Cyber Police Dismantle iCloud Pawn Scheme with 5,000 Clients

Picture courtesy of Matichon.

The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) has cracked down on a large-scale illegal pawn and lending operation involving iCloud-locked mobile phones, uncovering a scheme with over 5,000 clients across the country and an estimated monthly cash flow exceeding 5 million baht.

At approximately 14.30 on August 7, Police Lieutenant General Trirong Phiwphan, Commissioner of the CCIB, led a team alongside Police Colonel Wisarut Chansuwan and Police Lieutenant Colonel Rotsak Naiphongsri in a raid on a mobile phone shop in Pathum Thani province.

The premises, a business operating under the name Nakleng Mobile(translating loosely to “Mobile Gangster”), located at 1/7 Prachathipat Subdistrict, Thanyaburi District, was owned by a man identified as Mr. Jirathiwat, also known as “Keng Nakleng Mobile”.

Investigators revealed that the shop had been engaged in online mobile pawn and off-system lending activities. Instead of physically holding clients’ phones as collateral, the shop would install software that allowed them to remotely lock or disable the phones if customers defaulted on interest payments or failed to repay the principal.

“This effectively rendered the borrower’s device unusable,” said Lt Gen Trirong. “It’s a modern form of digital coercion that exploits technical control over a person’s personal device.”

Authorities have so far traced the operation to three separate branches, each reportedly involved in similar practices. The loans issued typically did not exceed 100,000 baht per client, but collectively the scheme generated millions in illicit revenue each month.

Police estimate the business had a revolving clientele of at least 5,000 borrowers nationwide, all vulnerable to exploitation via digital means. The investigation is ongoing as officers work to trace the full extent of the network and determine potential violations of consumer protection and lending laws.

Further legal proceedings are expected as charges are prepared against Mr. Jirathiwat and others involved.

  Adapted by Asean Now from Matichon 2025-08-08