Khon Kaen resident loses 16,800 baht to phone scam
A resident of Khon Kaen lost 10,000 baht from her government assistance money to a phone scam, which also took an additional 6,800 baht from her health volunteer allowance.
Visarut Pupeng, an advisor to the Deputy Minister of Education, assisted Buathong, a 63 year old resident of Chum Phae district, Khon Kaen province, in filing a police report with Police Lieutenant Nattachai Khiewchan at Chum Phae Police Station.
Buathong fell victim to a call centre gang that deceived her into transferring 10,000 baht, which she had recently received through a state welfare card and disability support scheme, along with her elderly allowance and health volunteer stipend of 6,800 baht.
Buathong recounted that she had withdrawn the 10,000 baht on September 26 to use for home renovations. Later, she received a message on LINE from an account named Inspector Sridet, informing her that her account was involved in illegal activities.
The scammer added her to a LINE friend named Kanchanaburi Police Station, claiming to be a superior officer, and asked her to communicate via the chat application. The messages included a court order, photographs of suspects, and other documents, convincing her to transfer money for verification, and promising a full refund after the investigation.
Frightened and convinced, Buathong first transferred 6,800 baht from her elderly allowance and health volunteer stipend through a mobile banking app. The scammers then instructed her to go to a 7-Eleven store to transfer the remaining 10,000 baht she had just received from the state welfare card and disability support scheme.
During the transactions, the scammers kept her on the phone and insisted she must not tell anyone, claiming it was a matter of state secrecy. Consequently, she did not consult anyone at home and only realised she had been scammed when all her money was gone. She expressed her deep regret and sadness over the loss.
Police Lieutenant Nattachai stated that the initial investigation included taking Buathong’s statement and collecting evidence of the conversation and transaction slips. The police will proceed to freeze the destination account and track down the account owner for legal proceedings, reported KhaoSod.
