Chiang Rai police arrest 9 in crypto scam targeting US, Canada
Police in Chiang Rai have arrested nine Chinese nationals involved in a significant hybrid scam operation, impersonating individuals with appealing profiles to target victims in the United States and Canada, persuading them to invest in cryptocurrency.
The operation was carried out yesterday, February 28, with oversight from Police Lieutenant General Kritthaphon Yeesakorn and several other senior officers from region 5 and Chiang Rai province.
The suspects, aged between 20 and 32, include Cao TaiQing, Tu Xing, Yi Xiu, Duan Guang Shun, Li Jiawei, Yang Lianwei, Cheng yue, Jrang Kai Hang, and Huang RangXin, along with a 21 year old Thai woman, Orathai. Police confiscated 14 computers, 81 mobile phones, and internet connectivity devices. The initial investigation indicated violations of the Computer Crime Act, Immigration Act of 1979, and the Foreign Worker Management Act.
The arrests followed intelligence reports about a group of Chinese individuals perpetrating Internet scams from Ban Du subdistrict, Mueang district, Chiang Rai province. Police discovered the suspects had rented a house in the area, leading to a raid where the suspects were apprehended, and the aforementioned items were seized.
The group was operating a hybrid scam, creating fraudulent social media accounts with attractive profiles to gain the trust of unsuspecting individuals. They engaged potential victims in conversation to build rapport before deceiving them into transferring funds for cryptocurrency trading through foreign digital wallets. Most victims were from the US and Canada, and communication was facilitated via chat applications and AI tools like Chat GPT.
Some of the Chinese suspects lacked proper passports, possessing only images, with no legal entry records into Thailand. They admitted to entering the country through natural channels, while others had entered on student visas that had since expired, continuing to reside illegally in Thailand, reported KhaoSod.
In similar news, an ex-inmate has been arrested in Phuket for impersonating a well-known politician to deceive a woman into investing in a fraudulent cryptocurrency scheme, costing her 22 million baht. Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) officers apprehended the suspect at a residence in Koh Kaew, Mueang district. He faces charges of public fraud and inputting false data into a computer system.
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