Police have broken up and closed down a Chinese scam ring operating out of a luxury rental home in Saraphi district of Chiang Mai, arresting 10 Chinese suspects and seizing a vast cache of electronic equipment allegedly used to swindle their compatriots.
A team from the Region 5 Police Information Technology Crime Suppression Centre (PCT 5) raided the property in a residential estate in Nong Phueng sub-district yesterday. Those arrested include both male and female Chinese nationals, who had allegedly turned the house into a makeshift call centre.
During the raid, officers confiscated 10 laptop computers and over 100 mobile phones, which have been logged as evidence.
One of the suspects reportedly confessed to investigators that the group had entered Chiang Mai on 60-day tourist visas. They rented the house for 80,000 baht a month to serve as an operational base, receiving monthly salaries ranging between 35,000 and 40,000 baht. The mastermind behind the operation is believed to be pulling the strings from abroad.
Pol Maj Gen Thawatchai Pongwiwattanachai, deputy commissioner of Provincial Police Region 5, said the gang specifically targeted victims back in China.
According to Pol Maj Gen Thawatchai, the scammers would contact potential victims pretending to be insurance agents or delivery courier representatives. They would trick the victims into downloading malicious applications which could hack their personal data.
Once the data was compromised, the scammers would fabricate issues with the victims' accounts, ultimately duping them into transferring money under the guise of an "official investigation".
Police are currently expanding their investigation to follow the money and seek to have the overseas ringleader apprehended, along with any other accomplices involved in the network.
