Fake abduction ransom scams target Thailand university students

[webfact]

 

University students in Thailand have been coerced into participating in an intricate scam operation, revolving around filming fake abduction videos. The intention was for these videos to be sent to the student’s parents as a means to extort ransom money. The case emerged when a student from the Lat Krabang district was entrapped in the same scheme, resulting in a rescue operation on August 7.

 

The shady operation is suspected to be coordinated by a gang based in call centres located in Myanmar and Cambodia. These allegations were put forth by Police Major General Panthana Nuchanart, deputy commissioner of Thailand’s Immigration Bureau (IB) and leader of the first Police Cyber Taskforce (PCT) team.

 

Elaborating on the fake abduction scam incident, Panthana revealed that the scammers had first contacted the unsuspecting victim, a third-year student from a university in the Bang Khen district of Bangkok. This individual was told that they were communicating with Thailand Post Office staff located in Songkhla province, where her bank passbook was allegedly discovered.

The passbook had supposedly been linked to money-laundering activity and was found amid twelve passports from Myanmar, nine ATM cards and a total of eight bank passbooks. The scammers used this fraudulent narrative to convince the student to file a report with Songkhla police.

 

by Mitch Connor

Photo courtesy of Bangkok Post

 

Full story: https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/crime/thailand-university-students-tricked-into-fake-abduction-scams-for-ransom-extortion

 

-- © Copyright Thaiger 2023-08-14

 

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[steven100]

Thailand .... the land of scams ....   Lol