Scam escape: Taiwanese tourist flees call centre conmen

A Taiwanese man sought help from Thai police in the central province of Ang Thong after he escaped from two foreigners who tricked him into working for a call centre scam gang.

The 33 year old Taiwanese man, Lin Kai Lun, filed a complaint at Chaiyo Police Station in the Chaiyo district of Ang Thong after he managed to flee from the call centre scam gang. He revealed that the Thai teacher and monk, whose identities were not disclosed, helped him.

Lin informed the police that he was searching for a high-paying job to settle his debt. The criminal gang contacted him through Facebook, offering him a job at a company in Bangkok. Lin accepted the offer and arrived at Don Mueang International Airport at 12:30 pm yesterday, June 11.

Two foreigners met him at the airport, claiming they would escort Lin to his workplace. However, instead of heading to his intended destination, the driver altered the route, heading towards northern Thailand.

Lin felt more suspicious when seeing the online conversation between the driver and someone he suspected to be a leading member of the scam gang.

During the conversation, the leader instructed the driver to take Lin to a neighbouring country of Thailand and promised to pay the driver 70,000 baht. Lin suspected he would be forced to work for the call centre scam, so he devised a plan to escape.

Lin requested the driver to stop at a petrol station along the Asian Highway in Ang Thong province, claiming he needed to use the bathroom. Upon stopping, Lin quickly fled from the two foreigners and sought assistance from a monk and a teacher at the petrol station.

A security camera at the petrol station showed a bronze SUV parked in front of the bathroom. Lin was seen getting out of the car with his backpack, while the driver also exited the car and followed Lin to the bathroom.

Chaiyo Police Station officers told Channel 7 that they were not convinced by Lin’s information because some of it was unclear. Lin also deleted the conversation history between him and his employer on the chatting application, making police suspicious.

Lin is in the care of the consulate while a further investigation into the case is conducted.