CHAIYAPHUM, Thailand – The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) arrested Ms. Parichat under an arrest warrant issued by the Criminal Court for charges including fraud, impersonation, intimidation, computer-related deception, and allowing the use of her bank account for criminal activities, December 15. She was apprehended at her residence in Chaiyaphum following an investigation linking her to a call center scam network that defrauded Miss Charlotte Austin, a beauty pageant contestant, of 4 million baht.
According to Pol. Lt. Gen. Trirong Phiwpan, acting CCIB commissioner, the suspect had ties to the call center gang and had traveled abroad prior to the fraudulent incident. Further investigation revealed that on December 5, the suspect was persuaded by her husband to open a bank account for a payment of 3,500 baht per account. The employer later visited her home to photograph her bank passbook before informing her that they would be traveling to Cambodia for two days.
The couple, along with others hired to open accounts, was transported to Cambodia through a natural border crossing in Sa Kaeo. Upon arrival, they were taken to a building where around 20 Thais were being held under Chinese supervision. The upper floors of the building were equipped with mock offices, used to impersonate Department of Special Investigation (DSI) officers during video calls to scam victims into transferring money.
The suspect disclosed that participants were confined to rooms and only allowed out to scan their faces for transactions linked to the registered bank accounts. After completing their tasks, they were compensated and returned to Thailand via the same route.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the 4 million baht transferred by Miss Charlotte was converted into digital currency and sent to accounts owned by a Chinese national. Authorities are expanding their investigation to trace the remaining financial networks. Meanwhile, the suspect’s husband has fled, though no evidence has yet linked him to the case. (TNA)
