A 47 year old woman in Udon Thani province, Thailand, has fallen victim to a gang posing as police officers, losing more than 700,000 baht (US$20,000) she had saved over 10 years through a telephone scam. The money was earmarked for paying off debt owed on machinery and bank loans. The victim has urged the police to apprehend the culprits and recover the lost funds.

 

The woman, known only as A, reported that she had received a telephone scam call from a woman claiming to be a police officer from Tak police station, alleging that she was involved in drug trafficking in the area. The imposter instructed her to transfer all her valuable assets, including money, as they would be investigated by the Narcotics Control Board (NCB). Once the investigation was complete, she was told her assets would be returned.

 

A said she began to trust the false information and added Tak police station on the Line instant messaging app for further updates. Soon, a man who claimed to be a deputy inspector called her and convinced her that she was in serious trouble. Due to her family’s previous run-ins with the police, she succumbed to fear and began transferring money to the designated accounts via a mobile banking app. She later disclosed other assets, including homes, cars, and land, and was instructed to transfer those too.

 

by Nattapong Westwood

TOP PHOTO: iStock

 

Full story: https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/crime/thai-woman-loses-700000-baht-in-phone-scam-by-fake-police-investigating-false-drug-charges-2

 

-- © Copyright Thaiger 2023-06-16

 

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If Ms A was NOT involved in drug trafficking, then two words should have been used to the callers.

What a load of the dog's dangly bits 

51 minutes ago, KannikaP said:

If Ms A was NOT involved in drug trafficking, then two words should have been used to the callers.

If she didn't recognise the number she shouldn't have answered the phone.

This is soo beyond stupid, that there are probably not any words for it.

Some people just beg to be burned.

If it's any cold comfort to her, many westerners, much more suave and  knowledgeable than her have fallen for similar scams and worse, this scamming business is going around everywhere nowadays.

Naive but i do feel for her.

 

My wife got a call similar to this, the caller saying that they, "the police, had intercepted a parcel addressed to her that upon inspection contained heroin. Mrs Nik duly reacted very angrily - "i want my drugs - send my drugs now or pay for them". Whoever thay were, they hung up!!

 

 

An AN headline from a couple of days ago:

Scammer Tells Police: Thais Most Gullible In Asia

And another:

Thai man trapped in a crooked web of deceit seeks media help after being swindled by cunning con artist.

 

Yep. You don't have to be a Nigerian Prince to scam some Thai people.

2 hours ago, KannikaP said:

If Ms A was NOT involved in drug trafficking, then two words should have been used to the callers.

Bye bye?

2 hours ago, KannikaP said:

If Ms A was NOT involved in drug trafficking, then two words should have been used to the callers.

I 'll bet the 2nd one was OFF !!

Similar scam attempted on a neighbour.  The phoney cop's introduction was that  he was working on the neighbour's apparent involvement in drug smuggling and money-laundering.  It got as far as obtaining details of the neighbour's multiple bank accounts + a lot of personal data. 

However, in full panic mode, the neighbour came to see my missus who explained the scam in words of one syllable and helped the neighbour to freeze her bank accounts and notify the local cops. 

I got this message from True earlier today.  Original message and google translate version.

3 hours ago, watchcat said:

If she didn't recognise the number she shouldn't have answered the phone.

A good friend of mine changes his number every 3 months or so for me promotion. A neighbor called me today from a new phone number - she also changed numbers frequently. So that's not really the answer imo.

3 hours ago, ezzra said:

if it's any cold comfort to her, many westerners, much more suave and  knowledgeable

I met a few of these blokes about 7 years ago.

The biggest bunch of scumbags I have ever met.

 

 

4 hours ago, nikmar said:

Naive but i do feel for her.

 

My wife got a call similar to this, the caller saying that they, "the police, had intercepted a parcel addressed to her that upon inspection contained heroin. Mrs Nik duly reacted very angrily - "i want my drugs - send my drugs now or pay for them". Whoever thay were, they hung up!!

 

 

Brilliant, they probably thought they were dealing with a gang member. Were they? 

1 hour ago, LukKrueng said:

  5 hours ago, watchcat said:

If she didn't recognise the number she shouldn't have answered the phone.

Not so easy if your expecting a delivery from Laz different delivery companies, different drivers, I M Ex most scam numbers begin with +0#