Nong Khai police bust SIM box scam hidden in rental room

Police in Nong Khai seized SIM box devices concealed above a rental room ceiling yesterday, January 18, after a suspicious booking led to an investigation into a possible scam operation.

The discovery came after the room owner in Nai Mueang subdistrict, Mueang district, noticed abnormal wiring and alerted immigration police. Officers found three SIM box machines, two Huawei wireless routers, three power adapters and a power strip, all hidden above the ceiling in room number eight.

A SIM box, or GSM gateway, is a device that can hold dozens or even hundreds of SIM cards. It converts internet calls into normal mobile calls using local SIMs, helping scammers avoid detection and reach more targets at a lower cost.

According to Nong Khai Immigration, scammers have begun renting rooms to secretly install telecommunications equipment linked to overseas operations. The setup is typically used to trick victims by masking international scam calls as local Thai numbers.

SIM boxes are illegal in Thailand without proper authorisation, with penalties including up to five years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to 100,000 baht under the Telecommunications Business Act and the Radio Communications Act.

The room owner said the incident began late on January 9, when a Thai woman called to ask about room availability. Around 1am, she arrived on a motorcycle with an unidentified man, paid 400 baht, and was given the key to room eight.

The pair stayed only one night. Early the following morning, they were seen leaving the property on the same motorcycle and did not return. The matter remained unnoticed until the same woman contacted the owner again yesterday, requesting to rent room number eight once more.

At that time, the room was already occupied by another guest, so the owner offered another vacancy, but the woman insisted on renting the same room. Her persistence raised suspicion, leading the owner to inspect the room and discover wiring above the ceiling.

Dailynews reported that officers are now working to identify and track down the suspects for prosecution, while expanding the investigation to determine whether the equipment is linked to a wider scam network.

In similar news, police operations led to the seizure of a Chinese-operated SIM box at a Bangkok condominium, used for financial scams. The condominium was found to contain three SIM boxes, each capable of housing 32 SIM cards, and a CCTV camera for monitoring activities.