (surname withheld) under an arrest warrant issued by the Criminal Court on January 22.
The charges included allowing others to use her bank account and electronic card without intent for personal or business use, knowing it would be used in technology-related crimes.
She was apprehended in front of an unnamed row house in Om Yai, Sam Phran district, Nakhon Pathom province.
In January, a victim reported the scam to the Crime Suppression Division, seeking assistance to catch the fraudsters. Earlier in 2023, while travelling abroad, the victim received a message from a fake Instagram account impersonating a close friend.
The message included a Google form link inviting them to a trip abroad, requesting personal details like name and ID number.
Believing the message, the victim filled in their information. Upon returning to Thailand, they discovered nearly 1 million baht (US$29,565) missing from their bank account and reported the incident to the police.
Investigations revealed that after obtaining the victim’s information from the Google form, the perpetrators hacked the victim’s details, linking their phone number to a new device associated with the criminal’s bank account. They then transferred 999,990 baht (US$29,537) over 26 transactions to Nuch’s bank account.
Nuch withdrew the cash and sent it to a middleman via parcel delivery, acting under orders from a ringleader. The criminal network included mule account owners, mule account buyers, cash withdrawers, and parcel couriers.
Following this, the police gathered evidence and obtained arrest warrants for all involved. Operation AOC Case was launched, leading to searches at four locations across Nakhon Pathom, Chachoengsao, Khon Kaen, and Maha Sarakham provinces.
Four people connected to the scam were arrested. They confessed to purchasing mule accounts from Nuch, who admitted to selling these accounts, reported KhaoSod.
All suspects were handed over to the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau for further legal proceedings.
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