Class acts: Chinese scammers pose as students in pensioner con
Luxury villa raid in Chiang Mai uncovers fake investment ring targeting elderly victims
Crooks running a slick online scam from a swanky Chiang Mai villa posed as students while fleecing elderly Chinese pensioners out of millions, in yet another twist to Thailand’s growing cybercrime crisis.
Three suspected ringleaders have been nicked and 17 others detained after Thai police swooped on a luxury pool villa in Hang Dong, uncovering a Chinese-led operation that preyed on vulnerable victims back home via bogus investment schemes and gambling apps.
The gang, made up of 14 Chinese nationals and three from Myanmar, were caught red-handed during the raid, with cops seizing 10 computers and 26 mobile phones loaded with evidence.
According to Police General Tatchai Pitaneelabutr, head of the Police Cyber Taskforce (PCT), the group had been running a call-centre scam aimed at Chinese citizens aged 60 to 80, convincing them to invest through dodgy mobile apps, then vanishing with the cash.
“They were using Thailand as a base to defraud their own people,” said Gen Tatchai. “This was a transnational operation designed to look legitimate.”
The gang had recently shifted from San Sai to Hang Dong after a separate bust at another Chinese-run villa last month. Both ops are believed to be linked, with a Chinese national pulling the strings from behind the scenes.
Many of the suspects had entered Thailand on student visas, despite being unable to name the schools they were supposedly attending. Police later discovered that over 13,000 Chinese nationals had obtained student visas from just five universities in Chiang Mai, some of them monastic.
“Student visas were clearly being abused to stay in the country long-term while committing fraud,” said an investigator.
Officials estimate the total haul tops 100 million yuan (around 500 million baht) with more than 100,000 Chinese victims scammed.
The three main suspects, whose names have not yet been released, face charges of public fraud, money laundering, and participating in a transnational crime syndicate, The Nation reported.
Cops are now working with the Chinese consulate and immigration to track down accomplices and shut down the wider network.
Police say Thailand’s reputation as a soft-touch destination for cybercriminals is under renewed scrutiny — and the latest crackdown is just the beginning.
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