A Thai scammer from Cambodia’s Poipet border town, masquerading as a police officer, was arrested yesterday in the southern Thai province of Ranong, together with 1.2 million baht in cash that he had just defrauded from an elderly victim.
Ranong police say some scam gangs in Cambodia are using their Thai employees, often impersonating Thai police officers, to approach their mostly elderly victims directly to collect their money in cash, instead of convincing them to transfer money into mule accounts via online banking systems, after commercial banks in Thailand have tightened up on unusually large online money transfers.
In this case, police said that the 26-year-old suspect, identified as only as ‘Thanapong’, encountered his 74-year-old female victim in Ranong province by randomly calling on potential victims and claiming to be a Thai police officer, attached to Prawet police station in Bangkok, investigating a criminal offence.
Then, the imposter would claim that the woman was under investigation, but warned her not to tell members of her family or they might be harmed. The imposter then called her regularly, until she became scared enough to part with three million baht to settle the case,
The victim was eventually told to withdraw money and government bonds and to tell bank officials that she needed the cash to buy a house, in order to avoid raising suspicion among bank staff.
The imposter later arrived at the victim’s house in September to collect the cash. Nevertheless, he contacted the victim again and demanded an additional 1.2 million baht.
The victim then sought help from the police, who set up a sting to ensnare the suspect when he turned up yesterday to receive the additional cash. Plain-clothed police officers, who were keeping vigil near the house, then moved in to catch the man red-handed.
Two suspected accomplices, the owner of a motorcycle rental service and a driver, were also questioned. Police said they might not, however, be aware of the scam, but they may be witnesses.
The suspect, Thanapong, is reported to have told Ranong police that he had agreed to work for a Taiwanese-run scam operation in Poipet because of the high pay, 25,000 baht per month, and other incentives, such as 5% commission on the money defrauded from victims, air-conditioned accommodation and three meals a day.
