Thai police announce arrests in crackdown on transnational scam call-center gang

Thai police have busted members of a transnational call center gang that targeted Thais with millions of fake calls and messages, causing billions of baht in losses tied to people’s private information, officials said Friday.

The seizure of more than 100 SIM boxes in at least one raid was the largest such haul in Thai history, Police Lt. Gen. Jirabhop Bhuridej, the Central Investigation Bureau commander, told reporters without saying when the crackdown occurred. He said the SIM boxes were used to deceive victims. 

“If fully operational, these could make simultaneous calls from 3,200 numbers, connecting to call centers in neighboring countries to simultaneously scam people within seconds. In one day, this could amount to millions of numbers,” Jirabhop said, noting that three Vietnamese and four Burmese nationals were arrested.

“The criminals can call from anywhere, making calls to Thailand through internet signals that are converted at a single gateway we discovered into home phone signals,” he said.

Previously, authorities said that some 79 million fraudulent calls and text messages sent to unwitting Thais had resulted in people losing more than 53.8 billion baht (U.S. $1.46 billion) through releasing their personal information to the scammers.

Jirabhop said police found the SIM boxes installed at two locations in Bangkok and six in nearby Nakhon Pathom province. 

“We cannot determine exactly how many call center gangs there are or who controls them all, but in the past, we have captured Thais, Chinese and Vietnamese in various places within Thailand and at the borders of neighboring countries. Everything is scattered and disorganized,” he said.

From March 2022 to February 2024, there were 463,712 reported cases of cyber crime, including phone scams, data from the Royal Thai Police show.

In early 2024, Thai police conducted two raids on phone-scam operations.

In March, 51 foreigners and 12 Thais were arrested during a raid in the southern city of Nakhon Si Thammarat, during which 192 computers and 854 mobile phones were seized.

Last month, police reported capturing a key Chinese “mastermind” behind another call center gang, who was allegedly responsible for over 30 cases related to transnational organized crime. 

“We have traced the financial pathways of this gang including bank accounts, cryptocurrencies, and various online wallets amounting to around 70 billion baht ($1.9 billion). We have already seized some of the assets and will continue to pursue further leads,” Jirabhop said at the time.

In Chiang Mai, an employee at a beauty clinic urged others to be wary of text messages from unknown sources.

“These days, I waste a lot of time dealing with these SMS scams,” said Wantana Hindet, 44. “I’m still fortunate not to have my money stolen like others in the news. We have to be very cautious.

“Avoid clicking on any links attached to these messages. It only takes one mistake to face potentially devastating consequences,” Wantana told BenarNews. “It’s really scary because if you slip up just once, your entire bank account could be drained.”

Office: Thais top targets for scam calls in Asia

In Thailand, the number of scam calls has grown at an alarming rate, according to the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC).

“Thais received the most scam calls and SMS in Asia, totaling 78.8 million instances, an increase of over 18% from 2022. This includes 20.8 million fraudulent calls and 58 million scam SMS. On average, each person received 7.3 calls from call center gangs and another 20.3 SMS,” said Danucha Pichayanan, the office’s secretary-general.

Scammers are using increasingly sophisticated techniques and leveraging personal information to tailor their strategies to specific targets, according to Titinun Suttinaraphan, marketing director for Southeast Asia at Gogolook/Whoscall, a company providing security services for smartphones. 

“This poses a significant threat to the privacy and financial security of the Thai people,” Titinun told BenarNews.

“In a single day, 217,047 Thais fell victim to scammers, with a 22% increase in fraudulent calls and a 17% increase in scam SMS compared to 2022, which is contrary to the improving trend in the Asian region,” Titinun said, referring to 2023.

The Asia Scam Report, which surveyed 20,000 phone users from 11 Asian countries, found that in 2023, respondents encountered phone scams at least once a week. Thailand remained the most targeted country, according to 88% of those answering the survey, followed by Malaysia (82.7%), Hong Kong (81.3%) and Vietnam (80.2%).

Methods ‘constantly adapting’

Nuttakorn Vititanon, a lecturer at Chiang Mai University who conducted a research project on online threats, said phone-scam operations had picked up during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The methods of deception are constantly adapting to the situation, but a common tactic across many countries is impersonating government entities. Scammers either intimidate victims or lure them with the promise of benefits, using fake links or links that allow remote control of the victim’s smartphone to transfer money from banking apps or steal various information,” he told BenarNews.

Apart from posing as government officials, scammers often impersonate delivery services, banking institutions or offer fake prizes. Scammers also use areas in neighboring countries along the Thai border as their base, Nuttakorn said. 

Many countries are tackling SMS scams by requiring sender registration – a counter-measure that prevents unregistered users from sending messages, he said.

“The government should mandate that service providers continually develop security technologies, not just request their cooperation,” Nuttakorn said.

“Network providers must take a more proactive approach. They should utilize AI technology to screen scam SMS or fake links from fraudsters and regularly report their progress in addressing this issue to the public.”

Regarding the government’s efforts, Wong-akuea Boonson, spokeswoman for the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DE), said the ministry’s primary tactic was to crack down on fake SIM cards, which are crucial tools for scammers.

“The DE has discussed cooperation with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) to consider criteria for blocking SMS from unidentifiable senders. This matter will be further discussed in an upcoming meeting of the Committee for the Prevention and Suppression of Online Crime,” Wong-akuea told BenarNews.

The NBTC announced that individuals possessing 101 or more SIM cards must register and verify their identities by Feb. 14. As a result, 2.58 million numbers were verified, while 2.49 million numbers remained unverified – of those 1.48 million were suspended.

“We are implementing strict measures for new SIM card registrations in accordance with the NBTC’s identity verification criteria to prevent SIM cards from being used for illegal activities. The DE is also working to raise public awareness about scam tactics and encourage people to be cautious when encountering suspicious situations,” Wong-akuea said.

Trairat Wiriyasirikul, the commission’s acting secretary-general, said the commission had begun implementing measures to suspend telecommunication signals in border areas to prevent scammers operating from neighboring countries.

“In early May 2024, the signal strength of 13 base stations was reduced, and the antennas pointing outward from Thailand to neighboring countries were switched off at 84 stations. The NBTC will continue these efforts as phone scams pose a significant threat to the country’s economy and society,” he told BenarNews.