CityNews — Chiang Rai Immigration Officers and Pha Muang Soldiers raided a group of scammers who were posing as a debt collection call centre near the Thai – Burmese border.
A typical call centre office.On Sunday, 15th June, the Chiang Rai Immigration Police and Pha Muang Border Patrol Army Officers went to a house in Mae Sai in a joint operation after receiving a complaint about the tenants from the neighbours. The investigation unit found out that the scam was being run by Chinese and Taiwanese con artists who would call people in Thailand and China to collect debts. Of course, they never collected any debt, and they kept the money they had taken from the victims.
The officers found 32 Taiwanese people in a conference room which was supposedly being used as a call centre. Most of them could barely speak any Thai, yet they still managed to scam Thai people out of their cash. The officials also seized phones as well as internet and radio equipment from the house.
From the evidence collected, the immigration officers managed to crack down on three other houses in Mae Sai and then arrested 16 more illegal aliens. They told reporters that the scammers all made their living by calling up victims in Thailand and China, claiming to be a private debt collection agency, and then manipulated victims into transferring them large amounts of cash. Officials are currently conducting further investigations into this particular network of scammers in the hopes of finding even more.
For photos and story in Thai, visit the Manager.