4 foreign hackers behind 560 million baht malware scam arrested in Phuket
Royal Thai Police (RTP) arrested four foreign hackers who fled Switzerland to evade arrest warrants to hide in Phuket after operating a malware scam that defrauded more than 1,000 victims, causing total losses of over US$16 million, or approximately 560 million baht.
Swiss officials sought cooperation from the RTP to extradite the four malware scammers back to Switzerland for further legal proceedings. This led officers from the Immigration Bureau and Provincial Police Region 8 to launch an operation called PHOBOS to locate and apprehend the suspects.
During the operation, police raided four accommodations in Phuket, including the Mono Palai Private Pool Villa, Supalai Palm Spring, Supalai Vista, and Phyll Phuket x Phuketique Phyll.
Officers arrested the four foreign hackers during the raid but their identities were not disclosed in the report. Their nationalities are believed to be Swiss, based on the source of their arrest warrants.
The gang reportedly carried out the malware scam by using ransomware to encrypt victims’ personal data, locking it and then demanding a ransom for its retrieval. If victims refused to pay, the gang would threaten to expose their personal data to the public.
The ransom was demanded in cryptocurrency to make it more difficult for officers to trace and apprehend the scammers.
According to PPTV HD, more than 1,000 people worldwide fell victim to the gang, with total losses exceeding US$16 million, or approximately 560 million baht.
Swiss officials eventually tracked down the gang, but they managed to flee to Thailand and continued their scam operations. Officers seized 40 items as evidence, including mobile phones, laptops, and digital wallet accounts.
In Switzerland, the gang faces charges of conspiracy to commit an offence against the United States and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
In a separate case, another foreign criminal, a Chinese national, was extradited from Thailand to the Shanghai Economic Police three weeks ago.
The Chinese suspect was accused of collaborating with others to use a loan application to defraud Chinese victims of 112 million yuan, or approximately 520 million baht.
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