Fake Electricity Authority Call Center Scams Victim for 1 Million Baht

[webfact]

Picture courtesy: Thai Rath

 

In Sakhon Nakhon, a man was conned out of over 1 million baht by scammers pretending to be electricity officials. The perpetrators tricked him into clicking a link and facial scanning, causing his life savings to vanish.

 

On 12th February, a group posing as electricity board officials contacted the victim under the pretext of upgrading his meter to a digital one. Alone at home, he was convinced to follow their instructions, which included adding them on Line, video calling, and scanning his face three times while inputting his ATM details.

 

Within moments of the scan, all money was extracted from his bank accounts, totalling approximately 1,146,651 baht. The situation was exacerbated as it coincided with a public holiday, Makha Bucha Day, delaying any immediate bank action.

The victim’s daughter, Jiraphan, shared the ordeal online, urging public awareness. Despite reporting the incident to the Vanornivas police in Sakhon Nakhon, there’s uncertainty about the recovery of the stolen funds. The family highlights the bank's hesitance to freeze the accounts swiftly, emphasising the need for an official police document.

 

This scam reflects a trend of fraudulent schemes preying on unsuspecting citizens. Victims and their families are calling for stricter protective measures from banks and law enforcement, reported Thai Rath.

 

-- 2025-02-17

 

 

[Tropicalevo]

Someone tried this scam on me.

Said that they were from the PEA and were going to change the meter to a digital one.

It did not get very far - I am not a PEA customer.

The meter is owned by the developer that distributes the electricity around the estate.

[hotchilli]

21 hours ago, webfact said:

On 12th February, a group posing as electricity board officials contacted the victim under the pretext of upgrading his meter to a digital one. Alone at home, he was convinced to follow their instructions, which included adding them on Line, video calling, and scanning his face three times while inputting his ATM details.

Ohhh dear...