- Photo: The Nation/ANN
BANGKOK: A Thai woman was arrested on Wednesday (Jan 8) for allegedly collaborating with another Thai woman and a Chinese man to steal credit cards from clients at an Onsen spa in Bangkok and using them to make fraudulent purchases.
Police obtained arrest warrants for the trio and arrested 22-year-old Thanchanok (surname withheld) at her condominium room in Vadhana district on Wednesday morning.
The other suspects, identified only by their initials, “Nor” and “Aor”, are believed to have fled the country last week.
The investigation began after a victim reported her credit cards were stolen and used to make purchases worth 300,000 baht.
The case was also brought to light by a popular Facebook page, Mor Lab Panda, which posted a warning on Sunday saying that several Onsen spa clients in the Thong Lor area had fallen victim to similar thefts, with the stolen cards being used to buy goods worth hundreds of thousands of baht
On Tuesday, another woman told a TV station that her credit card, stored in a locker at the same Onsen, was stolen and later used to spend over 100,000 baht at a nearby coffee shop.
The coffee shop owner claimed the card was processed via a borrowed electronic data capture (EDC) machine, but did not disclose the borrower’s identity, later voiding the transaction.
The victim who filed the complaint at Thong Lor Police Station revealed that her three credit cards, stored in a locker for just one hour, were stolen. The cards were later used to withdraw 343,000 baht.
Following the complaint, police cooperated with banks to track down the owner of the EDC machine before tracing and arresting Thanchanok.
Thanchanok reportedly admitted to providing the EDC machines to the other two suspects, who used an electronic card they had purchased online to bypass the Onsen’s wristband system to access lockers and steal credit cards.
Thanchanok would then coordinate with the EDC machine owners, instructing them to transfer the stolen funds to her, keeping 10% as her share, while the rest went to Nor and Aor. - The Nation/ANN
