BANGKOK, 4 April 2013 6 men from Malaysia and Sri Lanka have been arrested for using forged ATM cards to withdraw cash from ATM machines in Bangkok.
2 of the men were caught withdrawing cash from an ATM machine in Inthra Square shopping mall in Pratunam district, Bangkok. Officials found 10 fake ATM cards on them. After their interrogation, police searched two rooms at Paradise House hotel in Pratunam, and found evidence of the ATM card fraud. The remaining gang members were also apprehended during the police search. In all, 162 fake ATM cards were found.
All 6 of the men asserted they purchased the fake ATM cards from Malaysia, then had an Indian man by the name of Asok input the data hacked from foreign banks into the cards. They have been withdrawing 360,000 baht daily from ATMs around Pratunam and Sukhumwit. The men alleged they only received 10% of the amount, and the rest went to Asok who is still on the run.
4 of the arrested were Malaysians aged between 19 and 32 years, and the 2 arrested Sri Lankans were 43 and 34 years of age. The Sri Lankans, who entered Thailand illegally, were also found to have been former members of the Tamil Tigers rebels in Sri Lanka.
The officials moved onto the gang after having been told by Siam Commercial Bank that data of foreign banks in Germany, the UK and Canada had been compromised and that the set of data was being exploited to withdraw cash in Thailand.
