Samut Prakan police rescue student from call centre scam
Bang Phli police have rescued a 20 year old university student who was deceived by a call centre scam gang into believing he was involved in a money laundering case.
The student was tricked into transferring money and locking himself in a rented room to stage a fake arrest, as the gang attempted to extract further money from his family.
Police Colonel Pairoj Phetphloy, Superintendent of Bang Phli Police Station, Samut Prakan province, said the incident was reported on December 3, when the student’s mother filed a missing person complaint.
She told officers her son had left their home in the evening and could not be contacted. A handwritten note was found on his computer desk.
“Involved in money laundering. Must report to DSI and AMLO today.”
Concerned for his safety, officers from Bang Phli Police launched an urgent investigation. Using phone location data provided by the student’s mother, police traced him to an apartment in Bang Chalong subdistrict, where they found him alone and unharmed in a room. He was safely reunited with his mother that night.
The student later told police that he had received a phone call from someone pretending to be a DSI official. The caller claimed that the student’s bank account had been linked to illegal transactions involving gambling and drugs, and that he was suspected of money laundering.
To prove his innocence, the caller instructed him to transfer money for “verification.” The student complied, transferring 181,204.72 baht. He was then ordered to leave his house and isolate himself at a specified apartment, where he was told to call his family and lie, claiming he had been detained and needed additional money for legal proceedings.
KhaoSod reported that police were able to intervene before more money was lost.
Authorities are now investigating the case and working to identify those behind the scam. Officers warned that criminals often forge documents and pose as officials from agencies like the DSI or AMLO, threatening legal action to extort victims.
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