Pictures courtesy of Matichon

 

Tourist police have arrested three individuals linked to fraudulent Facebook pages offering fake diving trips, causing victims to lose hundreds of thousands of baht. The suspects were found to have created convincing profiles and pages that tricked tourists into booking trips that never took place.

 

The arrests were carried out on 29 October as part of a high-season crackdown on crimes harming the tourism industry. Police identified the suspects as Pin Kaew, 20, arrested in Lopburi, Rittichai, 29, arrested in Pattaya, Chonburi and Narongwit, 31, tracked via AI cameras in Nakhon Ratchasima. They face charges of “collaborative fraud against the public” and “introducing false computer data likely to cause harm to the public.”

 

The three were found to have provided “mule accounts” for scammers who created fake pages impersonating real tour operators. These included “Jenun Homestay Sattahip” in Chonburi and “De’ Mer Resort” in Rayong, offering attractive packages and discounts. Victims who transferred deposits or full payments to these accounts were unable to attend the trips and lost significant sums.

 

Investigations revealed the suspects had created a total of seven fake pages for these two businesses and were connected to at least 12 other fraudulent pages offering fake hotel bookings, concert tickets and mobile phones. The fraudulent servers were traced to a neighbouring country.

 

Tourism authorities advise the public to verify online booking pages through the Tourism Department’s website before transferring payments. The police also provided a 24-hour hotline, 1155, and the Tourist Police app for reporting suspicious activity.

 

Authorities will continue to pursue further suspects and expand investigations to other pages connected to these accounts. The three arrested suspects have been handed over to local prosecutors to proceed according to the arrest warrants.

 

 

Key Takeaways

 

• Three suspects arrested for running fake diving trip pages, causing losses of hundreds of thousands of baht.

• Investigations link the suspects to at least 12 other fraudulent online pages and 16 victims.

• Authorities urge verification of online travel bookings through official channels before payment.

 

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  Adapted  by  Asean  Now from.Matichon 2025-10-30

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was a fake tdac page up and running a few weeks ago. Realised it was fake when they asked for fifty dollars to process the application!