Thai police apprehend call centre scam gang in Sungai Kolok district

A call centre scam gang was apprehended by the police in the district of Sungai Kolok, Narathiwat province yesterday, January 27. The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) Chief, Jirabhop Bhuridej, disclosed that the operation was executed in collaboration with the Crime Suppression Division Subdivision 6 and local police. They raided a house located in the border district with Malaysia.

The arrested suspects were a local 24 year old woman, Sarina, and two Malaysians, 25 year old Kiang Wan, and 36 year old Kuok Rong. During the raid, the police confiscated 15 SIM boxes, GSM gateways, and three WiFi routers.

Jirabhop explained that a SIM box, worth approximately 100,000 baht (US$2,806), can target 480 potential victims simultaneously. The suspects face charges of operating an illegal telecommunication business and using unauthorised radio communication equipment. Additionally, Wan is accused of unauthorised entry into Thailand, reported Bangkok Post.

According to the police, Sarina and Wan admitted their charges, claiming they were acting as housekeepers for a Malaysian employer. They used their wages to rent the house and purchase the equipment. Rong, however, refuted the charges, stating that he only transferred funds to Sarina and was not involved in the scam.

Jirabhop announced that the police intend to extend their investigation into the gang. The raid was the result of an investigation into the illicit installation of GSM gateways for call centre scams in the province. The gang used a SIM box method to reroute international calls to a mobile device via the internet, using a SIM bank – a device capable of reading a bank for SIM cards – to communicate with GSM gateways in other locations through a cloud server.

The gateways would then convert the Internet signal into a cellular signal, which would be indicated by the local country code on the victim’s mobile screen. This technique allows the scammer to evade the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission’s (NBTC) regulation on telephone prefixes. Both Sim Bank and GSM gateways are costly tools that require NBTC authorisation before use.