Thai woman arrested for call centre scam, money laundering

A 25 year old woman was arrested at Ayutthaya Railway Station for her involvement in a call centre scam linked to money laundering. She faces three arrest warrants for fraud and deception, with victims scammed into transferring money.

Police Major General Worawat Watnakornbancha directed Police Colonel Phumipat Phattharasriwongchai and Deputy Police Colonel Bancha Srisuk to apprehend Sirivan following a warrant issued on February 20, 2023, by the Phuket Provincial Court. The arrest occurred yesterday, September 3, and she has been implicated in similar scams, leading to two more warrants.

Victims reported the scam to investigators after receiving a call on November 9, 2022, from a woman claiming to be from a credit card company. The caller falsely informed the victim of a credit card opened at a Korat bank branch and used to purchase gold worth 98,653 baht (US$2,880) on July 5, 2022. The victim denied owning the card, and the caller advised reporting the matter to Korat police.

The scam escalated when the caller transferred the line to a man posing as a police officer. He instructed the victim to add a LINE account named Mueang Nakhon Ratchasima Police Station and showed a photo of a police badge. During the call, a third person pretended to communicate via radio, mentioning the victim’s name and falsely linking them to a money laundering case involving multiple individuals.

The scammer asked for the victim’s bank account details and mobile banking information. Trusting the imposters, the victim provided the information. The scammer then sent a document purportedly from the Anti-Money Laundering Office, requesting the victim transfer money for verification.

Believing the ruse, the victim transferred a total of 197,599 baht (US$5,770) across all their accounts. Realising the deception, the victim reported it to the police, leading to Sirivan’s capture.

Money laundering

Sirivan confessed to owning the bank account used in the scam, revealing she had been hired through Facebook to open accounts for 1,000 baht (US$30) each. Further investigation uncovered two additional arrest warrants against her.

The first, issued by the Taling Chan Criminal Court on September 25, 2023, charged her with supporting public fraud by impersonating others and fraudulently inputting false data into a computer system, causing public harm. This case involved damages totalling 178,996 baht (US$5,225).

The second warrant, issued by the Mae Hong Son Provincial Court on May 1, 2023, charged her with fraud by impersonation and fraudulent computer data entry, similarly causing public harm, reported KhaoSod.

Police have charged Sirivan with public fraud by impersonation and using false statements to deceive and obtain property from victims. She was also charged with entering false or distorted data into a computer system, potentially causing public harm. Sirivan was handed over to the investigators at the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau for legal proceedings.