PATTAYA – Three suspects have been arrested after police raided a suspected scam operation in Pattaya that allegedly impersonated cybercrime officers and promised to recover money lost by previous fraud victims.
Police from Provincial Police Region 2, led by Pol. Maj. Gen. Kiatisak Srathongoi, commander of the region’s investigation division, searched the suspected office in Chon Buri and seized electronic devices and documents for examination.
Investigators said the suspects allegedly contacted people who had previously been scammed, posing as officers from the cybercrime police and claiming they could recover the victims’ lost money. They then sent QR codes for the victims to scan.
Police are examining the QR codes to determine how they may have been used in the alleged scheme and are tracing related financial transactions.
During preliminary questioning, all three suspects reportedly confessed to having worked for a call-centre scam operation in Cambodia for about a year before returning to Thailand and setting up an office in Pattaya. They allegedly used mobile phones to contact and defraud people across the country.
Items seized during the raid included one laptop, five mobile phones, three SIM cards and related documents, three notebooks containing information, two bank passbooks and a backpack.
Police are examining the devices, contact records and other electronic evidence as they prepare the case. They are also tracing the money trail and investigating possible links to other individuals or networks, as well as the number of victims and the total financial losses.
Police warned people who have previously lost money to scammers to be cautious if anyone claiming to be a cybercrime officer or government official offers to recover their funds and sends a QR code or asks them to carry out transactions involving their bank accounts.
Members of the public should verify such claims directly through official agency channels rather than following instructions from unsolicited contacts, police said.
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