PATTAYA, THAILAND – Two men were arrested in the parking garage of the Central Marina shopping mall in Pattaya over an alleged fake online shop scam that caused damage running to several hundred thousand baht.
Bank alert triggered police operation
A tip from the fraud investigation team of Krung Thai Bank prompted the arrests. Staff had noticed suspicious cash withdrawals at a branch inside Central Marina and alerted police.
Pol. Col. Anek Sarathongyu led the operation. Officers under Pol. Lt. Col. Arut Saphanon and Pol. Lt. Col. Suradet Imjai located the suspects in the mall’s parking structure in Nong Prue subdistrict.
Identities of the arrested men
The detained men were identified as Nirut, 25, and Kumpha, 24. During the arrest, officers seized three mobile phones, 119,000 baht in cash and three bank books.
An account at Siam Commercial Bank in the name of Kumpha was linked to a fraud complaint filed on 25 March. A 24‑year‑old man had lodged the complaint with authorities.
How the alleged scheme worked
The complainant had advertised a mobile phone for sale on Facebook. One suspect contacted him, moved the conversation to the Line messaging app and added him to a group.
There, the victim was told to transfer money to open a so‑called online shop, with the promise of greater visibility for his products. After several transfers, a reversal of the payments was no longer possible.
Charges and legal action
Both men were accused of participating in a criminal association engaged in illegal activities. The charges were based on Thai legislation targeting organised crime.
The suspects were handed over to investigators at the Pattaya City Police Station for further processing. Law enforcement agencies were searching for additional members of the network who had not yet been detained.
Further investigations under way
Authorities believed more people were involved in the scheme. The total number of victims was still being established, while the seized mobile phones and bank documents were undergoing forensic examination.
Online fraud schemes via social media platforms had been increasing in Thailand for years. Police advised the public not to carry out transactions with unknown contacts who request money transfers and to report suspicious approaches directly to the competent authority.
“The police advise people not to carry out any transactions with unknown contacts who request money transfers and to report suspicious contacts directly to the responsible authority.”
said unnamed police officials, issuing a public warning.