Couple Get Lucky With Stolen ATM Card, Then Get Arrested

[webfact]

Couple get lucky with stolen ATM card, then get arrested

PHUKET: -- A Thai couple relieved an Irish expat of more than 750,000 baht after stealing his ATM card in Phuket and guessing his PIN number from his birth date, police said.

Chai Bunrit, 26, and Pacharin Rathanaphansunthara, 24, then went on a spree, buying a car and staying in luxury hotels across the South before their arrest in a luxury hotel in Nakhon Sri Thammarat last night.

They are now being held at Chalong Police Station.

On May 12, the victim, 41-year-old Decland Rowland, parked his pick-up on the Karon Beach Road and went for a swim with his Thai girlfriend.

He left the vehicle unlocked. The passing couple took advantage of his mistake and stole his ATM card, cellphone, 5,000 baht, five rings and various documents from inside, police said.

After discovering he’d been robbed, Mr Rowland tried to cancel his card – but his bank was closed.

In the meantime, the suspects guessed his PIN number by using his birth date, police said.

They allegedly bought a second-hand Toyota Vios using Mr Rowland’s cash and used his bank card to make 33 transactions adding up to 750,800 baht.

A team of officers from Chalong Police Station and Region 8 Headquarters in Surat Thani caught the couple in a Nakhon Sri Thammarat hotel on Wednesday night.

The pair face a variety of charges, including theft and fraud.

-- Phuket Gazette 2010-07-02

[jackdawson]

the suspects guessed his PIN number

<deleted> ?

used his bank card to make 33 transactions adding up to 750,800 baht.

<deleted> x 2 ?

ps

Pacharin Rathanaphansunthara, 24,

wonder if she's hot

Edited July 2, 2010 by jackdawson

[VictorMeldrewBKK]

the suspects guessed his PIN number

<deleted> ?

used his bank card to make 33 transactions adding up to 750,800 baht.

<deleted> x 2 ?

ps

Pacharin Rathanaphansunthara, 24,

wonder if she's hot

Sounds like a fit up by his Thai girlfriend to me. To be sure, to be sure. Edited July 2, 2010 by VictorMeldrewBKK

[ausinpatong]

sure sounds implausible all round ...

but still..anywhere you go in this world surely at least lock your car even without valubles inside..

basic common sense i would think....then again common sense is a rareity now..

[bifftastic]

left his car unlocked with his bank card in it? couldn't cancel his card cos the bank was closed? (no 24 hour 'report your card stolen' number???) how did they know his date of birth? I think he's a mug and they deserve to keep it all

[aussiebebe]

sure sounds implausible all round ...

but still..anywhere you go in this world surely at least lock your car even without valubles inside..

basic common sense i would think....then again common sense is a rareity now..

Even Thai banks post out new debit and credit cards with a warning in English not to choose an easily guessable PIN........

The Thai couple obviously never watched CSI - if they wanted to get away with theft, they should have withdrawn cash from ATMs wearing disguises. Losers.

[Pib]

This guy made several bone head mistakes (not locking his car at the beach, easily guessable PIN code, etc). Guess this Irish expat better get a new four leaf clover...and he better get a whole bale of them if he continues his current methods of protecting his valuables.

[animatic]

A total cockup all around.

Them, him, and his dog n cat.

[junglist]

stupid...unlocked and easy pin...

[dumball]

My question is , why would anyone carry so many valuables and cash with him 'To go swimming' ? Then leave his vehicle unlocked to boot , do people who live/visit here not know better ? .You should not do this type of thing anywhere in the world , but as some say "Some mothers do havém , and they survive " , unbelievable ~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[lannarebirth]

OK, so maybe his bank was closed and they could have withdrawn 25,000-40,000 baht that day after guessing his PIN number exactlt in 2 tries before the ATM ate his card.. Surely his bank must have been open sometime between May 12th and Wednesday? Sumthin' ain't right here.

[bendejo]

...used his bank card to make 33 transactions adding up to 750,800 baht.

The entities that deal with plastic cards monitor the transactions and if they detect 'suspicious activity' the card shuts down. 'Bank was closed' so couldn't report the loss? Even after six weeks? For all the plastic cards I have the PIN was given to me by the bank.

I once got an early Monday morning phone call from one of my credit card banks, asked if I spent US$1,000 at J. Crew over the weekend. I thought it was a stunt staged by a friend, who knows it's not my style (sort of like asking a Brit if he supports Argentina in the Fifa finals).

[Motoon]

Amount of money and number of transactions reported seem very strange...there are daily limits which should minimise potential damage.

Edited July 2, 2010 by Motoon

[imaneggspurt]

Amount of money and number of transactions reported seem very strange...there are daily limits which should minimise potential damage.

Yes and no, with a UK debit card ( visa ) i have no limit on purchases, only on an atm daily limit, and if he ( like me ) is a frequent user maybe they mised it,

[Boycie]

bendejo quote For all the plastic cards I have the PIN was given to me by the bank.

