Thai Man Reports Job Scam Ending in Forced Mule Accounts

Picture courtesy of Matichon 

A Thai man has filed a police complaint after being deceived into applying for a dietary supplement sales job in Bangkok, only to be taken to the Thai–Cambodian border and coerced into opening bank mule accounts for a scam network. The case highlights the continuing impact of cross-border fraud operations targeting Thai jobseekers and involving organised criminal groups.

At 10.30am on 17 December 2025, the victim was accompanied by Thanmanat Tangtim, also known as “Sergeant Kings Saphan Mai”, to lodge a complaint with investigators from the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division of the Central Investigation Bureau. The complaint was submitted outside the Liab Duan–Dan Neramit market area, seeking legal action against those responsible for luring Thais into scam operations in Cambodia, allegedly involving Thai, Chinese and Cambodian nationals, as well as Cambodian soldiers.

The victim, Thanach or “Pao”, aged 38 from Buriram, said he was recruited via Facebook for work related to dietary supplements, initially promised as employment in Bangkok. He travelled with four others, making a group of five, but was later taken to Aranyaprathet district in Sa Kaeo province under the pretext of training in Chanthaburi. During the journey, the group was diverted into a sugarcane field in the Khlong Nam Sai area, where armed Cambodian soldiers surrounded and detained them.

Thanach said the soldiers escorted them across a canal into Cambodia and handed them over to Chinese financiers and a Thai boss at a scam compound. He was separated from the others, had his identity card confiscated, and was forced to reveal mobile phone and bank account passwords. Five bank accounts, including those intended for salary payments and personal use, were allegedly converted into mule accounts.

The scammers later claimed he would be sent home but instead moved him to a hotel guarded by armed Cambodian soldiers, who said he had been sold and must earn 200,000 baht per day. After being threatened, he escaped with another victim when guards were distracted, hid in the forest overnight and walked more than eight kilometres before encountering Thai rangers, who helped him return to Thailand.

After facing immigration charges and securing bail, Thanach contacted banks and found all accounts frozen following complaints filed in three jurisdictions: Krathum Baen, Ban Bueng and Pak Chong police stations. He also submitted names of suspected individuals involved to investigators.

The mother of another victim, a 24-year-old man from Chonburi known as “Suea”, said her son vanished after travelling for supposed training and later messaged that he was imprisoned in Cambodia on allegations linked to a fatal altercation with security guards during an escape attempt. She urged authorities to help repatriate him and other Thai victims. Matichon reported that police are expected to pursue investigations into the trafficking network and coordinate with relevant agencies regarding victims still held in Cambodia.

Key Takeaways

• A Thai man reported being trafficked to Cambodia after a fake job offer and forced to create mule accounts.

• The case alleges involvement of organised scam gangs and armed Cambodian soldiers.

• Authorities are investigating and families are seeking help to repatriate other victims.

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 Adapted by Asean Now from Matichon.2025-12-18