Krabi: A young man filed a complaint with the Foundation for Justice Restoration after a scammer impersonated him and asked to get a new SIM card, resulting in a loss of nearly 70,000 baht.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Kittinat, 37, an employee of an oil exploration company, sought assistance from the Social Justice Foundation after his personal mobile phone was suddenly disconnected. On Sunday, January 12, at around 19:30, Kittinat realized his phone was cut off and initially thought it was due to a signal tower issue. However, within three minutes, he received notifications of three unauthorized online credit card transactions totaling nearly 70,000 baht. The fraudulent transactions included a payment of 46,964 baht at 19:33, followed by two payments of 10,000 baht each at 19:41 and 19:42.
Kittinat contacted his network provider and discovered that someone had impersonated him at a service center in Krabi province to obtain a new SIM card under his number. He requested the provider to gather evidence and suspend his network. Although relieved at first, Kittinat later received another warning at 4:00 a.m. indicating additional unauthorized credit card activity. Upon inquiry, he learned that the SIM card had been reactivated despite his previous complaint. Frustrated by the lack of action, Kittinat demanded another suspension of his network. On January 13, he filed a report at Bang Khen Police Station and visited a local network center to obtain a new SIM card and restore his phone service.
The scammers exploited the full credit limit of Kittinat's card, nearly draining 70,000 baht. He managed to obtain evidence showing a man and woman visiting the Krabi branch, using ID cards that contained his personal information but not his photograph. Discrepancies in the ID card details, such as the English spelling of names and issue dates, suggested the use of forged identification.
Kittinat explained that the Krabi branch manager admitted staff only verified ID card images on mobile phones, not the physical cards. This lapse enabled the scammers to open a new SIM card. He expressed confusion over why the SIM card, last activated in Lak Si District, Bangkok, was requested in Krabi, urging for more stringent checks on original documents and SIM usage.
He appealed to the network provider to hold responsible employees accountable for allowing the SIM card changes without proper verification. Additionally, Kittinat sought to prosecute the fraudsters to mitigate his financial and reputational damages.
The Foundation for the Restoration of Social Justice plans to assist Kittinat in providing information to Thung Song Hong Police Station for further legal action.