When i opened my Krung Thai Bank account they gave me a bank card and i set my own pin number. When the bank staff asked me to enter a pin number and i paused for thought, the bank clerk said "Birth Date Year"!!, but i decided to go for 1234 instead, not.

Only a guess but maybe they bought the car and stayed at hotels using the stolen card in a pin and chip credit card machine and forged the signature, if they ask for one.

Not sure if all banks are the same, but my KTB bank card has no name printed on the front of the card.

Now if that had said Mr. Paddy Murphy for example, 'tings' might not be so worse.

[steelepulse]

I don't know of any bank, let alone an ATM card that will let you withdraw/spend this much cash is such a short period of time, unless said unlucky punter had an AMEX black card and the pair that stole the card quickly whipped up fake ID with the punters name on it.

[Samuian]

guessing his birthdate....?

5 Rings?

car unlocked?

33 transactions?

750.000 Baht?

somthin' fishy in this story...

[richieudon]

I thought the maximum you can draw out from a Thai bank is 50,000 per day

In the Uk it's even less, 300-400 pounds

On average they were getting 22,750 baht per transaction, this would take around 2 weeks.... something stinks of poo poo

[geriatrickid]

Bank may have screwed up. Visa, MC, ATM cards are all administered by the issuing bank. In the case of my visa card, it took me 1 day of trying to get someone over a holiday weekend. On regular issues like atms that eat cards or no money delivered, the call centers often close after 5 pm and on weekends. (Welcome to the world of cost savings.)

[Boycie]

May 12th until Wednesday 30th June equals 49days or 7 weeks.

The news story doesn't state when or if the card was cancelled.

Has anyone used their thai bank card to buy a car here or pay a hotel bill?

If there is money in the account, swipe the card, enter the correct pin, money deducted from account. Any limits???

[TheBarbarian]

What a nonsense story. his card was in the car, probably with a sticky note on it with the PIN code. Than the bank was closed, obviously never realized that you could simply phone a 24 hour call center. And yes you still can dial the TOT for information, or DTAC or AIS.

[asiawatcher]

Name like Decland - is he Irish? If not then perhaps it was his girlfriend who left the car unlocked - either way it smacks of a set up but anyone using a D.o.B as a pin number deserves all they lose.

But if they were on an ATM card not a credit card - makes you wonder how the brown shirt mafia found them at a hotel. The ATM transactions could be traced to NST but cash at a hotel? Hmmm...

And the Boys in Brown cannot find the two remaining red shirt leaders at large. Oh well, sees they are good at some things and not others! LOL

[TheBarbarian]

By the way, almost All Thai people use their birthday as PIN code, so at least that part is understandable. Ask your friends their pin will always start with 25..

[asiawatcher]

I thought the maximum you can draw out from a Thai bank is 50,000 per day

In the Uk it's even less, 300-400 pounds

On average they were getting 22,750 baht per transaction, this would take around 2 weeks.... something stinks of poo poo

20,000 Baht is the usual limit per day irrespective of transactions unless you have made other arrangements. If it is an offshore bank who knows? Usually about USD500-1,000 depending what you tell your bank.

[ashleytiernan]

I thought the maximum you can draw out from a Thai bank is 50,000 per day

In the Uk it's even less, 300-400 pounds

On average they were getting 22,750 baht per transaction, this would take around 2 weeks.... something stinks of poo poo

20,000 Baht is the usual limit per day irrespective of transactions unless you have made other arrangements. If it is an offshore bank who knows? Usually about USD500-1,000 depending what you tell your bank.

You can actually upgrade your daily limit to anything and can do this at an atm machine. It will ask you for your passport number and then what limit you want to raise the limit to. I can currently withdraw upto 200,000 in 1 day

[shadiadi]

Actually with Kasikorn bank you can up your daily withdrawl limit to 100,000 baht a day also you can up your daily transfer limit to 1 million which you can transfer to any other kasikorn account in one transaction

[prakhonchai nick]

Wouldn't the stores where the transactions were made wonder why a Thai had a farang name?

This whole story is a wind up!

[Mauric42]

I've read the comments on the fraudulent transactions, which are fair enough, but shouldn't we also congratulate the Thai police for catching the thieves? People are all to ready to criticise things and people in Thailand, but there is so much to praise too, including maybe these cops.

[Boater]

Wouldn't the stores where the transactions were made wonder why a Thai had a farang name?

This whole story is a wind up!

Thai Bank cards dont have names on them !

[bipper]

[Well if it was an inside job then maybe someone else left the car door open......But the DOB as a pin no now thats just plain stupid.

quote name=Pib' date='2010-07-02 03:23' timestamp='1278041029' post='3724119]

This guy made several bone head mistakes (not locking his car at the beach, easily guessable PIN code, etc). Guess this Irish expat better get a new four leaf clover...and he better get a whole bale of them if he continues his current methods of protecting his valuables.