BANGKOK — Thai Cyber Police, in coordination with the FBI, have arrested an Indian suspect who posed as a Microsoft employee to defraud an elderly American woman of nearly $50,000. The suspect was found to be part of a scammer gang operating with Thai accomplices in Ayutthaya province who were running an illegal lending operation.
On December 2, Pol Lt Gen Trairong Phiwphan, Acting Commander of Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, along with U.S. officials including Mr. Benjamin Chervenak, U.S. Secret Service Resident Agent In Charge; Mrs. Caroline A. Marshall, Acting Legal Attaché from the FBI at the U.S. Embassy in Thailand, jointly returned 1,643,349.40 baht (approximately $48K) to the victim’s representative after successfully coordinating with Krungthai Bank to freeze the suspect’s bank account in time.
The case began on January 10, 2024, when an elderly American woman had trouble logging into her Microsoft account. After searching Google for Microsoft support, she called a number she found online. The person who answered, speaking English with an Indian accent, claimed to be from Microsoft support. The scammer convinced the victim to install remote access software on her computer, supposedly to fix the problem.
After claiming to have fixed her email account, the scammer told the victim Microsoft would refund her $49.99. The scammer then falsely claimed they had accidentally transferred $49,999 into her account instead and begged her to return the money, saying they would lose their job otherwise.
Out of sympathy, the victim transferred $49,840 to a corporate bank account in Thailand. After receiving the money, the scammer even sent messages mocking the victim about falling for the scam.
Police investigation revealed that the scammers had used remote access software to transfer money between the victim’s own bank accounts to create the illusion of receiving funds from Microsoft.
The gang was found to be operating a sophisticated scheme involving Thai nationals who were recruited through a loan shark operation. These Thai accomplices would provide their personal documents, which were then used to register companies and open corporate bank accounts to receive fraudulent transfers.
On June 20, Thai police searched a house in Sena District, Ayutthaya Province, seizing 19 pieces of evidence, including electronic devices and ATM cards linked to the criminal operation, before arresting the house’s occupant, Aswani Kumar Singh, an Indian national.
Police have also charged three Thai nationals: Mr. Chan Puttithai, age 69; Ms. Pranom Sroypimpit, age 59, a director of Tint Realty Limited Partnership; and Ms. Sroi Maison, age 45, also a director of Tint Realty Limited Partnership, for allowing others to use their bank accounts to be used in the scheme.
Police have issued arrest warrants for two more Indian suspects on charges of transnational organized crime, fraud by impersonation, and money laundering. Interpol has been contacted to issue Red Notices for the remaining suspects who are currently at large.
The investigation discovered that the gang had been converting their illegal proceeds into gold bars, which were collected by Indian nationals from a gold shop in Bangkok’s Pahurat area, indicating a well-organized criminal operation with clearly defined roles for different members.
