Bangkok police have rescued a university student believed to be the victim of a call centre gang. The gang allegedly extorted 36,000 baht from his bank account and demanded that he pay another 200,000 baht, which he was to get from his parents, purportedly to travel abroad to study under a scholarship program.
A joint task force led by Pol. Maj-Gen. Chotiwat Luangwilai on Saturday, October 17, raided a daily rental room in Phaya Thai district, where they found the student alone and still on an active call with the scammers, who hung up as soon as officers arrived.
The ordeal began on Friday, October 16, when the student received a phone call from an individual impersonating a mobile service provider official.
The caller claimed the student’s national ID card had been used to register a mobile number involved in money laundering and fraud. Because the caller correctly cited his 13-digit national ID number, the student believed the claim and was persuaded to cooperate.
The caller then transferred the student to an accomplice posing as a police investigator operating in another province. Communicating via Telegram in a group chat named "Investigation Room," the fake officer pressured the student to wire 36,000 baht from his bank account under the pretense of an audit to prove his innocence.
After draining his savings, the fraudsters instructed the student to leave his residence, check into a daily rental room in Phaya Thai, change his phone number, and hand over his LINE account verification codes.
This gave the scammers full control of his LINE profile, allowing them to communicate directly with his family.
The scammers then directed the student to contact his family asking for 200,000 to 300,000 baht under the guise of paying for an overseas study scholarship.
To increase the pressure, they instructed him to mix red sweet syrup with coffee and smear it across his body and the room walls to mimic bloodstains, creating the impression that he was being held hostage or severely harmed.
Using the compromised LINE account, the gang sent alarming messages and pictures of the fake bloodstains directly to his parents to force a swift money transfer.
Suspicious of the situation, the parents contacted his university advisors, who confirmed no such scholarship existed.
Realising their son was under threat, the parents immediately alerted the Metropolitan Police, who traced his location to the Phaya Thai rental room and intervened before any additional funds were transferred.
Following the rescue, police warned the public that genuine law enforcement officers will never demand money transfers, ask for verification codes, or instruct individuals to isolate themselves from their families.
