Former insurance employee arrested for selling client data illegally

A former insurance employee has been apprehended by the cyber police for selling client data illegally from a bank-affiliated insurance company.

The arrest made on November 16 followed the issuance of a warrant by the Thon Buri Criminal Court. The suspect was seized at the entrance of a posh residential community in Phasi Charoen district, with two mobile phones confiscated as evidence.

Previously, police had detained brokers from insurance companies who secretly sold the personal details of millions of insurance customers to criminal groups. The police learnt that 45 year old Weeratat Sanphanich had engaged in numerous transactions involving the transfer of money to purchase the data of 2,000 insurance customers for 1,000 baht per transaction. This prompted them to secure a search warrant from the Thon Buri Criminal Court.

Weeratat confessed that following the Covid pandemic, he sought shortcuts to generate income, earning approximately 100,000 baht per month from selling data. His background as a supervisor in an insurance company, with around 10 team members, provided him with access to a wealth of customer data.

Weeratat admitted to storing this in his mobile phone and using it to sell databases without seeking permission from the data owners.

Some of the information he acquired was accurate, while some were not, including data on prominent figures like Sorayut Suthassanajinda, a news announcer, as well as renowned personalities, celebrities, and business people.

Aware of the police’s pursuit, Weeratat attempted to evade arrest by changing his phone number, shutting down his old number, and closing down all of his communication channels, including Facebook. He even resorted to disguising himself and refraining from using any vehicles or staying at his own house, reported KhaoSod.

Despite his efforts, Weeratat was apprehended by the police who charged him with unauthorized access to personal information through the performance of his duties, disclosing it to others, and causing harm by modifying, altering, or adding to someone else’s computer data without consent. He is currently in custody along with the seized evidence, pending further legal procedures.