PATTAYA — 29 March 2026, Two suspects were arrested in a shopping mall car park in Pattaya over an alleged online fraud scheme that duped victims into transferring money to set up fake online shops, with losses amounting to hundreds of thousands of baht.
Police in Pattaya, led by Pol. Col. Anek Sarathongyu, chief of Pattaya City Police Station, acted after being alerted by the Investigate Digital Channel team under Krung Thai Bank’s financial crime unit to suspicious cash withdrawals at a branch inside Central Marina on Pattaya Second Road.
Investigators led by Pol. Lt. Col. Arut Saphanon and Pol. Lt. Col. Suradet Imjai tracked down the suspects at the car park of Central Marina Outlet in Nong Prue subdistrict, Bang Lamung district, Chon Buri province.
The two were identified as Nirut, 25, and Kumpha, 24. Officers seized three mobile phones, 119,000 baht in cash and three bank passbooks.
Police said one of the accounts, held at Siam Commercial Bank in Kumpha’s name, was linked to fraud, including a complaint filed online on 25 March by a 24-year-old man in the Prachachuen police jurisdiction.
According to investigators, the victim had advertised a mobile phone for sale on Facebook before being contacted by a suspect who persuaded him to continue the conversation via the Line messaging app. He was then added to a group and tricked into transferring money to “open” an online shop, with promises of boosting product visibility. After making multiple transfers, he was unable to withdraw any funds.
Both suspects have been charged with involvement in a secretive criminal association formed to carry out illegal activities.
They were handed over to investigators at Pattaya City Police Station for legal proceedings, while authorities continue to search for other members of the network who remain at large.