Elderly Thai woman cheated out of 2.5 million baht by fraudster claiming to be call centre accountant

An 82 year old woman was scammed out of 2.5 million baht by a call centre fraudster. The call centre fraudster was arrested today after a successful joint operation by various departments of the Thai National Police. Despite denying the allegations, the call centre fraudster admitted to opening a bank account for a known individual around August this year, which he later relinquished to a senior acquaintance for ‘adjustments’ in mid-September.

The call centre fraudster, 27 year old Anan of Nakhon Nayok is employed as a food delivery worker and described his intentions behind opening the account. He wanted to use it to receive his girlfriend’s salary and his daily earnings to establish a stable bank statement.

This would serve as proof for applying for housing loans, mobile phone instalments, and various cash credits. However, the call centre fraudster and his girlfriend’s meagre income led to inconsistent bank transactions.

After being unable to withdraw money from his account on October 24, the call centre fraudster realised his account was compromised. The account was allegedly used to deceive the senior woman into transferring funds over 20 times, leading to a loss of over 2.5 million baht.

Society today is full of cunning fraudsters who trick others in various ways, so citizens must be vigilant and not fall for such scams, cautioned Lieutenant Theeradet Thammasuthee, Head of Special Tools and News Analysis, Thai National Police.

He warned against opening horse accounts for others, as it could serve as a conduit for criminals, impacting innocent citizens significantly. The current penalty for such actions is up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 300,000 baht.

He also emphasised severe penalties for hiring others to open such accounts, carrying a sentence of two to five years and a fine of 200,000 to 500,000 baht. He urged the public to report any suspicious individuals to the police or the Urban Investigation IDMB page, available 24/7, reported Khaosod.

Lieutenant Theeradet added that even if the case does not cause significant damage, if it troubles the public, we act immediately, following the policy of the National Police Chief.”

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