Bangkok: Cyber police have come to the aid of a female student from Bangkok who became a victim of a call center scam, which led her to transfer over 300,000 baht and travel to Hat Yai, Songkhla Province under false pretenses.
According to Thai News Agency, Pol. Lt. Gen. Trairong Phiwpaen, Commander of the Technology Crime Investigation Division, shared details of the operation that rescued the student from the clutches of a call center gang. The parents of the victim, identified as Ms. A, a 19-year-old nursing student, reached out for help after their daughter repeatedly requested money, totaling 325,000 baht, citing damaged school supplies and the need to prepare for studies in Singapore. Suspicious of these requests, especially after receiving a threatening call from an unknown individual demanding more money, the parents filed a complaint at Bang Phlat Police Station on April 7, 2025.
Pol. Maj. Gen. Sirawat Deepo, Commander of the Technology Crime Suppression Division 1, was directed to assist urgently. This led to the discovery that Ms. A had been deceived into traveling to Hat Yai District. Local investigations revealed expenditures at a car rental company in Hat Yai, prompting coordination with local police to inspect a hotel where Ms. A was found and safely returned to her parents. At the time of the rescue, she was unaware of the deception.
Initial interrogations revealed that Ms. A was contacted on April 6 by an individual claiming to be from an internet company. She was falsely informed that her name was used to open an internet service in Bueng Kan, which had been linked to criminal activity. The scammer, impersonating a police officer, presented her with a forged document implicating her in money laundering and transnational crime. Under threat of harm to her family, she was coerced into transferring 300,000 baht and traveling to Songkhla Province, supposedly to maintain confidentiality during an investigation.
Further investigations revealed that the money was funneled into a mule account before being moved to a digital wallet. Police are now tracing the financial trail to apprehend and prosecute those responsible.