Arrest warrants issued for ATM hackers

PHUKET: Police issued two more arrest warrants on September 26 for Russian suspects wanted in connection with the nation-wide ATM fraud that ripped off over 12 million baht from Government Savings Bank (GSB) ATMs.

The group of foreigners travelled around the country using specially-engineered credit cards to overcome safety precautions and empty ATMs in Phuket, Phang Nga, Surat Thani, Phretcha Buri and Bangkok provinces back in August (story here).

Five GSB ATMs in Phuket were hacked and more than 1 million baht was stolen. In Phuket’s Wichit area alone, an estimated 200,000 baht was scammed out of the ATMs.

GSB officials released information about the mass scam to authorities nearly a month after the rip-offs began. On August 30, authorities had identified one of the suspects as Russian national Rustam Shambasov.

Lt Col Peerapan Meemak of the Wichit Police submitted two more arrest warrants for Russian nationals to judicial courts on Monday. Vitalii Dvoretckii and Aleksandr Grigorev are wanted for theft, fraud and using a vehicle to flee the scene of a crime. Both are thought to have fled back to Russia.

— Kongleaphy Keam