BANGKOK — Thai police arrested a 45-year-old Chinese national at Don Mueang Airport on July 24 while he was attempting to flee to China, marking the latest bust in a series of major online fraud cases targeting both Thai and Chinese victims.
Wang Hao was apprehended at the departure terminal as he prepared to board an AirAsia flight to Kunming, China. He had been wanted on an arrest warrant issued by Nonthaburi Provincial Court since November 28, 2023.
Wang was allegedly part of a sophisticated fraud network that impersonated Krungthai Bank officials to target victims using the government’s digital wallet application. The scammers claimed the government was offering financial assistance to heavy digital wallet users who faced high tax burdens, promising monthly payments of 5,000 baht ($155) for two months.
The operation involved adding victims as friends on LINE messaging app before sending malicious links to install fraudulent applications on their mobile devices. Through this scheme, the network successfully transferred a total of 1.55 million baht ($48,000) from victims’ accounts.
Wang faces multiple charges including theft, unauthorized use of electronic cards, illegal computer system access, data manipulation, fraudulent data entry, and money laundering. He has been transferred to the Technology Crime Investigation Division 2 for prosecution.
Part of Broader Crackdown
This arrest continues a wave of major online fraud busts across Thailand this month, particularly in the jurisdiction of Provincial Police Region 5. In the first major case in Hang Dong district, Chiang Mai province, authorities arrested 14 Chinese nationals operating from a luxury residence. Their operation defrauded over 100,000 Chinese victims—primarily elderly citizens aged 60-80—for damages exceeding $15 million.
A second case unfolded when Mae Ping Police Station officers responded to what appeared to be a simple dispute between a Chinese man and Thai woman at an ATM inside a popular Chiang Mai shopping center. Upon arrival, police discovered over 2.6 million baht ($80,000) scattered on the floor, leading to the arrest of one Thai woman and two Chinese men.
Investigation revealed this group was part of an investment fraud network led by a Chinese boss, targeting both Chinese and Thai victims with fake investment schemes. The two Chinese suspects served as cash withdrawal team leaders managing mule accounts and collecting funds for their boss, while the Thai woman—seeking money to pay off debts—was participating in cash withdrawal operations for the first time.
The total amount of money transferred and withdrawn for the scammer boss by all three suspects exceeded 4.9 million baht ($151,570).
Police have expanded their investigation to identify and arrest all associated network members in both cases, signaling an intensified crackdown on transnational online fraud operations using Thailand as a base.
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