On October 13, 2024, the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) arrested two suspects accused of opening “mule accounts” to impersonate government officials and trick victims into downloading an app that siphoned over 2 million baht from their accounts.
Led by high-ranking officers, the arrest was made by a dedicated task force, apprehending the suspects, Ms. Duangrat, 23, and Mrs. Rawinan, 54, both wanted under warrant numbers 4818/2024 and 4814/2024, respectively, for multiple offenses including fraud, misuse of electronic cards, and unauthorized access to computer systems.
The suspects face serious charges under various laws that involve theft and computer crimes, including Article 1 (14) (16), 269/5, 269/6, 269/7, 335(6)(7) of the Penal Code and several articles from the Computer Crimes Act of 2017.
The incidents began when police received complaints from victims—government officials—who were deceived into installing a purported electrical meter application after a call from what appeared to be a call center. The victims then scanned their ID cards and provided facial recognition, leading to unauthorized transfers that cost them at least 2 million baht.
After thorough investigation, it became clear there were multiple “mule accounts” involved, indicating a broader scheme with many potential victims. The arrested suspects denied the allegations, asserting they thought they were merely opening accounts for a job opportunity in a neighboring country, unaware that they were involved with a call center gang and received a payment of 12,000 baht each for opening the accounts.
This article was rewritten from a Thairath’s news article.
