Thai authorities have arrested and charged 100 Thai nationals for their involvement in transnational call center scams operating from Cambodia, police announced yesterday.
Pol. Gen. Thatchai Pitanilabut, Director of the Police Cyber Taskforce and the Anti-Human Trafficking Center, told the press yesterday that the Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on March 3 for 102 suspects, Khaosod English reported. This included 100 Thai nationals and two Chinese nationals who are the suspected leaders of the scamming gang.
The 100 Thais were among 1i9 who were detained last week in Poipet, a Cambodian town on the border with Thailand’s Sa Kaeo province, during a joint operation between the Thai and Cambodian police. The group, who had “sneaked in to work and stayed illegally” in Cambodia, were deported from Cambodia on March 1.
Khaosod reported that the suspects have been accused of operating scams including stock trading fraud, romance scams, online gambling, and the impersonation of Thai government agencies. They face multiple charges, including “participation in a transnational criminal organization, membership in a secret society, conspiracy to commit fraud, defrauding the public, and introducing false data into computer systems,” which carry prison sentences of up to 15 years.
“This is the first time Thai suspects will face severe charges for collaborating with foreign criminals in Cambodia,” Thatchai said. “From now on, Thai traitors will no longer be able to exploit the human trafficking victim loophole to evade punishment.”
The charges come as Thailand ramps up its efforts to disrupt the scamming syndicates that have sprung up along Thailand’s borders, particularly those with Myanmar and Cambodia, since the COVID-19 pandemic. These operations have relied upon legions of trafficked workers to run the scams, most of whom are attracted by promises of jobs and then effectively imprisoned in fortified compounds and forced to run scams that trick people into transferring funds.
Over the past two months, under strong pressure from the Chinese government, which was forced to act after the abduction of a well-known Chinese actor in early January, Thailand has led a multi-national crackdown on the scamming centers that have sprung up along its borders with Myanmar. It has cut supplies of power, internet, and fuel to border areas known to harbor scam operations, requested arrest warrants for members of Myanmar-based militias, and initiated probes into local Thai police officials suspected of collusion with criminal syndicates.
In recent weeks, a multinational group of around 7,000 people has reportedly been rescued from scam centers around Myawaddy in Myanmar’s Kayin (Karen) State, most of them victims of human trafficking.
Since mid-February, the Thai government has started to shift its focus to scamming operations just across its eastern border in Cambodia, particularly in Poipet, a freewheeling border town that has long bristled with low-rent casinos.
Thai authorities have already suspended cellphone towers along the Cambodian border, which they fear were being used by scammers. Then, last week, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra directed relevant agencies to study the idea of erecting a wall on the Cambodian border to prevent illegal crossings by crime gangs, including online fraud syndicates.
While the ultimate impact of these operations remains unclear – the fact that the rescues of scam workers from Myawaddy have been conducted with the help of the very militia groups believed to have facilitated them – the Thai government has expressed confidence that the crackdown is having an effect. Digital Economy and Society Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong said this week that reported losses from call scams have halved, from about 100 million baht (around $3 million) a day to less than 50 million baht since the beginning of the crackdown, the Bangkok Post reported.
The minister said that before the week’s end he would have discussions with banks, telecom operators, and the owners of media platforms, who he said would now be required to take active measures to protect customers from call scams.