- Photo: The Nation/ANN
PHNOM PENH: Cyber Police arrest 2 call centre scammers operating from a Cambodian casino, posing as officers to threaten victims into transferring large sums of money.
The Cyber Crime Investigation Division held a press conference on Saturday (July 5), announcing the arrest of two suspects involved in an extensive call centre scam gang operating in Chiang Mai and Phuket.
Pol Lt Gen Trairong Phiwpan, Commander of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, revealed that the arrests followed an investigation into hybrid scams, where victims had reported being deceived online.
The scam involved perpetrators using attractive profile pictures to build trust with victims, eventually convincing them to invest in cryptocurrency.
The victims were duped into making 147 payments, which were later found to be transferred into 79 mule accounts, amounting to approximately 308 million baht.
The Cyber Police then gathered evidence and obtained warrants for 76 individuals linked to the scam. 46 arrests have been made so far, with authorities continuing their efforts to apprehend those involved.
- Photo: The Nation/ANN
Links to Chinese-led call centre gang
While investigating, police uncovered evidence linking the suspects to a Chinese-run call centre gang based in the Phuri Casino in Poipet, Cambodia.
The gang operated by posing as government officials to intimidate victims, pressuring them to transfer money to prove their innocence in criminal cases.
The operation was organised into four distinct roles:
Line 1: Contacted victims and deceived them according to the script they were given.
Line 2: Followed up with victims, posing as police or government officers to further deceive them.
Line 3: Posed as a Colonel to convince victims they were involved in serious legal matters.
Support roles: Facilitated the creation of fake official documents and managed the mule accounts for financial transfers.
The authorities have since collected evidence and have requested warrants for the suspects involved in the call centre operation.
Following questioning, both suspects confessed to their involvement in the call centre scam, explaining that they had returned to their hometowns out of fear due to the conflict between Thailand and Cambodia before being apprehended.
They claimed they were deceived into joining the criminal organisation and that their role was as Line 3 operatives—posing as a Police Colonel from Mukdahan Police Station, instructing victims to transfer money to “close” their cases.
One of the suspects revealed that they had successfully deceived a victim into transferring 12 million baht, for which they were promised a 3.5% commission and a monthly salary of 25,000 baht.
The money the victims transferred into the suspects' accounts may also be linked to the "Poi Pret (ghost release) Company" operation, which is currently under investigation by the Anti-Trafficking Police Division.
The suspects are currently facing charges of:
- Participating in a criminal syndicate
- Organised crime group
- Being involved in organised crime
- Fraudulently impersonating others to deceive the public
- Involvement in computer crime
- Money laundering
The investigation is ongoing, with authorities continuing to verify the full extent of the suspects' connections to organised criminal networks. - The Nation/ANN
