BANGKOK, May 25 - The commander-in-chief of the police announced the capture of a "stingray" device, a special device used by call center gangs to create an avatar to send SMS and attach a link to deceive victims of money transfer. I believe it's the first catch. Initially, more than 20 people were found dead, the damage value was over 20 million baht.
Pol. Gen. Damrongsak Kittipraphat Commissioner of the National Police (Chief of Police) along with representatives of mobile phone networks and related agencies Announcing the progress of the short message (SMS) movement in the form of a fake link. Claims to be a financial institution to steal money from the victim.
Pol. Lt. Gen. Worawat Wat Nakhon Bancha, Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Embassy, said that there were victims of the SMS sending movement in the form of fake links. claiming to be a bank Scam victims money In which the aforementioned movement is spreading, found information about the online reporting system during March-May 2023, with online reports totaling damages of 175,159,482 baht, therefore expediting investigation and arrest.
Until it was found that the criminals would do it by putting a simulator of a base station (False Base Station), or what the cyber police called a "stingray" machine, put it in the car and drove it to different places. In Bangkok and its vicinity, if a car passes through any direction, it sends a signal to a nearby mobile phone and sends an SMS with a fake link claiming to be a financial institution, the Revenue Department, Electricity Authority, etc.
Previously, such devices were used at the borders of neighboring countries and transmitted in Thailand. Causing Thailand to use signal control measures to be within a limited radius Criminals therefore have to import the said device into the country directly instead. If people trust the link and click on it, they will be asked to install a remote control application. You can transfer money from a bank account where the phone has a Mobile Banking application installed.
Initially, the police were able to arrest Mr. Suksan, 40, with a total of 6 people while the car was driving away to send a signal. Seized 5 vehicles equipped with “Stingray” engines, investigating the accused confessing to all charges By acknowledging that he was contacted by acquaintances working in neighboring countries By receiving wages for signal transmission 80,000 baht per month, which the said machine can send signals to nearby 20,000 phone numbers per day per machine by receiving 4-5 phones which he and They don't have in-depth knowledge of how to use the equipment. There is a function of just pressing to open and connect the signal. The victim's phone number is not required. But it is the method of intercepting the signal from the actual antenna.
Pol. Maj. Gen. Wiwat Khamchamnan, deputy commissioner of the Royal Thai Embassy, revealed that the "stingray" device is a device used to forge signal towers and send SMS messages to victims. Usually used in the event of a disaster where the mobile signal is not working. and as a means of communication to the victims or used in the Secret Service of the United States or underground unit to intercept information Because it is a small signal tower, it can fool mobile phones in the area to connect to the said signal tower. It can also set the name of the sender to various agencies. In March, the FBI coordinated the police with the Royal Thai Police to investigate after information that such devices had entered Thailand in large numbers. It has also been found to be used to send links to online gambling sites.
Maj. Gen. Wiwat said that from now on, a letter of inquiry must be sent to the military agency. This device is used in military affairs. Or is it a military weapon? If it is, there will be more charges against the accused.
Trirat Wiriyasirikul Deputy Secretary General Acting Secretary General Office of the Broadcasting Commission television business And the National Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) said that such equipment is prohibited by law to be imported. Guests are not allowed to use in any case The behavior of the accused over the network will not be aware that the SMS has been sent because these SMSs do not pass directly through the network towers. But it's an export from a fake pole.
Pol. Gen. Damrongsak said that from the preliminary investigation, will there be more accused groups from now on? The main database of this group is located abroad. to operate only on the device Which is worth millions of baht per device
Preliminary charge of 'committing, possessing, using, importing, exporting or trading radio communication equipment. Without obtaining a license from the licensing officer under Section 6 of the Radio Communications Act, B.E. 2498, jointly set up a radio communication station without a license From the official who issued the license under Section 11 of the Radio Communications Act B.E. 2498, joint use of waves Frequency of telecommunication business Without permission, which is a business operation. The third type of telecommunications under Section 67(3) under the Telecommunications Business Act, being a secret society or a thieves' house under the Criminal Code'
Ms. Picchaon (Last name preserved), 47 years old, the victim revealed the behavior of the criminal gang that While he was sitting at work, an SMS was sent to himself stating that “Your account is being attempted to transact”, which included a link in the SMS. and the system has specified to add friends through the LINE application and change the link name to K Connect
After that, the staff will contact you to ask for your name. And their usage information whether they are doing transactions in Chiang Mai or not By himself refusing and stating that he was in Bangkok Then the scammers reported information that someone tried to transact with their account via Gmail. which all information provided is correct Also know that he has a total of 4 deposit accounts.
Then continue to press an application called "K Security". Criminals pretend that this app will be able to verify the source of who is logging into their own account. But in fact, pressing it is to remote control your own phone. And after that can't do anything with the phone. It looks like the phone is updating in percent. and when the phone is finished updating It was found that the money had been transferred from all 4 accounts in the amount of more than 300,000 baht and from a credit card account that fraudsters tricked into transferring money to the Siam Commercial Bank account. And went in to change the limit into cash for about 80,000 baht, the total damage was almost 400,000 baht, including the time that the gang used to deceive the transaction, about 30-35 minutes.
Reporters reported that During the press conference, cyber police experimented with sending messages from a seized "stingray" device to media and press conference attendees. By sending a message saying "Don't believe, don't rush, don't transfer with concern from the cyber police", it appears that the device can send messages to mobile phones in a short time. and found that while transmitting the signal to make the network The normal mobile phone signal is loaded. And when the message is received, the mobile network signal returns to normal.-Thai News Agency
Source: Thai News Agency