Bangkok: A call center gang tricked students into locking themselves up, claiming they would frame them for a crime, before forcing them to call and trick their parents into giving them money, resulting in a loss of over 500,000 baht.
According to Thai News Agency, the Metropolitan Police Investigation Center and Wang Thonglang Police Station officers helped a student who was scammed by a call center gang. The student was still in a state of fear and did not believe that it was a real police officer who came to help. They were able to bring him back to the embrace of his family.
The story begins with this student receiving a phone call claiming to be a police officer from Chang Phueak Police Station, giving the victim's full name, ID card number, and bank account number. The caller then claimed that the student was involved in money laundering and instructed them to deceive their parents into transferring money for verification, under the threat of serious legal action. The student called his mother, requesting the first sum of 150,000 baht, claiming it was needed for study abroad.
The gang further manipulated the situation by concocting a story about a scholarship to study in England, prompting the student to ask for more money as collateral for a visa application. Suspicion arose within the family, but when they saw the money transferred into their account, they felt reassured and transferred a second amount of 350,000 baht, unaware of the call center gang's threats to the student to maintain the call. The family remained unaware that additional money transfers followed, with orders to the student not to inform his parents.
The family's suspicions grew when the father verified with the alleged university about the scholarship, discovering discrepancies. Despite transferring 500,000 baht, the gang demanded an additional 150,000 baht, fabricating a gambling debt under threat of harm to their son. A photo of the student's motorcycle was used as intimidation, reinforcing the threat. The student was coerced to call his mother for further assistance, under the threat of immediate prosecution.
Fortunately, a bank froze the last 150,000 baht transfer due to irregularities in the child's account activity. Upon realizing the scam, the mother reported it to the police, having already lost 520,000 baht to the gang.
The Metropolitan Police Investigation Commander stated that upon receiving the report, it was clear that a call center gang was employing scare tactics to extort money. Police investigated the student's location, discovering he was coerced into renting a room alone under false pretenses. During their intervention, police found the student's iPad had been used to communicate with the gang for 17 hours.
Further investigation revealed the call center gang also used the student's account to defraud another victim of over 100,000 baht. Police are actively investigating the network behind these scams. Authorities emphasize the importance of informing family members about such scams to prevent further victims from falling prey to these schemes.