PATHUM THANI — Thai immigration police have arrested five Vietnamese nationals operating an illegal loan shark business that used victims’ iCloud accounts to remotely control their iPhones as collateral, marking the third such bust in three months.
The arrests on August 1 followed raids on Vietnamese scam call center operations in June and July that revealed a sophisticated digital extortion scheme targeting Vietnamese nationals through Facebook lending advertisements.
The loan operation required borrowers to surrender their iCloud account credentials as collateral. When victims defaulted on payments, the gang would remotely lock their iPhones using Apple’s “Find My iPhone” feature, rendering the devices unusable.
“They would harass victims by sending lost-phone alerts and threatening to erase all data or publish personal images and information on social media platforms,” said Immigration Division 3 in a statement. The intimidation tactics forced victims to repay debts with interest rates reaching 349.8% annually—far exceeding legal limits in both Thailand and Vietnam.
Acting on orders from Immigration Bureau Commissioner Pol. Lt. Gen. Phanumas Boonyalaksana, officers executed a search warrant at a house in Pathum Thani Province’s Thanyaburi District on August 1. The raid uncovered five Vietnamese suspects aged 20-40 operating from desktop computers, laptops, and more than 25 mobile phones.
The suspects admitted to serving as administrators for the illegal lending network, using Facebook for advertising and the Zello messaging app for communications. They were charged with criminal association and working without proper permits.
Pol. Maj. Gen. Chairit Anurit revealed that Vietnamese authorities had already dismantled similar networks in their country, prompting many suspects to flee to Thailand to avoid prosecution. Despite previous arrests of 14 suspects in two earlier operations, coordination with Vietnamese police confirmed that other network members remain at large.
Under Vietnamese law, such offenses carry maximum penalties of five years imprisonment and fines up to 200,000 baht.
The five suspects have been handed over to Khlong Luang Police Station for prosecution. Following court proceedings, they will be deported, have their Thai residence permits revoked, and be blacklisted from re-entering the country.
The Immigration Bureau emphasized its commitment to tracking foreign nationals with outstanding warrants and supporting local law enforcement agencies in combating transnational crimes.
Authorities encourage the public to report information about such criminal activities to the Immigration Bureau hotline at 1178 or through their website at www.immigration.go.th.
The case highlights the growing sophistication of cross-border digital crime networks exploiting smartphone technology and social media platforms to target vulnerable populations across Southeast Asia.
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