Scam gang tricks child, steals over a million baht from his father

A man in South Thailand is the latest victim of the country’s call centre scam pests. A call centre scam gang tricked the man’s son into transferring 1,206,000 baht to the gang from his father’s bank account from July 7-25. The 49 year old man, ‘A’, and his 10 year old son live in the province of Nakhon Sri Thammarat.

The gang first called A’s phone on the LINE app. A had allowed his son to use his phone for online lessons, and to play games. When the scammer realised a child had picked up the phone, he saw a golden opportunity to take advantage.

The scammer asked the boy what games he liked to play, and if he would like to win points. After the boy excitedly answered “yes,” the scammer gave him directions, telling the boy to not tell his father what he was doing. He first told the boy to send them a photo of his father’s Thai ID. The scammer was then able to trick the boy into making seven bank transactions from July 7-25. The gang stole a total of 1,206,000 baht. After they had stolen the money, the scammers blocked contact with the boy.

A later received notifications about the transactions. It turns out that the gang had called his phone at just the right time, when his young son had it. A has now reported the incident, and police are investigating.

Call centre scams are an issue in Thailand, and gangs are always coming up with new ways to lure victims. In the past, this has included using ‘deepfake’ videos to make their scams look more realistic. Scammers have also told victims that they need to transfer money for things the victim never actually bought. In this latest scam incident, the scammers took advantage of a child’s innocence.

SOURCE: Daily News