Photo courtesy of Bangkok Post

 

The Royal Thai Police (RTP) have issued a public alert to identify suspicious behaviors linked to foreign-operated call center scam rings. These scams have increasingly become a concern due to financial losses from fraudsters impersonating government officials. National police chief Pol Gen Kittharath Punpetch is especially worried about these scams, which use residential areas as their covert operational bases.

 

Call center scams often involve renting condominiums or private homes to evade detection, using phones and social media to target victims in Thailand and abroad. To aid in identifying these operations, the RTP has highlighted four red-flag behaviors: foreign nationals without clear occupations, frequent foreign-language phone conversations, homes with drawn curtains and unusual lighting patterns, and a large amount of communications equipment. These indicators often point to suspicious activities aimed at deceiving and defrauding victims.

 

The public is urged to report any such suspicious activity to help dismantle illegal operations. Meanwhile, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has enforced stricter rules on SIM box and gateway device ownership. As of October 23, individuals with these devices containing four or more SIM cards must obtain a license within 90 days to avoid penalties.

 

NBTC acting secretary-general Trairat Viriyasirikul stated that failure to comply could result in imprisonment of up to five years, fines of up to 100,000 baht, or both. This regulation follows an earlier directive from August 30, introducing preventive measures to combat tech-related crimes. These efforts aim to significantly reduce the impact of call center scams and ensure stricter controls over telecom operations.

 

Key Takeaways

• Thai Police alert the public to identify behaviors of foreign scam operators.
• NBTC requires licenses for SIM boxes with four or more SIM cards.
• Non-compliance may lead to severe penalties including fines and imprisonment.

 

Related Stories:

Call Centre Scam Foiled After Targeting Deputy Commander

Police Bust Scam Call Network in Sa Kaeo, Seize Sim Box Device

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from Bangkok Post 2025-10-28

 

 

What exactly is a 'sim box' ?

15 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

These scams have increasingly become a concern due to financial losses from fraudsters impersonating government officials. National police chief Pol Gen Kittharath Punpetch is especially worried about these scams, which use residential areas as their covert operational bases.

Hard to tell sometimes who the real scammers are.

15 hours ago, ukrules said:

What exactly is a 'sim box' ?

a box like this where you can insert 100s of SIM cards, so it can simulate 100s of mobile phones to make calls or send messages through. Generally connected with computers through network interface.

25 minutes ago, tomazbodner said:

a box like this where you can insert 100s of SIM cards, so it can simulate 100s of mobile phones to make calls or send messages through. Generally connected with computers through network interface.

Definitely should be confiscated and destroyed and the owners locked up for many years, police are to soft on this, it's a growing problem world wide, which reflects that there is many desperate broke people out there 

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

the RTP has highlighted four red-flag behaviors: foreign nationals without clear occupations, frequent foreign-language phone conversations

 

Damn, they caught me

21 hours ago, khunjeff said:

 

Damn, they caught me

Did they use the smart BMWS. ? 

 

1 hour ago, kiwikeith said:

Did they use the smart BMWS. ? 

 

This time it was the brilliant BYDs 🚓