Police rescued a university student in Bangkok’s Phaya Thai area yesterday, October 17, after a call centre scam gang convinced them to hide in a rented room and stage a fake kidnapping to extort their parents for up to 300,000 baht (US$9,018).
Pathumwan Police Station received a report from the student’s parents that the student had left their accommodation and tried to harm themselves. Officers traced the student to a dormitory in Soi Sasana at about 6pm. The student was still on the phone to the scammers, who hung up when police arrived.
The scam began on October 16, when a caller posing as a mobile network employee claimed the student’s ID card had been used to open a phone number linked to fraud and money laundering. The caller correctly recited the student’s 13 digit ID number.
The student was then passed to a fake provincial police officer, who ordered them into a Telegram chat room called the interrogation room. Under pressure to prove their innocence, the student transferred 36,000 baht to the gang.
The gang told the student to rent a room by the day and switch phone numbers so family could not make contact. They also tricked the student into sharing a LINE verification code, giving them control of the account, which they used to contact the family.
When the student ran out of money, the gang told them to tell their parents they had won a scholarship abroad and needed between 200,000 and 300,000 baht. The student was also told to smear red syrup mixed with coffee on their body and the walls to look like blood.
The parents doubted the scholarship and checked with a university lecturer, who confirmed there was none. They realised it was a scam and called police.
The National Police Office and the Metropolitan Police Bureau warned that gangs are targeting university students by claiming they are involved in criminal cases. Anyone receiving such a call should hang up immediately.
In similar news:
- 1.78m baht lost after scammers order student to lie about US scholarship
- Police dismantle call centre scam network, arrest 10 suspects
The story Call centre scam gang tells student to fake own kidnapping as seen on Thaiger News.