BANGKOK — Thai Cyber Police, in collaboration with the FBI, have arrested an Indian suspect involved in defrauding an elderly American woman of nearly $50,000. The suspect was part of a criminal gang operating in Thailand’s Ayutthaya province, where they ran an illegal lending operation.
On December 2, Pol Lt Gen Trairong Phiwphan, Acting Commander of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, along with U.S. officials such as Mr. Benjamin Chervenak, U.S. Secret Service Resident Agent in Charge, and Mrs. Caroline A. Marshall, Acting Legal Attaché from the FBI at the U.S. Embassy in Thailand, successfully returned 1,643,349.40 baht (around $48K) to the victim’s representative. This was made possible after coordinated efforts with Krungthai Bank, which froze the suspect’s bank account.
The incident began on January 10, 2024, when the elderly American woman had trouble accessing her Microsoft account. She found a contact number online and called it. The person on the other end, speaking English with an Indian accent, claimed to be from Microsoft support. The scammer convinced her to install remote access software to resolve the issue.
Once the scammer pretended to fix her email, they told the victim Microsoft would refund her $49.99. However, they falsely claimed that a large sum of $49,999 had been mistakenly transferred to her account and pressured her to return the excess money. Feeling sympathetic, the victim transferred $49,840 to a corporate bank account in Thailand.
After receiving the funds, the scammers sent mocking messages to the victim, making fun of her for falling for the scam.
An investigation revealed that the scammer had used remote access software to manipulate bank transactions, making it appear as though the victim had received funds from Microsoft. The gang operated a sophisticated scheme involving Thai nationals, who provided their personal documents to open companies and bank accounts for fraudulent transfers.
On June 20, police raided a property in Sena District, Ayutthaya Province, seizing evidence, including electronic devices and ATM cards linked to the scam. They arrested Aswani Kumar Singh, an Indian national, who was connected to the operation.
Additionally, three Thai nationals, Mr. Chan Puttithai, Ms. Pranom Sroypimpit, and Ms. Sroi Maison, were charged for allowing their bank accounts to be used in the fraudulent activity. Police have issued arrest warrants for two more Indian suspects involved in transnational organized crime, fraud by impersonation, and money laundering. Interpol has been asked to issue Red Notices for the remaining suspects, who are still on the run.
The investigation also revealed that the criminals had been converting their illicit earnings into gold bars, which were collected by Indian nationals from a gold shop in Bangkok’s Pahurat area. This suggests the group had a highly organized structure, with clearly defined roles for each member.
