Bangkok: "Chai???" (Victory) is urging authorities to intensify efforts against call center gangs after a first-year university student and her parents were swindled out of 2.6 million baht. The sophisticated scam involved impersonation and direct cash pickups, underscoring the evolving nature of such crimes.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Chaichana Dechdecho, a Member of Parliament from the Democrat Party and an advisor to the House of Representatives' Police Committee, disclosed details of the incident. He received a complaint from parents of a student at Bangkok University who became the victim of this elaborate scheme. The scammers deceived the student by falsely linking her bank account to criminal activities, causing her and her family to panic.
The perpetrators forced the student to participate in the scam by impersonating a professor through modified LINE accounts. They convinced her parents she had won a scholarship to study abroad, which required financial transactions for security and visa purposes. The scam even involved an impersonated consul to enhance credibility, leading the parents to transfer funds, resulting in a total loss of approximately 2.6 million baht.
Mr. Chaichana noted that this case exemplifies how call center scams have evolved. Instead of directly targeting victims, these scams now manipulate victims into deceiving their family members, making it easier for loved ones to fall prey to the deception.
The incident raises critical questions about how students' personal information was accessed by the gang and whether government efforts to inform the public about such scams are effective. Mr. Chaichana highlighted the alarming aspect of the scammers' payment collection method, which included instructing victims to withdraw cash, with perpetrators personally collecting the money from the student's residence. This brazen act involved two separate cash withdrawals totaling millions of baht.
"This situation indicates that despite Thailand's legal measures to combat call center gangs, these criminals remain undeterred, even going so far as to collect cash in person," Mr. Chaichana remarked.
He called upon the Prime Minister and the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) to prioritize dismantling these criminal networks and ensure the recovery of the victims' funds.
The parents of the victim revealed that they were compelled to borrow money from friends and colleagues, believing their daughter needed it for a visa and financial proof to study in Germany. Their trust and willingness to support their daughter's purported opportunity resulted in significant financial loss.