Gold scam: Thai police and bank recover 1.8 million baht for victim
Police in Thailand have successfully collaborated with a bank to freeze and recover more than 1.8 million baht for a victim of an online gold trading scam. The victim had been deceived into making over 15 transactions.
The incident unfolded when Phumiphat Phattharasriwongchai, from the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, along with his team, financial institution officials, and police officers, managed to trace and freeze funds from mule accounts. This operation was aimed at returning the money to 47 year old Wipakarn, who was defrauded in a case involving online scams, particularly those tied to internet transactions. The cooperation with financial institutions played a crucial role in the swift money freeze.
The victim reported the scam through an online complaint system on March 7. She had been contacted by a group of criminals she met through Facebook. After establishing a connection, they added her on LINE and engaged her in conversations that eventually led her to invest in gold stock trading. Convinced by their fraudulent claims, she transferred money as many as 15 times, amounting to a loss of 13,110,000 baht. This high-value case had connections to several other similar fraud cases.
The police from the Cyber Crime Investigation Division diligently gathered evidence and managed to apprehend seven suspects involved in the scam. They acted swiftly to report and freeze the suspects’ bank accounts, thanks to the prompt assistance of the financial institution. Following the investigation, it was discovered that 1,852,408.14 baht was still available in the suspects’ accounts. The police then coordinated with the bank to freeze these funds and contacted the victim to facilitate the return of her money.
Gold scam
Wipakarn shared her experience, revealing that on February 28, she had seen an advertisement on Facebook promoting high-profit returns from investing in gold stocks. Intrigued by the prospect, she reached out, and the page responded by sending her detailed information about the gold trading investment. The scheme was named Set Gold Exchange, and she was provided with a link to add a contact on the LINE application, named Tee Will.
The fraudsters engaged the woman in conversations, convincing her to invest in gold stock trading, which appeared credible at the time. Consequently, she made multiple transfers to various bank accounts provided by the fraudsters, spread across eight different accounts, totalling 13,110,000 baht, reported KhaoSod.
The decisive actions of the investigative team, combined with the effective collaboration with the financial institution, were instrumental in recovering a significant portion of the stolen funds.
This case highlights the ongoing efforts of law enforcement agencies in tackling online fraud and protecting citizens from such scams.
