Thai Authorities Arrest 35 Taiwanese Nationals For Fraud

[webfact]

DSI rounds up 35 fraudsters in two raids

BANGKOK: -- The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) Tuesday arrested 35 Taiwanese nationals in two separate locations for running call centres to dupe people into transferring money to them. The suspects will be interrogated at the DSI head office before Taiwanese authorities are contacted to take further action.

Following a tip-off, DSI and related officials raided the two four-storey commercial buildings rented in Samut Prakan's Muang district at 11.30am and rounded up 15 suspects while they were keying data into notebook computers. DSI officials also seized four notebook computers, 14 telephones and 45 sets of Internet connection devices. The gang, reportedly led by Taiwanese man Yang Hsin-Ping, had been running a call centre on the first floor for more than a month with a restaurant on the ground floor as a cover up.

Meanwhile, another team of DSI officials also raided a rented house on Bang Na-Trat Road, kilometre 4, where a similar call centre was set up. During the raid, 20 Taiwanese suspects were arrested and many computers, telephones and Internet devices confiscated.

-- The Nation 2010-06-29

[surangw]

Will there be a follow up to this story as to where the money and equipment goes ( refunds) or will it all be "dissipated" ?

[olsen]

What exactly is this fraud?? Calling to people and asking them to transfer money to an account? Well....I would call that begging....not fraud.....????

[TheBarbarian]

Thai people must have lost money, otherwise very little is done. There are still numerous boiler rooms active, where only foreigners lose their money. I assume they pay only the right people. Maybe it is time for the Taiwanese to close shop and start doing it somewhere else, they arrest people them in the hundreds.

[TheBarbarian]

What exactly is this fraud?? Calling to people and asking them to transfer money to an account? Well....I would call that begging....not fraud.....????

No they mostly dupe mainland Chinese people in giving them their electronic banking details. I think that the Chinese authorities are getting sick of it and have requested action. But even a crook does understand that when somebody is shaving you, you sit tide and wait till the problems have passed. They are obviously in need of a big Chinese community (You know the yellow shirt like people who are quite good in fraud and are mostly Chinese). They could still go to a few other Asian countries which large Chinese speaking communities used to fraud like Indonesia, where they can recruit new staff.

[TheBarbarian]

Will there be a follow up to this story as to where the money and equipment goes ( refunds) or will it all be "dissipated" ?

There will be no follow up except by the prosecution who will make a deal. These people will get send home after a short sentence for immigration offenses (working without a work permit) unless Thai citizens have been duped, but I think that is unlikely. It will all end just like the huge Chiangmai explosion ten years ago where potassium caused an entire village to disappear. The owner (Taiwanese) was arrested, the news papers claimed he was on the run. While he was actually held in remand till he had paid a huge amount to certain people after which he was put on a plane and showed up in Hong Kong.

[TAWP]

One part of the trick is calling people up and asking them to pay their back-tax, often claiming some minor fee and forgotten post was found and some money needs to be adjusted into an account that isn't the tax-agency's real account. And then they take out the cash here using their VISA cards.