Pictures courtesy of Daily News

Police in Pattaya have arrested a Malaysian national accused of defrauding a 20-year-old man of 1,933,000 baht in cash in a call centre scam. The suspect was detained on 14 February 2026 at a hotel in Nonthaburi after officers traced him through CCTV footage and vehicle registration records. The money was handed over in the car park of Big C Pattaya South.

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The case began on 11 February 2026 when Mr Pen Tai, aged 20, filed a complaint with investigators at Pattaya City Police Station. He reported receiving a phone call from 080-6623492, with the caller claiming to be an official from a mobile phone service centre. The caller alleged that his national ID card details had been used to register a phone number promoting an online gambling website.

The victim was instructed to continue the conversation via the Line application and was told that his financial transactions needed to be examined. He was persuaded to withdraw 1,933,000 baht in cash for inspection and deliver it to the suspect at the shopping centre car park. He later realised he had been deceived.

CCTV footage from 11 February showed a man wearing a white long-sleeved shirt, a face mask and carrying a black backpack walking in the car park at 2.42pm. At 2.50pm he approached the rear of the victim’s vehicle to receive the cash, then returned inside the shopping centre. At 3.01pm he exited a restroom wearing a short-sleeved white shirt without a mask, and at 3.16.pm left the mall and drove away in a white Toyota Yaris Cross, registration from Bangkok, along Sukhumvit Road towards Bangkok.

Vehicle registration checks identified the registered owner as Mr Noppadol, though the car was being used by his father, Mr Samphan, aged 60, who works as an app-based driver. He told police he had transported a passenger from Bangkok to Pattaya and later back to a hotel in the Ngam Wong Wan area of Nonthaburi. Investigators confirmed the hotel guest was Mr. YAp Chin Keong, a Malaysian national who last entered Thailand on 10 February 2026 via Don Mueang Airport and his passport photograph matched the CCTV images.

Daily News reported that police obtained a court-approved arrest warrant before arresting the suspect at his hotel room with assistance from Bang Phongphang Police Station. He faces charges of jointly committing fraud by impersonation, jointly forging and using forged official documents, and jointly inputting false information into a computer system. He has been taken into custody for further legal proceedings.

Key Takeaways

• A 20-year-old man lost 1,933,000 baht after being deceived by callers posing as mobile service officials.

• CCTV footage and vehicle registration records led police to a Malaysian suspect in Nonthaburi.

• The suspect was arrested on 14 February 2026 and faces multiple fraud and computer crime charges.

Join the discussion?

  Adapted by ASEAN Now Dailynews 15 Feb 2026

Thailand attract scammers from all over the world.It seems like heaven for fraud and so on.

I wish I could have put my hands on nearly GBP 40k when I was 20 years old.

How could he withdraw such a large cash amount?

1 hour ago, Georgealbert said:

The victim was instructed to continue the conversation via the Line application and was told that his financial transactions needed to be examined. He was persuaded to withdraw 1,933,000 baht in cash for inspection and deliver it to the suspect at the shopping centre car park.

And he did!?

No mental alarm bell were ringing?

I think a special penalty should be added to people that are caught perpetrating online scams, somehow they seem more heinous than your typical crime, and they seem to be targeting a group of people that seem more defenseless than your typical victim.

There is a whole subculture in this world, who absolutely refuse to work for a living, and instead like to prey on those who are vulnerable, naive, dumb, and easy victims. It is our responsibility to be careful, prudent, willing to do some vetting, some research, some due diligence, anytime we part with cash. Especially online. Dealing with Ebay, Lazada, or Amazon is one thing. You have recourse. But, dealing with Facebook vendors, Instagram, Youtube, dating sites, phone callers, or any other social media, the scammers outweigh the real deals. People get taken every day. I get junk emails offering me at least $100 million a month.

 

These people are parasites, they barely deserve the oxygen they consume, and we must do everything in our power to deny the scammers and online worms. 

12 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

These people are parasites, they barely deserve the oxygen they consume, and we must do everything in our power to deny the scammers and online worms. 

I feel the folks who sell drugs and thieving Katoeys, or jetski scammers or tarts who drug and rob customers etc etc are deserving of brutality too. Society is too lenient on those that refuse to be part of it!

Just another wannabe tick toxic or Yooboob star, nobody with a brain fall for get rich quick schemes.

Revoke all privileges and send this Malaysian leech packing pronto.